Prince George's criminal lawyers will be taking a pass on a month-long campaign aimed at pressuring the provincial government to boost funding for legal aid but could be joining followup actions.
From July 5 to August 8, many lawyers in Vancouver, Victoria, Kamloops and Penticton will refused to take on new legal aid cases under a "blackout" organized by the Trial Lawyers Association of British Columbia.
Prince George Jason LeBlond said he understands no lawyers in this city are participating but only because they were not told far enough in advance to decide whether or not to join.
The TLABC is also calling for week long blackouts at the beginning of every month starting in October and LeBlond said Prince George lawyers could well be joining in those.
"We are supportive of the action and the goals that are being pursued," LeBlond said. "We see some very serious problems with the legal aid funding that's being provide."
The TLABC's legal aid action committee says 40 per cent of people accused in criminal court must now represent themselves. The proportions increase to 90 per cent for small-claims cases and 95 per cent for family court, according to the committee.
Legal aid funding, administered by the Legal Services Society, has been an ongoing source of contention between lawyers and the provincial government.
The TLABC says all revenue from a tax on legal services instituted in the 1990s was supposed to go to legal aid but the government says it was meant only to offset that cost.
According to the Vancouver Sun, Victoria is taking in $12 million a month from the tax but is spending only slightly more than half that on legal aid. In 2002, the Liberal government slashed support by one-third to $60 million per year and, in 2011 when funding stood at $66.5 million per year, the Canadian Bar Association calculated a further $50 million would needed to bring funding back up to the previous level once inflation is accounted for.
LeBlond, who is one of the busier lawyers at the Prince George courthouse, said about half his work is funded through legal aid.
"We want to provide a certain quality of service to the people we are being retained to represent and the amount of funding they provide can sometimes make it very difficult to give them the type of service they need and deserve," LeBlond said.
Justice Minister Suzanne Anton, in a written statement, said government recognizes the important role legal aid plays in providing services. She said that's why the province increased the Legal Services Society's budget by $2-million this year, to $74.5-million.
