Mr. Chairman, the Member does have a valid point. The Legal Aid Society is an independent body, structured that way, but administered by the Department of Justice. We could benefit from an examination of the respective roles, however. While the Minister of Justice should never tell the society how to operate or interfere in any way with cases, when it comes to the administration of the public funds, we do need to take a closer look at that.
I would just like to add that most legal aid societies in this country are facing financial ruin and collapse. As an example, in Winnipeg, the most senior lawyer and the most serious criminal case would get paid $40 per hour. Our lawyers are paid $115 per hour, which is second only to Nunavut, which recently got a raise. Even at those figures, no one is getting wealthy doing these cases. It is a fair hourly rate for public legal services. We are one of a few jurisdictions that continue to fund family law matters. Most jurisdictions have cut that funding out completely and many, many jurisdictions will not give a legal aid certificate to those charged with criminal offences unless a conviction is likely to result in a term of imprisonment.
So while we have problems in our system, it should be pointed out that we remain one of the best systems in Canada in terms of delivery of service. Thank you.