When Legal Aid and legal clinic workers, lawyers, and even managers staged rallies and protests in communities across the province yesterday, the media was there. The actions were covered by a variety of outlets, including CityTV, CBC, Global News, the Law Times, the Windsor Star, the Cornwall Seaway News, the Sarnia Observer, and the Huffington Post.
The Law Times reported that the actions were organized by a coalition “composed of members of the Association of Community Legal Clinics of Ontario (ACLCO), the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers (CARL), the Family Lawyers Association of Ontario (FLA), Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU), Ontario Association of Child Protection Lawyers (OACPL), the Refugee Lawyers Association of Ontario (RLA), and the Society of United Professionals (SUP) and various local community legal clinics and community partners around the province.”
A member of the public named Suganthine Sivakumar was at one of the Toronto-area rallies, and told Global News that she has benefited from legal aid services in the past, and is worried
“I am able to hire a lawyer for my case to protect my son,” she said, adding the cuts will create difficulties for families trying to navigate the legal system. “It will be very hard for us. We are not earning too much money and as a single mom, it’s very hard for us to work two or three jobs to get enough money for our life and lawyer fees.”
For more on the rallies, click here.