“Access to Justice” is an important theme that runs through our course. At its most broad “Access to Justice” may include not just access to courts (formal conflict resolution) and legal services, but also access to legal education and the legal profession. In W5 we focus on questions of access and recent challenges to “legal aid” delivery (specifically in Ontario where the provincial government slashed funding by 30% in 2019 – see article on Brightspace).
In her article in the course text Schmolka identifies some of the more persistent challenges to improving access to justice in Canada and specifically highlights where “legal aid” reforms could offer a way forward. In Section V (Innovations) of her article (p. 185) she contextualizes some recent attempts at reform, including changes to established programs like “duty counsel” and “community-based legal clinics”. Overall, she notes that given funding shortfalls, the trend in service has been “to shift the onus onto individuals to navigate the justice system on their own” (p. 185). Critics have argued that this “self-help approach” only further disadvantages vulnerable people in precarious situations.
Gathercole, for his part, would certainly argue that this individualized “self-help approach” only continues the trend away from including “system reform” as core mandate of legal aid services in Canada (p. 177). In his discussion of the tensions between “judicare” and “legal services” models, he highlights the reluctance of governments to support and fund legal services that may challenge government policy.
Drawing explicitly on these TWO sources, address the following question(s):
What practical steps should we take to improve “access to justice” in Canada, both in the short term and in the long term? Based on the “innovations” described by Schmolka, is reforming/strengthening legal aid the best approach to address a lack of access or do need something more? Following Gathercole, must our plan include some version of a “clinic” or “legal services” approach? What do you think is the ultimate goal of expanding “access to justice”?
Your reflection/response must do the following:
1) Demonstrate an understanding of the two main approaches to legal aid described by Gathercole
2) Demonstrate an understanding of the recent changes/ “innovations” to legal services delivery/access discussed by Schmolka
3) Evaluate the strengths and weakness of the approaches discussed by both authors; consider these challenges in our current political environment
4) Consider and discuss (if only briefly) how effective “access to justice” initiatives can be in broader strategies of social reform
Your response should also:
a) Be organized around a main idea/point or “thesis” statement b) Refer directly to the course sources using consistent and clear (intext) citations c) Demonstrate “engagement” with the sources (go beyond basic summary) d) Demonstrate care in the preparation and presentation of the response
I SENT LINKS OF THE SOURCES (USE THEM TO ANSWER QUESTION AND DO IN TEXT CITATIONS WITH PAGE NUMBER, THE PAGE NUMBER IS AT THE BOTTTOM
