Public Commission on Legal Aid

Imagine calling the fire department because your house is burning and the dispatcher telling you they no longer service your side of town. Imagine summoning the police because you think you hear an intruder and you are told they will only come after you have been attacked. Imagine the hospital turning you away because they only provide services to people with certain medical problems. Imagine a public school only accepting students with a certain intelligence level, only because there is not enough money to spend on your problem. This kind of injustice has been happening since 2003 when poverty law services from Legal Aid were abolished and ordinary and vulnerable people could no longer use the law to protect themselves and get fair outcomes.
The situation has become so appalling that The Public Commission on Legal Aid was established to get feedback from the public and community organizations about determining the priorities of a system that is broken and in dire need of repair. Public hearings are going on now all over B.C. At the end of it they will release a report to the public and to the provincial and federal governments.
There is just cause to fear that the report will be shelved just as the rights of people needing free legal help have been. The damage that has been done will continue.
Studies reveal that if a person in poverty cannot obtain help for a simple legal matter, there is a very good chance they may end up in more serious trouble. Poverty law problems lead to downward spirals, mushroom into bigger issues that cost more in the long term both financially and in human suffering. If the person obtains the benefit, stays housed, doesn’t get fired, if the harassment and abuse stops, if they are duly compensated, if their voice is heard, then they won’t end up in jail, in a shelter, in hospital, or on the street, fall into addictions, family dysfunction or lose their children. In the old days vulnerable community members accessed workshops and information materials, got advice from paralegals, funding for medical/legal correspondence, and representation from skilled lawyers when needed. When legal aid is not provided in the poverty law arena, our most vulnerable community members experience a system that is alienating, confusing, disempowering, difficult to participate in and depressing, and they often abandon their rights. Anyone who faces circumstances where their rights are being violated must have access to justice. Justice from the bottom up. Period.
I am certain if it became public knowledge what the lack of poverty law services has cost the taxpayers in health, housing, welfare, law enforcement and corrections, and the current and future impacts of poverty suffering and neglect of children, they would support the restoration of legal aid services to the poor as they were provided up to 2003. The government spends more money from the fallout of denying legal aid than providing the service. As it is now, 71% of BC residents agree legal aid should be given the same priority as health, education, welfare and child protection. (Reference 2010 LSS public opinion poll) and of that, 91% ranked civil legal aid second to only family law as a vital area to be covered for low income people. If the current government lacks the will to restore poverty law services to the level they were, then pressure must be uncompromising until the will is restored.

Legal Aid should not just be used to defend people who have been accused of committing crimes, but to prevent homelessness, ensure people receive the health and social services they need and are entitled to, to protect their rights as spouses, parents, tenants, employees, elders, debtors, pensioners, and consumers. Saving money in operating a legal aid system should not be done on the backs of the most vulnerable and this is what has happened.
Everyone deserves to have an informed voice to represent them in decisions that will impact their quality of life. When you mute the marginalized and vulnerable members of our community the silence is deafening.