Legal Aid in Canada – Detailed data tables, 2020-21

Table 1 – Legal aid plan revenues, by type of revenue, annual, 2020-21

Table 1 – Legal aid plan revenues, by type of revenue, annual, 2020-21
	Total legal aid plan revenues^{Footnote 1 of Table 1} Dollars (%)		Federal contributions from 2020-21 agreements^{Footnote 2 of Table 1}				P/T contributions to legal aid plans^{Footnote 4 of Table 1} Dollars (%)		Client contributions and cost recoveries to legal aid plans^{Footnote 5 of Table 1} Dollars (%)		Contributions of the legal profession and interest earned from lawyers’ trust accounts^{Footnote 6 of Table 1} Dollars (%)		Other legal aid plan revenues
	Type of Revenue
			Criminal (+civil in territories) Dollars (%)		I&R^{Footnote 3 of Table 1} Dollars (%)								Other legal aid plan revenues
N.L.	17,048,447	(100)	2,525,252	(15)	10,537	(.1)	14,076,511	(83)	100,504	(0.6)	313,793	(2)	21,850
P.E.I.	905,581	(100)	470,974	(52)			434,607	(48)	–		–		–
N.S.	29,670,808	(100)	4,311,535	(15)			25,176,697	(85)	21,589	(0.1)	120809	(.4)	40,178
N.B.	11,977,429	(100)	2,754,403	(23)			8,366,772	(70)	118,789	(1)	200,000	(2)	537,465
Que.	187,500,891	(100)	27,553,102	(15)	5,006,827	(3)	151,098,295	(81)	3,412,431	(2)	–	(0)	430,236
Ont.	386,706,29	(100)	52,417,979	(14)	33,770,500	(9)	267,346,325	(69)	6,841,043	(2)	25,454,412	(6)	876,031
Man.	34,857,802	(100)	7,634,427	(22)	470,000	(1)	20,497,535	(59)	1,203,184	(4)	4,228,857	(12)	823,799
Sask.	27,612,379	(100)	7,121,678	(26)			20,322,322	(74)	8,265	(0)	0	(0)	160,114
Alta.	118,715,39	(100)	15,880,213	(13)	1,452,356	(1)	76,959,431	(65)	4,276,001	(4)	19,122,453	(16)	1,024,945
B.C.	105,270,00	(100)	18,057,944	(17)	4,199,477	(4)	77,849,289	(74)	0	(0)	4,190,857	(4)	972,473
Yuk.	–		–	–			–	–	–	–	–	–	–
N.W.T.	7,051,297	(100)	2,337,672	(33)			4,242,229	60%	0	(0)	0	(0)	0
Nvt.	12,409,469	(100)	2,184,205	(18)			10,224,764	(82)	500	(0)	0	(0)	0
Canada	939,725,832	(100)	143,249,384	(15)	44,909,697	(5)	676,594,777	(72)	15,982,306	(2)	53,631,181	(6)	4,887,091
Table 1 footnotes – of Table 1 –: Refers to data that were not available, collected, or provided by the jurisdiction as reported in the Statement of Final Claim. Note of Table 1 Rounding may impact totals balancing. Footnote 1 of Table 1 Revenues are all monies received by the legal aid plan for assistance in the provision of legal aid services. Funding is received by legal aid plans from three main sources: government contributions, client contributions and cost recoveries, and contributions from the legal profession. Return to footnote 1 referrer of Table 1 Footnote 2 of Table 1 Federal government contributions are the federal contribution amounts for criminal and where applicable, I&R legal aid. Federal contributions flow directly to the consolidated revenue fund of each province/territory, and are subsequently allocated by the provinces/territories to their respective legal aid plans. Return to footnote 2 referrer of Table 1 Footnote 3 of Table 1 Immigration and Refugee (I&R) matters are proceedings of persons (individuals, or principal applicants and family) involved in the immigration and refugee determination system under the provisions of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA). I&R legal aid covers the provision of legal advice, assistance and representation for immigration or refugee proceedings before the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) of Canada, the Federal Court (FC), or Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) officials on post-determination actions. I&R legal aid is available in six provinces: Newfoundland and Labrador (N.L.), Quebec (Que.), Ontario (Ont.), Manitoba (Man.), Alberta (Alta), and British Columbia (B.C.). Return to footnote 3 referrer of Table 1 Footnote 4 of Table 1 P/T contributions are the contribution amounts received for legal aid services from the legal aid plan’s respective government. Many legal aid plans are unable to isolate the federal contribution received by the P/T government from JUS. Therefore, these federal contributions may be included in the total “P/T contributions to legal aid plans” figure. Return to footnote 4 referrer of Table 1 Footnote 5 of Table 1 Client contributions are to all monies received from the aided person for legal assistance; flat user fees are included. The amount of client contribution is established in an agreement between the jurisdiction and the client. Agreements may vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Cost recoveries refer to the party costs ordered or agreed to be recovered in the case. Includes monies recovered from a judgement, award or settlement. Return to footnote 5 referrer of Table 1 Footnote 6 of Table 1 Contributions of the legal profession and interest earned from lawyers’ trust accounts are all monies received from the law profession (e.g., provincial/territorial law foundation funding, levies) as well as other revenues that have not already been accounted for in the above categories. This may include interest from lawyers’ trust accounts, revenues from investments, research sales, general interest earnings and any other revenue. Return to footnote 6 referrer of Table 1 Notes of Table 1 Notes Nvt. data is unaudited. For N.L. "Other Legal Aid Plan Revenues" includes interest. For N.B., Public Trustee does not fall under the same screening criteria as criminal and family legal aid services; however, their revenue is included in this table as revenue received from the provincial government is also used to cover expenditures related to P/T services. For N.B., "Other Legal Aid Plan Revenues" includes liens, Public Trustee Client Recovery, Public Trustee Fee Revenue, Interest, and miscellaneous. For Man., "Other Legal Aid Plan Revenues" includes judgements and settlements, interest income, and miscellaneous. For Sask. “Other Legal Aid Plan Revenues” includes interest, grants, and miscellaneous. For B.C. "Other Legal Aid Plan Revenues" includes investment income and fees.

Table 2a – Legal aid plan expenditures, by type of expenditure, 2020-21

Table 2a – Legal aid plan expenditures, by type of expenditure, 2020-21
			Criminal matters Dollars (%)		Civil matters
	Total Expenditures^{Footnote 1 of Table 2a} Dollars (%)		Legal Services Expenditures (including administrative and other costs)
			Criminal matters Dollars (%)		I&R^{Footnote 2 of Table 2a} Dollars (%)		All other civil Dollars (%)
N.L.	16,286,415	(100)	9,304,010	(57)	63,815	(0.4)	6,918,590	(42)
P.E.I.	2,090,011	(100)	905,582	(43)			1,184,429	(57)
N.S.	29,203,522	(100)	17,074,134	(58)			12,129,388	(42)
N.B.	9,767,030	(100)	5,472,029	(56)			4,295,001	(44)
Que	168,989,085	(100)	63,675,684	(38)	5,006,826	(3)	100,306,575	(59)
Ont.	396,354,822	(100)	152,506,448	(38)	31,680,073	(8)	212,168,301	(54)
Man.	29,161,569	(100)	22,546,800	(77)	504,208	(2)	6,110,561	(21)
Sask.	25,449,186	(100)	20,315,218	(80)			5,130,793	(20)
Alta.	88,472,161	(100)	62,642,301	(71)	1,161,856	(1)	24,668,004	(28)
B.C.	88,824,350	(100)	54,272,832	(61)	4,378,929	(5)	30,172,589	(34)
Yuk.	-	-	-	-			-	-
N.W.T.	5,903,545	(100)	4,165,150	(71)			1,738,395	(29)
Nvt.	9,993,733	(100)	6,696,028	(67)			3,297,705	(33)
Canada	868,352,374	(100)	419,576,216	(48)	42,795,707	(5)	408,120,331	(47)
Table 2a footnotes – of Table 2a –: Refers to data that were not available, collected, or provided by the jurisdiction as reported in the Statement of Final Claim. Note of Table 2a Rounding may impact totals balancing. Footnote 1 of Table 2a Legal Services Expenditures are payments made by legal aid plans to private law firms for the delivery of legal services and the costs of legal services delivered by legal aid plan staff. These expenditures include monies spent on the provision of legal advice and representation services to clients including special target groups. All legal aid office and contracted community clinic expenditures are a combination of direct and indirect service delivery costs. Direct service delivery costs are expenses related to providing services directly to clients, while indirect service delivery costs are expenses not directly related to providing legal aid services to clients, but are reasonably attributable to the delivery of legal aid. These costs are required to support the day-to-day operations of the legal aid plan and are provided at a service delivery location. These costs should not be included under administrative costs. Administrative costs and other costs are excluded. Return to footnote 1 referrer of Table 2a Footnote 2 of Table 2a Immigration and Refugee (I&R) matters are proceedings of persons (individuals, or principal applicants and family) involved in the immigration and refugee determination system under the provisions of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA). I&R legal aid covers the provision of legal advice, assistance and representation for immigration or refugee proceedings before the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) of Canada, the Federal Court (FC), or Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) officials on post-determination actions. I&R legal aid is available in 6 provinces: Newfoundland and Labrador (N.L.), Quebec (Que.), Ontario (Ont.), Manitoba (Man.), Alberta (Alta), and British Columbia (B.C.). Return to footnote 2 referrer of Table 2a Note of Table 2a Nvt. data is unaudited.

Table 2b – Total administrative and other costs, 2020-21

Table 2b – Total administrative and other costs, 2020-21
	Dollars
N.L.	1,670,044
P.E.I.	226,795
N.S.	2,363,104
N.B.	1,187,111
Que.	28,173,202
Ont.	102,563,895
Man.	5,418,481
Sask.	2,057,759
Alta.	5,261,796
B.C.	8,987,913
Yuk.	-
N.W.T.	2,640,174
Nvt.	3,273,612
Canada	163,823,886
Table 2b footnotes Note of Table 2b Total legal aid plan expenditures from Table 2a include these administrative costs in all jurisdictions, except for N.W.T. and Nvt. Note of Table 2b Nvt. data is unaudited.

Table 3 – Legal aid service delivery by private bar, staff, and other lawyers, 2020-21

Table 3 – Legal aid service delivery by private bar, staff, and other lawyers, 2020-21
			Private bar lawyers^{Footnote 1 of Table 3}						Staff lawyers^{Footnote 2 of Table 3}						Other lawyers (e.g. Executive Director)^{Footnote 3 of Table 3}
	Total lawyers providing legal aid services Number (%)		Type of lawyer providing legal aid services
			Criminal	I&R^{Footnote 4 of Table 3}	Other Civil	Criminal and Civil	OTAL Number (%)		Criminal	I&R	Other Civil	Criminal and Civil	TOTAL Number (%)		Criminal	I&R	Other Civil	Criminal and Civil	TOTAL Number (%)
N.L.	89	(100)	0	0	0	16	16	(18)	0	0	0	70	70	(79)	0	0	0	3	3	(3)
P.E.I.	39	(100)	5		21	4	30	(77)	3		5	0	8	(21)	0		0	1	1	(3)
N.S.	328	(100)	0		0	224	224	(68)	–		–	101	101	(31)	–		–	3	3	(1)
N.B.	150	(100)	29		47	36	112	(75)	24		12	0	36	(24)	0		1	1	2	(1)
Que.	2,418	(100)	0	0	0	2,009	2,009	(83)	0	0	0	344	344	(14)	0	0	0	65	65	(3)
Ont.	3,677	(100)	1,227	244	1,199	621	3,291	(90)	142	20	63	113	338	(9)	2	0	9	37	48	(1)
Man.	338	(100)	0	0	0	275	275	(81)	25	0	16	16	57	(17)	0	0	0	6	6	(2)
Sask.	229	(100)	0		0	143	143	(62)	0		0	84	84	(37)	0		0	2	2	(1)
Alta.	6,093	(100)	867	336	1,955	2,822	5,980	(98)	0	0	0	113	113	(2)	0	0	0	0	0	(0)
B.C.	1,087	(100)	417	68	408	160	1,053	(97)	4	1	21	5	31	(3)	0	0	0	3	3	(0)
Yuk.	–	–	–		–	–	–	–	–		–	–	–	–	–		–	–	–	–
N.W.T.	43	(100)	0		0	27	27	(63)	8		8	0	16	(37)	0		0	0	0	(0)
Nvt.	25	(100)	0		0	0	0	(0)	16		9	0	25	(100)	0		0	0	0	(0)
Canada	14,516	(100)	2,545	648	3,630	6,337	13,160	(91)	222	21	134	846	1,223	(8)	2	0	10	121	133	(1)
Table 3 footnotes – of Table 3 –: Refers to data that were not available, collected, or provided by the jurisdiction as reported in the Statement of Final Claim. Note of Table 3 Rounding may impact totals balancing. Footnote 1 of Table 3 Private bar lawyers are those who were active members of the private bar who delivered legal services and billed the legal aid plan during the fiscal year. Active bar members include the total number of lawyers certified and insured to practice in the jurisdiction. Government-employed and legal aid staff lawyers are excluded. Return to footnote 1 referrer of Table 3 Footnote 2 of Table 3 Staff lawyers are lawyers employed by legal aid plans who provide legal aid services to clients. They include duty counsel, staff lawyers at legal clinics, and others. Return to footnote 2 referrer of Table 3 Footnote 3 of Table 3 Other lawyers are personnel who are designated as counsel, but not performing in this capacity (e.g. Executive Director). For N.B., other lawyers includes Executive Director and Public Trustee & Director of Family Law Services. Return to footnote 3 referrer of Table 3 Footnote 4 of Table 3 Immigration and Refugee (I&R) matters are proceedings of persons (individuals, or principal applicants and family) involved in the immigration and refugee determination system under the provisions of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA). I&R legal aid covers the provision of legal advice, assistance and representation for immigration or refugee proceedings before the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) of Canada, the Federal Court (FC), or Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) officials on post-determination actions. I&R legal aid is available in 6 provinces: Newfoundland and Labrador (N.L.), Quebec (Que.), Ontario (Ont.), Manitoba (Man.), Alberta (Alta), and British Columbia (B.C.). Return to footnote 4 referrer of Table 3 Notes of Table 3 Notes For N.B., Public Trustee Services staff are listed separately under "Other Civil" as their caseloads are not included in civil statistics reported elsewhere. For Man., civil includes all staff lawyers taking I&R, children and family services, as well as domestic and civil matters; private bar lawyers accept cases in all identified categories. For Sask., private bar lawyers vary in taking files; therefore the number reported can be a private bar taking anything from one certificate to a full caseload like a staff lawyer.

