Alberta’s fragile justice system was given a reprieve earlier this month when the Alberta government and Legal Aid Alberta agreed to extend the current expired funding agreement until September to give both sides more time to negotiate.
Why fragile? Because justice has to be about two principles or justice does not exist at all in society: the presumption of innocence with the burden of proof placed on the Crown, and equitable access to the justice system for all.
By threatening to withdraw its services, Legal Aid Alberta wanted to make sure Albertans knew that second principle was at stake.
What does Legal Aid Alberta do? While imperfect, it is the main organization in Alberta which provides legal assistance to those in society who are financially disadvantaged. This does not only pertain to matters in criminal law, but also those who can’t afford legal assistance in any area, including family law, mental health law, immigration law and civil law.
If only the wealthy can afford to navigate the legal system in Alberta, it violates the human rights of every other Albertan not in that category. Similarly, justice should not be leveraged for political expediency.
Legal Aid Alberta threatened to withdraw services not only because it could not financially sustain itself as things stand, but also because it could not accept the UCP government’s attempts to impose political strings.
According to Legal Aid Alberta, Justice Minister Mickey Amery had been seeking enhanced authority to direct how Legal Aid funding could be used, and the ability to pull the organization’s funding at any time if displeased. It was basically told: Kiss the ring or suffer my displeasure.
That’s likely not what most Albertans think of when they think of justice.
