I am going to speak in French.
I want to emphasize that legal aid is a huge and crucial component in refugee law. This is a very specific field of law. Refugee claimants are commonly eligible to receive legal aid for reasons you can well imagine. When they arrive in the country, they have no money to pay a lawyer.
The vast majority of lawyers we represent agree to take on legal aid cases because they are interested in refugee law and want to practise it.
It's important to understand the types of clients we see in our offices. It is easy to talk about the rights of refugees, but when someone walks into our office, the rights that need defending are basic rights such as the right to life, the right not to be raped, and the right to live reasonably well.
The reality of a refugee lawyer is that they must submit their client's file within 15 days of that person's arrival. The lawyer must then present the case to a member at an RPD hearing, and the member will determine the person's fate within 30 to 60 days. It's extremely fast, and the work has to be done with great skill and care.
We have to build trust with our clients, because they need to tell us everything, sharing extremely difficult events and details. We have to take the time to build trust with our clients and to understand the reality of the country they are from.
When we present a case before the IRB, we must know what is going on in our client's home country. If, for instance, we are representing someone from Yemen, a country where things are constantly changing, we have to make sure we are abreast of the current situation. We have to know who the various tribes are and take the time to understand the client and their reality, and the law, of course.
These requirements are not compatible with the high-volume nature of our work, but, unfortunately, that is what we have to do in order to survive and pay the mortgage. At the same time, I don't think we should have to face such a reality. Lawyers should not be forced to decide against representing refugee claimants because they won't be adequately paid for the work they do.
The right of asylum is a federal right across the country. It is administered by the federal government, not by the provinces. Nevertheless, discrepancies exist from one province to another. Some provinces do not provide legal aid, and the three largest provinces, Ontario, British Columbia, and Quebec, all have rates that vary greatly.
If a client's case is difficult or demanding, they can have trouble finding a lawyer who will agree to represent them. There may be a temptation to ask them to move to Ontario in order to find a lawyer. That is extremely hard for us to tell people because Quebec's refugee lawyers are very competent, but we can't do everything. We are not here to do volunteer work but, rather, to do a very important job.
I would be happy to answer any questions.