Table 4 – Legal aid plan personnel as of March 31, 2021

Table 4. – Legal aid plan personnel as of March 31, 2021
	Total legal aid plan personnel N (%)		Total lawyers N (%)		Private bar lawyers^{Footnote 1 of Table 4}	Staff lawyers^{Footnote 2 of Table 4}	Other lawyers^{Footnote 3 of Table 4}	Total non-lawyers N (%)		Intake worker^{Footnote 4 of Table 4}	Support Staff^{Footnote 5 of Table 4}	Para-legal^{Footnote 6 of Table 4}	Legal assistant^{Footnote 7 of Table 4}	Articling student^{Footnote 8 of Table 4}	Other^{Footnote 9 of Table 4}
	Total legal aid plan personnel N (%)		Lawyers providing legal aid					Non-lawyers
N.L.	157	(100)	89	(57)	16	70	3	68	(43)	13	17	3	26	8	1
P.E.I.	45	(100)	39	(87)	30	8	1	6	(13)	0	6	0	0	0	0
N.S.	414	(100)	328	(79)	224	101	3	86	(21)	0	9	0	74	3	0
N.B.	190	(100)	150	(79)	112	36	2	40	(21)	13	6	0	6	0	15
Que.	2,980	(100)	2,418	(81)	2,009	344	65	562	(19)	73	446	0	26	17	0
Ont.	4,248	(100)	3,677	(87)	3,291	338	48	571	(13)	118	438	12	3	0	0
Man.	431	(100)	338	(78)	275	57	6	93	(22)	24	21	0	34	13	1
Sask.	296	(100)	229	(77)	143	84	2	67	(23)	4	7	9	40	2	5
Alta.	6,257	(100)	6,093	(97)	5,980	113	0	164	(3)	65	79	0	18	2	0
B.C.	1,269	(100)	1,087	(86)	1,053	31	3	182	(14)	31	140	11	0	0	0
Yuk.	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
N.W.T.	61	(100)	43	(70)	27	16	0	18	(30)	0	8	0	0	0	10
Nvt.	43	(100)	16	(37)	0	16	0	27	(63)	0	3	0	0	0	24
Canada	16,391	(100)	14,507	(89)	13,160	1,214	133	1,884	(11)	341	1185	35	227	45	51
Table 4 footnotes – of Table 4 –: Refers to data that were not available, collected, or provided by the jurisdiction as reported in the Statement of Final Claim. Note of Table 4 Rounding may impact totals balancing. Footnote 1 of Table 4 Private bar lawyers are those active members of the private bar who delivered legal services and billed the legal aid plan during the fiscal year. Active bar members include the total number of lawyers certified and insured to practice in the jurisdiction. Government-employed and legal aid staff lawyers are excluded. Return to footnote 1 referrer of Table 4 Footnote 2 of Table 4 Staff lawyers are lawyers employed by legal aid plans who provide legal aid services to clients. They include duty counsel, staff lawyers at legal clinics, and others. Return to footnote 2 referrer of Table 4 Footnote 3 of Table 4 Other lawyers – refers to personnel who are designated as counsel, but not performing in this capacity (e.g. Executive Director). For N.B., Other Lawyers includes Executive Director and Public Trustee & Director of Family Law Services. Return to footnote 3 referrer of Table 4 Footnote 4 of Table 4 Intake workers are staff employed by the legal aid plan who provide intake services, assess clients’ needs, make appropriate referrals, prepare and review letters and documents, maintain records and perform other duties as required. Return to footnote 4 referrer of Table 4 Footnote 5 of Table 4 Support staff are staff employed by the legal aid plan who provide support in assisting clients but do not provide legal assistance. For example, a receptionist, an administrative person, human resource staff, an IT specialist, etc. Return to footnote 5 referrer of Table 4 Footnote 6 of Table 4 Paralegals are legal staff who have the ability to represent clients on many matters, including all provincial offences and summary criminal cases, as well as work for provincial tribunals and boards. Paralegals are non-lawyers providing legal services in specified areas of practice. Return to footnote 6 referrer of Table 4 Footnote 7 of Table 4 Legal assistants are staff who work under the supervision of a lawyer, qualified through education, training or work experience to perform substantive legal work. They help lawyers deliver legal services but are prohibited from practicing law independently. Return to footnote 7 referrer of Table 4 Footnote 8 of Table 4 Articling students are students-at-law. Under the supervision of a senior lawyer, they can assist with legal advice, duty counsel, legal research, etc. Articling students must complete the articling program and be called to the bar before becoming a lawyer. For the purpose of this survey, articling students are classified as non-lawyers regardless of jurisdictional rules. Return to footnote 8 referrer of Table 4 Footnote 9 of Table 4 Other (e.g., managers) are personnel who are not performing tasks directly associated with support, paralegal, legal assistants or articling. For N.B., "Other Non-lawyers" includes and is not limited to HR Manager, Chief Financial Officer, Manager of Trust Accounting and Taxation, Guardian Officers, etc. Return to footnote 9 referrer of Table 4 Notes of Table 4 Notes: For N.S., private bar lawyers are not included under personnel. They handle only 29% of cases with 71% being done by staff lawyers. For N.B., Public Trustee Services staff listed separately under "Civil" as their caseloads are not included in civil statistics reported elsewhere. For Man., Civil includes all staff taking immigration, children and family services, domestic and civil matters. Private bar accepts cases in all identified categories. For Sask., private bar lawyers vary in taking files; therefore, the number reported can be a private bar lawyer taking anything from one certificate to a full caseload like a staff lawyer. For B.C., support staff include Public Legal Information services delivery. The non-lawyers "Others" include nine Indigenous courtworkers employed by the legal aid plan in N.W.T. and 21 in Nunavut. Justice Canada funding for these courtworker positions is covered under a separate Indigenous Courtwork budget component of the Access to Justice Services agreements (and not the legal aid portion of the funding).

Table 5 – Legal aid applications received, by type of matter, 2020-21

Table 5 – Legal aid applications received, by type of matter, 2020-21
			Total criminal applications Number (%)		Adult	Youth^{Footnote 2 of Table 5}	P/T offences Number (%)^{Footnote 3 of Table 5}		Total civil applications (including I&R) Number (%)		Child Protection^{Footnote 4 of Table 5}	Family^{Footnote 5 of Table 5}	Non-family^{Footnote 6 of Table 5}	I&R^{Footnote 7 of Table 5}
	Total legal aid applications^{Footnote 1 of Table 5} Number (%)		Criminal legal aid applications				P/T offences Number (%)^{Footnote 3 of Table 5}		Civil legal aid applications
N.L.	5,330	(100)	3,429	(64)	3,187	242	0	(0)	1,901	(36)	221	1,476	191	13
P.E.I.	1,261	(100)	937	(74)	878	59	0	(0)	324	(26)	34	274	16
N.S.^{Footnote 8 of Table 5}	33,110	(100)	20,628	(62)	19,959	669	264	(1)	12,218	(37)	1,113	9,590	1,515
N.B.	3,844	(100)	2,033	(53)	1,902	131	5	(0)	1,806	(47)	302	1,499	5
Que.	201,517	(100)	81,442	(40)	74,828	6,614	5621	(3)	114,454	(57)	43,688	31,033	36,268	3,465
Ont.	101,687	(100)	56,664	(56)	54,184	2,480	0	(0)	45,023	(44)	5,183	24,452	7,992	7,396
Man.	24,112	(100)	16,060	(67)	14,916	1,144	34	(0)	8,018	(33)	2,047	5,274	553	144
Sask.	14,281	(100)	10,199	(71)	9,218	981	0	(0)	4,082	(29)	747	3,335	0
Alta.	38,230	(100)	26,761	(70)	25,842	919	141	(0)	11,328	(30)	1,779	8,529	703	317
B.C.	33,013	(100)	19,001	(58)	18,231	770	1412	(4)	12,600	(38)	2,641	8,515	0	1,444
Yuk.	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
N.W.T.	1,038	(0)	715	(69)	703	12	-	-	323	(31)	-	323	-
Nvt.	726	(0)	287	(40)	282	5	0	(0)	439	(61)	53	131	255
Canada	458,149	(100)	238,156	(52)	224,130	14,026	7,477	(2)	212,516	(46)	57,587	92,955	47,307	12,779
Table 5 footnotes – of Table 5 –: Refers to data that were not available, collected, or provided by the jurisdiction as reported in the Statement of Final Claim. Note of Table 5 Rounding may impact totals balancing. Footnote 1 of Table 5 An application for legal aid is a request for legal aid assistance that results in the provision of summary or full legal representation on behalf of the legal aid plan, or the denial of legal aid service. Summary services include the provision of legal advice, information, or any other type of minimal legal service granted to an individual. Full legal representation constitutes more extensive legal assistance. The total number of applications reported for the fiscal year includes all applications filed during that time, irrespective of when the application was approved or rejected. Return to footnote 1 referrer of Table 5 Footnote 2 of Table 5 “Youth” are persons who are at least 12 years of age, but under 18 years of age and charged under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. Return to footnote 2 referrer of Table 5 Footnote 3 of Table 5 Provincial/Territorial (P/T) offences are those offences under provincial or territorial statutory responsibility. Also included are infractions under municipal by-laws. Return to footnote 3 referrer of Table 5 Footnote 4 of Table 5 Child protection matters are those that involve children who come into the care of child protection agencies for reasons such as allegations of abuse, neglect, or abandonment. Return to footnote 4 referrer of Table 5 Footnote 5 of Table 5 Family matters are proceedings related to divorce, separation, maintenance, and all other matters of a family law nature, excluding child protection. Return to footnote 5 referrer of Table 5 Footnote 6 of Table 5 Non-family matters are all other civil proceedings that are not of a family nature (e.g., landlord and tenant disputes, poverty law). Return to footnote 6 referrer of Table 5 Footnote 7 of Table 5 Immigration and Refugee (I&R) matters are proceedings for persons (individuals, or principal applicants and family) involved in the immigration and refugee determination system under the provisions of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA). I&R legal aid covers the provision of legal advice, assistance and representation for immigration or refugee proceedings before the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) of Canada, the Federal Court (FC), or Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) officials on post-determination actions. I&R legal aid is available in six provinces: Newfoundland and Labrador (N.L.), Quebec (Que.), Ontario (Ont.), Manitoba (Man.), Alberta (Alta), and British Columbia (B.C.). Return to footnote 7 referrer of Table 5 Footnote 8 of Table 5 The actual number of applications received by NS Legal Aid in 2020-21 may be greater than the number of applications reported here because of differences in the way applications are counted (specifically related to gender). Return to footnote 8 referrer of Table 5 Notes of Table 5 Notes: For Alta., applications approved and refused may relate to current and previous fiscal years, while those received are restricted to current year only. N.W.T. “family” category includes all family, child protection and other civil cases. For Nvt., total applications received includes representation made during circuit weeks for matters for which a written application has not been made and eligibility is presumed. Nvt. data is draft and not audited.

Table 6 – Legal aid applications approved for full legal representation, by staff and private bar lawyers, annual, 2020-21

Table 6 – Legal aid applications approved for full legal representation, by staff and private bar lawyers, annual, 2020-21
			Total approved criminal applications Number (%)		Adult	Youth^{Footnote 4 of Table 6}	P/T offences^{Footnote 5 of Table 6} Number (%)		Total approved civil legal aid applications Number (%)		Child Protection^{Footnote 6 of Table 6}	Family^{Footnote 7 of Table 6}	Non-Family^{Footnote 8 of Table 6}	I&R^{Footnote 9 of Table 6}
	Total approved legal aid applications1^{Footnote 1 of Table 6} Number (%)		Criminal applications^{Footnote 2 of Table 6}				P/T offences^{Footnote 5 of Table 6} Number (%)		Civil applications^{Footnote 3 of Table 6}
N.L.	2,670	(100)	1,983	(74)	1,751	232	0	(0)	687	(26)	134	497	51	5
P.E.I.	1,043	(100)	851	(82)	792	59	0	(0)	192	(18)	–	–	–
N.S.	16,416	(100)	11,507	(70)	10,979	528	43	(0)	4,866	(30)	907	3,290	669
N.B.	2,997	(100)	1,659	(55)	1,532	127	–	–	1,338	(45)	243	1,095	0
Que.	159,168	(100)	64,237	(40)	57,920	6,317	4,598	(3)	90,333	(57)	40,797	20,223	26,354	2,959
Ont.	96,283	(100)	53,666	(56)	50,511	2,594	0	(0)	42,617	(44)	4,998	23,124	7,781	6,714
Man.	27,620	(100)	21,704	(79)	20,270	1,434	43	(0)	5,873	(21)	1,748	3,762	255	108
Sask.	12,102	(100)	8,830	(73)	7,850	980	0	(0)	3,272	(27)	676	2,596	0
Alta.	23,349	(100)	18,608	(80)	17,729	879	118	(1)	4,623	(20)	1,325	2,987	98	213
B.C.	24,262	(100)	15,799	(65)	15,062	737	1,024	(4)	7,439	(31)	1,838	4,566	0	1035
Yuk.	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
N.W.T.	921	(100)	638	(69)	626	12	–	–	283	(31)	–	283	–
Nvt.	660	(100)	285	(43)	280	5	0	(0)	375	(57)	53	124	198
CDA	367,491	(100)	199,767	(54)	185,302	13,904	5,826	(2)	161,898	(44)	52,585	62,050	35,355	11,034
Table 6 footnotes – of Table 6 –: Refers to data that were not available, collected, or provided by the jurisdiction as reported in the Statement of Final Claim. Note of Table 6 Rounding may impact totals balancing. Footnote 1 of Table 6 In this table, approved legal aid application counts are full legal representation applications only. When aggregated, the total number of applications reflects the number of individual requests for assistance, rather than the total number of persons seeking assistance. Full legal representation (may also be called “certificate”) refers to the provision of full legal aid representation by a private bar lawyer, approved by the legal aid plan or by a staff lawyer. An approved application for full legal representation refers to an application for legal assistance which is granted as described in a certificate, referral, or any other authorization denoting that the applicant is entitled to legal aid services. Once an application is approved for full legal representation by the legal aid plan, the certificate may then be brought to a private bar lawyer who bills the legal aid plan once the service is completed, or the service may be provided by a legal aid staff lawyer. Return to footnote 1 referrer of Table 6 Footnote 2 of Table 6 For criminal matters, there can be multiple charges per application and these can be handled separately by different lawyers. Return to footnote 2 referrer of Table 6 Footnote 3 of Table 6 For civil matters, there is one matter per application. In some jurisdictions one application may be associated with multiple matters. Return to footnote 3 referrer of Table 6 Footnote 4 of Table 6 “Youth” are persons who are at least 12 years of age, but under 18 years of age and charged under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. Return to footnote 4 referrer of Table 6 Footnote 5 of Table 6 Provincial/Territorial (P/T) offences are those offences under provincial or territorial statutory responsibility. Also included are infractions under municipal by-laws. Return to footnote 5 referrer of Table 6 Footnote 6 of Table 6 Child protection matters are those where measures of child protection are sought and proceedings when a client is involved with a child protection agency. Return to footnote 6 referrer of Table 6 Footnote 7 of Table 6 Family matters are proceedings related to divorce, separation, maintenance, and all other matters of a family law nature, excluding child protection. Return to footnote 7 referrer of Table 6 Footnote 8 of Table 6 Non-family matters are all other civil proceedings that are not of a family nature (e.g., landlord and tenant disputes, poverty law). Return to footnote 8 referrer of Table 6 Footnote 9 of Table 6 Immigration and Refugee (I&R) matters are proceedings of persons (individuals, or principal applicants and family) involved in the immigration and refugee determination system under the provisions of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA). I&R legal aid covers the provision of legal advice, assistance and representation for immigration or refugee proceedings before the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) of Canada, the Federal Court (FC), or Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) officials on post-determination actions. I&R legal aid is available in six provinces: Newfoundland and Labrador (N.L.), Quebec (Que.), Ontario (Ont.), Manitoba (Man.), Alberta (Alta), and British Columbia (B.C.). Return to footnote 9 referrer of Table 6 Notes of Table 6 Notes Totals may include applications that were withdrawn, or were received in a previous fiscal year, but approved or refused this fiscal year. For N.B., data only include approved applications where the attorney was assigned before March 31st. For P.E.I., civil data is only collected in aggregate form. For Ont., criminal legal aid matters include data for adult and youth law clinics. Criminal legal aid applications approved by staff lawyers are not disaggregated by adult and youth. In Man., an application may result in more than one legal matter. It is more likely that a criminal adult or youth application will result in multiple legal matters (e.g., breaches added to the original charge) than a civil application. For Alta., applications approved and refused may relate to current and previous fiscal years, while those received are restricted to current year only.

