Invest In Legal Aid, Defence Lawyers Tell Ontario In Trying To Clear Big Court Backlog

The province will spend $72 million over the next two years to help clear a backlog in the criminal justice system, but the plan is being criticized by defence lawyers who say Ontario needs to properly fund the legal aid system and not let cases linger in limbo.

"If you're going to infuse the system with more money, put it in the right place," said Daniel Brown, a defence lawyer based in Toronto and a vice-president of the Criminal Lawyers' Association, which has come out firmly against the province's new plan. 

"An indigent defendant is still not getting the support they need to resolve their case."