THUNDER BAY – Accommodations have been granted for legal aid lawyers to work from home following an announcement last week from Legal Aid Ontario.
The province’s legal aid program announced on Thursday that all in-person legal aid services would stop until further notice due to the public health crisis concerning COVID-19.
The decision was made after Legal Aid Ontario was unable to confirm if Ontario courthouses were undergoing deep or proper cleaning and sanitization, according to the organization’s president and CEO David Field.
However, shortly after the announcement was made, the Courts announced they would be able to accommodate some court proceedings to continue through video or audio conferencing with duty counsel lawyers working remotely, according to Senior Media Advisor with Legal Aid Ontario, Graeme Burk.
“They have been back to work since Friday and they are remotely assisting on bails and pleas,” Burk says.
The association is pleased with the accommodations that have been made to keep legal aid services running, Burk says, adding it was a difficult decision to make initially.
“This is unprecedented times for everyone,” he says. “Everyone is in new territory here, not just the justice system.”
Earlier this month, Ontario Courts suspended or reduced operations amid the COVID-19 outbreak in courthouses across the province. Both the Ontario Court of Justice and Superior Court established procedures or suspended non-urgent operations in order to reduce the number of people who attend court.
On Friday, March 19, the provincial government announced Ontario courts and tribunals would be making the use of audio and video conferencing to hear priority matters remotely where possible without members of the justice system needing to appear in person.
“This approach will also help mitigate the potential impacts of possible service disruptions,” Deputy Premier of Ontario Christine Elliot said in a previous news release.
Burk says Legal Aid Ontario continues to keep supporting their clients during these times over the phone or through their website. Currently, all legal aid and provincial offices are closed to the public, according to an advisory posted on Legal Aid Ontario's website.
There are between five to seven lawyers acting as duty counsel in the Thunder Courthouse on any given day, Burk says. However, this number is now fluid as court proceedings are now done remotely.
