Law Times

Law Times • November 3, 2008 Lawyers await action on legal aid report NEWS BY HELEN BURNETT-NICHOLS For Law Times report, and a report on youth crime is set to be released, lawyers are still waiting for the issues raised in the recent legal aid system review to be dealt with by the province. The author of the Legal Aid Re- W hile there's been action on recommendations in the Goudge inquiry view 2008 report, University of To- ronto law professor Michael Trebil- cock, says that he is not aware that anything has happened since the release of his report in the summer. Recommendations in the re- it now finds itself in," he adds. "The current system has basic- ally created an incredible disincen- tive for experienced defence lawyers to take legal aid cases," he says. "While we see the attorney gen- eral take initiatives, for example like introducing legislation to adopt the Goudge inquiry recommenda- tions, the reality is we're not seeing that with legal aid," he says. A spokesperson for the County the report that financial eligibil- ity criteria be significantly raised to a more realistic level that "bears some relationship to the actual cir- cumstances of those in need," and that some range of legal aid services should be provided to all Ontario citizens on a non-means tested basis, so that the middle class can "develop a material stake in the well-being of the legal aid system." He also noted that there should also be a co-ordinated response to those who have multiple legal problems, rather than a "silo" approach. Trebilcock tells Law Times that many of the recommendations require additional injections of money into the system, such as adjusting financial eligibility cri- teria and adjusting the tariff for lawyers providing services under the certificate system. He adds, however, that other recommenda- tions could be implemented with relatively low costs, such as the use of electronic delivery systems. "There's some things that can be done without much money, but a number of key features of the sys- tem that I think are in serious need of repair can only be repaired with a further injection of money," he says. "Of course, with the financial or economic climate deteriorating by the day, this is about the worst possible time to be making a plea for more money for legal aid." Lawyer Adam Boni, a Toronto port, released in July, included raising the legal aid tariff signifi- cantly in the immediate future, as well as the salaries of staff law- yers. The tariff is currently set at $77.56 per hour for lawyers in tier I (zero to four years of experi- ence), $87.26 for lawyers in tier II (four to 10 years) and $96.95 for tier III (10 years or more), and was increased in July 2007. Trebilcock recommended in regional director for the Crimin- al Lawyers' Association says that "while the government is focus- ing on its Justice on Target strat- egy, and putting emphasis on trying to reduce waiting times for criminal trials and the num- ber of appearances, what stands out is the fact that the under- funding of legal aid is inextric- ably connected to the problems of wait times," he says. a "fundamental imbalance" in the province. "What has hap- pened is, by not funding legal aid and by not dealing with the legal aid tariff problem for many, many, many years, but while on the other hand, resourcing the Crowns and the police and quite frankly duty counsel, the gov- ernment has unintentionally, I think, created the situation that Boni points to what he calls Haber_shopping centre(LT 1-2x4).indd 1 and District Law Presidents' Asso- ciation said Trebilcock's report will be discussed with the presidents of 46 county and district law associa- tions at its upcoming plenary ses- sion. "The goal of the session will be how CDLPA can achieve imple- mentation of the report. CDLPA is committed to working closely with the attorney general to achieve this goal of implementing improve- ments to the legal aid system." LAO noted it "has the report and will continue working with all our partners in the justice system to improve access to justice for low-income people in Ontario." Heather McGee, chair of the Ontario Bar Association's access to justice committee says that there have been a number of initiatives by the ministry, such as Justice on Target and the justice education web site announced in August. "The minister is working towards broadening access for legal infor- mation, but in terms of putting the recommendations of the report into play, it appears that the policy is still being developed," she says. The biggest accomplishment, she says, has been to put legal aid centres in various courts on a trial basis. "In terms of the OBA, we look forward to continuing to work with the minister," she says. "We have a very clear set of recommendations with Professor Trebilcock's report, it's a matter of how do we prioritize and choose and put in place those recom- mendations, because it takes such a broad consensus to get that type of reform forward," says McGee. McGee notes that on Nov. 22, the OBA will hold a stakeholder summit, where participants will follow up on the recommendations from its June 2007 summit, many of which concern legal aid. couldn't be reached for comment. According to a Toronto Star Attorney General Chris Bentley story, outside the legislature, Bent- ley said, "Right now, we have a criminal justice reform initiative under way, a civil justice reform initiative under way, improved access to Ontarians to justice with Justice Ontario under way, improvements to our victims of crimes approach . . . under way." On Oct. 1, the government announced that it would be act- ing on the recommendations of Court of Appeal Justice Stephen Goudge's Inquiry into Pediatric Forensic Pathology in Ontario, which released its report that day. The province introduced new legislation in late October. Com- munity Safety and Correctional Services Minister Rick Bartolucci noted that the amendments would, if passed, "deliver a higher standard of oversight and accountability, greater public accessibility and transparency throughout the death investigation system in Ontario." Included are the establishment of a death investigation oversight council to oversee the work of the chief coroner and the chief forensic pathologist, as well as a registry of practising pathologists. The report of another review, by former chief justice of Ontario Roy McMurtry and former Speaker of the Legislature Alvin Curling, will identify and analyze the underlying causes contributing to youth vio- lence and make recommendations. "We know that there are many, many government reports, how- ever, that have been commissioned and they only sit on shelves, gather- ing dust. So today, will the acting premier pledge that recommenda- tions that will come in this report will be implemented and that gov- ernment is committed to providing the resources?" NDP MPP Andrea Horwath asked in the legislature. Said Bentley: "We're very much looking forward to the release of the report. As everybody knows, they need to go through certain compilations and translation etc. before they're actually publicly re- leased," adding that they will be able to "discuss how to move for- ward on this in the future." LT PAGE 5 Editor-in-Chief Harvey M. Haber, Q.C., LSM and with numerous leading experts as contributors Covers commercial leasing issues with specific emphasis on shopping centre leases in one text Shopping Centre Leases has been considered the definitive text on the subject since its inception in 1976. Written by leading commercial leasing practitioners from across Canada, this Second Edition includes a vast collection of articles and precedents on various topics of current interest. For example: Technology and Telecommunications Concerns Pandemic Preparedness for Building Owners and Managers Insurance for Shopping Centres Leasing Aspects of the Franchise Relationship Transfers of Lease, Assigning, Subletting and Change of Control Operating Costs and other Additional Rents in a Commercial Lease from a Landlord's and Tenant's Perspective Agreements to Lease, Letters of Intent and Term Sheets Order your copy today! 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