By The Canadian Press

Court

Province to increase pay to legal aid lawyers

Dec 21, 2022 | 3:20 PM

CALGARY – The Alberta government is hiking the amount of money it will pay for lawyers providing legal aid.

Beginning January 1st the rate will increase from 100 to 125 dollars per hour.

Organizations representing lawyers in Edmonton, Calgary, Red Deer and southern Alberta launched job action in August and have largely refused to accept new legal aid cases since late September.

The lawyers were demanding both an increase in rates paid on legal aid cases and for eligibility requirements to be changed so that more Albertans qualify for help.

Alberta Justice Minister Tyler Shandro approved an increase of over eight per cent in October and says the new increase makes legal aid lawyers in the province the fourth highest paid in Canada.

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The defence lawyer organizations are to discuss the issue tonight.

But Kelsey Sitar, vice-president of the Criminal Defence Lawyers Association in Calgary, says they’ve been waiting since August for this sort of good faith increase.

(The Canadian Press)