Former Attorney-General of Ontario Michael Bryant was the chief executive officer of Legal Aid BC from January 17, 2022, to April 9, 2024, when Salman Azam took on the role of Interim CEO.
Prior to the 1970s, legal aid services for low-income individuals were provided by the pro bono work of lawyers and solicitors in the province.
[5] Legal Aid BC is funded primarily by the Province of British Columbia, providing approximately 93% of the Society's annual budget.
"[16] At a broader level, this decline in Provincial funding "has contributed to the court system being overwhelmed and cases being thrown out.
"[18] The Commission went on to recommend, among other things, an increase in long-term, stable funding to the LSS, as well as an official recognition of legal aid as an essential public service.
In November 2011, Robert J. Bauman, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of British Columbia, stated that the province's judicial system "is threatened, if not in peril....
Inadequate funding of courts [including legal aid] in British Columbia has been the reality for the last number of years.
[21] On December 30, 2011, the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of British Columbia, the Honourable Shirley Bond, announced an augmentation of LSS funding, by $2.1 million annually.