'We're looking at a disaster': Human rights advocate calls for overhaul to Legal Aid Alberta
Social justice and human rights advocate Mark Cherrington speaks with Alberta Primetime Host Michael Higgins about the provincial government’s funding agreement with Legal Aid Alberta
Michael Higgins: What's your take on the developments the past few days involving Legal Aid Alberta?
Mark Cherrington: Surprising, but not surprising. Surprising in the sense of the speed and how jarring things are evolving. Obviously this is something that I think should have been, talking about transparency, more involved with in the public eye a few months ago, that they were maybe having difficulty talking with one and each other, that they weren't coming to a position. And we're left with sort of a crisis issue that we have right now and I don't think that that serves vulnerable Albertans well in any regards.
Michael Higgins: Is it warranted being in this position though? The minister talking about changing the dynamics.
Mark Cherrington: I think something has to change and without being privy to any information regarding those discussions and just based on my opinion and my observations I think that Legal Aid has to change what it is and how it delivers legal services. That might involve getting rid of the entity Legal Aid itself but that would certainly involve a lot of consultations with the Law Society, the Criminal Trial Lawyers’ Association, and all stakeholders developing a best practice model because the people that lose are vulnerable Albertans. We're not talking about an inconvenience that our streets aren't being plowed or our streetlights are going out. We're talking about someone's liberty and freedoms. And I deal with lots of people in jail who didn't do anything and are there falsely. So it's critical that we have an independent strong defense counsel that has the ability to work without these sorts of stressors on its back.
Michael Higgins: To hear you say that Legal Aid Alberta needs to change, that take may come as a bit of a surprise to some. You were with Legal Aid Alberta for a lot of years.
Mark Cherrington: I was with Legal Aid and just to be straight on five years ago I was let go for structural changes and I think because of my work in social justice. Again that was five years ago and I've been a big supporter of the frontline staff and the lawyers involved with Legal Aid but when I look at Legal Aid I see a bloated executive, I see bureaucracies and risk averse and going in empire building in areas that just some right confused me. We need a hybrid system that involves choice of counsel but as well as strong public defenders to work in our boutique courts, like mental health court, Indigenous court, as duty counsel, in family court, doing emergency protection orders. So we need both, we need both systems, but we need to develop a cohesive glue to put these systems together. Legal Aid, I remind you, 40 years ago was basically a platform to connect vulnerable Albertans to lawyers but that has evolved into this big huge.
Michael Higgins: So does it mean blowing up the system and building something new? How dynamic a changer is needed?
Mark Cherrington: This is my personal opinion, I think that there needs to be significant changes in the way we deliver legal services, either through Legal Aid, or through a different entity. That's my personal opinion.
Michael Higgins: What do you say to Albertans who maybe fear what comes of the independence of the legal aid system, what comes of maybe the degree of control that either government or the minister has over the dynamic?
Mark Cherrington: And those are excellent questions and I think that we need to hold our government to the fire about that there needs to be independence of defence counsel. You can't have the crown arresting you, prosecuting you and defending you. That's unacceptable. Defence counsel is that leg on the table that keeps everything level. It needs to have firewalled, they need to act without fear of reprisal or retribution that if you're standing up and fighting for an indigenous man and the government is messing with them, you need to say the government is messing with this person. And they have to say that without fear of retribution that their employer, being the crown, is going to come down on them. So I think that again, I hope and I asked that Legal Aid take this money on the table and continue its services and I asked the minister and Legal Aid to invite stakeholders including the Law Society, the Criminal Trial Lawyers’ Association, some of our Indigenous knowledge keepers and leaders and people to come around this table and develop a best practice system to serve Albertans. And if you have those minds around the table working without agendas and working collaboratively, we can do no wrong.
Michael Higgins: Can that be done though on a deadline? There is talk that the system potentially craters early next week.
Mark Cherrington: No, it can't be. Of course it can't be. And this is where this crisis situation needs to be resolved and we need to continue from the perspective of a vulnerable Albertan in jail wrongly. He needs the idea to know that he's going to get competent counsel and that someone's going to be there on Wednesday morning fighting for his liberty and his freedoms so he can go back to work or he can get on with his life.
Michael Higgins: Are you confident that will happen?
Mark Cherrington: No. I think that we're looking at a disaster. If this government and Legal Aid don't come together and develop an interim plan immediately.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Vehicle supply building. Prices are going down. Is it time to buy a new car?
For the first time in years, car shoppers are having an easier time finding a deal as the auto industry bounces back from supply chain woes — and experts say the outlook could get even better.
Iran detains outspoken lawyer who criticized 2022 crackdown following Mahsa Amini's death
An outspoken Iranian lawyer who has publicly criticized how the government handled the 2022 protests has been arrested, state media reported Sunday.
Jon Landau, Oscar-winning 'Titanic' and 'Avatar' producer, dies at 63
Jon Landau, an Oscar-winning producer who worked closely with director James Cameron on three of the biggest blockbusters of all time, 'Titanic' and two 'Avatar' films, has died. He was 63.
This Italian vacation hotspot is turning tourists away as it runs out of water
Set atop a hill on the Italian island of Sicily, Agrigento is a heritage tourist’s paradise. But the aqueduct, and others built in modern times, are running so dry that small hotels and guesthouses in the city and nearby coast are being forced to turn tourists away.
Japan’s tourism tax sparks industry speculation in Canada
Japan has introduced a tourism tax for Mount Fuji, which has prompted some in Canada to wonder if our own tourist destinations like Niagara Falls and the Bay of Fundy could be potential options for our own tourism tax.
Crew of NASA's earthbound simulated Mars habitat emerge after a year
The crew of a NASA mission to Mars emerged from their craft after a yearlong voyage that never left Earth.
Torrid heat bakes millions of people in large swaths of U.S., setting records and fanning wildfires
Roughly 130 million people were under threat over the weekend and into next week from a long-running heat wave that broke or tied records with dangerously high temperatures and is expected to shatter more from East Coast to West Coast, forecasters said.
Terrorism charges laid against B.C. woman who married ISIS fighter
A B.C. woman who was repatriated from a Syrian prison camp in 2022 has been arrested and charged with terrorism offences, police announced Saturday.
How to lower your student debt -- and cut through misconceptions around it
Paying back student loans has always been a challenge, but at a time when housing and meals eat up a bigger slice of income than ever, making smart choices around loans and repayment is all too critical.