CBABC In the Media

“[The plan to fund the clinics] sounds really positive and ambitious, but I’m not sure with $2 million being put to that what it can deliver,” Ms. Mereigh said. “I’m not sure this is speaking to the change we want to see in terms of where people need legal advocates.”

The Canadian Bar Association BC branch gave the B.C. government's 2019 budget lukewarm praise as it sets out some goals in providing greater access to justice, but it was cool on providing funding details to ensure it happens.

The B.C. legislature is considering legislation to allow the provincial law society to give more powers to paralegals, but the Canadian Bar Association, B.C. Branch (CBABC) is asking the government to delay the move, saying it requires more study and may have significant consequences on the practice of family law in the province.

The Canadian Bar Association, BC Branch encourages the provincial government to assess legal costs the way they would be assessed in any business, including asking: Is ICBC adjudicating claims in a way that leads to higher legal costs?

British Columbia’s decision to classify psychiatric issues and mild concussions as minor under new automobile insurance regulations is being called troubling by members of the B.C. bar, adding that recent changes at the provincially owned insurance provider are reducing individuals’ chances to have their issues properly addressed.

The Canadian Bar Association, B.C. Branch (CBABC) is asking the B.C. government to increase funding for legal aid and to make changes to the recently transformed auto insurance system in the province as part of a number of recommendations it says will help to serve modern needs and lead to the efficient resolution of legal conflicts in B.C.

Several lawyers organizations are raising the alarm about the B.C. government’s changes to the provincially owned Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC), with one group even saying the changes may not pass constitutional muster.

British Columbia Attorney General David Eby's proposal last week to amend two provincial statutes in a bid to douse the Insurance Corporation of B.C.'s financial “dumpster fire” has drawn heat from the Canadian Bar Association B.C. Branch and the Trial Lawyers Association of B.C.

“These are material increases in funding that will improve access to justice for many within the province, including those in indigenous, rural and remote communities,” said Bill Veenstra, president of the Canadian Bar Association, BC Branch.

B.C. Attorney General David Eby is getting kudos from the Legal Services Society for funding hikes announced in Tuesday’s provincial budget, but other justice stakeholders say the NDP is continuing to beggar legal aid.