The Star » Lawyers close legal clinic for Wellesley fire victims in protest:
“Legal aid lawyers have shut down a free clinic for Wellesley fire victims to protest what they’re calling an unfair compensation offer from Toronto Community Housing.
The agency has been “very inconsiderate in not giving people more time to consider the offer,” said Jack de Klerk of Neighbourhood Legal Services. He and other volunteer lawyers are withdrawing their services because tenants are being asked to make a decision by Jan. 21 about taking compensation immediately or waiting for the results of a pending class action lawsuit, which isn’t fair, he said.”
It infuriates me that the legal aid system gets exploited by unjust organisations (including the government), on the premise that the general public can respond to increasingly restrictive policies by turning to pro bono legal services — even while the government is clawing back legal aid.
So when legal aid lawyers go on strike, it troubles me, but I also appreciate where they’re coming from.
