This is in response to a question asked by Mr. Zoe on December 1, 1992, regarding the upgrade of the computer information system. Mr. Speaker, the Standing Committee on Public Accounts recommended that the Department of Justice and the Legal Services Board develop adequate legal aid information systems. It was also recommended by the Auditor General.
The department fully recognizes the need for a comprehensive information system. A schedule to the regulations made pursuant to the Legal Services Act sets out rules for determining financial eligibility for legal aid. Some of the difficulties which were noted in the Auditor General's Report can be attributed to a lack of documentation of reasons for determining whether a client is eligible for legal aid or not. The general rule is that an applicant is financially eligible when the applicant receives most of his or her income from social assistance, or if the legal fees for services would reduce the applicant's income to a level where he or she would become eligible for social assistance. A good information system will document the reasons for finding a person eligible or ineligible. It will provide meaningful statistics on this and a number of other issues.
The Legal Services Board presently has a micro-based computer information system. This system does not meet the complete management information requirements of the Department of Justice, the Legal Services Board, or the Auditor General. The department recognizes the inadequacy of the system and intends to upgrade the current system by October, 1993. This is a short-term measure; the long-term solution to the lack of adequate management statistics will be the development of a new automated system.
The following steps will be taken by the department, in consultation with the Legal Services Board, from now until the end of the 1993-94 fiscal year.
We will work with systems and computer services staff of the Department of Government Services and Public Works to develop the terms of reference for a new management information system. We will identify the costs associated with the development of such a system. We will canvass other jurisdictions with regard to the compatibility and availability of existing systems. We will determine both internal and external information requirements. These will include the requirements of the Legal Services Board, the executive director of the board, the Department of Justice management, other G.N.W.T. management, the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics and the Auditor General.
It is anticipated that by the end of 1993-94 all the information requirements will have been determined and that the development of a new system with the modification of an existing system from another jurisdiction will be possible. The competition for the position of executive director of the legal services board closed recently.
We believe that hands-on involvement will be required for someone working in the legal aid system, in the development of a new cost-effective information system.
As I said earlier, the development of the new information system will have to be done with a clear method and a well thought out process. It will also be a very costly enterprise. With that in mind, it has to be cost effective and much planning will have to go into the development of it. Thank you.