Mr. Speaker, I have two returns to oral questions. The first is a response to a question asked by Mrs. Marie-Jewell on March 15, 1993, regarding the eligibility criteria for legal aid on appeals.
Procedures concerning decisions about the funding of appeals by the Legal Services Board are set out in the legal services regulations. As the honourable Member indicated in her question, the funding application must be accompanied by the opinion of the lawyer who conducted the case at the trial level, as to the advisability of commencing or defending an appeal. Before an appeal is funded, the case is examined by the executive director, who must determine if the appeal is reasonable. The regulations provide that the executive director, in determining whether an appeal is reasonable, must take into account the possibility of success of the appeal. The regulations also direct that the executive director must weigh the merits of the case and arrive at a decision in the same manner as a private lawyer would if asked to advise an ordinary person who was able to afford the cost of an appeal. If the executive director considers the appeal reasonable he or she will approve the funding.
The department will forward the question of the honourable Member to the Legal Services Board with a request that it be seriously considered in the context of the recommendations of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, the Strength at Two Levels report, the task force on legal aid, and the federal/territorial cost-sharing agreement requirements. Thank you.