Access to Justice

By R. Jacqueline D'Souza

Keeping in line with my previous article on equality, I was pondering upon Section 15 (1) of the Charter, again, that affords everyone the right to be "equal before and under the law." The question then arose: Do we all have equal access to justice? I realized that, in fact, we don't all have equal access to justice.

In Canada the two groups that are afforded legal protection are the poor and the wealthy, however, there is an ongoing struggle for the middle class to obtain access to justice. Legal Aid is presently in place for the poor and the wealthy can afford legal fees. But what are the middle class to do? With legal fees easily amounting to several hundred dollars an hour, how are those that fall into the classification of the 'middle class' to afford such expenses?

This issue is one that for the longest time has been of concern to many. For this reason it is a common practice within personal injury law firms to work on a contingency fee basis. For those that are not familiar with the legal lingo, working on a contingency fee basis means that a lawyer does not charge fees upfront but rather performs services for the client and then takes a percentage of the money won in the settlement.  Such a method provides access to justice for the general public and affords the average person an opportunity to obtain legal assistance that they may not otherwise have been able to afford. 

This model has been an effective one and one that has given legal access to many who have suffered from personal injuries. However, I strongly believe that our society needs to make the progression to provide access to justice for all people, regardless of their legal problem or socio-economic position. A piece of legislation is only as good as the system we create and structure we put in place to follow it. In turn, the Charter's legislation, albeit wonderful, can only be realized when we put measures in place to ensure that its provisions can actually be followed.

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