The government tabled a budget on March 22, its first since winning the election last October. As usual, the punditocracy and special interest groups lined up to weigh in; claims that there was not enough of this, or too much of that, or of election promises being broken here and there were mixed with a smattering of applause.
As the philosopher Mick Jagger has said, “You can’t always get what you want.” But this first budget from Finance Minister Bill Morneau is a step in the right direction toward getting some of what Canadian lawyers need.
For the most part it’s a plan the CBA can work with: it allocates money for criminal legal aid, the Aboriginal Courtwork Program, and the reinstatement of the Court Challenges program, and reiterates the government’s commitment to “repealing the problematic elements of Bill C-51.”
Measures in the budget will “help Canadians assert their rights and provide disadvantaged Canadians access to a justice system that is fair, modern and efficient,” the document promises.
The Liberals had already announced their intention to reinstate the Court Challenges Program, which the previous government had been in the process of winding down, but in the budget they put money behind the promise – $12 million over five years to be combined with existing funding for a total of $5 million a year for the program.
“The Canadian Bar Association was a longtime supporter of the Court Challenges Program, has always supported it, and has seen it as a fundamental institution in Canadian democracy,” the budget document quotes CBA member Sarah Lugtig, Chair of the Access to Justice Committee, as saying.
Another program long supported by the CBA, which receives new funding in this budget, is the Aboriginal Courtwork Program. Indigenous people are over-represented in the court system, and this program both helps them to work their way through it, and helps those within the system overcome cultural and language barriers when dealing with Indigenous peoples. The government will provide this program an additional $4 million a year.
One of the first acts of the Liberal government after taking office was to announce an inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women, a move welcomed by the CBA. The budget allocates $40 million over two years to the inquiry.
The CBA has called for increased funding for criminal legal aid and sees some in this budget, which promises $88 million over five years, beginning in 2016-17. This funding will help close the justice gap for the most disadvantaged Canadians.
The CBA’s Equal Justice and Legal Futures initiatives have both pinpointed better technology in the courts as an access to justice issue. The budget proposes to give $7.9 million over five years to the Courts Administration Service “to invest in information technology infrastructure upgrades to safeguard the efficiency of the federal court system.”
As well as promising to repeal the “problematic elements” of Bill C-51, the government notes that threats to the country can come from many directions – from terrorism to natural disaster – and it’s important to be prepared for whatever arises. “We need to have the right tools to take action when needed to keep Canadians safe,” the budget document says. “Budget 2016 includes several immediate measures that will support the safety and security of Canadians within our borders.”
Other measures not directly related to the judicial system but which CBA members will welcome:
CBA members were among the millions of Canadians shocked last fall by the plight of Syrian refugees, and many in the Immigration Law Section came forward to offer their expertise. Last fall the Liberal government committed $678 million over six years to resettle 25,000 Syrian refugees immediately, and another 10,000 by the end of 2016. In this budget the government proposes to spend another $245 million over five years to identify, process and resettle an additional 10,000 Syrian refugees.
It also proposes to provide $25 million in 2016-17 to target application backlogs in Canada and overseas for family sponsorship applications, and $56 million over three years to support the processing and resettlement for a previously announced increase in permanent resident admissions. The CBA’s Immigration Section recognizes family reunification as a cornerstone of Canada’s immigration law.
The government will consult with stakeholder groups to clarify the rules governing the political activities of charities. The CBA’s Charities Section has studied the treatment of political activities by the charitable and not-for-profit sector in Canada and throughout the Commonwealth, and has offered its assistance in clearing up the rules.
While the budget doesn’t tick all the boxes on the CBA’s wish list, it does hit some fairly significant ones. We will watch attentively what happens in the budget debate, and after.