Legal groups lose $10M in funding under new Alberta bill allowing minister to veto grants, law foundation says
The United Conservative government's Bill 39 is politicizing funding for legal groups, leading to $10 million in lost funding for low-income community law clinics and Indigenous legal services, a group of non-profits say.
The Alberta Law Foundation and the Opposition NDP held a news conference Thursday to speak out against the bill, which is now in second reading at the legislature.
The foundation — a 50-year-old institution that funds legal research and access to justice groups through interest on lawyers' trust accounts — said it is one of the first times in its history it has spoken out against the government.
Foundation director Byron Chan called Bill 39 a 'fundamental shift in how legal services are funded for the most vulnerable in this province.'
Specifically, the bill cuts the government's contribution to Legal Aid Alberta — which funds lawyers for low-income Albertans — and shifts the burden to the Law Foundation, which was 'never meant to shoulder a core justice system cost that has always been the provincial government's responsibility,' Chan said.
The legislation also allows the justice minister to veto Law Foundation grants over $250,000, which cover 'almost all' grants the group disburses.
Chan accused the government of engaging in the 'politicization of the funding and provision of crucial legal services across the province.' Two UCP appointees to the organization's board have resigned in protest, he said.
Kathy Parsons, head of Red Deer's Central Alberta Community Legal Clinic, said more than $10 million in grants have been denied or cut since Bill 39 was introduced.
'This is the worst time to be pulling funding away from the community legal services Albertans rely on every day to access justice,' she said.
For her organization, this has meant a $500,000 funding reduction over three years.
'This is a radical policy change and will directly impact everyday Albertans' ability to address serious legal issues and have nowhere else to turn,' she said.
Dawn-Lyn Blake, one of the board members who resigned, said the funding cuts have 'halted progress on the construction and endowment' of an Indigenous law centre at the University of Alberta, 'blocking a significant investment in Indigenous legal education, research, and reconciliation.'
The Law Foundation said no explanation has been given for the funding cuts and that Justice Minister Mickey Amery has refused to speak with them. Amery is expected to address the issue Thursday afternoon.
More to come.
jwakefield@postmedia.com
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Province looks to double Alberta Law Foundation's contribution to Legal Aid Alberta
Alberta agrees to new five-year Legal Aid governance deal
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