Cuts to Legal Aid

On 1 April 2010 (sorry about the delay), a number of important changes were made to the services offered by the Legal Services Society, the provincial agency which delivers legal aid in British Columbia. LSS' budget for legal services is largely funded by the provincial government.

Terminated Services

LSS no longer offers LawLINE, a service which gave free summary legal advice and legal information to persons with low incomes by telephone. The LawLINE Journal blog stopped being updated on 22 March 2010.

The LawLINK website (formerly the Electronic Law Library) has been taken off-line and now redirects to the ClickLaw website, an excellent legal information resource operated by Courthouse Libraries BC with core funding from the Law Foundation.

Updated Income Criteria

LSS provides legal representation to persons of limited means. The household income caps, above which LSS will not provide representation, has been modestly increased by $10 to $85. The current income caps are :

1. For a family of one person, you cannot earn more that $1,420 per month net.
2. For a family of two persons, $1,980 net or less.
3. For a family of three persons, $2,540 net or less.
4. For a family of four persons, $3,100 net or less.
5. For a family of five persons, $3,660 net or less.
6. For a family of six persons, $4,230 net or less.
7. For a family of seven or more persons, $4,800 net or less.

To read other posts about LSS and past funding cuts, click on the "legal aid" label below.