
October / November 2008
Public forum on access to justice The Honourable Beverley McLachlin, chief justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, will be the keynote speaker at a Law Society of BC public forum in January 2009, put on in partnership with the Legal Services Society, SUCCESS, the Western Canada Society to Access Justice, and the CBC. Moderated by CBC’s Mark Forsythe, host of BC Almanac, Clearing the Path to Justice is a free forum that will explore some of the barriers to accessing the justice system and potential creative solutions to break down those barriers. While it is being held in Vancouver, the Law Society is exploring ways of bringing the forum to the rest of the province via webcasting. Other distinguished panelists who will bring to the forum their unique perspectives on access to justice are: Grand Chief Edward John of the First Nations Summit of BC; Lyall Knott, QC, of SUCCESS, which runs legal clinics for east Asian speakers in Greater Vancouver in conjunction with Access Justice; and Sue Talia, a private family law judge in California who is an expert on unbundling — an approach to making legal services more affordable and hence more accessible for the average person. She will be speaking about the impact of unbundling on access to justice issues in California, and its effect on the number of litigants who go to court without a lawyer. All of this will be put into the context of unbundling expanding here in BC. Immediately following the presentations, there will be an opportunity for audience members to ask questions of Chief Justice McLachlin and the other panelists. To find out more about the forum, including how to register, see the Law Society website. When? 6:00 – 8:30 p.m., January 28, 2009 Registration: 5:30 p.m. Where? Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue, SFU 580 W. Hastings Street Vancouver, BC Justice Access Centre opens in Nanaimo On October 30, 2008, a Justice Access Centre opened in Nanaimo. Building on the success of the former Nanaimo Family Justice Services Centre, the expanded centre now offers both family and civil law services. The focus of the centre, operated by LSS and the Ministry of Attorney General, is on helping people find early solutions not only for legal problems, but also social issues. For example, a woman facing a custody issue could receive help with her related housing needs. To achieve this, the centre is building a network with community agencies to support two-way referrals for clients. The centre brings together many services from the wider justice community. Clients can access online or printed self-help materials, or get help from legal information outreach workers and the civil resource counsellor. Family clients can work with family justice counsellors or the child support officer. Those who qualify financially can receive legal advice at the centre from either a paralegal or civil and family advice lawyers. A soon-to-be-hired Aboriginal legal community worker will be trained to offer information and advice about issues unique to Aboriginal clients. Financially eligible clients who qualify for legal representation for serious family matters can apply for legal aid right at the centre. In future, the centre plans to have representatives of community agencies working on site and to offer courses, workshops, and community presentations for the public. For more information, see the new Justice Access Centre website. Aboriginal child protection fact sheet series We’ve recently created a new fact sheet series that describes several aspects of the child protection process as it relates to Aboriginal people in BC. Understanding Aboriginal Community & Parents’ Rights describes the rights of Aboriginal parents and communities in child protection cases. BC law says that if any child is at risk, he or she must be removed from the home. It also says that Aboriginal cultural ties are important to the well-being of Aboriginal children. Understanding Court Orders and Hearings describes many of the court orders and hearings involved in child protection cases. Understanding Kith and Kin Agreements describes kith and kin care agreements, which put children at risk into the care of friends or relatives. They keep children out of foster care and close to Aboriginal culture and traditions. Written in plain language, each of these fact sheets also contains an area for clients to write the details of their cases. This resource will be of interest to Aboriginal people and community workers across BC. Each fact sheet is only two pages long and is also available in PDF on the LSS website and on the Family Law in BC website. Feel free to download and print copies as you need them (click on the titles above to find a link to the correct PDF). To order copies, e-mail Distribution. Enhanced legal aid phone services — five months later Further to our July 2008 article about telephone triage, LSS is happy to report that the project has resulted in dramatic improvements in wait times and reductions in abandoned calls for the LSS Call Centre and LawLINE since October. Call centre average wait times are currently at eight minutes. During peak hours (11 a.m. – 2 p.m.), wait times now average about 35 minutes. The rate of abandoned calls has decreased from 30% in October to 22% in November. Telephone triage began July 2 and faced some initial challenges, including system instability, staff supply, and training. Now the call centre is fully staffed with six intake legal assistants who answer 130 to 200 calls per day. To help with call volume during peak hours, the centre has additional staff and remote support through the Port Coquitlam satellite office. In December, LSS will introduce simplified telephone scripts that will be shorter and more interactive, and ensure clients talk to a person sooner. Although the current telephone scripts are an improvement over pre-triage scripts, we recognized that further changes were still needed. To reach the LSS Call Centre/LawLINE, call 604-408-2172 (in the Lower Mainland) or 1-866-577-2525 (outside the Lower Mainland, no charge). LSS to screen legal aid applications for Mexican nationals applying for help with PIF preparation LSS is experiencing continued growth in the demand for immigration referrals. Spending on immigration services this year will surpass our available budget for refugee claim applications. In particular, we have seen a remarkable increase in refugee applicants from Mexico, although the acceptance rate of Mexican refugee claims before the Immigration and Refugee Board has dropped from 36% in 2006 to less than 14% today. Therefore, effective December 1, 2008, LSS will merit screen all applications for PIF preparation for Mexican nationals. To streamline this process, we have translated our screening form (Refugee Claimant Questionnaire) into Spanish and will process applications in both English and Spanish.

