On legal aid, it used to be the case that legal aid funding was 50-50, federal-provincial. We have moved far away from that, and legal aid funding has become about 75% provincial, and in some cases 80% provincial and 20% federal. This was one of the three priorities that all provincial and territorial justice ministers conveyed to the federal government at the meeting last fall. The McGuinty government has increased legal aid funding by $25 million over the last three years, so we're doing our bit. That's a 10% increase. Legal Aid Ontario is a $350 million operation.
We have said before that we need federal assistance. Certainly with the passage of this bill, that applies even more so. The federal justice minister is a former provincial attorney general who I know must be acutely aware that if you increase the pressure on the system, you're going to increase the need for legal aid. I think everybody knows that's not about being nice and fair; it's about fulfilling constitutional responsibilities. There is a minimum right to counsel. That requires a certain level of legal aid funding that must be fulfilled by governments.
On pressures on the courts in Ontario, the Chief Justice of the Superior Court has said that we have an acute shortage of superior court judges in Ontario. During the period in which I've served as Attorney General, we've appointed more than 60 superior court judges to the Ontario Court of Justice. The Ontario Court of Justice and the Ontario Superior Court are about the same size. You haven't seen the same complement being addressed by the current government, and we support the chief justice's call for additional appointments to the Superior Court.
On funding, I've already said it will put increased pressure on the system. I want to be clear that our cases are moving through the system right now at the appropriate speed. That isn't to say we don't need to do everything we can to ensure we don't have inordinate delays.
Finally, you asked me about the gun registry. The McGuinty government does not support what the federal government is doing on the gun registry. As I said, we need to do everything, from prevention through to mandatory minimum sentences and post-incarceration. As Chief Blair said, there is a very positive contribution made to public safety by the registry. That's what the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police and the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police say, and the Province of Ontario and the McGuinty government support that.
It is a tool used in the provincial crown attorney's toolbox. Is it the magic solution? Of course not. Nobody ever said that. But when a provincial prosecutor looks at the evidence and the charges and makes an assessment, in some cases it is one more tool that can be used in the fight against gun crime--which isn't to take anything away from what Chief Blair said.
I should stop there.