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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 134

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
November 24, 2022 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 134 - Nov/24/22
Mr. Gord Johns (Courtenay—Alberni, NDP)
  • Nov/24/22 10:19:42 a.m.
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  • Re: Bill S-4 
Madam Speaker, we agree. We do not know why the government has taken so long to retable this bill, which was first introduced in the last Parliament, especially given the circumstances. We know there is a huge backlog in Canada's justice system. It is not a new issue. As a means of addressing court backlogs, why did the government oppose recommendation 1 of the 2017 report of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights “Access to Justice Part 2: Legal Aid”, which called on the federal government to remove the legal aid funds currently included in the Canada social transfer in favour of a specific earmarked civil legal aid fund for provinces, administered under the Department of Justice Canada legal aid program?
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Context: House Hansard - 134 - Nov/24/22
Mr. Gord Johns (Courtenay—Alberni, NDP)
  • Nov/24/22 12:13:53 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill S-4 
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for his speech. We sit on the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates together. My colleague knows that the backlog in Canada's justice system is not a new issue. The government has known that the system has needed an overhaul since before the Liberals first took office after the previous Harper government. I am wondering why they took almost a full year before bringing this legislation back. It is essentially a carbon copy of a bill first introduced in the last Parliament. The member knows that I live in a remote, rural community, and it takes me 11 hours to get here. There are 31 communities in my riding. What specific steps will the government take to ensure that Canadians who live in remote and rural communities, where Internet connections are less stable, receive equitable access to Internet to participate in a jury summons remotely, just as urban Canadians do where he lives?
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