Provincial cuts could close law office
By Nikola Gamulin
Due to possible cuts to the Ontario Legal Aid Plan, Ryerson students may find it more difficult to obtain free legal services in the near future.
Ryerson students who require the help of a lawyer but can’t get legal aid are being referred to the Downtown Legal Aid Clinic (DLAC) but the future of this clinic is uncertain.
“About three quarters of our funding comes from the Ontario Legal Aid Plan and the future of that funding is in serious doubt,” said Benson Cowan, executive director of DLAC.
The clinic is run by University of Toronto law students who volunteer their services but the money is needed to pay for expenses such as support staff and office space.
There are six such clinics in Ontario, one for each law school. Together they receive $1.6 million from the Ontario Legal Aid Plan (OLAP). They deal with students a great deal, especially in landlord and tenant issues.
Donna MacNeil of the Ryerson Student Administrative Council said she’s referred about eight students to the clinic since August. According to Cowan, about 50 Ryerson students obtained legal services from the clinic last year.
The recent cuts by the province to the plan have raised fears that these clinics will get the axe.” There is a serious question as to whether we will get our funding renewed,” said Cowan.
George Biggar, a deputy director at OLAP disagrees. “I think the clinics are cost effective and there are no plans to eliminate funding,” he said.
Cowan is not convinced. “I’ve spoken to people on the committees that make these decisions and what I’m hearing is that everything will be looked at,” he said. “The issue is also political and if they (OLAP) have to choose between pissing off professional lawyers and pissing off a bunch of students, you can guess who they’ll pick.”
OLAP will be making cuts somewhere. “We’re getting $187 million from the province in 1996. That’s down from $195 million this year and the amount we’re obligated to lawyers is in excess of that,” explained Biggar.
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