FOR RELEASE: July 30, 2002

New Co-operative Process Aims to Improve the Justice System

Vancouver – A new Justice Review Task Force is working to make the justice system more accessible and effective within existing resources, and to strengthen public confidence in the justice system.

Chaired by the Past President of the Law Society of BC, Richard Margetts QC, the Task Force includes Chief Justice Donald Brenner of the Supreme Court of BC, Chief Judge Carol Baird Ellan of the Provincial Court of BC, Deputy Attorney General Gillian Wallace and Assistant Deputy Minister Jerry McHale on behalf of the Attorney General, and Peter Leask, QC, on behalf of the Canadian Bar Association, BC Branch. This Task Force represents a formalization of an ongoing process of consultation among its members, with a renewed commitment to reviewing the justice system as a whole, and continuing to improve it.

The concept of a formal Task Force was initiated by the Law Society in March 2002, and immediately received strong support from the Attorney General, the judiciary and the legal profession. The members committed at the outset to work together to ensure its success. A series of meetings has been held over the past three months to share information and ideas, and to develop an open process for public involvement in a full debate about the merits and limitations of possible change.

Some of the goals of potential reform identified by the Task Force include ensuring that the BC justice system:

• is understandable to all who are involved

• is accessible, cost-effective, timely, responsive and innovative; and

• protects and balances the rights of all parties.

The Task Force has compiled information from reports and studies from around the world, and from reform ideas currently being explored or pursued or previously considered in BC. The end result, a document called “Exploring Fundamental Change: A Compendium of Potential Justice System Reforms”, is being publicly released at this time in order to provide the opportunity for interested persons to consider and discuss the ideas presented. As initiatives are developed, the Task Force will consult with specific groups in relation to reform that may affect them.

Anyone wishing to view the Exploring Fundamental Change document can do so on the Justice Review Task Force Web site at www.bcjusticereview.org. To request a printed copy, or to provide comments about the document itself, please email to info@bcjusticereview.org or write to:

Justice Review Task Force c/o Law Society of BC 8th Floor, 845 Cambie Street Vancouver BC V6B 4Z9 Vancouver fax: 604.646.5919 Toll-free fax 1.877.669.9601

For more information, contact: Richard Margetts QC Chair, Justice Review Task Force c/o Brad Daisley at 604.443.5724

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