FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SEPTEMBER 26, 2006
OTTAWA – The Canadian Bar Association deplores the federal government’s decision to eliminate funding to two legal programs – the Court Challenges Program and the Law Commission of Canada – that make a valuable contribution to Canadian democracy.
“The Court Challenges Program provides a unique counterbalance to the power of the state,” says CBA President J. Parker MacCarthy, Q.C. of Duncan, British Columbia. “Canadians have a Charter of Rights, and the Court Challenges Program gives them a voice to exercise their rights under the Charter in the areas of language and equality.”
“The CCP gives Canadians a doorway into the legal system. For those who are too vulnerable and disenfranchised to obtain fair treatment from the system on their own, it’s often the only access they have,” says Parker MacCarthy.
The CBA reaffirmed its support for the program in August at its Canadian Legal Conference in St. John’s. It called on the federal government to not only increase funding, but also to ensure the program’s long-term financial stability.
The CBA says Canadians are losing an important perspective on legal questions with the demise of the Law Commission. “The Commission has always been our legal think tank offering a multi-disciplinary approach to big-picture legal issues. Some examples are electoral reform, restorative justice, and institutional abuse of children,” says Parker MacCarthy.
“Canada needs to have an institution whose job it is to focus on the future of our country’s laws. We need to be thinking now about the impact of laws and legal institutions on different individuals and communities, and the social and economic context in which our legal system operates,” adds Parker MacCarthy.
The CBA has established policy supporting the two institutions. A CBA resolution in 1992 called for the reinstatement of the CCP after it was cut in that year’s federal budget. And in 1970 the CBA was instrumental in the creation of the Law Reform Commission (predecessor to the Law Commission), and a unanimous resolution strongly protested the federal government’s decision to abolish that Commission in 1992.
Cuts made to the Overseas Legal Internship Program also raised CBA concern. This program allowed young Canadian lawyers to make a unique contribution to international human rights and legal development abroad. It also helped extend Canada’s international legal profile at a very low cost. The CBA will be examining all the cuts announced by the government to assess the impact on justice.
“The decision to cut the programs leaves significant holes in our justice system. The rights of all Canadians are at stake,” says MacCarthy.
The Canadian Bar Association is dedicated to improvement in the law and the administration of justice. Some 36,000 lawyers, law teachers, and law students from across Canada are members.
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CONTACT: Hannah Bernstein, Canadian Bar Association, Tel: (613) 237-2925, ext. 146; E-mail: hannahb@cba.org
