Concerns around restructuring, layoffs at Legal Aid
- NC Raine | August 23, 2018
Legal Aid Saskatchewan, the agency responsible for providing legal representation to vulnerable communities in the province, has laid off six employees from its Saskatoon office, and will be leaving another three lawyer positions unfilled.
The restructuring of Legal Aid will push over 3,300 recent arrest files out to the private bar.
Accused individuals not in custody will now have to phone a call centre in Regina, rather than meet with an eligibility officer face to face.
“It’s doomed to fail. It’s going to have a chilling effect,” said Val Harvey, barrister and solicitor currently on contract with Legal Aid.
“People are reluctant to use the phone a lot of the time, as it is. If you see a phone with a line behind it and think 'I have to wait in line behind ten people to make a phone application?' what’s the chances someone is going to stick around?”
The result will mean longer delays on reports, and insufficient representation, with more individuals opting to represent themselves, explained Harvey.
The first point of contact for accused individuals – duty council – will be hollowed out and left to one Legal Aid lawyer in Saskatoon, Deb Hopkins, who also serves as Vice-President of Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) 1949.
“We’re talking about a thousand files a year just for me,” said Hopkins, “It’s completely unrealistic.”
Reported rationale behind the layoffs has been contradictory. Legal Aid CEO Craig Goebel told reporters the aim is to increase staffing “flexibility” during peak times, and “apply as many resources as possible.”
According to Hopkins, the actual motivation behind the layoffs is an internal personnel issue involving former Legal Aid office director George Combe.
Combe was fired from Legal Aid in 2013 after 13 female co-workers complained about his conduct.
“This is not about saving money. This is not about us. This is about trying to short circuit the civil rights of these women,” said Hopkins.
“It’s about getting rid of the problem by getting rid of the people,” said Harvey.
The effect of this decision, said Hopkins, has a significant impact on vulnerable people in Saskatchewan. According to Legal Aid, 90 per cent of those who access their service are Indigenous.
“(Goebel) seems to think he’s not accountable to the people of Saskatchewan,” said Hopkins. “What we need is an expanded, properly resourced plan that would help Indigenous communities.”
Hopkins said Goebel does not acknowledge that Legal Aid is chronically underfunded. The Saskatchewan Legal Aid Commission received $24.8 M from the provincial government last year.
“We’ve been collapsing for years and years, working 12-hour days,” said Hopkins. “We need resources, instead we’re being told ‘you’re the problem,’”
Reaction from the justice system and Saskatchewan leadership regarding the layoffs have been critical. Saskatoon Judge Barry Singer said there’s a dire shortage of Legal Aid lawyers, while NDP justice critic Nicole Sarauer said Legal Aid “needs to be strengthened, not weakened.”
Saskatoon Tribal Council (STC) Chief Mark Arcand also voiced concern over the Legal Aid restructure.
“Those six people we’re losing have had a really positive impact on helping our First Nations people,” said Arcand. “Because it’s largely our people in the system.”
Arcand said he understands how valuable Legal Aid is through first-hand experience with his family, and fears first timers now may not have their needs met. He wishes consultation had occurred prior to the decision.
“We want to sit down and have a positive discussion with (Goebel) to see what the impacts will be. There might be some negative feedback that this decision might cause more problems for vulnerable people, and unfortunately the majority of those vulnerable people are First Nations people.”
Justice Minister Don Morgan did not respond to a request for an interview, but said in a statement:
“The CEO of Saskatchewan Legal Aid is responsible for the general supervision and operation of the Commission, subject to the direction of the Saskatchewan Legal Aid Commission. As Minister of Justice and Attorney General, it is my duty to maintain and respect this independence, and as such I do not determine operating decisions made by the Commission.”
The Saskatchewan NDP is calling Morgan to take action or to step down. CUPE and the Saskatoon Trial Lawyers Association confirmed that Goebel’s decision came without consultation, knowing it would be an unpopular decision.
“They didn’t want to tip their hand,” added Harvey. “They just wanted to present it as if it were complete.”
The layoffs to the six Legal Aid employees will occur this September.