Mr. Chair, it's an honour to appear before the committee today on behalf of the Canadian Bar Association. I want to thank you for inviting us to appear with you today.
The justice system in Canada today is in crisis. Many Canadians cannot afford legal representation, including the middle class. Court cases take years to come to a conclusion, and many Canadians do not understand their legal rights. Along with Parliament and the executive, the justice system is one of the three pillars of our democratic system. In other words, the justice system is the foundation of our democracy. If Canadians do not have access to the law they cannot obtain justice, and if they cannot have justice, they will lose faith in our democratic system.
Legal aid plays a major role in access to justice for many Canadians with low incomes. Our access to justice committee issued a report in 2013 on an initiative entitled “Equal Justice: Balancing the Scales”. I want to draw to members' attention two points from this report. First, spending per capita on civil legal aid—that is not criminal, not refugee, but everything else—declined by over 20% from 1995 to 2012. Applications for civil legal aid that were accepted declined by two-thirds. As for criminal legal aid, federal government contributions declined from about 50% of total cost to about 20% to 30%. Per capita contribution by the federal government for criminal legal aid declined by about 10% between 2008 and 2012. What are the consequences of this decline? Let me give you some examples.
For many years in Ontario, if you made the minimum wage you made too much money to qualify for legal aid. You were deemed capable of paying thousands of dollars to a lawyer to represent you. Family law is an area that is suffering greatly. In Ontario, and I believe it's the same in other provinces, anywhere from 50% to 70% of parties in the family courts do not have representation. These people are seeking child support, or they're seeking custody of or access to their children, and they can't navigate the system. It's too complicated, and because they don't have help and don't understand the family court rules, self-represented litigates clog up the court system. Cases are delayed, costs rise, and justice is not done.
Before going further I do want to recognize there have been some positive developments since 2012. The federal government added some funding in its last budget, and some provinces have made some improvements, but not for a minute should we believe that the funding issue has been resolved. It can only be described as a very small first step.
One of the most important recommendations in the Equal Justice report was to create national benchmarks for legal aid. This is the major point I want to make to you today. Canadians have the right to equality under the law, but under our current legal aid system, they don't get it. Each province and territory has its own legal aid system with different services, coverage, and standards. Financial eligibility differs from province to province, and coverage varies too. What is covered in one province may not be covered in another. For example, a tenant threatened with eviction and perhaps homelessness by a landlord may get legal aid representation in Quebec, but not in Ontario. Someone charged with shoplifting may obtain legal aid in Alberta, but not in British Columbia.
The CBA joined forces with the Association of Legal Aid Plans, which is the national association of all the legal aid groups in the provinces and territories, to formulate national benchmarks for legal aid, and these benchmarks were released this fall. There are six proposed benchmarks, and they are aspirational in nature. First is a national system that is sustainably funded and provides comprehensive, people-centred services tailored to local needs. Second is that services are to be provided to those with essential legal needs who are otherwise unable to afford assistance. Third is that legal services will be provided on a priority basis, which will vary across each province and region.
Fourth is that legal services will have a broad spectrum of services tailored to meet people's needs, circumstances, and capabilities. Fifth is that services must be of high quality, fully accessible, timely, culturally appropriate, and cost-effective. Sixth is that legal service providers should work collaboratively and be mandated to innovate, and work with other stakeholders to ensure an effective justice system. They would have indicators and measurements that must be aligned with those of other relevant organizations.
These benchmarks will ensure better equality among Canadians, while addressing local or provincial priorities.
There will be a cost to implementing these benchmarks. The cost, however, will not be as much as one would think. As you saw in our submission, studies in the U.S., the United Kingdom, and Australia show that on average for each dollar invested in legal aid, the social return on investment is six dollars, so a 6:1 ratio. Much of that six dollars is comprised of government spending in other areas such as decreased income benefits, increases in tax revenues, or decreased court costs.
The CBA has, over the years, called for these measures and we believe it's time to act before the deterioration in our justice system goes further. It's not just low-income persons who are being shut out of the justice system. It's the middle class, too, who cannot afford the cost of going to court.
The CBA calls upon the federal government to take two steps. First, we ask that it endorse and implement our proposed national benchmarks. Second, we call upon the federal government to remove civil legal aid from the Canada social transfer. You may recall that the transfer includes civil legal aid. We ask that they remove it and provide a separate, dedicated transfer for funding civil legal aid at levels that will support compliance with our benchmarks.
We'd be happy to discuss this issue further with members of all parties. This issue requires recognition of the long-term risk to our democracy if justice is not being done. It also requires the political will to deal with it.
Thank you very much.