Until the end of last month, legal aid in the province was administered as part of a tripartite agreement between the government, the Law Society of Alberta (LSA) and Legal Aid Alberta (LAA) signed in 2019. But LAA chair Ryan Callioux said that, after several months of negotiations on renewing the agreement, he received a letter on June 27 that Justice Minister Mickey Amery had determined that the “best approach” for legal aid was to embark on an entirely new path.
Justice Minister Mickey Amery
“This represents an untenable situation. The grant agreement was sent to the [LAA] board on June 27,” he said. “The Minister was fully aware that we would not have adequate time to respond as it was not reasonable to expect the board to consider its terms, reasonably study its impacts on the organization, and by extension on vulnerable Albertans, and respond by the deadline imposed.”
Callioux said he sent a response to Amery’s office saying it would be unreasonable for the board to make a decision on the minister’s suggestions on such short notice.
As a result, the governance agreement expired on June 30.
It is “complicated and uncertain” as to what lies ahead, said Callioux.
“The proposed grant agreement erodes the independence of this organization and its ability to deliver services,” he said. “At the core of the justice system in any well-functioning democracy is the independence of a healthy and functional legal aid system, which guarantees that no matter what the state charges a citizen with, that citizen will be represented by competent and independent counsel.”
Callioux said that, without a governance agreement in place, Legal Aid Alberta will no longer be able to issue certificates as of 4:30 p.m. on July 9 — not even for duty counsel.
“The financial reality of these circumstances means that we are stretching as far as we can to operate until the deadline,” he said. “Upon the cessation of the issuance of certificates, the justice system may face crippling challenges.”
And those possible “crippling challenges” have raised loud alarm bells across the legal profession in Alberta. In a joint statement, the Criminal Defence Lawyers Association of Calgary (CDLA), the Criminal Trial Lawyers Association of Edmonton (CTLA), the Southern Alberta Defence Lawyers’ Association (SADL) and the Red Deer Criminal Defence Lawyers Association (RDCDLA), said they are “shocked and appalled” at the situation.
“It is a central principle of fundamental justice that the person prosecuting an individual must be separate and independent from the person conducting their defence. On the terms of the government’s last-minute ultimatum, this fundamental principle would be destroyed,” the letter said. “The impacts of this change will be greater than just affecting criminal defence matters. Legal aid funding affects the administration of family law, child welfare, and immigration matters as well.”
Tracy Brown of Edmonton’s Brown Law Group, who also serves as co-chair of the Alberta Family Lawyers Association (AFLA)’s legal aid subcommittee, said her organization was “extremely concerned” about the legal aid situation.
“In our view, it is essential in a civilized society to respond to the most vulnerable families and children, and the whole system of child welfare is largely dependent and reliant on a functioning legal aid system. And over the last few years, there has been a sense of contraction and chronic underfunding,” she said. “The government needs to come to the negotiating table and the players need to figure something out.”
This was echoed by the Canadian Bar Association Alberta Branch, which said in a statement that all players need to continue negotiating to reach a new governance agreement in good faith and to engage stakeholders in the justice sector to support the negotiations.
“We also call on the government of Alberta to provide bridge funding for Legal Aid Alberta so it can continue to deliver the services that are so important to the operation of our justice system,” the statement said. “The justice system in Alberta is complex and is challenging for litigants, particularly those who are self-represented, to navigate. Should the governance agreement be allowed to expire without a transition plan and funding in place, the impacts would be wide-ranging and devastating, and would ultimately result in the justice system in Alberta being less effective for all who need to access it, not just low-income Albertans.”
In response to the concerns raised, Alberta Justice Minister Mickey Amery said the province recognizes that legal aid is an important tool for many Albertans who face financial barriers in accessing legal supports and the government “would like to reassure those Albertans that supports will continue to be available.” He said that, over the last nine years, LAA’s grant funding from the government has almost doubled, growing from $66 million in 2015 to $110 million in the 2024 provincial budget.
“Even more puzzling to our government is the fact that despite this massive increase in funding, Legal Aid Alberta is not materially expanding the number of clients it serves, nor is it being forthcoming with a credible explanation or details as to why this is the case,” he said. “Albertans expect their government to be responsible with their hard-earned tax dollars.”
Amery said the province has offered to extend the existing funding agreement to ensure the delivery of legal services by LAA stays unaltered while work on the new funding agreement continues.
“The funds our government has already provided Legal Aid Alberta in this budget year are more than sufficient to maintain a strong roster of lawyers as well as day-to-day operations in the coming months, pending finalization of the new funding agreement,” he said. “Alberta’s government remains committed to ensuring Albertans have access to legal aid services.”
But in a July 4 letter to its roster lawyers, the LAA said, “as of now,” it has not received any official information from the province on the status of the current governance agreement.
“We’re disappointed and concerned by the amount of confusing and misleading information circulating about Legal Aid Alberta’s funding and services,” the statement said. “The ‘number of clients’ we serve are full-representation files only and do not provide the full picture of the demand for legal aid services in Alberta. Nor does it capture emergency protection orders, expansion of services such as our justice of the peace bail program or increases to the tariff and financial eligibility guidelines.”
Legal Aid Alberta said its goal remains unchanged — to return to the negotiating table to discuss a long-term governance agreement.
“Legal rights are democratic rights,” the letter said. “This agreement must ensure the independence of Legal Aid Alberta to carry out our mission of upholding the rule of law and protecting disadvantaged Albertans in the justice system.”
The Law Society of Alberta did not respond to a request for comment for this article.
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