The Coalition pour l'accès à l'aide juridique (Coalition for Access to Legal Aid) is concerned by the tabling of Bill 32, entitled An Act to promote the efficiency of criminal justice and to establish the procedures for intervention by the Court of Québec in an appeal.
the modalities of intervention by the Court of Québec in an appeal. One section of this bill deals specifically with "measures to improve the legal aid system and
and to increase the efficiency of the Commission des services juridiques", hence our interest in intervening. Indeed, improving the legal aid system and increasing access to it
the Coalition's concerns.
Although the bill proposes amendments to a number of statutes, we will limit our comments to those provisions that deal specifically with the Legal Aid and
sur la prestation de certains services juridiques and its regulations. These provisions are found in Chapter III of the bill.
Any improvement in access to legal aid is a step in the right direction. And we will welcome these improvements. That said, we welcome the proposed amendments
with some disappointment. On the one hand, they are few in number. Secondly, they are often limited to administrative aspects, such as simplifying the procedure for reviewing
review procedure. As a result, the proposed amendments are sometimes imprecise or even confusing. This comment applies in particular to the inclusion of certain legal services.
With just two main differences, Bill 32 reiterates the same legal aid proposals put forward by the dead Bill 168, entitled An Act to promote access to justice and increase its effectiveness.
àfavoriser l'accès à la justice et à accroître l'efficacité, which died on the order paper.
It is possible that an eventual regulation will address some of the concerns raised in this brief. But in the presence of Bill 32 alone, several questions leave us perplexed as to the legislator's real intention. As a coalition advocating better access to legal aid for citizens, we believe it is essential to bring these issues to the attention of the Commission des institutions.
