Legal Aid Ontario Funding a Positive Step Forward

For Immediate Release

September 16, 2009

Legal Aid Ontario Funding a Positive Step Forward

CDLPA looks forward to establishing working groups to ensure funding delivers improved service

Toronto - Ontario’s new investment in Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) is a positive step forward toward improving legal aid services, The County and District Law Presidents’ Association (CDLPA) said today.

“Properly expended, based on input from service providers, this new infusion of money will ease the burden on an underfunded legal aid system,” said Randall Bocock, Chair of the County and District Law Presidents’ Association (CDLPA.)

“We are very pleased with the Attorney General’s announcement and the Attorney General’s email statement to lawyers on September 11th, 2009 which stated that “We [the Government] understand that to get legal aid to a better place, we have to properly support lawyers”. This message was sent to lawyers in Ontario and CDLPA intends to ensure the Attorney General’s statement becomes a principle of enhanced funding implementation.”

“The real test will be in ensuring that the money delivers services to the front lines,” said Bocock. “We look forward to clear principles being established for the working groups established by the Attorney General to direct LAO in ensuring the money is used for delivering quality service and not growing bureaucracies. This is consistent with the Attorney General’s express intention to “properly support lawyers”

CDLPA will be consulting with its member associations over the course of the next two months and will discuss next steps in forming the working groups at its November Plenary session.

“CDLPA looks forward to helping to put together a plan that will improve access to justice and ensure the money ends up helping people who desperately need it, by favorably enticing lawyers back into a dramatically underfunded system” said Bocock.

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For More Information:
Nancy Daigneault
705-220-0016