Potential changes to Legal Aid Alberta funding source raises alarm among non-profits

Defendant box in a courtroom at the Edmonton Law Courts building, in Edmonton, Friday, June 28, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson

CALGARY — A non-profit that helps fund Legal Aid Alberta is raising concern over potential funding changes by the provincial government that it says would limit access to justice for vulnerable and low-income Albertans.

The Alberta Law Foundation said Wednesday that the provincial government is proposing to double the foundation’s mandatory contribution rate to Legal Aid Alberta to 50 per cent from 25 per cent.

The foundation generates revenue from interest earned on a lawyers' pooled trust accounts. It then distributes that revenue to non-profits, including Legal Aid Alberta and smaller clinics like the Indigenous Justice Centre and Community Legal Clinic.

Boosting the contribution to Legal Aid Alberta will make less funding available to those smaller outfits, many of which rely fully on the foundation, said executive director Byron Chan. It will also make Legal Aid Alberta’s funding less stable because the foundation’s revenues can significantly fluctuate.

“Vulnerable communities, including newcomers, low income families and victims of sexual assault and domestic violence will bear the brunt of these changes,” Chan said Wednesday at a news conference.

Kathy Parsons, executive director of Community Legal Clinic — Central Alberta, said her group is fully funded by the foundation and received $1 million from it last year. Under the proposed changes, she expects funding to be cut by a third.

Chan said the province has told the foundation it is using the potential move to find efficiencies in its spending.

The Alberta government said it is considering “all options” when it comes to funding legal aid, including changes to the foundation’s statutory contribution. In an emailed statement, the province did not say whether it would trim the amount it budgets for Legal Aid Alberta.

The province added it believes the foundation would likely still be able to fund other initiatives in the future.

“With Alberta Law Foundation’s significant cash reserves, and proper management of these resources, there is minimal risk of losing funding for initiatives they support,” wrote Chinenye Anokwuru, press secretary for Alberta’s minister of justice.

Legal Aid Alberta, which is not involved in decision-making around funding it receives from the foundation, did not take part in Wednesday’s news conference. In a statement, it did not directly comment on the proposed changes.

“We remain focused on carrying out our mission of resolving legal problems for Albertans and protecting the rule of law for the benefit of everyone,” it wrote.

The Alberta government and Legal Aid Alberta reached a new agreement last fall after tense negotiations, with the province guaranteeing $110 million in funding over the next year. It’s unclear whether or how possible changes to the law foundation’s contribution would affect that commitment.

Chan said the foundation is projected to provide $30 million in funding to Legal Aid Alberta at the end of this fiscal year, which would double under the current proposal.

Legal Aid Alberta is jointly funded by the provincial and federal governments, along with the Alberta Law Foundation.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 15, 2025.