Alberta Law Foundation board members quit over bill giving minister power on grants

Two of the Alberta Law Foundation’s provincially appointed board members have resigned in protest over proposed legislation they say amounts to political interference in how vulnerable people access the justice system.

Bill 39 would give Justice Minister Mickey Amery final say on grants over $250,000 that the foundation provides to community legal clinics and researchers.

The foundation says it funds about 65 non-profit service providers every year through interest earned on lawyers’ trust accounts, not government coffers.

Seun Ogunsola says in his resignation letter that the legislative change would strip the foundation of its independence and undermine its work.

He says the bill poses a serious threat to organizations that the foundation funds and to the Albertans who rely on its legal assistance.

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The foundation says Amery has already denied about $10 million in grants and approved others at reduced rates, affecting 14 organizations.

It also said the bill would effectively cut government contributions to Legal Aid Alberta funding and mandate the Alberta Law Foundation to shoulder the burden by doubling its required contribution from 25% to 50% of its annual revenue.

— More to come…

— With files from Karen Bartko and Jasmine King, Global News