B.C. appoints trustee to replace rebellious legal aid board - General - Brief Article

VANCOUVER -- The provincial government was penny wise and pound foolish when it imposed more than a 38% cut over three years on the legal aid budget, said the Law Society of British Columbia.

It condemned the government's decision to sack the Legal Services Society board of directors - which twice refused to implement the cuts - and appoint trustee Jane Morley.

Unlike other provinces, B.C. has a dedicated legal aid tax charged on lawyers' bills. By not directing all of that revenue to legal aid, the government is taking money needed to provide access to justice to the most vulnerable members of society and then crying poor, said Law Society President Richard Gibbs.

The cuts ordered by the trustee mean:

* eliminating about 74% of staff positions,

* replacing 60 LSS offices with seven regional centres, a province-wide call centre, and 24 local agents,

* phasing out legal representation for all family cases where violence is not involved, all poverty law cases and all summary advice services,

* removing the current tariff holdbacks and reducing all tariffs by 10%,

* eliminating public legal education grants to local organizations for community development and public legal education projects,

* eliminating grants and other support to public libraries.

The changes will affect about 40,000 people who will no longer be eligible for legal aid, LSS said. 604-443-5724

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