Many British Columbians continue to face barriers to accessing legal aid, especially in family law. Our panelists discussed the current challenges and opportunities in family and civil legal aid in BC. As part of Access to Justice Week BC, this informative session highlighted what needs to be done to achieve positive change. 

From funding to functions, topics included the impact of not having legal aid, innovative approaches to increasing legal aid and the role of both people and technology in legal aid delivery. This event is for lawyers, paralegals, community advocates, policymakers, and anyone in legal profession who wants improved access to legal aid.

 

About Aleem Bharmal, KC

Aleem Bharmal, KC served as the president of the Canadian Bar Association, BC Branch for the 2022/23 term. A human rights lawyer working in the social justice sector whose work has made an impact both at home and abroad, Aleem currently practices human rights law at the Community Legal Services Association (CLAS) Human Rights Clinic.

Aleem has been a CBABC member for 27 years and joined the Board of Directors in 2018. He has maintained consistent involvement, serving the CBA Board of Directors in 2010, as well as chairing the CBABC Access to Justice Committee, Equality & Diversity Committee, and the Social Justice Section, among more.

Aleem was awarded the CBABC President’s Medal in 2016 and appointed to Queen’s Counsel in 2019 (now King's Counsel. He continues to demonstrate a commitment to propelling social justice, diversity, and equity initiatives both within and outside of CBABC.

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About Michael Byrant

Michael Bryant has returned to his home province to become CEO of Legal Aid BC after working in Ontario as a lawyer, Attorney General of Ontario and as that province’s Minister of Aboriginal Affairs. More recently, Michael was the executive director of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.

Michael’s criminal law practice included doing legal aid work as duty counsel in some of Ontario’s busiest courts. In addition to his commitment to public service, he has appeared before all levels of Canadian courts, working as a negotiator for First Nations and doing legal work at leading global law firms in New York, Toronto, and Vancouver. In 2019, he was included in Canadian Lawyer’s “Top 25” most influential lawyers in Canada.

Michael holds a BA and MA from UBC, a JD from Osgoode Hall Law School and an LLM from Harvard Law School. He is a member of the Law Society of British Columbia and Ontario.

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About Wendy Jackson

Wendy Jackson (she/her) is the Executive Director of the Legal Access Policy Division in the Justice Services Branch of the Ministry of Attorney General.  Called in 2001 after articling with the Ministry, she has worked in the legal aid portfolio since 2004, providing both legal and policy advice to government decision makers.  Wendy played a key role on the government team that negotiated the historic agreement with the Association of Legal Aid Lawyers in 2019 and since taking on the ED role in 2020, has overseen policy and funding improvements that have added over $35M a year to the Legal Aid BC budget.

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About Amanda Carling

Amanda Carling (she/her) is Métis from Red River, Treaty One. She is a grateful guest on the unceded territory of the Syilx Okanagan peoples with her partner Jesse, son Sam (5) and daughter Joy (2).  

Amanda’s undergraduate studies were in criminology at the University of Manitoba (BA, 2007). Thereafter she joined the JET Programme and spent two years teaching high school English in Tosu, Japan. Amanda attended law school at the University of Toronto (JD, 2012) and articled with Innocence Canada. She was called to the Ontario Bar in 2013. Amanda served as president of the board for Aboriginal Legal Services in Toronto from 2014 until 2020. In 2014, Amanda launched Innocence Canada’s National Legal Education Program to forward the organization’s mandate to prevent wrongful convictions. The same year Amanda was appointed by the Attorney General for Ontario to the Debwewin Jury Implementation Committee. In 2016 she returned to the University of Toronto, Faculty of Law as Manager of the Indigenous Initiatives Office, and Adjunct Faculty, where she oversaw the institution’s efforts related to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (TRC) Calls to Action and taught a course on wrongful convictions. Amanda’s work in legal education was recognized by Precedent Magazine in 2020. Amanda has served on the Canada Committee of Human Rights Watch since 2016.   

Amanda was called to the Bar of British Columbia in May 2022. She first joined the BC First Nations Justice Council in 2022 as a Senior Policy Lawyer. Within a few months, as the capacity of the organization grew, Amanda accepted the role of Chief Executive Officer. She has since led the organization in a restructure, creating a 7-Bundle system to best tackle the 25 Strategies and 43 lines of action that the organization is responsible for.

This recording is hosted by CBABC, which is located on the traditional and unceded territory of the Coast Salish peoples, including the Squamish, Tsleil-Waututh and Musqueam First Nations. We encourage our members to explore the rich history and knowledge of Indigenous people, and to continue learning about their experience in Canada, past and present.