Bill 161 – Ontario’s ‘Smarter and Stronger Justice Act’
When it comes to access for justice in Ontario, it appears the province’s Bill 161, the Smarter and Stronger Justice Act, will do neither.
While the province continues to grapple with the pandemic, predominantly in long term care homes, Bill 161 will support defendants being sued. There are several class action lawsuits currently underway against operators of some of these facilities for negligence. The pandemic has hit low income Canadians hard – and these are the people who use Legal Aid Ontario to access justice. The new language in the Act puts cost ahead of justice when it comes to Ontario’s most vulnerable.
- Marissa Lennox
Chief Policy Officer at CARB
https://www.carp.ca/team/marissa-semkiw/ - Dana Fisher
Legal Aid Ontario Lawyers' Local Vice President
https://www.danafisher.ca/ - Sukhpreet Sangha
Legal Aid for All
https://twitter.com/sukhpreetsangha?lang=en
The map above shows how the votes are broken down by district.