SO MANY LAWYERS SO LITTLE JUSTICE

Today's Waterloo Region Record carrys this story by Gus Van Harten "Do we need so many lawyers in Canada?" My response is that the more important question is "Why do we need so many lawyers in Canada?". Afterall this is still mostly a democracy sort of. Issues such as electoral fraud both at the municipal level (Cambridge Ontario) and the federal level are with us. Lack of accountability with our institutions is rampant. Police abuses continue albeit mostly in Toronto but also occasionally locally. Rules, regulations and unecessary laws proliferate at all government levels. Yes we need more lawyers however not to provide them with above average incomes as currently is; but to provide citizens with the protection of laws from infringement of our liberties often by government and its' bureaucracies.

Mr. Van Harten is a law professor at Osgoode Hall and his concerns are whether more lawyers via opening up both law schools and articling practices will simply increase litigation and lower the current quality of lawyers. His concerns are legitimate given the U.S. model. At the same time more lawyers might actually lessen the monopoly and lower prices for hard pressed citizens. Right now taking out another mortgage on your house is just about the only way to "afford" legal representation. There are many reforms which would improve justice in Canada for Canadians. The problem of course is that the system currently serves lawyers, judges, administators and politicians just fine. They have no incentive to fix that which isn't hurting their vested interests.