My experience commenced in the seventies, just after we actually began to have legal aid. I can recall where the courts would simply send the accused out and say they had a two- or three-week or sometimes six-week adjournment in order to obtain legal aid. The system has progressed, and we actually have duty counsel in the courts. And tell me if I'm wrong here, but most judges will not even hear a guilty plea and in some cases won't allow the court to address the case, other than the actual remand, until such time as the person has spoken to legal aid or to duty counsel.
Would you agree with me that we have had, through the courts, significant progress in the availability of representations in the court for persons? As a matter of fact, we've seen a gradual move toward ensuring that anyone who appears before a judge has at least the availability of duty counsel to advise them as to a plea or the next step they need to take in the system.