The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed “the vulnerabilities and frailties” of B.C.’s justice system and will likely lead to lasting changes to ensure access to justice, Law Society of B.C. president Craig Ferris said May 12.
“The pandemic has shown us that our reliance on the status quo . . . has left the public vulnerable to a shutdown of the justice system,” he said. “The pandemic has highlighted that we need to build a more resilient and accessible justice system not just for this crisis but for the next crisis.”
Both Ferris and society executive director Don Avison stressed in an online town hall for the legal profession that access to justice for British Columbians has been challenged by the pandemic as courts were forced to restrict operations and lawyers looked for new ways to practice.
And, while the courts continue to function on such a basis, Ferris said it remains unknown when they would reopen. He said the B.C. Supreme Court is testing how a courtroom with appropriate barriers and strict cleaning might work to allow a trial.
“They’re working hard to open the doors,” Ferris said of the courts. “I don’t see a situation where the courts are requiring people to come into an unsafe or unhealthy work environment.”
Much of the discussion centred on technological change.
“The silver lining in this crisis is that it has unleashed transformation,” Ferris said. “I’m confident we’ll emerge from this as better, more nimble and accessible lawyers.”
Ferris and Avison said the crisis has highlighted that there can be different ways of handling articling supervision, administering oaths and taking declarations, modifying a system long-based on paper documents and using virtual conferencing and electronic audits on issues such as trust accounts. The potential list of changes is long and wide-ranging.
“We need to increase the use of technology as much as we can,” Avison said.
There does, though, remain the issue of protecting solicitor-client privilege through the use of technology.
“Rules will need to be looked at to ensure lawyers are using the best technology,” Ferris said. “We’re going to have to work hard to maintain solicitor-client privilege because it’s effectively a cornerstone of legal practice.”
Ferris said the government is expected to release protocols later in the week regarding a safe return to offices.
One issue the society faces is lawyers whose practices are struggling as a result of the pandemic. The access to lawyers is part of access to the justice system, Ferris said, noting the society has been discussing what might be done to assist such lawyers.
That the pandemic has highlighted the need for change in the justice system has not been lost on either the courts or government.
B.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Christopher Hinkson said April 30 that restrictions on court activities have highlighted the B.C. courts’ deficient technological capabilities.
“He’s right,” responded Attorney General David Eby at the time. “Governments of all stripes have not prioritized funding of technology for the courts.”
Eby is a member of the newly announced federal Action Committee on Court Operations in Response to COVID-19. The initiative to adapt the courts and ensure their functioning is spearheaded by Chief Justice of Canada Richard Wagner and Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada David Lametti.
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