Legal services and support are especially difficult for low-income people to access in northern communities in BC. The network of legal advocates funded by the Law Foundation of BC plays a critical and unique role in addressing this significant access to justice gap.
In the Bulkley-Nechako region of BC’s northwest, Linda Locke, KC, notes that access to legal services is often “the difference between people able to make choices, and people in despair.” Locke is the Executive Director and a supervising lawyer at the Upper Skeena Counseling and Legal Assistance Society, where the Law Foundation funds a Community Law Advocacy program that serves clients as they call or walk into the office seeking free legal assistance. While clients are primarily local, the program receives calls from people living anywhere in the northwest region.
“We’re an extension of access to justice,” Locke notes. “If our office doesn’t provide the service, we don’t shut the door on people – we refer them, we connect them to counselors, health services, or hospitals. People can give up really easily. Sometimes, we’re the last line.”
Legal advocates are trained in providing legal assistance, and practical and specialized support to their clients navigating complex legal issues. Sometimes, especially in the north, they are the only people in a community who can provide any legal assistance at all, and other support is many hours away.
“We have such few resources,” says Danielle Moore, the Family Law Advocate at Fort St. John Women’s Resource Society. “We serve the entire Peace Region; the next closest legal advocate is Fort Nelson or Prince George. It’s challenging to get connected to lawyers, and not many take legal aid cases.”
Moore points out that in this northeastern community, the economics of the natural resource sector often presents difficult challenges for women who need legal support during family breakdown. “Lots of clients barely make income, while their ex or partner makes unimaginable money,” says Moore. The imbalance of resources in family law disputes means that free legal assistance can be a lifeline.
Moore considers that part of her work, in addition to providing legal advice and support, is to create a safety net for her clients – which is particularly important when people have moved far away from their other family supports for work. “How well you’re doing in life depends on how strong your support network is. When you’re isolated because you’re here for your husband’s work, it’s really hard to keep that hope alive, to keep that good feeling” during family law difficulties, she said.
“My clients have complex issues, and I help them navigate to a safe situation and move forward in a healthy way.”
The need for free and accessible legal services in northern communities has been an ongoing focus for the Law Foundation of BC. Over the past five years we’ve spent more than $18 million at agencies based in Prince Rupert, Kitimat, Terrace, Hazelton, Smithers, Burns Lake, Prince George, Fort St. John, Fort Nelson, Williams Lake, Quesnel, Dawson Creek, and serving the regions beyond those centres.
