I have a question for you, Ms. Robertson. Earlier on, you raised a very interesting subject, that is the bottlenecks in the court system due to the higher number of cases that might be heard if the legal blood alcohol level was 0.05%.
I would like to point out one thing to you. This is true in the case of Ontario, where legal aid fees are paid by the hour. The more time a lawyer takes before the court, the more he is paid. In my province, Quebec, we work on a case basis. The maximum amount that a lawyer can be paid for arguing a case of this nature is approximately $500. He or she must appear, receive the evidence from the Crown, set a date and attend the trial. The trial lasts from eight to ten hours, including the time spent waiting for the case to be called. On average, a lawyer works for approximately 20 hours and earns $500. In Quebec, people plead guilty.
There is perhaps a problem that is not in the purview of the federal government but rather of the provinces, who have a different way of dealing with cases before the court. In Ontario, half of the cases are subsidized through legal aid on an hourly basis, and not a case-by-case basis.
Did you look at the differences between Quebec and Ontario?