Life in crime | Is the Canadian legal aid model something to aspire to?

"Providing legal aid to low-income Canadians is an essential public service. We need to think of it in the same way we think of health care and education... it is not only the rich who need the law. Poor people need it too."

This is the model that the Minster for Justice, Chris Grayling would have us aspire to. The model which caused Beverly McLachlin, Chief Justice of Canada, to make the above statement. When we are told in the government's recent consultation paper that Canada's 10 spend per head on legal aid is an example to be emulated, everyone needs to question this. As with all consultations, the number of those with a strong opinion is larger than the number of individuals who actually respond. This paper continues the biggest assault on legal aid since its inception in 1949. Hopefully this prompts you to read the proposals carefully and answer them.

The consultation paper, 'Reforming Fees in Criminal Legal Aid', sets out proposals to reduce the cost of criminal legal aid fees for Crown Court advocacy and VHCCs (both litigation and advocacy). These include a proposal to restructure the current advocacy graduated fees scheme to "encourage earlier resolution", a reduction in and tapering of daily trial attendance rates from day three, and a proposal to reduce all VHCC rates by 30 per cent. Further, there is a move to reduce two counsel cases.

The suggestion that lawyers need encouragement to resolve cases at an earlier stage lacks any evidential foundation and fundamentally misleads the public. It ignores the existence of professional codes of conduct as well as institutional problems besetting an underfunded and inefficient prosecutorial system. That statement is blind to the presence of innocent people accused of crimes languishing in the criminal justice system, as well as plea ultimately being the choice of the defendant. Part of the problem undoubtedly stems from the appointment of a secretary of state for justice with no real qualifications or experiential understanding to equip him for the job. Criminal lawyers know it to be an essential front-line service, like healthcare and education, staffed by people driven to service need rather than greed.

Look beyond the headlines and Canada is beset with concern that chronic underfunding is jeopardising justice. Canadian commentators point to coverage that is inconsistent across the provinces and that it discriminates against women, those with disabilities. An internal federal Justice Department report obtained by the Canadian Press (CP) and written by researcher Ab Currie showed almost 13 per cent of defendants lacked legal help on court dates, sometimes creating the need for ten or more appearances before a judge. It also found offenders without legal assistance were least likely to be acquitted.

We need to stick together on this. There is more that unites us than divides us; a commitment to high quality representation for all who cannot afford it by experts trained to do the job. All we ask for is fair remuneration.