Ontario lawyers applaud plan to boost legal aid eligibility, but say more help needed

Legal Aid Ontario, the provincial agency that offers legal assistance to low-income Ontarians, is set to expand eligibility for its services in a move that has been welcomed by many lawyers. This expansion is seen as a crucial first step towards addressing the issues within Ontario’s legal aid system.

Last month, Legal Aid Ontario announced plans to increase financial eligibility thresholds for family and criminal duty counsel as well as criminal certificate services over the next three years. The goal of this initiative is to make legal aid more accessible to low-income individuals and alleviate the backlog in criminal courts.

Currently, eligibility for legal aid is determined by family size and income. For example, a single person must earn $22,720 or less to qualify for criminal and family duty counsel, while families of five or more must earn $50,803 or less. Under the new plan, the income threshold for these services will increase to $45,440 for families of up to four people, with an asset threshold of $15,000 for all applicants.

Attorney General Doug Downey believes that these changes will benefit an additional 180,000 individuals annually, particularly those who are most vulnerable when navigating the legal system. By removing the family size stipulations for income thresholds, the process of accessing legal aid will become more streamlined and efficient.

While the legal community has welcomed these changes as a positive first step, they also acknowledge that there are still significant structural issues within the legal aid system that need to be addressed. Boris Bytensky, president of the Criminal Lawyers’ Association, points out that while the eligibility increase is a step in the right direction, there are ongoing challenges in the criminal law sector. These include inadequate compensation for criminal defence lawyers and limitations on the number of hours they can dedicate to legal aid clients.

Lenny Abramowicz, chair of the Alliance for Sustainable Legal Aid, is encouraged by the eligibility expansion but emphasizes the need for further improvements. He advocates for the expansion to become permanent to ensure greater access to justice in the province, as well as the inclusion of civil matters in the legal aid system. Currently, only criminal and some family law issues are covered, leaving many Ontarians without support for cases related to social assistance or housing.

In conclusion, while the proposed eligibility threshold increase is a significant development, it is clear that more work needs to be done to ensure that all individuals have equal access to legal representation. The legal aid system must continue to evolve and adapt to meet the diverse needs of Ontarians seeking justice.