Basis of Claim applications from refugees will now only receive seven hours worth of legal service
A cut of nearly one-third of the budget for legal assistance in Ontario is a big concern for the local agency providing that service.
The recently introduced 2019 provincial budget included a 30% reduction.
Executive Director of Legal Assistance Windsor Marion Overholt, is calling on the provincial government to put the move on hold until it examines the impact.
She says they receive about $2-million a year for herself and about a dozen staff.
"All the staff involved is directly working with clients and our expenditures are about wages. So if a cut comes through to us I will have to lay off staff and I will have to reduce services"
She says they serve the most vulnerable in society and the impact will be felt in other public services.
(From L to R) President of the Association of Canadian Clinical Legal Education Gemma Smyth, Executive Director of Legal Assistance of Windsor Marion Overholt and Windsor criminal lawyer Daniel Topp. July 31, 2018 (Photo by AM800's Teresinha Medeiros)
"The consequence of taking out that support and leaving people to fend for themselves is huge and we think that's going to cause more financial costs in the end run, whether it's in our health system or in our corrections system."
Overholt says refugees to Canada will be directly impacted with no access to legal services and adds "You're going to end up having people who are deported and will be returned to very precarious, very dangerous situations. You may have other people who forego the legal process completely and try and stay here underground."
One of the first actions from the government is that Basis of Claim applications from refugees will only receive seven hours worth of legal service.
The head of Legal Aid Ontario says they'll only be able to use federal funding for new cases which would only cover half of the projected costs.
Overholt says in addition to refugee issues, they help people with issues related to the Landlord and Tenant Act as well as Ontario Works.