On December 15, the Supreme Court of BC granted Single Mothers’ Alliance (SMA) public interest standing in their constitutional challenge to BC’s family law legal aid system, which was launched in April 2017. SMA is suing the Province and Legal Aid BC for not providing adequate family law legal aid in BC.
In the ruling, Chief Justice Christopher Hinkson states:
I am exercising my discretion to grant standing in consideration that the plaintiff is not a mere busybody, and there must be access to the courts to ensure that government actions are subject to legal scrutiny.
CBA appeared as an intervenor in Single Mothers' Alliance v. BC, arguing that that Single Mothers’ Alliance met the test for public interest standing.
CBABC has long advocated for increased access to justice for families and improvement of the family law legal aid system. This decision is a big victory for single mothers and access to justice – and will also hugely enhance the ability of public interest organizations to bring forth legal cases on behalf of marginalized communities.
Read the decision | Read the CBC News article