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Tuesday, March 29, 2005

Legal aid: Resource and caseload

2003/04

In 2003/04, Canada's legal aid plans spent $603 million dollars, or the equivalent of $19 per Canadian, on the delivery of legal aid services. Total spending was virtually unchanged from the previous year, once the effects of inflation are considered.

Legal aid plans received 773,000 applications for assistance in 2003/04. For the third year in a row, the number of applications approved for full legal aid service declined, falling 5% from 2002/03 to 471,000.

Cases involving civil matters accounted for slightly more than half, or about 52% of direct legal aid expenditures. The remaining direct expenditures went toward criminal cases.

Governments, both provincial/territorial and federal, continue to be the major source of funding for legal aid plans. They contributed $541 million in 2003/04, or about 90% of total revenues. The remainder came from client contributions and cost recoveries (4%), legal profession contributions (1%), and other sources (6%).

Personnel in legal aid offices in Canada numbered about 3,100 in 2003/04. Lawyers accounted for slightly more than one-third (36%) of all legal aid plan staff. The remaining two-thirds of personnel consisted of non-lawyers, such as administrative staff, law students, accountants, librarians and research staff.

Available on CANSIM: tables 258-0001 to 258-0004.

Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number 3308.

Data are available free in a table in the Canadian Statistics module of our Web site.

The annual report, Legal Aid in Canada: Resource and Caseload Statistics, 2003/04 (85F0015XIE, $31) is now available. The report provides data on revenues, expenditures, caseload and personnel involved in delivering legal aid services in Canada.

For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics (1-800-387-2231; 613-951-9023).



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