Table 7 – Refused legal aid applications, by reason for refusal, all legal aid matters, 2020-21

Table 7 – Refused legal aid applications, by reason for refusal, all legal aid matters, 2020-21
			Financial ineligibility^{Footnote 3 of Table 7} Number (%)		Coverage restrictions^{Footnote 4 of Table 7} Number (%)		Lack of merit^{Footnote 5 of Table 7} Number (%)		Non-compliance or abuse^{Footnote 6 of Table 7} Number (%)		Other reasons for refusal^{Footnote 7 of Table 7}^{Footnote 8 of Table 7} Number (%)
	Total reasons for refusal^{Footnote 2 of Table 7} Number (%)		Reasons for refusal^{Footnote 1 of Table 7}
N.L.	2,086	(100)	445	(21)	–	–	214	(10)	–	–	1,427	(68)
P.E.I.	95	(100)	84	(88)	0	(0)	3	(3)	5	(5)	3	(3)
N.S.	2,304	(100)	1475	(64)	217	(9)	118	(5)	254	(11)	240	(10)
N.B.	354	(100)	152	(43)	153	(43)	3	(1)	0	(0)	46	(13)
Que.	39,311	(100)	33,077	(84)	3,245	(8)	677	(2)	34	(0)	2,278	(6)
Ont.	4,789	(100)	2,239	(47)	1,940	(41)	475	(10)	0	(0)	135	(3)
Man.	7,480	(100)	2,684	(36)	1,934	(26)	933	(12)	146	(2)	1,783	(24)
Sask.	2,178	(100)	1634	(75)	0	(0)	110	(5)	32	(11)	402	(18)
Alta.	14,249	(100)	4529	(32)	3145	(22)	23	(0)	0	(0)	6,552	(46)
B.C.	8,751	(100)	1,427	(16)	740	(8)	0	(0)	0	(0)	6,584	(75)
Yuk.	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
N.W.T.	113	(100)	27	(24)	–	–	2	(2)	17	(15)	67	(59)
Nvt.	66	(100)	4	(6)	–	–	9	(14)	3	(5)	50	(76)
Canada	81,776	(100)	47,777	(59)	11,374	(14)	2,567	(3)	491	(1)	19,567	(24)
Table 7 footnotes – of Table 7 –: Refers to data that were not available, collected, or provided by the jurisdiction as reported in the Statement of Final Claim. Note of Table 7 Rounding may impact totals balancing. Footnote 1 of Table 7 An application can be refused, appealed and still refused. Only the initial refusal is counted. Return to footnote 1 referrer of Table 7 Footnote 2 of Table 7 If an application involves more than one reason for refusal, only the most important reason is counted. This is determined by the hierarchy of the table (reasons are ordered from highest to lowest importance, from left to right). Return to footnote 2 referrer of Table 7 Footnote 3 of Table 7 “Financial ineligibility” are refusals for legal aid based on financial information disclosed by the applicant (e.g., income level, assets, liabilities) which indicates that the applicant does not meet the financial eligibility requirements set by the legal aid plan and therefore does not qualify for legal aid. Financial eligibility criteria are set out by each legal aid plan and therefore the criteria differ across the provinces and territories. Return to footnote 3 referrer of Table 7 Footnote 4 of Table 7 “Coverage restrictions” are applications refused on the grounds that the legal matter is not covered by the legal aid plan. For example, some plans do not cover wills and estates or workplace injury claims. Return to footnote 4 referrer of Table 7 Footnote 5 of Table 7 “Lack of merit” are applications refused because the nature of the case or the seriousness of the matter does not warrant legal assistance. This eligibility criterion does not depend on finances, it includes criteria such as the type of legal problem and the merit of the case. Return to footnote 5 referrer of Table 7 Footnote 6 of Table 7 “Non-compliance/abuse” are refusals for legal aid based on either an applicant’s prior or current experience with the legal aid plan. These refusals include applications where similar services were already rendered, services applied for are abusive of the legal process, or because the client fails to cooperate with the legal aid lawyer. Return to footnote 6 referrer of Table 7 Footnote 7 of Table 7 “Other reasons for refusal” refer to all other reasons for refusing an application that has not already been accounted for in the above categories. Return to footnote 7 referrer of Table 7 Footnote 8 of Table 7 A proportion of Quebec refusals are due to the fact that some legal aid applicants have not submitted the required documents to assess their financial eligibility. Return to footnote 8 referrer of Table 7 Notes of Table 7 Notes B.C.’s current system does not support effective tracking of refusals, so many applications refused for coverage or eligibility may be incorrectly identified as “Other reasons for refusal”. Financial eligibility criteria are a set of a caps rather than a reflection of the client’s ability to pay. In addition, the caps are based on a market basket measure of poverty. For Alta., applications approved and refused may relate to current and previous fiscal years, while those received are restricted to current year only. In N.W.T., refusals may be a result of applications received during different fiscal years. It is also common for a refusal to be issued due to incomplete applications, which are later completed and approved.

Table 8 – Refused legal aid applications, by reason for refusal, criminal matters, 2020-21

Table 8 – Refused legal aid applications, by reason for refusal, criminal matters, 2020-21
			Financial ineligibility^{Footnote 3 of Table 8} Number (%)		Coverage restrictions^{Footnote 4 of Table 8} Number (%)		Lack of merit^{Footnote 5 of Table 8} Number (%)		Non-compliance or abuse^{Footnote 6 of Table 8} Number (%)		Other reasons for refusal^{Footnote 7 of Table 8}^{Footnote 8 of Table 8} Number (%)
	Total reasons for refusal^{Footnote 2 of Table 8} Number (%)		Reasons for refusal^{Footnote 1 of Table 8}
N.L.	1,111	(100)	272	(24)	–	–	26	(2)	–	–	813	(73)
P.E.I.	69	(100)	67	(97)	0	(0)	0	(0)	1	(1)	1	(1)
N.S.	484	(100)	224	(46)	46	(10)	21	(4)	90	(19)	103	(21)
N.B.	172	(100)	49	(28)	82	(48)	0	(0)	0	(0)	41	(24)
Que.	15,389	(100)	14,003	(91)	607	(4)	18	(0)	0	(0)	761	(5)
Ont.	3,184	(100)	1,730	(54)	1,150	(36)	223	(7)	0	(0)	81	(3)
Man.	4,545	(100)	1,401	(31)	1,322	(29)	333	(7)	93	(2)	1,396	(31)
Sask.	1,369	(100)	969	(71)	0	(0)	35	(3)	19	(1)	346	(25)
Alta.	7,396	(100)	2,542	(34)	1506	(20)	6	(0)	0	(0)	3,342	(45)
B.C.	3,202	(100)	475	(15)	228	(7)	0	(0)	0	(0)	2,499	(78)
Yuk.	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
N.W.T.	78	(100)	14	(18)	–	–	0	(0)	17	(22)	47	(60)
Nvt.	2	(100)	0	(0)	–	–	0	(0)	0	(0)	2	(100)
Canada	37,001	(100)	21,746	(59)	4,941	(13)	662	(2)	220	(1)	9,432	(25)
Table 8 footnotes – of Table 8 –: Refers to data that is not available, provided, or collected by the jurisdiction as reported in the Statement of Final Claim. Note of Table 8 Rounding may impact totals balancing. Footnote 1 of Table 8 Refused applications are all requests for legal aid that have been denied legal services. This total includes applications for which no services have been approved, as well as those applications denied for full service that subsequently receive summary service. An application can be refused, appealed and still refused. Only the initial refusal is counted. Return to footnote 1 referrer of Table 8 Footnote 2 of Table 8 If an application involves more than one reason for refusal, only the most important reason is counted. This is determined by the hierarchy of the table (reasons are ordered from highest to lowest importance, from left to right). Return to footnote 2 referrer of Table 8 Footnote 3 of Table 8 “Financial ineligibility” are refusals for legal aid based on financial information disclosed by the applicant (e.g., income level, assets, liabilities) which indicates that the applicant does not meet the financial eligibility requirements set by the legal aid plan and therefore does not qualify for legal aid. Financial eligibility criteria are set out by each legal aid plan and therefore the criteria differ across the provinces and territories. Return to footnote 3 referrer of Table 8 Footnote 4 of Table 8 “Coverage restrictions” are applications refused on the grounds that the legal matter is not covered by the legal aid plan. For example, some plans do not cover wills and estates or workplace injury claims. Return to footnote 4 referrer of Table 8 Footnote 5 of Table 8 “Lack of merit” are applications refused because the nature of the case or the seriousness of the matter does not warrant legal assistance. This eligibility criterion does not depend on finances, it includes criteria such as the type of legal problem and the merit of the case. Return to footnote 5 referrer of Table 8 Footnote 6 of Table 8 “Non-compliance/abuse” are refusals for legal aid based on either an applicant’s prior or current experience with the legal aid plan. These refusals include applications where similar services were already rendered, services applied for are abusive of the legal process, or because the client fails to co-operate with the legal aid lawyer. Return to footnote 6 referrer of Table 8 Footnote 7 of Table 8 Other refers to all other reasons for refusing an application that have not already been accounted for in the above categories. Return to footnote 7 referrer of Table 8 Footnote 8 of Table 8 A proportion of Quebec refusals are due to the fact that some legal aid applicants have not submitted the required documents to assess their financial eligibility. Return to footnote 8 referrer of Table 8 Notes of Table 8 Notes For P.E.I., data is only collected in aggregated form. The requested breakdown in not available. For Alta., applications approved and refused may relate to current and previous fiscal years, while those received are restricted to current year only. B.C.’s current system does not support effective tracking of refusals, so many applications refused for coverage or eligibility may be incorrectly identified as “Other reasons for refusal”. Financial eligibility criteria are a set of a caps rather than a reflection of the client’s ability to pay. In addition, the caps are based on a market basket measure of poverty. N.W.T. denials may be a result of applications received during different fiscal years. It is also common for a denial to be issued due to incomplete applications, which are later completed and approved.

Table 9 – Refused legal aid applications, by reason for refusal, civil matters, 2020-21

