CBABC In the Media

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.

CBABC President Bill Veenstra spoke with Stephen Quinn on CBC Radio's The Early Edition about the legal aid funding allocated in the 2018 BC Budget.

The B.C. government has announced major steps to help the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC) get out of financial crisis, but a number of organizations representing the legal community have expressed concerns the reforms to the provincially owned auto insurer may do unintended harm to victims of motor vehicle accidents.

Listen to the in-depth interview.

President of the B.C. Branch of the Canadian Bar Association Bill Veenstra says the shortage results in cases being bumped regularly.

Every Monday for the past five months or so, British Columbia Supreme Court Chief Justice Christopher Hinkson has asked some lawyers and litigants scheduled to be heard that week to come to his courtroom so he can inform them in person that regrettably, due to judicial vacancies at the busy trial court, their trials and chambers applications must be postponed — with all of the wasted time, money and energy that will entail.

The Trudeau government’s chronic failure to name judges on time has renewed complaints from the Canadian Bar Association (CBA), which is demanding a speedy fix for the persistent appointment delays, along with an explanation from Ottawa for why it takes so long to fill judicial vacancies that are forecast months ahead.

The tragic loss of Aubrey and Chloe Berry on Christmas Day has left many of us in shock and feeling lost as to how to respond. The staff and volunteers of the Canadian Bar Association, B.C. Branch, extend our deepest and most heartfelt condolences to the girls’ mother and their family, friends and entire community.

Today, current funding levels for family law cases only provide for emergencies that involve actual or threatened safety or violence issues, or the serious denial of access to children.

2017-18 President Bill Veenstra in the Vancouver Sun on CBABC’s continued call for provincial government to increase both legal aid funding and the tariff for legal aid lawyers.