Alberta increases tariff for legal aid lawyers

The Government of Alberta is increasing tariff for legal aid lawyers, and updating the legal aid system.

Legal Aid Alberta (LAA) reviewed and submitted recommendations for the province’s legal aid system upon Justice Minister Tyler Shandro’s request to “modernize” it in October.

The review will ensure proper compensation for the work on each file, while simplifying “certificate management and administration,” and “billing under the tariff.”

The province says in a statement, in October, the government was able to increase the tariff, financial eligibility guidelines, and block billing by over 8 per cent, thanks to an increased federal funding.

Legal aid lawyer’s hourly tariff rate was increased from $92.40 to $100 per hour, making it the fourth highest hourly rate in the country.

The province has also approved an additional “25 per cent increase to the tariff rate and block billing for legal aid lawyers to $125 per hour from $100 per hour.”

“I want to thank all legal aid lawyers for their patience and advocacy as we have worked our way through the review. Our commitment to review all aspects of legal aid funding remains in place and will be completed in the new year. I also want to commend my colleagues and Premier Smith, who recognized the need for further funding for the legal aid system,” Shandro said in a statement.

The government adds all of the recommendations to update the system will be implemented in spring 2023.

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Meanwhile, in response, Irfan Sabir, NDP justice critic, issued the following statement:

“While an increase to the legal aid tariff is a positive step, it never should have gotten to this point,” Sabir said. “The UCP refused to honour the 2018 agreement signed by our government. They claimed it wasn’t possible to increase the tariff, which led to delays and chaos in our justice system, and risked cases being thrown out.

“The tariff increase still fails to address the other issues facing legal aid, including paying arrears owed to legal aid under the 2018 agreement and revising eligibility guidelines to ensure better access to justice. I urge Minister Tyler Shandro to work with lawyers’ organizations to resolve these issues and end the chaos in our justice system.”