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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 18, 2002

OTTAWA - "Devastating" cuts to legal aid funding in British Columbia will cause unprecedented damage to access to justice, warned the President of the Canadian Bar Association.

"Nowhere in the country have we seen such a devastating attack on the public's fundamental right to access the justice system," said Eric Rice, Q.C., of Vancouver, responding to the B.C. government's decision to cut legal aid funding. "Those in smaller communities, and those who desperately need legal help in family disputes, will be hardest hit."

Funding will be slashed from $88.3 million to $54 million -- a 40 % reduction over three years. Twenty-four courthouses will close. "British Columbians across the province will feel these cuts immediately."

"These cuts place impossible burdens on prosecutors and judges in terms of caseloads and dealing with unrepresented litigants," he added. "Many more criminal charges will also have to be thrown out of court because of the inevitable delays."

The CBA has been lobbying federal and provincial governments for many years to increase legal aid funding in Canada. "This latest action by the B.C. government flies in the face of everything we should be trying to accomplish to ensure that Canadians can actually exercise their legal rights," said Mr. Rice.

The Canadian Bar Association is dedicated to improvement in the law and the administration of justice. Some 37,000 lawyers, notaries, law teachers, and law students from across Canada are members.

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CONTACT: Hannah Bernstein, Canadian Bar Association, 500 - 865 Carling Ave. , Ottawa, ON, K1S 5S8 Tel: (613) 237-2925, ext. 146; E-mail: hannahb@cba.org