October / November 2008

Public forum on access to justice

The Honourable Beverley McLachlin, chief justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, will be the keynote speaker at a Law Society of BC public forum in January 2009, put on in partnership with the Legal Services Society, SUCCESS, the Western Canada Society to Access Justice, and the CBC.

Moderated by CBC’s Mark Forsythe, host of BC Almanac, Clearing the Path to Justice is a free forum that will explore some of the barriers to accessing the justice system and potential creative solutions to break down those barriers. While it is being held in Vancouver, the Law Society is exploring ways of bringing the forum to the rest of the province via webcasting.

Other distinguished panelists who will bring to the forum their unique perspectives on access to justice are: Grand Chief Edward John of the First Nations Summit of BC; Lyall Knott, QC, of SUCCESS, which runs legal clinics for east Asian speakers in Greater Vancouver in conjunction with Access Justice; and Sue Talia, a private family law judge in California who is an expert on unbundling — an approach to making legal services more affordable and hence more accessible for the average person. She will be speaking about the impact of unbundling on access to justice issues in California, and its effect on the number of litigants who go to court without a lawyer. All of this will be put into the context of unbundling expanding here in BC.

Immediately following the presentations, there will be an opportunity for audience members to ask questions of Chief Justice McLachlin and the other panelists.

To find out more about the forum, including how to register, see the Law Society website.

When?

6:00 – 8:30 p.m., January 28, 2009
Registration: 5:30 p.m.

Where?

Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue, SFU
580 W. Hastings Street
Vancouver, BC

Justice Access Centre opens in Nanaimo

On October 30, 2008, a Justice Access Centre opened in Nanaimo. Building on the success of the former Nanaimo Family Justice Services Centre, the expanded centre now offers both family and civil law services.

The focus of the centre, operated by LSS and the Ministry of Attorney General, is on helping people find early solutions not only for legal problems, but also social issues. For example, a woman facing a custody issue could receive help with her related housing needs. To achieve this, the centre is building a network with community agencies to support two-way referrals for clients.

The centre brings together many services from the wider justice community. Clients can access online or printed self-help materials, or get help from legal information outreach workers and the civil resource counsellor. Family clients can work with family justice counsellors or the child support officer. Those who qualify financially can receive legal advice at the centre from either a paralegal or civil and family advice lawyers. A soon-to-be-hired Aboriginal legal community worker will be trained to offer information and advice about issues unique to Aboriginal clients. Financially eligible clients who qualify for legal representation for serious family matters can apply for legal aid right at the centre.

In future, the centre plans to have representatives of community agencies working on site and to offer courses, workshops, and community presentations for the public. For more information, see the new Justice Access Centre website.

Aboriginal child protection fact sheet series

We’ve recently created a new fact sheet series that describes several aspects of the child protection process as it relates to Aboriginal people in BC.

Understanding Aboriginal Community & Parents’ Rights describes the rights of Aboriginal parents and communities in child protection cases. BC law says that if any child is at risk, he or she must be removed from the home. It also says that Aboriginal cultural ties are important to the well-being of Aboriginal children.

Understanding Court Orders and Hearings describes many of the court orders and hearings involved in child protection cases.

Understanding Kith and Kin Agreements describes kith and kin care agreements, which put children at risk into the care of friends or relatives. They keep children out of foster care and close to Aboriginal culture and traditions.

Written in plain language, each of these fact sheets also contains an area for clients to write the details of their cases.

This resource will be of interest to Aboriginal people and community workers across BC. Each fact sheet is only two pages long and is also available in PDF on the LSS website and on the Family Law in BC website. Feel free to download and print copies as you need them (click on the titles above to find a link to the correct PDF).

To order copies, e-mail Distribution.

Enhanced legal aid phone services — five months later

Further to our July 2008 article about telephone triage, LSS is happy to report that the project has resulted in dramatic improvements in wait times and reductions in abandoned calls for the LSS Call Centre and LawLINE since October. Call centre average wait times are currently at eight minutes. During peak hours (11 a.m. – 2 p.m.), wait times now average about 35 minutes. The rate of abandoned calls has decreased from 30% in October to 22% in November.

Telephone triage began July 2 and faced some initial challenges, including system instability, staff supply, and training. Now the call centre is fully staffed with six intake legal assistants who answer 130 to 200 calls per day. To help with call volume during peak hours, the centre has additional staff and remote support through the Port Coquitlam satellite office.

In December, LSS will introduce simplified telephone scripts that will be shorter and more interactive, and ensure clients talk to a person sooner. Although the current telephone scripts are an improvement over pre-triage scripts, we recognized that further changes were still needed.

To reach the LSS Call Centre/LawLINE, call 604-408-2172 (in the Lower Mainland) or 1-866-577-2525 (outside the Lower Mainland, no charge).

LSS to screen legal aid applications for Mexican nationals applying for help with PIF preparation

LSS is experiencing continued growth in the demand for immigration referrals. Spending on immigration services this year will surpass our available budget for refugee claim applications.

In particular, we have seen a remarkable increase in refugee applicants from Mexico, although the acceptance rate of Mexican refugee claims before the Immigration and Refugee Board has dropped from 36% in 2006 to less than 14% today.

Therefore, effective December 1, 2008, LSS will merit screen all applications for PIF preparation for Mexican nationals. To streamline this process, we have translated our screening form (Refugee Claimant Questionnaire) into Spanish and will process applications in both English and Spanish.