The ‘small claims’ court process is supposed to help workers pursue unpaid wages and entitlements without needing a lawyer. But the system isn’t working for migrants.
The right to a fair trial means cutting the funding of cultural reports will simply shift the burden. Lawyers will find other ways to put the same information before a judge.
As the Law Society recently reported, legal aid in New Zealand is ‘on life support’. Urgent action is required to avoid the justice gap becoming a chasm.
A year ago, Doug Ford’s election was seen as a harbinger of a populist realignment in Ontario and Canadian politics. Now polls suggest Ford has abysmally low personal approval ratings.
There’s an apparent emerging Doug Ford doctrine in Ontario of short-term gain for long-term pain. It threatens to embed long-term structural costs for the province and its taxpayers.
The recent decision by the Ontario government to drastically cut funds for legal aid will cause hardship for many low-income residents of Ontario and for refugees claimants.
Inconsistencies in how judges handle appeal cases and different levels of legal provision around the country can leave asylum seekers facing a lottery.
Many who represent themselves in court fail to make it through the process, have their case dismissed or lose what otherwise would have been a winning case.