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news continued from page 13 for the justice system as defence law- yers declared their outrage that Crown prosecutors and police were sharing information with each other that they didn't reveal to the other side. In both Barrie and Windsor, for example, the revelations led to mistrials. Responding to Cavoukian's report, Attorney General Chris Bentley vowed to implement the recommendations. But whether any of the Crown prosecutors who engaged in undisclosed jury vetting would be disciplined was unclear. For his part, Ontario Crown Attor- neys' Association president Thomas Hewitt said Crowns would welcome the new guidelines in Cavoukian's report. "I think with clarifying the rules, as [Cavoukian] points out, people will recognize that Crowns are working in a very difficult position and were work- ing with very unclear guidelines and were doing the best job they could." The privacy commissioner had "taken an extremely thorough approach to this," he noted, adding he didn't think any further public inquiries would shed any new light on the issue, a notion at least one group disagreed with. "We would like to see a broader investigation with respect to the trial fairness aspect of this issue that probes more deeply into not just what has hap- pened, but the broader implications of what has happened for particular trials and the justice system writ large," said Graeme Norton, a lawyer with the Canadian Civil Liberties Association. Others, however, took a more mod- erate view. Ontario Bar Association past president James Morton, for example, said a certain degree of jury vetting was acceptable. "There's no reason why a prosecutor should not ask around, the same way that defence counsel, in a smaller community particularly, can ask around to try and figure out a little bit of background about jurors," he told Law Times. "But when data- bases created for one purpose are used for a totally different purpose, that's clearly, to my mind anyway, a breach of privacy legislation. And it's giving an unfair advantage to the prosecution, an advantage that looks badly for the administration of justice." 14 December 2009 Both sides dig in as legal aid boycott gains momentum Lawyers balk at new funding BY GLENN KAUTH I t was the year criminal lawyers banded together to fight for a higher legal aid tariff. In fact, what began as a boycott of the most serious legal aid cases by Toronto defence counsel quickly spread across the province to include lawyers from Thunder Bay to Ottawa to Windsor and towns and cities in between. "By taking these certifi- this film before, in which the response to a crisis is a small, incremental boost to funding that never attacks the under- lying degradation of the plan that was allowed to take place with previous governments," Addario said. As the boycott continued, cates and acting as if they were sufficient compensation for the com- plexity and seriousness of the cases, we were drawing a curtain in front of the problem," said then-Criminal Lawyers' Association president Frank Addario. "The strong sentiment of the board was Former CLA president Frank Addario vowed lawyers would continue the legal aid boycott despite the government's funding boost. in fact, both sides dug in their heels. Bentley vowed the new money was all he would be coming up with, while LAO upped the stakes by advertising for staff for the so-called big- that we should no longer cover up for the gov- ernment or paper over the problem — that we should reveal it for all to see." But as the boycott grew after its launch in June, by September the government was prepared to respond. Saying he wanted to "transform the legal aid approach," Attorney General Chris Bentley announced $150 mil- lion over four years for the legal aid program. "I think we want to get to a position where we are able to make sure legal aid's budget is protected," he said. The funding is to begin with $15 million in the first year growing to $60 million annually by the fourth. In revealing the plan, Bentley also said he wanted to ensure community legal clinics and family law practitioners would benefit. But exactly how the new plan would work was unclear as the government chose to set up several working groups to decide how to allocate the funds. Complicating the issue, however, was the fact that Legal Aid Ontario was already facing a $56-million budget shortfall, much of it due to a drop in its annual allotment from the Law Foundation of Ontario. As a result, criminal lawyers reacted coolly to the new funding and vowed to continue the boycott. "We've seen case management office the government said would help fill the gap left by lawyers unwilling to take on legal aid cases. The postings included defence counsel hired on contract who, in addi- tion to receiving the standard legal aid tariff, would also receive a $5,000 administrative fee to cover their expenses. Lawyers participating in the boycott weren't happy. They, in turn, tried to get around what they say was the underfunding of legal aid cases and its maximum $98-per-hour tariff by seeking special funding from the courts. The boy- cott, in fact, targeted the most serious cases, particularly homicide and guns-and-gangs matters. So, with accused criminals in some cases unable to get a lawyer of their choice, the CLA began co-ordinating applications to have judges order the government to pay defence counsel more. But they weren't always success- ful, meaning cases remained in limbo as LAO scrambled to find someone who would take them. The problem was particularly acute in smaller cities around the province. As the end of the year approached, then, both sides were digging in their heels. Mental health lawyers soon joined the boycott, while the government promised results would come once the working groups reported back with their recommendations. Perhaps what was most surprising was the muted reac- tion from the public. While some lawyers expected a backlash against their protest of a $98-an-hour tariff during a recession, no such response materialized.