By James Peters

Legal aid funding announcement leaves Kamloops lawyer optimistic

Mar 29, 2019 | 9:56 AM

KAMLOOPS — A Kamloops lawyer says money for legal aid announced by the province Friday (Mar. 29) is a stopgap measure, but he’s optimistic the tide is turning in the fight for sustainable funding.

Attorney General David Eby announced a $7.9 million grant Friday, with about half from the government and the other half from the Legal Services Society.

Graham Kay of the Association of Legal Aid Lawyers (ALL) says the money will go toward fees for legal aid lawyers over the next six months while a new funding model is negotiated.

“It’s a stopgap. I think it’s a goodwill gesture by the government to ensure that the most vulnerable sectors of our society are not put at further risk, and we certainly appreciate the efforts that have been made in that regard,” said Kay.

In a news release, Eby says “We recognize there is work to be done to improve the legal aid system both for British Columbians and the counsel that represent them in court.”

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According to Kay, the recognition that there is a problem leaves him hopeful.

“This is the first time in about 25 years when the government has actually said, ‘We will sit down and talk about how we can build a framework.’ So there is significant optimism,” said Kay. “We are confident that the government will stick to its word and that we will move forward in a very progressive way.”

“We want to expand eligibility particularly in family law, which has really been hit by two decades of cutbacks, and look at expanding how many people are actually covered by legal aid and the types of areas of practice that are covered.”

ALL had planned a series of escalating job action measures to start on April 1, but Kay says today’s announcement put that on hold.

“The strike is deferred — I won’t say it’s over — but it’s actually going to be deferred until further negotiations continue until the fall,” said Kay. “We will be looking at this again in October and November, but negotiations will ongoing in an effort to build sustainable funding for legal aid going forward.”