EDMONTON — Legal Aid Alberta is changing its financial benchmarks, and the kinds of cases it will handle, as the province launches a review of the system, starting next month.
Justice Minister Kathleen Ganley said it’s time to look at how the arm’s-length agency funds and runs its operation.
“The current structure of legal aid is struggling to meet the challenges of a growing population.”
“We want to make sure we’re protecting the most vulnerable Albertans by providing adequate access to legal services,” Ganley said.
The budget for legal aid this year is $66 million, with most of that coming from the province.
Ganley says the review, to be conducted by her officials, will also look at areas like financial eligibility guidelines and rates paid to lawyers.
Legal Aid is already making some changes in both those areas. Effective Dec. 7, it is raising the financial eligibility limit by three per cent. That means a single person, for example, can make up to $19,653 a year and still qualify. It is also raising the rate paid to private lawyers who work on legal aid cases by 10 per cent, to $92.40 per hour. The organization says that is more in line with the rate paid in other provinces, but still less than many programs.
Legal Aid will also stop offering legal counsel for cases involving debt, housing, and employment law. The agency says those were a small percentage of their case load, and eliminating them will allow for a better focus on criminal law, family and child welfare, and immigration matters.
Suzanne Polkosnik, the president & CEO, says the changes to legal aid will enhance “the level of service it provides in areas where it adds the most value and creates the greatest impact on access to justice.”
The government committee conducting the review will report back in the spring.
The province has more than doubled its funding to legal aid since 2005, while Ottawa’s contributions have remained constant at $10 million a year.
– with files from Global News.
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