This consultation paper, issued by the Canadian Bar Association Working Group on National Legal Aid Benchmarks, aimed to stimulate conversation and debate about Canada's legal aid systems. It provides an overview of existing benchmarks in the Canadian justice sector as a whole, other sectors, and the legal aid sector in Canada and other jurisdictions. Options for national legal aid benchmarks in Canada were also canvassed in the report. The paper was intended to:
- build awareness of the need for legal aid renewal
- generate discussion about the potential for national legal aid benchmarks to help renewal efforts
- build public and political support for national legal aid benchmarks
- solicit feedback on the content of national legal aid benchmarks