‘We’re very concerned about the vulnerable Albertans who are going to be impacted by this’
The organization that provides legal representation to vulnerable Albertans says it’s set to cease operations next week after the provincial government called off negotiations to renew its governance agreement which expired over the long weekend.
Legal Aid Alberta primarily assists disadvantaged persons and describes itself as a publicly funded, non-profit organization that provides affordable legal services in family law, domestic violence, child welfare, immigration, and youth and adult criminal defence.
Its governance agreement expired on June 30 and Legal Aid Alberta said Tuesday that it will no longer be able to issue certificates as of 4:30 p.m. on July 9. Certificates represent a legal file assigned to a Legal Aid Alberta lawyer.
Board chairman Ryan Callioux described the situation without an agreement as “complicated and uncertain.”
“We’re very concerned about the vulnerable Albertans who are going to be impacted by this,” he said in an interview with Postmedia.
“We’re unclear on why the government has chosen to take this direction. They have not provided any rationale for what they’re doing.”
Legal Aid Alberta is independent from government but answers to the minister of justice and the Law Society of Alberta and is funded by the federal and provincial governments, as well as the Alberta Law Foundation.
Callioux said Legal Aid Alberta reached out to the province in March 2023 to begin work on renewing the agreement.
Negotiations continued through early 2024 with a further meeting in May scheduled to iron out any final issues before the Alberta justice ministry cancelled the meeting without explanation, Callioux said.
He said he received a letter from the ministry on June 27 indicating the government wanted to take a different path, and imposed a July 1 deadline to sign a new grant agreement that the LAA says represents “a significant departure” from the expired governance agreement.
That agreement would remove the Law Society of Alberta from its role in LAA and would “significantly curtail” LAA’s independence and funding, according to Callioux.
“The grant agreement is skewed heavily in favour of the minister, with almost no meaningful obligations on the part of the minister, including any obligation to continue funding,” he stated, saying Legal Aid Alberta is now in an “untenable situation.”
“It is critical that whatever the format, the independence of Legal Aid must be sacrosanct. If it is not, the justice system will suffer significantly.”
Legal Aid Alberta is calling on the government to return to the bargaining table to resolve the situation as soon as possible.
Postmedia has contacted the office of Justice Minister Mickey Amery seeking comment.
— with files from Jonny Wakefield