Table 9 – Refused legal aid applications, by reason for refusal, civil matters, 2020-21
		Total refused1^{Footnote 1 of Table 9}^{Footnote 2 of Table 9} Number (%)		Financial ineligibility^{Footnote 3 of Table 9} Number (%)		Coverage restrictions^{Footnote 4 of Table 9} Number (%)		Lack of merit^{Footnote 5 of Table 9} Number (%)		Non-compliance or abuse^{Footnote 6 of Table 9} Number (%)		Other reasons for refusal^{Footnote 7 of Table 9}^{Footnote 8 of Table 9} Number (%)
N.L.	Other Civil	969	(100)	172	(18)	–	–	187	(19)	–	–	610	(63)
	I&R	6	(100)	1	(17)	–	–	1	(17)	–	–	4	(67)
	Total	975	(100)	173	(18)	–	–	188	(19)	–	–	614	(63)
P.E.I.	Other Civil	26	(100)	17	(65)	0	(0)	3	(12)	4	(15)	2	(8)
	I&R
	Total	26	(100)	17	(65)	0	(0)	3	(12)	4	(15)	2	(8)
N.S.	Other Civil	1803	(100)	1251	(69)	167	(9)	93	(5)	159	(9)	133	(7)
	I&R
	Total	1803	(100)	1251	(69)	167	(9)	93	(5)	159	(9)	133	(7)
N.B.	Other Civil	178	(100)	102	(57)	68	(38)	3	(2)	0	(0)	5	(3)
	I&R
	Total	178	(100)	102	(57)	68	(38)	3	(2)	0	(0)	5	(3)
Qc	Other Civil	22,509	(100)	18,116	(80)	2,296	(10)	652	(3)	33	(0)	1,412	(6)
	I&R	491	(100)	432	(88)	13	(3)	5	(1)	0	(0)	41	(8)
	Total	23,000	(100)	18,548	(81)	2,309	(10)	657	(3)	33	(0)	1,453	(6)
Ont.	Other Civil	1,119	(100)	250	(22)	668	(60)	162	(14)	0	(0)	39	(3)
	I&R	486	(100)	259	(53)	122	(25)	90	(19)	0	(0)	15	(3)
	Total	1,605	(100)	509	(32)	790	(49)	252	(16)	0	(0)	54	(3)
Man.	Other Civil	2,836	(100)	1,259	(44)	573	(20)	579	(20)	51	(2)	374	(13)
	I&R	56	(100)	12	(21)	18	(32)	19	(34)	1	(2)	6	(11)
	Total	2892	(100)	1,271	(44)	591	(20)	598	(21)	52	(2)	380	(13)
Sask.	Other Civil	809	(100)	665	(82)	0	(0)	75	(9)	13	(2)	56	(7)
	I&R
	Total	809	(100)	665	(82)	0	(0)	75	(9)	13	(2)	56	(7)
Alta.	Other Civil	6,682	(100)	1,954	(29)	1,619	(24)	17	(0)	0	(0)	3,092	(46)
	I&R	149	(100)	33	(22)	20	(13)	0	(0)	0	(0)	96	(64)
	Total	6,831	(100)	1987	(29)	1639	(24)	17	(0)	0	(0)	3,188	(47)
B.C.	Other Civil	4,752	(100)	717	(15)	429	(9)	0	(0)	0	(0)	3,606	(76)
	I&R	409	(100)	182	(44)	69	(17)	0	(0)	0	(0)	158	(39)
	Total	5,161	(100)	899	(17)	498	(10)	0	(0)	0	(0)	3,764	(73)
N.W.T.	Other Civil	35	(100)	13	(37)	–	–	2	(6)	0	(0)	20	(57)
	I&R
	Total	35	(100)	13	(37)	0	(0)	2	(6)	0	(0)	20	(57)
Nvt.	Other Civil	64	(100)	4	(6)	–	–	9	(14)	3	(5)	48	(75)
	I&R
	Total	64	(100)	4	(6)	0	0%	9	(14)	3	(5)	48	(75)
Canada	Other Civil	41,782	(100)	24,520	(59)	5,820	(14)	1,782	(4)	263	(1)	9,397	(22)
	I&R	1,597	(100)	919	(58)	242	(15)	115	(7)	1	(0)	320	(20)
	Total	43,379	(100)	25,439	(59)	6,062	(14)	1,897	(4)	264	(1)	9,717	(22)
Table 9 footnotes Note of Table 9 Rounding may impact totals balancing. Footnote 1 of Table 9 Refused applications are all requests for legal aid that have been denied legal services. The total includes applications for which no services have been approved, as well as those applications denied for full service that subsequently receive summary service. An application can be refused, appealed and still refused. Only the initial refusal is counted. Return to footnote 1 referrer of Table 9 Footnote 2 of Table 9 Civil legal aid includes child protection matters; proceedings related to divorce, separation, maintenance, and all other matters of a family law nature; as well as all civil matters that are not of a family nature (e.g., landlord and tenant disputes, poverty law, etc.). This category also includes immigration and Refugee (I&R) matters. Note that I&R legal aid is available in six provinces: Newfoundland and Labrador (N.L.), Quebec (Que.), Ontario (Ont.), Manitoba (Man.), Alberta (Alta), and British Columbia (B.C.). Return to footnote 2 referrer of Table 9 Footnote 3 of Table 9 If an application involves more than one reason for refusal, only the most important reason is counted. This is determined by the hierarchy of the table (reasons are ordered from highest to lowest importance, from left to right). Return to footnote 3 referrer of Table 9 Footnote 4 of Table 9 “Financial ineligibility” are refusals for legal aid based on financial information disclosed by the applicant (e.g., income level, assets, liabilities) which indicates that the applicant does not meet the financial eligibility requirements set by the legal aid plan and therefore does not qualify for legal aid. Financial eligibility criteria are set out by each legal aid plan and therefore the criteria differ across the provinces and territories. Return to footnote 4 referrer of Table 9 Footnote 5 of Table 9 “Coverage restrictions” are applications refused on the grounds that the legal matter is not covered by the legal aid plan. For example, some plans do not cover wills and estates or workplace injury claims. Return to footnote 5 referrer of Table 9 Footnote 6 of Table 9 “Lack of merit” are applications refused because the nature of the case or the seriousness of the matter does not warrant legal assistance. This eligibility criterion does not depend on finances, it includes criteria such as the type of legal problem and the merit of the case. Return to footnote 6 referrer of Table 9 Footnote 7 of Table 9 “Non-compliance/abuse” are refusals for legal aid based on either an applicant’s prior or current experience with the legal aid plan. These refusals include applications where similar services were already rendered, services applied for are abusive of the legal process, or because the client fails to co-operate with the legal aid lawyer. Return to footnote 7 referrer of Table 9 Footnote 8 of Table 9 Other refers to all other reasons for refusing an application that have not already been accounted for in the above categories. Return to footnote 8 referrer of Table 9 Notes of Table 9 Notes For Alta., applications approved and refused may relate to current and previous fiscal years, while those received are restricted to current year only. B.C.’s current system does not support effective tracking of refusals, so many applications refused for coverage or eligibility may be incorrectly identified as “Other Civil.” Financial eligibility criteria are a set of a caps rather than a reflection of the client’s ability to pay. In addition, the caps are based on a market basket measure of poverty.

Table 10 – Applications for full legal representation, approved and refused, by self-identified Indigenous population, criminal and civil, and province/territory, 2020-21

Table 10 – Applications for full legal representation, approved and refused, by self-identified Indigenous population, criminal and civil, and province/territory, 2020-21
	Total received N (%)	Total approved^{Footnote 2 of Table 10} N (%)		Total Refused^{Footnote 3 of Table 10} N (%)		Total received	Total approved N (%)		Total refused N (%)		Total received	Total approved N (%)		Total refused N (%)
	All criminal and civil applications^{Footnote 1 of Table 10}					Criminal legal aid applications					Civil legal aid^{Footnote 4 of Table 10} applications
N.L.	467 (100)	293	63%	174	37%	425	265	62%	160	38%	42	28	56%	14	33%
P.E.I.	92 (100)	83	90%	3	3%	76	74	97%	2	3%	16	9	56%	1	6%
N.S.	2,309 (100)	1,587	69%	101	4%	1,744	1,238	71%	39	2%	565	349	62%	62	11%
N.B.	351 (100)	290	83%	24	7%	246	210	85%	14	6%	105	80	76%	10	10%
Que.	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Ont.	16,438 (100)	15,515	94%	584	4%	12,283	11,571	94%	455	4%	4,155	3,944	95%	129	3%
Man.	12,211 (100)	8,107	66%	3,039	25%	9,479	5,966	63%	2,272	24%	2,732	2,141	78%	767	28%
Sask.	9,282 (100)	8,152	88%	1,042	11%	7,175	6,354	89%	733	10%	2,107	1,798	85%	309	15%
Alta.	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
B.C.	7,705 (100)	6,045	78%	1,660	22%	5,216	4,488	86%	728	14%	2,489	1,557	63%	932	37%
Yuk.	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
N.W.T.	988 (100)	876	(89)	112	(11)	712	635	(89)	77	(11)	276	241	(87)	35	(13)
Nvt.	480 (100)	414	(86)	66	(14)	268	266	(99)	2	(1)	212	148	(70)	64	(30)
Canada	50,323 (100)	41,362	(82)	6,805	(14)	37,624	31,067	(83)	4,482	(12)	12,699	10,295	(81)	2,323	(18)
Table 10 footnotes – of Table 10 –: Refers to data that is not available, provided, or collected by the jurisdiction as reported in the Statement of Final Claim. Note of Table 10 Counts of approved and received applications may not equal the total received because they could be received and approved or refused in different years. Note of Table 10 Rounding may impact totals balancing. Note of Table 10 Indigenous refers to an individual who self-identifies as First Nations (North American Indian), Inuk (Inuit), or Métis, whether they live on or off-reserve and whether or not they have Registered or Treaty Indian status. Footnote 1 of Table 10 An application for legal aid is a request for legal aid assistance that results in the provision of summary or full legal representation on behalf of the legal aid plan, or the denial of legal aid service. Summary services include the provision of legal advice, information, or any other type of minimal legal service granted to an individual. Full legal representation constitutes more extensive legal assistance. The total number of applications reported for the fiscal year includes all applications filed during that time, irrespective of when the application was approved or refused. Return to footnote 1 referrer of Table 10 Footnote 2 of Table 10 Approved legal aid application counts refer to full legal representation applications only. When aggregated, the total number of applications reflects the number of individual requests for assistance, rather than the total number of persons seeking assistance. Full legal representation (or “certificate”) refers to the provision of full legal aid representation by a private bar lawyer approved by the legal aid plan or by a staff lawyer. An approved application for full legal representation refers to an application for legal assistance which is granted as described in a certificate, referral, or any other authorization denoting that the applicant is entitled to legal aid services. Once an application is approved for full legal representation by the legal aid plan, the certificate may then be brought to a private bar lawyer who bills the legal aid plan once the service is completed, or the service may be provided by a legal aid staff lawyer. Return to footnote 2 referrer of Table 10 Footnote 3 of Table 10 Refused applications refer to all requests for legal aid that have been denied legal services. This total includes applications for which no services have been approved, as well as those applications denied for full legal representation that subsequently receive summary service. An application can be refused, appealed and still refused. Only the initial refusal is counted. Return to footnote 3 referrer of Table 10 Footnote 4 of Table 10 Civil legal aid includes: child protection matters; proceedings related to divorce, separation, maintenance, and all other matters of a family law nature; as well as all civil matters that are not of a family nature (e.g., landlord and tenant disputes, poverty law, etc.). This category also includes immigration and Refugee (I&R) matters. Note that I&R legal aid is available in six provinces: Newfoundland and Labrador (N.L.), Quebec (Que.), Ontario (Ont.), Manitoba (Man.), Alberta (Alta), and British Columbia (B.C.). Return to footnote 4 referrer of Table 10 Notes of Table 10 Notes: For Nvt., application refusal may be a result of applications received during different fiscal years. It is also common for a refusal to be issued due to incomplete applications, which are later completed and approved.

Table 11 – Duty counsel services, by type of matter, 2020-21

Table 11 – Duty counsel services, by type of matter, 2020-21
	Total duty counsel services Number (%)		Total criminal duty counsel services Number (%)		Adult matters	Youth^{Footnote 3 of Table 11} matters	Provincial Statute Offences Number (%)		Total civil duty counsel services Number (%)		I&R^{Footnote 4 of Table 11}	Other civil matters^{Footnote 5 of Table 11}
	Total duty counsel services Number (%)		Criminal duty counsel services^{Footnote 1 of Table 11}				Provincial Statute Offences Number (%)		Civil duty counsel services^{Footnote 2 of Table 11}
N.L.	10,973	(100)	10,681	(97)	10,532	149	–	–	292	(3)	–	292
P.E.I.	668	(100)	668	(100)	668	–	–	–	–	–		–
N.S.	15,316	(100)	12,843	(84)	12,552	242	146	(1)	2,327	(15)		2,327
N.B.	21,441	(100)	18,973	(88)	18,388	585	915	(4)	1,553	(7)		1,553
Que.	14,298	(100)	14,298	(100)	14,298	0	0	(0)	0	(0)	0	–
Ont.	508,318	(100)	463,067	(91)	454,802	8,265	0	(0)	45,251	(9)	96	45,155
Man.	41,327	(100)	36,988	(90)	34,465	2,523	0	(0)	4,339	(10)	0	4,339
Sask.	34,265	(100)	33,969	(99)	32,197	1,772	296	(1)	0	(0)		–
Alta.	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
B.C.	88,340	(100)	72,342	(82)	71,436	906	0	(0)	15,998	(18)	524	15,474
Yuk.		(100)
N.W.T.	4,316	(100)	3,637	(84)	3,358	279	679	(16)	0	(0)		–
Nvt.	2,280	(100)	2,820	(100)	2,712	108	0	(0)	0	(0)		–
Canada	742,082	(100)	670,286	(90)	655,408	14,829	2,036	(0)	69,760	(9)	620	69,140
Table 11 footnotes – of Table 11 –: Refers to data that is not available, provided, or collected by the jurisdiction as reported in the Statement of Final Claim. Notes of Table 11 Rounding may impact totals balancing. ^P – Count is by number of persons assisted. ^A – Count is by number of assists – the number of times duty counsel was provided for each category of service provided for adult and youth criminal legal aid, provincial statute offences, I&R, and civil legal aid. Footnote 1 of Table 11 Criminal duty counsel are legal services in criminal matters that are generally provided at a court or place of detention. Return to footnote 1 referrer of Table 11 Footnote 2 of Table 11 Civil duty counsel are legal services in civil matters that may additionally be provided at locations other than a court or place of detention (e.g. psychiatric hospital, senior citizens’ home). Return to footnote 2 referrer of Table 11 Footnote 3 of Table 11 “Youth” are persons who are at least 12 years of age, but under 18 years of age and charged under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. Return to footnote 3 referrer of Table 11 Footnote 4 of Table 11 Immigration and Refugee (I&R) matters are proceedings of persons (individuals, or principal applicants and family) involved in the immigration and refugee determination system under the provisions of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA). I&R legal aid covers the provision of legal advice, assistance and representation for immigration or refugee proceedings before the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) of Canada, the Federal Court (FC), or Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) officials on post-determination actions. Return to footnote 4 referrer of Table 11 Footnote 5 of Table 11 Other civil matters refer to all other civil proceedings including family matters. Return to footnote 5 referrer of Table 11 Notes of Table 11 Notes For N.S., an additional 49 assists were given for Brydges After Hours Telephone Duty Counsel, and are not reported in the criminal adult and youth numbers above. The age of the person could not be determined when these services were being provided. For P.E.I., criminal duty counsel services are not tracked for adults separately from youth. Legal Aid Manitoba does not track by matter type; therefore, for Brydges total assists, the service handles police custody calls throughout the province. For provincial statute offences, Legal Aid Manitoba does not track duty counsel assists by individual offences; the services rendered for provincial statute offences (if any) would be included in total criminal and youth matters. Legal Aid Manitoba does not track the number of persons assisted by duty counsel. For Man., civil includes all child protection and civil duty counsel matters. In Sask., duty counsel services are provided to individuals on remand at all court points including circuit points. If the matter cannot be resolved immediately, then a full-service application is taken. Civil duty counsel services are not available in Sask. Nvt. does not provide duty counsel services per se but presumes eligibility on criminal matters on circuit.

