Alberta defence lawyers considering job action after requests for legal aid overhauls ignored

A courtroom at the Edmonton Law Courts building, in Edmonton on Friday, June 28, 2019.

Criminal defence lawyers in Alberta say the legal aid system is at a breaking point, and they are threatening job action if the province ignores requests for in-depth updates to the program.

Three organizations representing lawyers in Edmonton, Calgary, and southern Alberta have called on Justice Minister Tyler Shandro to address concerns about the funding and access to legal aid.

According to the Criminal Trial Lawyers Association, the province agreed to modernize the legal aid program in May. However, that group, along with the Criminal Defence Lawyers Association and the Southern Alberta Defence Lawyers' Association say the province's proposed modernization is a "waste of time and taxpayer dollars."

“It almost feels fruitless,” Danielle Boisvert, president of the Criminal Trial Lawyers Association, said.

“What is the point of going through a modernization process if it’s really not going to fix anything - not just for the public, but for lawyers and our ability to maintain our livelihood, maintain a criminal practice in the long run and stay in criminal defence.”

Boisvert said fee structures for defence lawyers and eligibility guidelines for the public are severely outdated, have not kept up with inflation and are impeding access to justice by the public.

Without better funding, less lawyers will want to work in criminal defense, she adds, and this creates an imbalance in who gets access to fair representation.

“When a system like this is underfunded, people stop wanting to work for it. So we have lawyers, many lawyers, that have simply left the criminal defense bar for the stability of Crown prosecutors salaries,” Boisvert said.

“What we end up with is a significant pool of junior lawyers, who are trying very hard, but they’re inexperienced. And without senior defense lawyers to mentor them, where do they gain that experience?

“There are only so many books you can read”

Each of the three groups wrote a separate letter to the minister, outlining issues in the program and offering solutions, asking for a reply by no later than July 29. As of Sunday, they had not yet received a response or acknowledgement - prompting the group to unanimously vote on further action.

“It is disappointing and frustrating that Justice Minister Shandro could not bother to respond at all,” Boisvert said.

“We truly feel that action needs to be taken sooner than later. We are serious, and Justice Minister Shandro needs to understand that.”

An organization representing Alberta Crown prosecutors made similar demands from the justice ministry for increased compensation in May.

The Justice Ministry said in a statement to CTV News Edmonton that Alberta is willing to consider increasing LAA’s operating budget and the eligibility guidelines, but that those changes would have to be negotiated separately through the 2023 budget.

The ministry also said that funding for LAA has already increased 47 per cent since 2015. However, the groups representing legal aid lawyers say past funding commitments have been broken, with LAA receiving $54.6 million less than promised between 2020 and 2022.

The groups will meet Wednesday to vote on what specific actions will be taken, including a potential strike or other job actions.