Audit report highlights improvement areas for NB's legal aid services

• has not reviewed and updated its financial grid to determine the eligibility criteria for its services since 2017, which resulted in the risk that the commission would not fulfill its mandate to serve those in need 
• lacked a formalized financial appeals process 
• treated those who did appeal inconsistently 
• had no quantitative analysis for its service delivery model 
• did not sufficiently address whether using staff or private counsel would be more cost-effective 

The auditor general suggested that the commission could improve by timely updating its financial eligibility criteria, consistently applying a formal appeals process, and considering cost comparisons when developing its service delivery model. 

According to the provincial government’s news release, the auditor general offered six recommendations to the commission. Specifically, the audit report recommended that the commission: 

• establish and implement a review process for its financial eligibility grid 
• comply with New Brunswick’s Legal Aid Act, 2014, and ensure that its executive director issues written delegations to employees 
• formalize the financial appeals process and offer training to promote fair and equitable access to legal aid 
• include a financial analysis when determining its service delivery model 
• monitor the achievement of expected qualitative benefits concerning its use of staff counsel 
• ensure the attainment of value for money by stating the expected hours and associated cost for every service 

More on audit

The audit’s scope was from Apr. 1, 2023 to Dec. 31, 2024. Beyond this period, the auditor general also gathered other data needed. Information came from a jurisdictional scan of similar organizations, interviews, and reviews of the pertinent policies, laws, annual reports, and the commission’s intake application data. 

The commission said it provided full legal representation on 5,727 criminal and family cases within fiscal year 2023–24. It operates under the framework provided by the Legal Aid Act and its General Regulation. 

The commission runs eight regional offices in the province. It retains a mixed model of staff members and private counsel, who receive their payment under a schedule of fees found in the General Regulation. The audit report noted that delivering legal aid services is integral to the justice system and key to providing fair and equitable access to justice to low-income individuals.