Table 12 – Duty counsel service expenditures, by type of matter, 2020-21

Table 12 – Duty counsel service expenditures, by type of matter, 2020-21
			Total criminal duty counsel services Dollars (%)		Adult matters	Youth^{Footnote 4 of Table 12} matters	Provincial Statute Offences Dollars (%)		Total civil duty counsel services Dollars (%)		I&R^{Footnote 5 of Table 12}	Other civil matters^{Footnote 6 of Table 12}
	Total duty counsel services^{Footnote 1 of Table 12} Dollars (%)		Criminal duty counsel services^{Footnote 2 of Table 12}				Provincial Statute Offences Dollars (%)		Civil duty counsel services^{Footnote 3 of Table 12}
N.L.	178,210	(100)	178,210	(100)	178,210	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
P.E.I.	63,409	(100)	63,409	(100)	63,409	–	–	–	–	–		–
N.S.	2,606,885	(100)	2,212,200	(85)	2,185,182	27,018	–	–	394,685	(15)		394,685
N.B.	1,472,439	(100)	1,241,135	(84)	1,236,910	4,225	4,166	(0)	227,138	(15)		227,138
Que.	1,268,183	(100)	1,268,183	(100)	1,268,183	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Ont.	49,240,633	(100)	34,575,163	(70)	33,862,707	712,456	–	–	14,665,470	(30)	4,607	14,660,863
Man.	2,743,029	(100)	2,440,348	(89)	2,279,978	160,370	–	–	302,681	(11)	–	302,681
Sask.	5,169,603	(100)	5,147,665	(100)	4,797,796	349,869	3,175	(0)	18,763	(0)		18,763
Alta.	15,573,194	(100)	15,573,194	(100)	15,156,205	416,989	–	–	–	–	–	–
B.C.	12,122,194	(100)	9,235,798	(76)	8,779,224	456,574	–	–	2,886,396	(24)	193,641	2,692,755
Yuk.	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		–
N.W.T.	895,317	(100)	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		–
Nvt.	113,951	(100)	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		–
Canada	91,447,047	(100)	72,944,573	(80)	69,807,804	2,127,501	7,341	(0)	18,495,133	(20)	198,248	18,296,885
Table 12 footnotes – of Table 12 –: Refers to data that were not available, provided or collected by the jurisdiction as reported in the Statement of Final Claim. Note of Table 12 Rounding may impact totals balancing. Footnote 1 of Table 12 Duty counsel service expenditures are the actual gross dollars expended by the legal aid plan in a given fiscal year for duty counsel services. Return to footnote 1 referrer of Table 12 Footnote 2 of Table 12 Criminal duty counsel are legal services in criminal matters that are generally provided at a court or place of detention. Return to footnote 2 referrer of Table 12 Footnote 3 of Table 12 Civil duty counsel are legal services in civil matters that may additionally be provided at locations other than a court or place of detention (e.g. psychiatric hospital, senior citizens’ home). Return to footnote 3 referrer of Table 12 Footnote 4 of Table 12 “Youth” are persons who are at least 12 years of age, but under 18 years of age and charged under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. Return to footnote 4 referrer of Table 12 Footnote 5 of Table 12 Immigration and Refugee (I&R) matters are proceedings of persons (individuals, or principal applicants and family) involved in the immigration and refugee determination system under the provisions of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA). I&R legal aid covers the provision of legal advice, assistance and representation for immigration or refugee proceedings before the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) of Canada, the Federal Court (FC), or Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) officials on post-determination actions. Return to footnote 5 referrer of Table 12 Footnote 6 of Table 12 Other civil matters are all other civil proceedings including family matters. Return to footnote 6 referrer of Table 12 Notes of Table 12 Notes For Sask., the expenditures reflect the payments made to private bar and not staff lawyers. Legal Aid Manitoba does not track by matter type; therefore, for Brydges total assists, the service handles police custody calls throughout the province. For provincial statute offences, Legal Aid Manitoba does not track duty counsel assists by individual offences; the services rendered for provincial statute offences (if any) would be included in total criminal and youth matters. Legal Aid Manitoba does not track the number of persons assisted by duty counsel. For Man., civil includes all child protection and civil duty counsel matters. N.B. is unable to report adult/youth/provincial offences expenditures separately as this level of detail is not recorded in their accounting system or case management system. Brydges Program pro-rated based on number of calls received. For P.E.I., criminal duty counsel expenditures are not collected by age (adult/youth). N.W.T. and Nvt. criminal duty counsel expenditures are not collected by age (adult/youth). For N.W.T., a calculation is used to approximate the costs related to duty counsel/presumed eligibility matters. Estimated average time spent on files by criminal lawyers is 65% duty counsel (presumed eligibility), 30 % adult criminal and 5% youth criminal. Nvt. data is draft and not audited. Nvt. does not provide duty counsel services per se but presumes eligibility on criminal matters on circuit. Nvt. figures only includes criminal duty counsel services provided by staff lawyers; data on private bar services is not available.

Table 13 – Appeal applications, approved and refused, for legal aid services, by criminal and civil matters, 2020-21

Table 13 – Appeal applications, approved and refused, for legal aid services, by criminal and civil matters, 2020-21
	Total Approved and refused appeals^{Footnote 1 of Table 13} N (%)		Total Approved appeals N (%)		Total Refused appeals N (%)		Approved and refused appeals N (%)		Approved appeals N (%)		Refused appeals N (%)		Approved and refused appeals N (%)		Approved appeals N (%)		Refused appeals N (%)
	Total criminal and civil matters						Criminal matters (adult and youth)						Civil matters (including I&R)
N.L.	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
P.E.I.	4	(100)	4	(100)	0	(0)	1	(100)	1	(100)	0	(0)	3	(100)	3	(100)	0	(0)
N.S.	51	(100)	44	(86)	7	(14)	43	(100)	37	(86)	6	(14)	8	(100)	7	(88)	1	(13)
N.B.	22	(100)	12	(55)	10	(45)	15	(100)	8	(53)	7	(47)	7	(100)	4	(57)	3	(43)
Que.	682	(100)	408	(60)	274	(40)	282	(100)	205	(73)	77	(27)	400	(100)	203	(51)	197	(49)
Ont.	2,311	(100)	1,990	(86)	321	(14)	1,050	(100)	825	(79)	225	(21)	1,261	(100)	1,165	(92)	96	(8)
Man.	103	(100)	69	(67)	34	(33)	91	(100)	61	(67)	30	(33)	12	(100)	8	(67)	4	(33)
Sask.	51	(100)	44	(86)	7	(14)	50	(100)	43	(86)	7	(14)	1	(100)	1	(100)	0	(0)
Alta.	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
B.C.	910	(100)	459	(50)	451	(50)	418	(100)	141	(34)	277	(66)	492	(100)	318	(65)	174	(35)
Yuk.	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
N.W.T.	16	(100)	15	(94)	1	(6)	16	(100)	15	(94)	1	(6)	0	(0)	0	(0)	0	(0)
Nvt.	26	(100)	26	(100)	0	(0)	26	(100)	26	(100)	0	(0)	0	(0)	0	(0)	0	(0)
Canada	4,176	(100)	3,071	(74)	1,105	(26)	1,992	(100)	1,362	(68)	630	(32)	2,184	(100)	1,709	(78)	475	(22)
Table 13 footnotes – of Table 13 –: Refers to data that were not available, collected, or provided by the jurisdiction as reported in the Statement of Final Claim. Note of Table 13 Rounding may impact totals balancing. Footnote 1 of Table 13 Appeal is an appeal of a lower court or administrative tribunal decision, not an appeal of a refused application. Each case is counted despite the fact that the matter may have been dealt with by the legal aid plan in the past. Return to footnote 1 referrer of Table 13

Table 14 – Incoming and outgoing civil legal aid cases processed under the Interprovincial Reciprocity Agreement, 2020-21

Table 14 – Incoming and outgoing civil legal aid cases processed under the Interprovincial Reciprocity Agreement, 2020-21
	Incoming	Outgoing
	Total by jurisdiction
Newfoundland and Labrador	3	6
Prince Edward Island	1	3
Nova Scotia	–	–
New Brunswick	26	4
Quebec	82	70
Ontario	108	89
Manitoba	45	20
Saskatchewan	–	–
Alberta	10	0
British Columbia	13	8
Yukon	–	–
Northwest Territories	–	–
Nunavut	–	–
Total	288	200
Table 14 footnote – of Table 14 –: Refers to data that were not available, collected, or provided by the jurisdiction as reported in the Statement of Final Claim.

Table 15 – Legal aid clients, by age, gender, and type of matter, Canada, 2020-21

Table 15 – Legal aid clients, by age, gender, and type of matter, Canada, 2020-21
	Criminal Number %		I&R^{Footnote 1 of Table 15} Number %		Civil Number %		Criminal and Civil (combined)^{Footnote 2 of Table 15} Number %		Total Number %
	Type of matter
Male 17 and under	8,257	6%	79	1%	15,128	27%	1,278	5%	24,742	11%
Male 18-34	69,261	48%	3,160	48%	14,072	25%	11,915	45%	98,408	42%
Male 35-49	47,259	33%	2,281	35%	16,210	29%	9,765	37%	75,515	32%
Male 50+	19,513	14%	1,023	16%	10,759	19%	3,262	12%	34,557	15%
Total Males	144,290	100%	6,543	100%	56,169	100%	26,220	100%	233,222	100%
Female 17 and under	2,361	6%	60	1%	15,515	16%	880	6%	18,816	12%
Female 18-34	19,472	51%	1,800	40%	35,884	38%	7,051	46%	64,207	42%
Female 35-49	12,205	32%	1,695	38%	31,092	33%	6,113	40%	51,105	33%
Female 50+	4,094	11%	943	21%	12,937	14%	1,280	8%	19,254	13%
Total Females	38,132	100%	4,498	100%	95,428	100%	15,324	100%	153,382	100%
Other 17 and under	87	10%	^{Footnote * of Table 15}	0%	18	3%	8	24%	113	7%
Other 18-34	385	43%	13	45%	198	32%	11	33%	607	38%
Other 35-49	287	32%	13	45%	127	21%	6	18%	433	27%
Other 50+	142	16%	^{Footnote * of Table 15}	10%	272	44%	8	24%	425	27%
Total Other^{Footnote 3 of Table 15}	901	100%	29	100%	615	100%	33	100%	1,578	100%
Total 17 and under	10,705	6%	139	1%	30661	20%	2,166	5%	43,671	11%
Total 18-34	89,118	49%	4,973	45%	50,154	33%	18,977	46%	163,222	42%
Total 35-49	59,751	33%	3,989	36%	47,429	31%	15,884	38%	127,053	33%
Total 50+	23,749	13%	1,969	18%	23,968	16%	4,550	11%	54,236	14%
Canada	183,323	100%	11,070	100%	152,212	100%	41,577	100%	388,182	100%
Table 15 footnotes – of Table 15 –: Refers to data that were not available, collected, or provided by the jurisdiction as reported in the Statement of Final Claim. Note of Table 15 Rounding may impact totals balancing. Footnote * of Table 15 cell count under 5 supressed. Return to first footnote * referrer of Table 15 Footnote 1 of Table 15 I&R legal services are only available in six provinces: Newfoundland and Labrador, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Alberta, and British Columbia. Return to footnote 1 referrer of Table 15 Footnote 2 of Table 15 Criminal and civil (combined) are cases where a legal aid client received summary and/or full legal aid representation for both criminal and civil legal aid. Return to footnote 2 referrer of Table 15 Footnote 3 of Table 15 The other categories could include gender diverse people, as well as unknown responses. Return to footnote 3 referrer of Table 15 Notes of Table 15 Notes: Northwest Territories, Yukon and Prince Edward Island data are not included due to missing data.

Table 16 – Indigenous legal aid clients receiving full legal representation and summary services, by gender and type of matter, 2020-21

Table 16 – Indigenous legal aid clients receiving full legal representation and summary services, by gender and type of matter, 2020-21
			Total criminal adult Number (%)		Adult			Youth^{Footnote 2 of Table 16}			Total criminal youth Number (%)		Civil^{Footnote 3 of Table 16}
	Total criminal and civil^{Footnote 1 of Table 16} Number (%)		Criminal
			Total criminal adult Number (%)		Male	Female	Other	Male	Female	Other	Total criminal youth Number (%)		Male	Female	Other	Total civil Number (%)
N.L.	467	(100)	413	(2)	330	83	0	7	5	^{Footnote * of Table 16}	12	(1)	15	27	^{Footnote * of Table 16}	42	(0)
N.B.	489	(100)	283	(1)	208	75	0	24	4	^{Footnote * of Table 16}	28	(2)	54	124	^{Footnote * of Table 16}	178	(2)
N.S.	1691	(100)	1165	(4)	750	415	0	56	68	^{Footnote * of Table 16}	124	(8)	139	263	^{Footnote * of Table 16}	402	(4)
Ont.	15,513	(100)	11,091	(41)	8,427	2,608	56	325	153	^{Footnote * of Table 16}	480	(31)	1,486	2,451	5	3,942	(40)
Man.	8,122	(100)	5,593	(21)	4,227	1,343	23	275	112	^{Footnote * of Table 16}	388	(25)	741	1,383	17	2,141	(22)
Sask.	6,194	(100)	4,251	(16)	2,961	1,073	217	219	108	17	344	(22)	420	1,077	102	1,599	(16)
B.C.	5,698	(100)	4,072	(15)	3,039	1,025	8	140	48	^{Footnote * of Table 16}	188	(12)	402	1,034	^{Footnote * of Table 16}	1,438	(15)
N.W.T.	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Nvt.	403	(100)	249	(1)	218	31	0	5	0	0	5	(0)	66	83		149	(2)
Canada	38,577	(100)	27,117	(100)	20,160	6,653	304	1,051	498	20	1,569	(100)	3,323	6,442	126	9,891	(100)
Table 16 footnotes – of Table 16 –: Refers to data that were not available or that were not provided by the jurisdiction as reported in the Statement of Final Claim. Note of Table 16 Rounding may impact totals balancing. Footnote * of Table 16 cell count under 5 supressed. Return to first footnote * referrer of Table 16 Note of Table 16 Indigenous legal aid clients are those who self-identify as First Nations (North American Indian), Inuk (Inuit), or Métis whether they live on or off-reserve and whether or not they have Registered or Treaty Indian status. Footnote 1 of Table 16 Indicates the number of recipients of summary and full services, and excludes duty counsel. Recipients may be counted more than once if they are entitled to receive more than one type of legal aid service. Return to footnote 1 referrer of Table 16 Footnote 2 of Table 16 “Youth” are persons who are at least 12 years of age, but under 18 years of age and charged under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. Return to footnote 2 referrer of Table 16 Footnote 3 of Table 16 Civil legal aid includes all types of civil legal aid excluding immigration and refugee legal aid. Return to footnote 3 referrer of Table 16

Table 17 – Criminal legal aid cases by type of offence and in-year expenditures, adults, Canada, 2020-21

Table 17 – Criminal legal aid cases by type of offence and in-year expenditures, adults, Canada, 2020-21
List of Offences^{Footnote 2 of Table 17} and Appeals	Total cases^{Footnote 1 of Table 17} Number (%)		Total in-year expenditures (fees and disbursements) Dollars (%)
Homicide	1,750	(1)	32,316,227	(13)
Sexual Assault	7,047	(3)	17,643,862	(7)
Robbery	6,051	(3)	13,072,793	(5)
Kidnapping	1,182	(1)	3,002,187	(1)
Arson	546	(0)	809,174	(0)
Narcotics	18,431	(9)	23,997,957	(10)
Theft, Break and Enter, Possession of Stolen Property	33,673	(17)	32,613,714	(13)
Impaired Driving	5,394	(3)	4,765,780	(2)
Other Driving Offences	2,114	(1)	2,216,909	(1)
Assault	39,545	(19)	38,637,909	(15)
Breach of Probation	21,694	(11)	11,114,971	(4)
Administration of Justice	10,748	(5)	12,083,755	(5)
Proceedings under Part XX.1 Criminal Code (Mental Disorder)	1,915	(1)	559,895	(0)
Proceedings under the Extradition Act	7	(0)	26,467	(0)
Other Offences^{Footnote 3 of Table 17}	50,755	(25)	54,456,687	(22)
Subtotal – Offences	200,852	(99)	247,318,287	(99)
Appeals:^{Footnote 4 of Table 17}
a. Crown	1,011	(0.5)	541,336	(0.2)
b. Eligible Person Requested	366	(0.2)	2,324,926	(0.9)
c. Proceedings under Part XX.1 Criminal Code (Mental Disorder)	79	(0.0)	0	(0.0)
d. Proceedings under the Extradition Act	3	(0.0)	0	(0.0)
Subtotal – Appeals	1459	(1)	2,866,262	(1.1)
Total – Criminal Legal Aid	202,311	(100)	250,184,549	(100)
Table 17 footnotes Note of Table 17 Rounding may impact totals balancing. Footnote 1 of Table 17 Includes cases approved in 2020-21, as well as cases carried over from previous years that were completed or ongoing in 2020-21, but incurred expenditures to the legal aid plan in 2020-21. Return to footnote 1 referrer of Table 17 Footnote 2 of Table 17 The list of offences for which criminal legal aid was provided is similar to the one contained in the Canadian Centre for Justice and Community Safety Statistics classification system for reporting offences. The offences are those that generally carry a risk of incarceration upon conviction. The categories do not refer to specific offences under the Criminal Code. Rather they represent groupings of similar offence types. Return to footnote 2 referrer of Table 17 Footnote 3 of Table 17 Other offences includes all other data not captured in the broad offence categories. Return to footnote 3 referrer of Table 17 Footnote 4 of Table 17 Excludes Ontario. Return to footnote 4 referrer of Table 17 Notes of Table 17 Notes Nvt, Yuk. and N.W.T. not included due to incomplete data. For Ont., the total volume of adult approved formal applications includes 1,019 for legal aid clinics and the total in-year expenditures includes $837,117 for the delivery of criminal legal aid services by legal aid clinics. Adult legal aid clinic data is not available by offence type. For Ontario, appeals are counted within the offence, not Notes of Table 17 Given the legal complexities of each case, not all costs are included in the “Total in-year expenditures” column; therefore, the above data should not be used to calculate cost per case.

