Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would think that in the best of all worlds the wait would be considerably less than three to six months. It would be better if it could be only a couple of weeks, but the fact is that we can't find enough lawyers in the Northwest Territories to practice family law who are willing to take on these cases. The rate of pay for the Northwest Territories for legal aid lawyers is the second highest in Canada; only Nunavut is higher. But there are very few lawyers who are interested in taking on family law cases, and because of that there has been a growing backlog. We have increased the staff lawyer component to try and deal with this, but it is still a problem area that we recognize.
Charles Dent on Question 12-15(2): Access To Legal Aid For Family Law Matters
In the Legislative Assembly on January 21st, 2004. See this statement in context.
Return To Question 12-15(2): Access To Legal Aid For Family Law Matters
Question 12-15(2): Access To Legal Aid For Family Law Matters
Item 6: Oral Questions
January 20th, 2004
Page 27
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