Alberta law foundation says minister nixed $10M in funding for legal groups as new bill threatens to ‘politicize’ grants

The United Conservative government’s Bill 39 is politicizing how justice system non-profits are funded, leading to $10 million in cuts to low-income community law clinics and Indigenous legal services, lawyers and Opposition politicians say.

The Alberta Law Foundation and the provincial NDP held a press conference Thursday to speak out against the bill, which is now in second reading at the legislature.

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The foundation — which funds low-cost legal clinics and other justice system services using interest collected on lawyers’ trust accounts — said no other provincial government exercises such control over its law foundation and that two UCP-appointed board members have resigned in protest.

Foundation director Byron Chan called Bill 39 a “fundamental shift in how legal services are funded for the most vulnerable.”

Specifically, the bill cuts the government’s contribution to Legal Aid Alberta — which funds legal representation for low-income Albertans — and shifts the burden to the law foundation, which was “never meant to shoulder a core justice system cost that has always been the provincial government’s responsibility,” Chan said.

The legislation also allows the justice minister to veto law foundation grants over $250,000, which includes “almost all” grants the group disburses.

Chan accused the government of engaging in the “politicization of the funding and provision of crucial legal services.”

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Kathy Parsons, head of Red Deer’s Central Alberta Community Legal Clinic, said more than $10 million in grants have been denied or cut since Bill 39 was introduced. Her organization will see a $1.9 million funding shortfall over three years.

“This is the worst time to be pulling funding away from the community legal services Albertans rely on every day to access justice,” she said.

‘Reaching in and taking private money’

The law foundation was created in 1973 to manage the interest accrued on funds lawyers hold in trust for clients. It uses some of the money to pay for legal clinics, law libraries, legal research, and programs for youth, Indigenous people, and survivors of violence.

Traditionally, funding for those programs has been determined by the foundation’s board, based on “professional standards and demonstrated community need,” board chairman Paul Chiswell said in a news release. It currently provides funding for 65 legal non-profits.

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Bill 39, an amendment to the Legal Professions Act, would change that, the foundation says. Specifically, it would double the foundation’s contribution to Legal Aid Alberta, a separate organization, to 50 per cent from 25 per cent of its annual revenue. It would also give the justice minister power to veto grants.

Seun Ogunsola, one of the board members who resigned Thursday, said Bill 39 “effectively removes the (law foundation’s) ability to act independently” and “undermines” its work.

Dawn-Lyn Blake, the other former board member, said the funding cuts have “halted progress on the construction and endowment” of an Indigenous law centre at the University of Alberta, “blocking a significant investment in Indigenous legal education, research, and reconciliation.”

Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi accused the government of “reaching in and taking private money and spending it on things they are interested in.”

“Imagine if the government went into your bank account and said, ‘We’re going to take away part of your bank account to pay for something that we should be paying for and that we’ve always paid for,’” he said.

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“And then they say, ‘We’re going to tell you you can’t donate to charities you want to donate to, we’re going to tell you which charities you’re going to make your charitable donations to.’ That is what this government is doing.

“It’s not their money,” he added. “This is not taxpayer money.”

‘The grants will continue to flow’: minister

In the last round of grants, the law foundation board approved 15 organizations seeking a total of $23 million in funding.

Of those, Justice Minister Mickey Amery approved just one without changes. Five had their funding denied, while nine were approved with “significant” cuts. In all, only 58 per cent of the requested funding was distributed.

Among those who lost funding was the U of A’s Indigenous Law Institute, which the foundation said “will no longer proceed” as a result of funding cuts.

Lethbridge Legal Guidance — where a staffer was held hostage and stabbed in 2022 — saw a 32 per cent funding cut over three years.

The law foundation said no explanation was given for the changes and that Amery has refused to speak with them.

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In a press conference Thursday, Amery downplayed Bill 39’s impacts and said the law foundation is “well-funded.”

Amery said law foundation revenues totalled more than $150 million last year, and non-profits receiving funding “will continue to receive that funding.”

Asked about the law foundation’s stated impacts on services, Amery said, “I’m not sure that that’s the case at all. In fact, the services will continue to flow, the grants will continue to flow as they were, and Albertans will be able to receive services from a multitude of not-for-profits across the province.”

As for the Indigenous Law Institute, Amery said it “was not part of the grant request I received whatsoever.”

Chan said the law foundation stands by its numbers and that the quoted funding reductions reflect the amount sent to non-profits in the last funding cycle.

jwakefield@postmedia.com

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@jonnywakefield.bsky.social

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