Table 18 – Criminal legal aid cases by type of offence and in-year expenditures, youth, Canada, 2020-21

Table 18 – Criminal legal aid cases by type of offence and in-year expenditures, youth, Canada, 2020-21
List of Offences^{Footnote 2 of Table 18} and Appeals	Total volume of cases^{Footnote 1 of Table 18} Number (%)		Total in-year expenditures (fees and disbursements) Dollars (%)
Homicide	91	(1)	1,264,553	(6)
Sexual Assault	1,363	(8)	2,141,496	(11)
Assault	3,610	(21)	4,022,035	(20)
Robbery	1,178	(7)	1,872,514	(9)
Kidnapping	45	(0)	72,780	(0)
Arson	99	(1)	124,140	(1)
Narcotics	637	(4)	952,645	(5)
Theft, Break and Enter, Possession of Stolen Property	1,875	(11)	2,384,916	(12)
Impaired Driving	133	(1)	116,024	(1)
Other Driving Offences	55	(0)	85,938	(0)
Breach of Probation	779	(5)	512,291	(3)
Administration of Justice	687	(4)	965,703	(5)
Proceedings under Part XX.1 Criminal Code (Mental Disorder)	2	(0)	756	(0)
Proceedings under the Extradition Act	0	(0)	0	(0)
Other Offences^{Footnote 3 of Table 18}	6,276	(37)	5,792,444	(28)
Subtotal – Offences	16,830	(100)	20,308,235	(100)
Appeals:
a. Crown	33	(0)	0	(0)
b. Eligible Person Requested	7	(0)	32,950	(0)
c. Proceedings under Part XX.1 Criminal Code (Mental Disorder)	0	(0)	0	(0)
d. Proceedings under the Extradition Act	0	(0)	0	(0)
Subtotal – Appeals	40	(0)	32,950	(0)
Total – Criminal Legal Aid – YOUTH	16,839	(100)	20,341,185	(100)
Table 18 footnotes Note of Table 18 Rounding may impact totals balancing. Note of Table 18 Youth refers to persons who are at least 12 years of age, but under 18 years of age. Footnote 1 of Table 18 Includes cases approved in 2020-21, as well as cases carried over from previous years that were completed or ongoing in 2020-21 but incurred expenditures to the legal aid plan in 2020-21. Return to footnote 1 referrer of Table 18 Footnote 2 of Table 18 The list of offences for which criminal legal aid was provided for are similar to those contained in the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics classification system for reporting offences. The offences are those that generally carry a risk of incarceration upon conviction. The categories do not refer to specific offences under the Criminal Code. Rather, they represent groupings of similar offence types. Return to footnote 2 referrer of Table 18 Footnote 3 of Table 18 Other offences includes all other data not captured in the broad offence categories. Return to footnote 3 referrer of Table 18 Notes of Table 18 Notes Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut not included due to incomplete data. For Ont., the total volume of youth approved formal applications includes 114 files by legal aid clinics and the total in-year expenditures includes $93,652 for the delivery of criminal legal aid services by legal aid clinics. Youth legal aid clinic data is not available by offence type. Note of Table 18 Given the legal complexities of each case, not all costs are included in the ‘Total in-year expenditures’ column; therefore, the above data should not be used to calculate cost per case.

Table 19 – Immigration and refugee legal aid certificates and expenditures, by province/territory and type of lawyer, 2020-21

Table 19 – Immigration and refugee legal aid certificates and expenditures, by province/territory and type of lawyer, 2020-21
Alberta
	Certificates^{Footnote 1 of Table 19} issued in the fiscal year Number (%)		Expenditures for certificates issued in the fiscal year Dollars	Certificates carried over from previous fiscal year Number (%)		Expenditures for certificates issued in a previous fiscal year Dollars	Total number of certificates (previous and current fiscal year) Number (%)		Total expenditures Dollars (%)
Private Bar	79	(42)	95,990	177	(36)	258,836	256	(37)	354,826	(32)
Staff Lawyer	109	(58)	82,355	319	(64)	655,575	428	(63)	737,930	(68)
Specialized Clinics	0	(0)	0	0	(0)	0	0	(0)	0	(0)
Totals	188	(100)	178,345	496	100)	914,411	684	(100)	1,092,756	(100)
British Columbia
Private Bar	898	(100)	1,128,041	1,244	100)	2,338,215	2,142	(100)	3,466,256	(100)
Staff Lawyer	0	(0)	0	0	(0)	0	0	(0)	0	(0)
Specialized Clinics	0	(0)	0	0	(0)	0	0	(0)	0	(0)
Totals	898	(100)	1,128,041	1,244	(100)	2,338,215	2,142	(100)	3,466,256	(100)
Manitoba
Private Bar	76	(70)	32,138	261	(89)	325,585	337	(84)	357,723	(90)
Staff Lawyer	32	(30)	10,000	33	(11)	28,116	65	(16)	38,116	(10)
Specialized Clinics	0	(0)	0	0	(0)	0	0	(0)	0	(0)
Totals	108	(100)	42,138	294	(100)	353,701	402	(100)	395,839	(100)
Newfoundland and Labrador
Private Bar	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	--	–	–
Staff Lawyer	2	(100)	20,300	10	(100)	36,980	12	(100)	57,280	(100)
Specialized Clinics	–	–	–		–		–	–	–	–
Totals	2	(100)	20,300	10	(100)	36,980	12	(100)	57,280	(100)
Ontario
Private Bar	6,174	(51)	3,125,142	0	(0)	13,167,482	9,696	(60)	16,292,624	(67)
Staff Lawyer	1,311	(10)	3,794,005	0	(0)	0	1,316	(8)	3,794,005	(16)
Specialized Clinics	5,064	(39)	4,160,120	0	(0)	0	5,064	(32)	4,160,120	(17)
Totals	13,089	(100)	11,079,267	0	(0)	13,167,482	16,076	(100)	24,246,749	(100)
Quebec
Private Bar	1,537	(52)	182,867	2,685	(100)	2,084,129	4,222	(75)	2,266,996	(48)
Staff Lawyer	12	(0)	8,975	0	(0)	0	12	(0)	8,975	(0)
Specialized Clinics	1,410	(48)	2,432,292	0	(0)	0	1,410	(25)	2,432,292	(52)
Totals	2,959	(100)	2,624,134	2,685	(100)	2,084,129	5,644	(100)	4,708,263	(100)
Canada
Private Bar	12,286	(61)	4,564,178	4,367	(92)	18,174,247	16,653	(67)	22,738,425	(67)
Staff Lawyer	1,471	(7)	3,915,635	362	(8)	720,671	1,833	(7)	4,636,306	(14)
Specialized Clinics	6,474	(32)	6,592,412	0	(0)	0	6,474	(26)	6,592,412	(19)
Totals	20,231	(100)	15,072,225	4,729	(100)	18,894,918	24,960	(100)	33,967,143	(100)
Table 19 footnotes Note of Table 19 Rounding may impact totals balancing. – of Table 19 –: Refers to data that were not available, collected, or provided by the jurisdiction as reported in the Statement of Final Claim. Footnote 1 of Table 19 Certificate refers to the number of principal claimants receiving legal aid services for each stage of the process. Return to footnote 1 referrer of Table 19

Criminal legal aid program innovations

Legal aid plans provided information on innovative practices or programs that were implemented for criminal legal aid in 2020-21. An “innovation” refers to a new or improved way of delivering criminal legal aid that targets vulnerable populations, modernizes processes using technology, enhances business practices, and/or supports improved data collection and performance measurement.

