The Alberta’s four criminal lawyer associations seeks for more changes in the Legal Aid Alberta (LAA) to address access to legal representation shortly after the government announced an increase in hourly tariff rate.
The four associations first began a job action in August 2022, and then took more steps in the wage dispute with the government, by refusing to take on new cases until their demands were met.
The government announced the increase in the hourly wages on Wednesday. Lawyers with ten years of experience will receive an hourly tariff rate of $92.40, to $100 per hour for the rest of the year.
However, defense lawyer have said that some changed still needs to made, thus they expect to vote on whether or not to return to work next week. Justice Minister Tyler Shandro said a complete review of the legal aid system in Alberta will be delivered to the government.
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