Closing legal aid offices hurts those most in need

If you are a single mother on a limited income who needs legal representation to gain custody of your children and financial support for them, you're pretty much on your own in British Columbia.

Likewise, if you are an immigrant fleeing from a repressive country, trying to begin a new life in Canada, your ability to access legal aid has been severely restricted.

If you find yourself charged with lesser criminal offences, you will have to represent yourself in court, even though you could serve time in jail.

Now, incredibly, the B.C. Liberal government has forced the Legal Services Society to close regional office operations in Kamloops, Kelowna, Nanaimo, Prince George, Surrey and Victoria after March 26, and cut another $3 million from their budget over two years.

And all this, after already cutting 40 per cent from the Legal Aid budget in their first term, which has devastated legal aid services in B.C.

Increasingly, we are becoming a two-tiered society - where access and privilege is granted to those who can afford a lawyer, and the rest of the population are denied access to our legal system.

It's time to tell the B.C. Liberal government that "enough is enough," and demand the restoration of legal aid services across the province. Join us for a rally at the Vancouver Legal Services Society headquarters:

12 noon - Friday, March 26, 2010
510 Burrard Street,
Vancouver, B.C.

Click here for more information on the campaign to restore legal aid services in BC