Table 20 – Criminal legal aid program innovations

Table 20 – Criminal legal aid program innovations
Name of Innovation/ Program	Objective(s)	Timeline	Expected/ Actual Outcome(s)	Performance Measure(s)	Beneficiaries
Newfoundland and Labrador
Review current portfolio of IT hardware and software	During 2020-21, Legal Aid NL cataloged existing computer hardware and software in use and completed a detailed assessment of asset age and performance. This initiative has allowed the Commission to identify the IT assets in need of upgrade or replacement. Legal Aid NL is working with its vendors to order and install new laptops, desktops, and replacement parts to ensure each office is equipped with appropriate and up-to-date equipment. Similarly, Legal Aid NL examined current software solutions in use and identified those that were either out of date or not in use.	2023-03-31	Once the upgrades are complete, Legal Aid NL will be better positioned to cope with future remote working requirements and virtual court appearances.	Staff are better equipped to respond to virtual work demands	Legal Aid Staff and Clients
Improve reporting capabilities and utilization of Management Information System	In 2020, Legal Aid NL developed customized reports to help assess usage for various IT hardware and software programs across the organization. In particular, reports were developed for individual software programs (e.g. DivorceMate) to help assess utilization rates by staff. These reports will help inform future decisions with respect to renewals and subscription packages for individual software products. Furthermore, the reports have helped identify opportunities for future training and communication to increase utilization of certain software products.	2021-03-31	Improve utilization of available software solutions including Legal Aid NL’s Management Information System.	Improved data analytics and streamlined federal reporting.	Legal Aid Staff
Establish baseline data on IT skill sets within the workforce	In January 2021, an online survey was developed to assess and establish baseline data on IT skill sets within the organization. The survey allowed employees to provide feedback on specific IT skills and indicate their level of proficiency. Furthermore, the survey targeted commonly available software programs within the Commission, and requested specific feedback relating to ease and frequency of use as well as challenges/deficiencies if any (e.g. training, availability etc.).	2021-03-31	Better understanding of baseline IT competencies within the organization. Identified areas of future training and investment.	Professional development and targeted training initiatives	Legal Aid Staff
Engage employees to identify professional development needs	The COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated more staff to work from home and service clients remotely. The pandemic itself has forced the organization and its workforce to adopt and increase its reliance on new and existing virtual and remote technological solutions. Throughout 2020-21, the Commission provided staff with extensive one-on-one support and training to help cope with the virtual work environment. This included one-on-one training sessions with individuals with respect to use of virtual meeting software, connecting to the remote network, accessing voicemail remotely and access work email from personal computers.	2023-03-31	Legal Aid NL will continue to offer targeted training initiative in virtual programs and technologies.	Staff can fully function from a remote location and service clients	Legal Aid Staff and Clients
Nova Scotia
Video Court Project	To create a Microsoft Teams video conferencing room in each service office so lawyers can participate with clients in virtual court. This allows clients who do not have access to technology the ability to participate virtually.	3 months.	Successfully completed the project and clients have been able to participate in virtual court from their local office for matters in another area of the province.	Installation completed and training completed.	NSLA Staff, Clients, Court System/ services.
Remote work	Move services and processes to be compatible with remote/ telecommuting.	6 months.	Digitised some manual services, moved computers and equipment off site, changed process to adapt to a work from home environment across the province and transitioned services to be held virtually where possible.	Staff being able to work from home or in the office as pandemic guidelines change.	NSLA, Justice System, clients.
Virtual professional development	Used Teams to provide increased professional development and cultural competency programming for staff lawyers and the private bar.	Throughout 2020-21.	Provided an easily accessible, low cost video option to provide professional development and cultural competency programming when in person programming was unavailable to meet professional development requirements.	Staff and private certificate bar being able to access courses to support their professional development educational requirements.	NSLA Staff, private certificate bar.
African Nova Scotia Social Worker (FTE)	Hiring an African Nova Scotian Social Worker as a full time permanent position.	2020-21.	Position created and filled as permanent full-time employee.	Improved provision of culturally appropriate services to clients and supports to NSLA staff.	NSLA Staff, African Nova Scotian clients.
Online adjournment requests and variation applications for self-represented parties	Provided assistance to self-represented parties seeking adjournments and variation applications when access to court in-person was limited due to COVID-19 restrictions and helped to address backlog in the provincial courts.	Throughout 2020-21.	Online adjournment request form and variation application processes created and added to NSLA website.	Increased duty counsel support to self-represented clients when in person court access to duty counsel was limited by COVID-19 restrictions.	NSLA Staff, Clients, self represented litigants, Court System/ services.
Polycom Real Presence	Allow lawyers to meet virtually with clients within a correctional facility.	Throughout 2020-21.	Polycom Real Presence software purchased and installed for criminal lawyers.	Installation completed.	NSLA Staff, Clients, Court System/ services.
Prince Edward Island
Legal Aid Record Management Application (LARMA)	Substantially completed development of application to replace PEILA’s manual processes for data collection, program administration, and records management.	Primary software development has been completed. Work is continuing on operational issues. The goal of replacing the manual data collection system has not been fully reached.	More efficient file tracking and case management. Program is intended to capture the aggregate data required for this claim and other statistical reporting requirements.	To be developed.	Program management. Government and public information users.
Record Information Managements (RIM)	RIM is a major cross-government initiative to structure and improve records management and retention in the Province.	The Records Information Management Plan for PEI Legal Aid was finalized, approved, and is in the early stages of implementation. Record retention schedules are being utilized in all files going forward and years of previously retained files are being prepared for storage consistent with the detailed requirements of the new plan.	Improved framework for organization of administrative records and approved schedules for retention.	As determined by the Province.	PEILA program management. More cost effective off-site storage of records will better facilitate retrieval, preservation, and destruction.
New Brunswick
Publish taxation guidelines for private bar lawyers	Clarify billing requirements, rates for various disbursements, supporting documentation required, etc.	Implemented January 2021.	Reduce private bar invoices submitted with errors.	N/A	Private bar.
Sharing of research and documents	Update and maintain existing folders on the shared drive.	Implemented in February 2021.	Central location for research and precedents.	N/A	Staff lawyers.
Major Case policy	Facilitate monitoring of high cost cases.	Implemented in March 2021.	Improved private bar expenditure projections.	N/A	New Brunswick Legal Aid Services Commission Management.
Criminal Duty Counsel Manual	Assist with training requirements and consistency in service provided.	Implemented in March 2021.	Consistency in services provided.	N/A	Staff and private bar lawyers.
Client Waiver Form	Allow NBLASC to advise court staff on the status of a client’s intake application.	Implemented January 2021.	Facilitate court scheduling.	N/A	Judiciary, court personnel, clients.
Quebec
Court of Quebec supervised drug treatment program	Prevent and reduce the number of crimes committed because of drug or alcohol addiction, by providing offenders with substance abuse issues a structured program with legal supervision before sentencing.	Launched on December 10, 2012.All criminal and penal lawyers at the Legal Aid Office could represent their clients.	Break the cycle of addiction and related criminality.Achieve sustainable social and community reintegration and rehabilitation.Ensure greater community safety.	Number of cases handled under this program.Implementation study.Impact study to come.	Defendants before the Court of Quebec with alcohol or drug addiction problems.All offences are eligible for the program insomuch as the criminal and legal prosecutor consents to it and the expected sentence is within the range of sentences that are eligible for a stay or other non-custodial measures.
Programme d’accompagnement justice en santé mentale. PAJ-SM [Mental health justice support program]	To avoid the use of imprisonment for people with mental health problems by promoting supervision and follow-up in the community.To ensure continuous follow-up of these people in order to reduce the risk of recidivism.To improve the judicial treatment of this type of offender in the municipal court of the City of Montreal.To allow for a more uniform and coherent treatment of judicial files.Reduce the time spent in detention for forensic examinations, for the purposes of preventive detention.	Launched in 2008.	Breaking the revolving door cycle: mental illness, crime, imprisonment, health care, release.To ensure the protection of the public by providing appropriate care for people with mental disorders with the goal of recovery and control of their illness.To ensure an effective and timely response to the treatment needs of persons with mental disorders.	Academic study on the implementation of the program.Number of cases processed under this program.	Defendants with mental disorders.For offenses punishable on summary conviction or exceptionally on indictment.
Protocole d’intervention lavallois en santé mental (PIL-SM) [Mental health intervention protocol of Laval]	Reduce the time spent in detention for forensic evidence and preventive detention purposes.Reduce the risk of deteriorating mental health of the individuals.Avoid legal service processes and save costs.Protect public safety.	Launched in September 2017.All criminal lawyers at the Laval Legal Aid office may represent their clients.	Change the usual intervention protocols of the various stakeholders to encourage a quick response for people with mental health issues.Reduce mental health stigma related to contact with the justice system.	Number of cases handled under this protocol.Impact research project being negotiated.	Accused in the District of Laval with mental health issues, with deficiencies or on the autism spectrum.
Programme d’accompagnement justice itinérance à la Cour (PAJIC) [Justice and court accompaniment program for the homeless]	Help people who have been or are currently homeless that are reintegrating the community to regularize their legal situation.	Pilot project February 2009.Launched in July 2011.All criminal and penal lawyers from legal aid practising at the City of Montreal municipal court may represent their clients.	On a voluntary basis, a defendant may integrate their citations and criminal records by submitting their reintegration plan.	Number of cases handled under this program.	Homeless people.For offences under municipal regulations or Quebec provincial legislation subject to the provisions of the Quebec Code of Penal Procedure, or certain criminal offences.
Programme d’accompagnement en justice – Maltraitance aux aînés (PAJMA) [Justice and elder abuse support program]	Eligibility is automatic: a facilitator meets with the victim at the very first appearance in Court.The Centre d’aide aux victimes d’actes criminels (CAVAC) can offer the victim support through the legal process (explanations, listening, information, help preparing testimony and accompaniment in court).The facilitators take the victims’ requests into consideration.	All criminal and penal lawyers from legal aid practising at the City of Montreal municipal court may represent their clients.	The main goal is to stop wrongdoing.	Number of cases handled under this program.	For all people called upon to testify in a case at the City of Montreal municipal court.
EVE Program	For female offenders.Find an alternative to conviction and imprisonment.	Since the 1980s.All criminal and penal lawyers from legal aid practicing at the City of Montreal municipal court may represent their clients.	On a voluntary basis.Participation in group sessions and follow-ups to better understand the reasons they committed the acts.	Number of cases handled under this program.	For economic offences, shoplifting, workplace theft, fraud, cheque forgery.
Discoveries	Reduce number of cases where a hearing before a judge is required.	Launched in March 2017.	Reduce wait times for trial hearings.Identify the legal issues of discovery.Allow examinations that target these issues.	Number of cases handled under this program.	The accused.
Processing legal aid request by videoconference	Reduce processing time for legal aid requests for recipients.	Launched in May 2017.	Help reduce wait times for trial hearings.Render decisions on legal aid eligibility as soon as possible.	Number of requests processed by videoconference.Deadline for issuing legal aid warrants in private practice.	Inmates at the Bordeaux and Rivière-des-Prairies detention centres.
Projet IMPAC (Intervention multisectorielle programmes d’accompagnement à la cour municipale) [Multi-sectoral intervention municipal court accompaniment]	Increase the feeling of security in the area and encourage a pleasant living environment.Reduce the risk of recidivism.Encourage settlement of debt without imprisonment and facilitate a return to action.Implement sustainable solutions better adapted to the situation of target clients.Promote access to justice.Improve processing for this type of case at the City of Quebec municipal court.Adapt the legal process and encourage ongoing supervision and follow-up in the community as a means of reintegration.	Since 2013-2014.Criminal and penal lawyers working at the City of Quebec municipal court may represent their clients.	Implement other methods for processing cases at various stages in the legal process to achieve community justice.Focus on intrinsic causes of the offence to bring lasting solutions.Make the community a partner in the problem-solving process.Include participation by all stakeholders from the legal system to bring lasting solutions together rather than relying solely on traditional sentences.	Number of cases handled under this program.	Accused before the City of Quebec municipal court with mental health issues, intellectual deficiencies and substance abuse issues, and the homeless.
Projet de mesures de rechange [Alternative measures project]	Increase the involvement of victims and, where possible, ensure that it is easier for them to get fair compensation for damages suffered.Allow prosecutors and all judicial officials to act together at all stages in the alternative measures process.Deal with alleged offences in a fair, independent, impartial, open and transparent manner, in a way that is respectful of the rights of victims and alleged offenders.Encourage those who acknowledge responsibility for the act or failure to act that led to the alleged offence to accept responsibility for their behaviour, to take an active role in repairing the harm done, and to address the issues that may have contributed to their trouble with the law.Promote the social engagement of these individuals by mobilizing the resources and assistance available in their region.Ensure that the terms and conditions of the alternative measures constitute a fair, proportionate and relevant response to the alleged offences.	From September 1, 2017 to March 31, 2019 in Sherbrooke, Saguenay and Joliette. As of September 1, 2019, in 18 of 36 judicial districts in Quebec. All districts by December 2021.	Faster accountability of the accused through a true awareness of the consequences of their actions or failure to act and a sincere desire to become an asset to society.	Number of cases handled under this program.	Accused before the Court of Quebec and for some offences.
Programme de mesures de rechange pour les adultes en milieu autochtone [Alternative measures program for adults in Indigenous communities]	Promote greater involvement of Indigenous communities in the administration of justice in their communities. Allow communities to re-establish the traditional intervention practices required for their members. Give communities greater responsibility for the conduct of their members who get into trouble with the law. Provide victims with an opportunity to present their views and to participate, if they wish, in reparation and reconciliation. Provide solutions that will encourage community members to: Accept responsibility for their actions; Play an active role in repairing the harm they have caused; Deal with the problems that may have led to their trouble with the law.	Since 2001, reviewed in 2015.	Achieve sustainable social and community reintegration and rehabilitation.	Number of cases handled.	Exclusively for members of the Indigenous community charged with certain offences.
Ontario
Standardized risk to liberty (legal eligibility) test for certificate eligibility determination	Create the foundation for an online client portal/ application process by simplifying and standardizing the legal eligibility test for applicants who want a certificate.	The clarified risk to liberty test went live March 2020 internally, and is expected to be the cornerstone of the new online client portal – expected early 2021.	COVID enhancements eliminated risk to liberty assessments starting in March for in-custody clients, reducing our ability to monitor impacts. This enhancement will cease shortly (by December 2020) which will permit us to monitor impacts more definitively.	Faster application process; easier for clients and third parties to apply the test informally and formally; improved stakeholder feedback due to increased transparency; better, more consistent client service across the province.	Clients, including vulnerable mental health clients and Indigenous and racialized clients who are over-represented in corrections including in the remand population. Courts and institutions, through reductions in delay and adjournments, and reduced pressure on Legal Aid Ontario staff to always be the ones to determine risk to liberty.
LAO Bail Strategy: LAO Bail Project	A multi-stakeholder initiative to improve bail court efficiency and outcomes, and address issues for clients in remand custody. Ten new Duty Counsel Bail Coordinators (BC’s) work alongside 10 Bail Vettor Crowns in high-volume bail courts to streamline bail by facilitating discussions of pre-trial release and early resolutions. Six new Institutional Duty Counsel (IDC’s) work in six provincial correctional institutions to address client issues and liaise with court duty counsel and external stakeholders, with the goal of filling service gaps and making each court appearance meaningful.	Duty Counsel Bail Coordinators and Institutional Duty Counsel in place as of spring 2017. The positions were made permanent in 2018. Data collection and reporting are in place.		Anticipated benefits are: improved client service; improved stakeholder relations; reductions in delay and workflow improvements. All Bail Strategy sites (ten courts and six jails) use the electronic interview worksheet to capture client data, streamline client service, and capture outcomes. The strategy has improved relations with the private bar, and improved communications and relations with Crowns and institutions. In some locations, all scheduled bail hearings are being dealt with on the same day, as opposed to being routinely adjourned. When clients refuse to go to court, IDC are able to get instructions for them so their next court appearance is not wasted. IDC also facilitate efficient certificate issuance and build relationships of trust with vulnerable mental health clients. Many courts have noticed fewer delays and more efficient use of court time, addressing R. v. Jordan concerns.	Clients, including vulnerable mental health clients and Indigenous and racialized clients who are over-represented in corrections including in the remand population. Courts and institutions, through reductions in delay and adjournments, and reduced pressure related to high numbers of persons in remand custody.
LAO Bail Strategy: Bail Advocacy and Bail Review Initiatives	The Bail Strategy supports reduction of the remand population by reducing bail system delay as well as by encouraging more appropriate bail releases in cases where public safety is not at risk, through correct application of the “ladder principle” of bail law, which states that a more onerous form of release should not be ordered unless the Crown shows why a less onerous form is inappropriate. The strategy addresses bail and remand issues by supporting high quality bail advocacy and facilitating access to quick bail reviews, to tackle over-reliance on sureties and overly-restrictive bail conditions.	1) Ongoing: development of supports and resources for counsel conducting bail hearings, after R. v. Antic (lunch and learn sessions, standard bail court submissions, bail book with leading cases); 2) Beginning spring 2017, a two year pilot project: 1000 Finch (Toronto) Duty Counsel Best Practices Bail Court, including a focus on quick bail reviews by duty counsel; 3) Effective summer 2015, expanded certificate authorizations for second bail hearings, bail variations, and bail reviews by private bar counsel; 4) improved access to bail review authorizations (effective fall 2018).	Positive results at the 1000 Finch pilot site, including successful duty counsel bail reviews, have led LAO to commit to developing a framework for duty counsel across the province to conduct bail reviews for appropriate cases.		Clients, through fairer bail outcomes. Justice system, through an anticipated reduction in administration of justice charges related to unrealistic bail conditions, and a reduction in justice system delay. Correctional system, through an anticipated reduction in remand custody.
