Access to Justice in Canada

Access to JusticePresented by Alison Mazoff

Canada’s A2J Crisis

What is Access to Justice?

The ability of people to seek and obtain a remedy through formal or informal Justice institutions, in conformity with Human Rights Standards ( United Nation’s Development Program).

Formal Justice Institutions

Courts, Police, Prosecution, Custodial Measures

Informal Justice Institutions

Restorative Justice, Alternative Dispute Resolution, Mediation

Why is A2J Important

The Courts are the Balance of Power in CanadaNo A2J = No meaningful rule of law

There is no rule of law if the law is not applied to situations.

Barriers To Justice in Canada

CostsDelaysLong TrialsComplex ProceduresLack of Basic Legal Literacy among the Public.Lack of preventative policy

Canadian A2J Stats

The World Justice Project ranks Canada as 14th of 25 North American and Western European countries in terms of A2J for civil issues.

In Legal Aid for Civil Justice, Canada ranks 54th in the world, falling behind many countries with far lower income per capita.

Nearly 12 million Canadians will experience 1 legal problem in a 3 year period, few with the resources to resolve them.

Results of A2J lack

Health, Social and Economic Costs. “Snowball effect” for legal issues.Further marginalization (imprisonment and

conviction) of vulnerable groups, most noted First Nations, Metis and Inuit people.

Result of Lack of Representation

In some family courts across Canada ¾ of people are going unrepresented.

50% of litigants self-represent.People with counsel are between 17 and 1380% more

likely to get better results with counsel than if they self-represent.

The Criminal System

A lack of access to Justice and representation leaves many people in dire situations.

Right to Legal Advice

For many accused, having a lawyer is the difference between a conviction and an acquittal.

Federal contribution for criminal legal aid has been reduced from covering 50% of the costs in 1995 to 25% of the costs today.

Legal Aid programs offer little if any help to convicted offenders and lawyers report that they have difficulty reaching clients once they are incarcerated.

Criminal Justice System

Our system continues to rely on punishment and incarceration paradigms at the expense of Rehabilitation, Reintegration and Crime Prevention programs.

First Nations, Metis and Inuit peoples are hardest hit at every stage of the criminal justice process.

How can we fix this?

We can only fix these issues from the ground up.Citizens must become engaged and active in pushing

their government representatives to provide more funding for Legal Aid and overall legal reform.

Reform of the Justice system so that it is accessible to everyone.

Justice Reform

Focus on building informal legal institutions and systems that provide early management of issues and prevents disputes.

Preventative Public Legal Education.Focus on everyday legal problems.

Resources

If you want to learn more about A2J, you can take a look at the following:

Canadian Forum on Civil Justice http://www.cfcj-fcjc.org/a2jblogRead Cromwell J.’s report on A2J (civil and family) http://www.cfcj-fcjc.org/sites/default/files/docs/2013/AC_Report_English_Final.pdfCheck out the Canadian Bar Association’s Access to Justice Projects: http://www.cba.org/CBA/Access/main/