Access to Civil and Family Justice: A Roadmap for Change - One year later

Hard to believe that ALIS participated in its second PLEAC (Public Legal Education Association of Canada) National Conference less than two weeks ago. It seems like yesterday that we wrote to tell you about the exciting and inspirational messages from the last PLEAC conference held fresh on the heels of the release of the Access to Civil and Family Justice: A Roadmap for Change report.

This year’s event was held in Fredericton, New Brunswick from September 18 to 19.

Justice Thomas Cromwell (the chair of the Action Committee on Access to Justice in Civil and Family Matters) delivered the keynote address, which focused on the committee’s work since it released the report in October 2013.

Conference attendees who may have been skeptical about the progress made since the report to improve access to justice for all Canadians would have been encouraged at the end of Justice Cromwell’s address -perhaps even positive that the future for a more equitable system is possible. Justice Cromwell presented his message by making it interactive, allowing the audience to share publicly the progress made in their organizations and communities. He then added to these achievements by outlining work that is underway in different provinces. His presentation made everyone realize that a lot has been accomplished and various groups and organizations throughout Canada continue to strive to facilitate greater access to justice.

One could sense that his motivation to continue the work of the committee has not waned and he is fully committed to working with public legal education and information providers to create change.