School-to-Prison Pipeline Education Grant	Provide funding to Black-led and Black-focussed community-based organizations to deliver legal aid services to Black students who are facing suspension or expulsion.	In 2017, two $100,000 grants were awarded to TAIBU Community Health Centre in Scarborough and Somali Centre for Family Services (SCFS) in Ottawa. Implementation began shortly thereafter.In January 2019 LAO renewed funding for TAIBU due to high success of the program but did not renew funding for SCFS.The program at TAIBU ongoing, with the funding agreement scheduled to conclude on March 2020.LAO renewed the agreement with TAIBU as COVID impacted the work at schools. LAO has granted an additional year so that the program can continue when inperson schooling beings fall 2021.	Reduce the number of Black students who are suspended and expelled from school. Help ensure that these students do not enter the criminal justice system.	TAIBU (in partnership with Rexdale CHC) has provided 169 services with $75,132 of the $100,000 provided. This resulted in withdrawn suspensions, shortened suspensions, students not being expelled, and students being expelled from the school only (as opposed to all schools in the school board) in 81 instances. The cost per service is thus approximately $444.56.SCFS, on the other hand, provided 73 services with $98,204.68 of the $100,000 provided. This resulted in withdrawn suspensions, shortened suspensions, and students not being expelled in 48 instances. The cost per service is thus approximately $1,345.26.SCFS attributes their failure to deliver legal aid services to 100 students to the fact it took several months to establish and promote the program and to build relationships with the local school boards.	Clients, justice and community partners: initiative helps address systemic issue of overrepresentation of Black youth in suspension and expulsion proceedings; studies have shown that suspension and expulsion from school are significant predictors of future engagement with the criminal justice system; by basing legal services in community-based organizations, clients are able to receive wraparound services; strengthened relationship between LAO and members of Ontario’s Black communities.
Discretionary Expanded Legal Eligibility Certificates for Vulnerable Clients Not Facing Incarceration	Discretionary access to an expanded legal eligibility certificate for full representation for the following types of cases regardless of the fact that the accused is not likely facing incarceration: 1) the case merits a trial and the accused is a member of a vulnerable client group (someone who self-identifies as First Nation, Métis or Inuit; someone experiencing domestic abuse; someone with mental health issues; or someone who self-identifies as a member of a racialized community); 2) the accused is a domestic violence survivor without a criminal record and has been charged with assault against their abusive partner while defending themselves and where the accused (a) self-identifies as First Nation, Métis or Inuit or (b) also has a continuing family matter with LAO or (c) has an ongoing refugee status claim.	Introduced December 2016. Under-utilization of these certificates to date has prompted internal messaging to increase awareness of when it is appropriate to issue them.	Address over-representation of Indigenous and racialized persons in the criminal justice system. Support vulnerable clients including those with mental health issues and those experiencing domestic violence. Assist vulnerable clients with meritorious cases to avoid a criminal record.	Between August 20, 2018 to March 31, 2019 LAO issued 130 certificates in this category.	Clients and justice system: vulnerable clients who meet the criteria may be able to avoid a criminal record; early intervention to avoid a criminal record may help clients to avoid future interaction with the justice system; legal assistance for meritorious cases can reduce self-representation, thus avoiding justice system delay.
Application Review and Access Improvements: In-Custody and Out-of-Custody	In-custody application initiatives: Objective is to avoid instances where an accused making an appearance is returned to jail for the sole purpose of completing their legal aid application, where a bail or sentencing hearing is otherwise ready to proceed. The process does not guarantee a certificate, only an assessment of eligibility. LAO is also conducting a full province-wide assessment of all certificate application processes and is in the process of developing a client digital service channel to enable self-access and seamless service delivery online. Adding digital service channels to the overall service model will significantly expand access, improve client experience and gain efficiencies.	Individual initiatives related to in-custody applications in progress beginning in 2017-2018 (Toronto South Detention Centre, where counsel may make certificate applications for in-custody clients by submitting an application form) and continuing in 2018-2019. Same-day in-custody assessments, piloted in Ottawa since August 2018, will be rolled out province wide in 2018-2019. LAO introduced an additional method to expedite the application process for in custody clients by allowing lawyers to make same-day legal aid applications for clients who were in custody and in court from October 2018 to March 2019.	Goals for in-custody application review and improvements are to: expedite service; simplify processes and reduce steps where possible; coordinate in-custody applications across service channels (by phone using the dedicated inmate phone line; by video; in person at court); assist vulnerable clients.	Shorter application times, fewer times for clients to contact LAO and faster decision on certificate assessments for clients and counsel.	In-custody application initiatives: Objective is to avoid instances where an accused making an appearance is returned to jail for the sole purpose of completing their legal aid application, where a bail or sentencing hearing is otherwise ready to proceed. The process does not guarantee a certificate, only an assessment of eligibility. LAO is also conducting a full province-wide assessment of all certificate application processes and is in the process of developing a client digital service channel to enable self-access and seamless service delivery online. Adding digital service channels to the overall service model will significantly expand access, improve client experience and gain efficiencies.
Service Integration – Duty Counsel Worksheet *project goals were impacted by COVID pandemic – at this time with remote service being provided to clients – all DC staff are using the SI working sheet	Deploy and continue to improve online worksheet to capture bring-forward and service information about clients to improve client service, improve record-keeping and better understand (through enhanced reporting) services delivered. Obtain better data and understanding of issues related to bail and delay in criminal courts.	Deployment was completed in January 2018. System stabilization and optimization throughout June 2018. Worksheet has been updated to include fields to identify reasons for adjournments, and tracking of bail conditions. LAO continues to make improvements to the SI worksheet.	As of March 2017, the system had approximately 100 users in 20 locations. As of December 2017, the system was in place at 121 criminal court locations.	Have system available at all court sites. Target is to have all duty counsel services recorded through the system.	Clients: improved services and record-keeping. Justice system partners: more accurate records; reduced appearances; more accurate reports resulting in better allocation of scarce resources.
Project Rosemary	Project Rosemary is the name given to LAO’s program to collect and analyze information about the race of applicants and clients of legal aid to support evidence-based service planning.	Developed Race-Based Question and implementation of technical aspects of Project Rosemary (September and December 2017). Developed and delivered training to LAO Staff (January to April 2018). Data collection began April 1, 2018 as planned.	Data collection began April 1, 2018.Despite having launched Project Rosemary for only one year, LAO staff have managed to achieve an overall compliance rate of 87% for certificate applications. This is an increase from the Q3 compliance rate of 82%. The overall compliance rate has increased in each quarter. The CLSC has managed to achieve 93% compliance. This is an increase from the Q3 compliance rate of 90%.In instances where an SI form was created:-Non-CLSC (i.e. district) staff achieved 74% compliance. This is an increase from the Q3 compliance rate of 67%. LAO will need to follow up with the districts to see what supports if any are required to further increase compliance.-Criminal duty counsel recorded a response to the RBQ for 84% of clients. This is an increase from the Q3 compliance. Criminal duty counsel provided an explanation for why the question was not asked the other 16% of the time. This is an improvement of 6%.As a result of the RBQ LAO has obtained a better picture of our clients:-Approximately 32 % of all LAO certificates are issued to clients who self-identify as racialized (this does not include those who self-identify as Indigenous.)-Although only 4.7 % of the population of Ontario identify as Black, approximately 17% of all LAO certificate clients identify as Black. This appears to be consistent with the percentage of Blacks who fall into Ontario’s low income population (18%).-Approximately 14% of LAO criminal certificates clients identify as Black, while 9.5% of Family law certificate clients identify as Black.	Race-Based Question (RBQ) to be asked and answer to be recorded(including “chose not to answer”) 95% of the time. Answers (including “prefer not to self-identify myrace”) to be gathered for 110,000 people per year.	Clients and justice system will benefit, as project enables LAO to: verify, monitor, measure and address gaps, trends, progress and perceptions; proactively identify opportunities for improvement and growth; improve the quality of decision-making, service delivery, and programming; enhance perceptions of being progressive leaders in their sector or industry; achieve organizational goals and strategic objectives.
Collection and Analysis of Race-Based Data in Bail Proceedings	There are significant gaps in knowledge on the relationship between race, Indigeneity and the bail decision as a result of limited available data. This under-researched area needs systematic study to be able to understand the impact of race, and Indigeneity on bail and case outcomes. Justice Tulloch’s 2017 Report of the Independent Police Oversight Review is one of many reports that advocates for more robust data collection, stating “it supports evidence-based public policy and decision-making, promotes accountability and transparency, and, if used properly, may build public confidence in policing and police oversight.” While Justice Tulloch refers explicitly to demographic data collection by the police, the logic underpins the very reasons we are looking to collect this data from our clients.	October 2020 to 2022.	-Establish data set and standardize the collection of data-Develop and deliver training on the collection of data to LAO Duty Counsel and to certificate counsel-Follow-up on data entry issues to ensure compliance and consistency in collecting relevant data-Standardize data query and methodology for LAO analyst-Collection of province-wide data by legal aid service providers (DC and certificate counsel)-Analyze data and complete report based on data-Share analysis and reports with Racialized and Indigenous communities and organizations and develop recommendations to assist with reducing disparities in bail-Enhance LAO’s ability to advocate for outcome disparities in bail system in Ontario-Continue data collection to enable LAO to access valid, pertinent bail data and regular reporting (yearly?) on changes/ progress.	General Outcomes:Increase the capacity of Legal Aid Ontario to focus on systemic barriers to justice.Increase the availability and accessibility of data, evidence and community insights regarding the disparities experienced by Indigenous Peoples, racialized communities.	Clients: improved services and record-keeping. Justice system partners: more accurate records; reduced appearances; more accurate reports resulting in better allocation of scarce resources.
COVID Enhancements	LAO aimed to ensure that clients and lawyers are supported through the COVID pandemic:-Increase compensation for bail hearings for block fee and tariff matters in recognition of longer bail hearings.-Reinstituted the bail block authorization to be added to certificates.-Waived merit testing for bail review certificates.-Covered Myers bail reviews as emergency bail responses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Learn how to apply.-Provided an additional two hours of legal aid coverage for mandatory JPTs in both the Ontario Superior Court and the Court of Justice. -In-custody clients calling the dedicated in custody line will be connected directly with a local duty counsel.	March 2020 and on-going till LAO’s board removes the enhancements.	LAO is aiming to ensure that the most vulnerable clients have access to services during the pandemic. LAO aims to keep assist the courts by ensuring that bail supports are available.	Anticipated benefits are: improved client service; improved stakeholder relations; reductions in delay and workflow improvements.	Clients: improved services and record-keeping. Justice system partners: more accurate records; reduced appearances; more accurate reports resulting in better allocation of scarce resources.
Lawyer Applications for in-custody clients	Lawyers may apply for legal aid coverage on behalf of in-custody clients requesting temporary absence permits and other release remedies available at the federal and provincial levels. A new application form is available on our website.	On-going.	LAO is aiming to increase application access points for clients in custody.	Anticipated benefits are: improved client service; improved stakeholder relations; reductions in delay and workflow improvements.	Clients: improved services and record-keeping. Justice system partners: more accurate records; reduced appearances; more accurate reports resulting in better allocation of scarce resources.
Manitoba
Archive digitization project	Digitize case files to (a) enable rapid, remote access to file information; (b) migrate to digital archiving to reduce storage cost.	Summer, 2020 to Summer, 2022.	Reduction in space required for physical file storage; reduce paper archiving through the Provincial Archives.	Faster access to case information; reduction in physical file space; reduction in cost to Provincial Archives.	Staff, Legal Aid Manitoba (LAM).
Client satisfaction surveys	Gather feedback from applicants on the application process and from clients on experience with counsel.	Applicant survey deployed January 2020; client survey designed in March 2020, deployed April 2020.	Survey responses may identify areas of improvement in Legal Aid Manitoba processes.	Four to five percent response rate.	Clients, LAM, stakeholders.
Create a work from home option for 95% of staff	Ability to rapidly deploy work from home options to address COVID and future pandemic or other needs for isolation.	Fully deployed May, 2020.	Ninety-five percent of all staff can perform their job from home or other remote location.	Staff are fully engaged from a remote location, clients receive service, courts are not delayed as a result of limitations placed on LAM staff.	Clients, staff, justice stakeholders.
Application Call Centre	Increase efficiency of application taking and processing	Development: Spring, 2020; Testing: Fall, 2020; Deployment: early 2021.	Increased access to applicants; increased processing time.	Reduced processing time; greater availability of real-time data; reduction of staff time.	Clients, LAM, Stakeholders.
Northern Community Liaisons	Improve early access for applications remote communities.	Development: Summer 2021; Deployment late fall 2021.	Timely access in communities without reliable phone/internet infrastructure.	Faster access to counsel, reduced pressure on Duty Counsel on first appearances.	LAM, Clients, Justice, Stakeholders.
Saskatchewan
Enhancements to Legal Aid Information Network (LAIN) database (LAIN 2.1)	To improve the LAIN database to allow a one stop access for calendar, outlook, intranet, time tracking and text messaging.	This project is a carryover from prior years and is to be completed before March 31, 2022.	This project is intended to move the organization from processes that are either paper or hybrid paper/electronic to more electronic-based processes.	Success will be measured in terms of the successful introduction of the interface to staff and usage of the various features.	Applicants and staff; clients/applicants will benefit with better access with staff through text messaging.
Strategic Planning	Last year was the final year of the Strategic Plan and as a result of the Pandemic, the planning has been deferred to the 2021-22 fiscal period.	September 2021 to March 22.	A robust 5 year Strategic Plan including implementation plan and metrics.		All Stakeholders.
Conducting written annual performance evaluations of staff lawyers	To provide feedback on quality and timeliness of legal aid services of staff lawyers.	Began during the 2019/20 fiscal period and continuing in 2021/22.	A program fostering best practices and efficiency in the performance of staff lawyers.		Legal Aid Clients who will benefit from quality service and staff by promoting a supportive culture of professional engagement and staff development.
Develop an Indigenous Strategy	To meet the calls to action outlined in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission report and the recommendations set out in the report from the National Inquiry on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.	2021 through 2026.	To enhance our response to our Indigenous clients through, partnerships, collaboration, and advocacy.	TBD as part of the strategic plan.	All stakeholders and in particular Indigenous clients.
Alberta
Duty Counsel Triage	Triage of Level 1 offences.	May 2020-ongoing.	Determine coverage for appropriate Level 1 offences.	Align coverage of Level 1 charges with resolution of all Client’s matters.	Clients, Legal Aid Alberta, Alberta Justice.
Early (Court) Access assistance through Duty Counsel	Client access to Duty Counsel up to 14 days in advance of docket court appearance.	July 2020 - ongoing.	Lessen client non-attendance at required court appearances.	Reduction of coverage for Administrative charges for failure to appear.	Clients, Legal Aid Alberta, Alberta Justice (including court system).
Virtual Duty Counsel Appearance	Response to covid mandated closure of Court circuit (docket) sittings.	April 1, 2020 - ongoing.	Lessen client non-attendance at required court appearances.	Reduction of coverage for Administrative charges for failure to appear.	Clients, Legal Aid Alberta, Alberta Justice (including court system).
British Columbia
Virtual Bail	Support Provincial Court to transition to remote bail hearings province-wide: introduction of regional duty counsel.	April 2021 and continuing.	More efficient use of court resources; Earlier release closer to home; More orderly scheduling of duty counsel.	This is a court initiative. Evaluations are being conducted by the Provincial Court.	Detainees; Judiciary; Court Services; Prosecution Services; Police; Sheriffs.
COVID-19: Revised out of custody duty counsel	Ensure effective and early summary advice for self-represented accused as the court transitions back to in person remand processes.	June 2020 and continuing.	Public Health requirements will continue to evolve. Provincial and local options to provide early summary advice in the remand process will be required.	Remand volumes and delays.	Self-represented accused; Judiciary; Court Services; Prosecution Services.
Criminal Early Resolution Contracts (CERC)	Provide representation to more clients to assist them to resolve cases before matters are set for trial.	May 2019 and continuing.	Higher resolution rate for clients who would not otherwise be represented on legal aid.	Evaluation to be completed Fall 2021.	Clients: better advice and representation for qualifying clients.Courts: reduction in the number of unnecessary trial scheduled.
Northwest Territories
LAIN 2.0	Development of new data base.	2019 to 2021	Replacement of aged database.	Compliance and meaningful reporting.	Funders, policy makers and ultimately clients.
Manager Program Support	Streamline deployment of criminal legal aid.	2018/2019 and ongoing	Shorten time to complete applications, creation of standard admin processes.	Creation of admin staff procedures manual.	Staff and clients.
Revised Eligibility Tables	Update eligibility criteria that are explainable and transferable.	2018/2019 and ongoing	New tables.	New tables.	Clients, staff, public.
Remote work and weekend bail coverage	Respond to COVID-19.	2020-2021	Timely response to clients in custody in communities to avoid unnecessary travel for show cause proceedings.	Reduced number of clients flown to Yellowknife for show cause.	Clients, public, administration of justice.
Nunavut
Family Law Backlog Project; review of current systems and recommendations to prevent further backlogs.	To review, assess, and assign all outstanding family/child law applications	Spring 2020 until concluded	Reduction in number of applicants awaiting assistance; more efficient vetting and intake systems; increased access to justice.	Tracking the number of applications, reviewing internal intake and file assignment mechanisms	All family law applicants and organization.
Support of Nunavut Law Program (NLP)	Senior criminal counsel on secondment to the NLP as the Northern Director	June 2020 until June 2021			NLP students and other college/university staff.
Support of Nunavut Law Program	Staff lawyers participating as course professors	March 2020 until March 2021
Support of Nunavut Law Program	Partnership with their internship program, offering work placements for students	Year Four of the NLP	Many of the students returned to LSB as applicants into our articling program.		NLP students, LSB.

Date modified:: 2022-08-23

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