The access to justice initiative is something that has been around for a number of years. The Chief Justice, Madam Justice McLachlin, has championed this, as has Thomas Cromwell. It has been written about in various reports regarding how we can do a better job of, as you say, serving everyone who works within that process. It's very important that victims be included in all these calculations.
Unrepresented accused represent a severe challenge, particularly to a judge's ability to preside over a courtroom. When the individual, for a variety of reasons, is unrepresented—very often there are financial considerations—the judge literally has to slow down the process, which creates another byproduct, delay. This is a direct challenge to our system. The old adage “justice delayed is justice denied” is a very live issue.
I know there are dedicated efforts by the Canadian Bar Association and by provincial bar associations. We met very recently in New Brunswick with representatives in your community who serve on the Canadian Bar Association. They are very smart, dedicated people who are attempting to deal with this issue very directly.
With regard to translation services, access to justice in your own language is also an issue. New Brunswick leads the way and leads the country, in terms of bilingual services. In other parts of our country where first nations are involved, this again is an important issue in terms of how we deliver a system that is fair, that is inclusive, and that promotes public confidence. To use the vernacular, it's a work in progress.
Technology provides many of the answers. Very dedicated people who are promoting this justice network will help serve victims better. I'm confident that through resources, through dedicated effort, and through ingenuity we're making a real dent in this issue of access to justice.