Experts speak out on systematic failures in Saskatchewan legal aid access

Saskatchewan legal aid service organizations are flagging justice system failures in access to affordable legal assistance.

Some say Saskatchewan’s growing crime rates and climbing cost of living are causing strain on some support services.

“It’s a canyon now between the services that exist in Saskatchewan and who can afford to retain a private lawyer,” says Community Legal Assistance Services for Saskatoon Inner City (CLASSIC) executive director Chantelle Johnson.

According to Statistics Canada, Saskatchewan’s Crime Severity Index was almost double the national average last year, with the province’s latest RCMP crime statistics report stating it is “continuing to increase.”

Johnson says the need goes beyond criminal law.

“If you have a legal issue, whether it’s income assistance, criminal law, refugee law, housing law, the number one thing most people want is representation,” Johnson says.

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Saskatchewan’s legal aid took on nearly 18,000 new files and CLASSIC broke its record for most files in one year.

CLASSIC covers legal issues from income assistance to criminal law, and Johnson says that recently, it has most often been handling appeals.

“In my 14 years at CLASSIC, what we really observed is a denigration of the application of the rules of procedural fairness, the application of the rule of law, and that’s by government decision makers. And that’s the basic tenet of a democracy and a functional society,” Johnson says.

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“A lot of the work we’re doing now is more appeals-related, judicial reviews of administrative decision makers’ decisions, because the laws that govern them are not being followed.”

One of the John Howard Society’s legal counsel, Grace Gardner, has also seen a pattern of legal struggles stemming from systemic barriers.

“There’s a bunch of communication errors between us and our clients,” Gardner says.

“There’ve been certain times where I’ve gotten calls or I’ve been left voicemails and the matter they needed help with, it was a tight deadline, and then we miss it and just because of the process it takes to get in touch with them, so it does feel like there’s people slipping through the cracks.”

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Gardner estimates that with overpopulation, there are close to 2,000 inmates in the penitentiary that the non-profit’s two lawyers handle while covering 80 per cent of correctional facility cases in the province.

“Everybody, regardless of their circumstances, regardless of the situation they’re in, deserves certain rights under the Charter that’s entitled to them under the Charter. So I think if a person is being denied those rights, if they are not getting access to legal services and the people who can actually help them, it’s dire,” Gardner says.

Gardner says that although resources are technically accessible, inmates struggle with literacy barriers, which worsen procedural issues.

“With the inmates inside, not only do they not have Google or access to more legal assistance or anything like that, but they also likely don’t have a Grade 12,” Gardner says.

Saskatchewan Community Safety Minister Michael Weger says it is a difficult area to improve.

“We recognize inmates deserve and need that access to their legal advice when they’re in custody, and we have to balance that with the security of the facility and the security of the public outside as well,” Weger says.

“It’s an ongoing battle as far as finding the best way to do that and have that communication, but at the end of the day, the improvements, when we look at improving the system, we need to improve the ability for the inmates to communicate with legal counsel but also improve the safety of the facilities.”

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Saskatchewan Justice Minister Tim McLeod says he hadn’t heard those specific struggles but always monitors access to justice.

“We’re continuing to add resources to our justice system, whether that’s additional prosecutors, additional judges, additional legal aid positions to specifically address things like immigration or other challenges that may be coming up in communities,” McLeod says.

Legal Aid Saskatchewan reported a vacancy rate of five per cent in 2025 as compared with a vacancy rate of 12 per cent in 2024.

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