droit a stronglstrongaide juridique des personnes confrontees a une.pdf

J ournal of Law and Social Policy Volume 5 Article 4 J anuary 1989 Droit a lAide Juridique des Personnes Confrontees a une Demande de Tutelle dEnfants ou de Personnes Agees Donald Poirier Follow this and additional works at : http://digital ommons.osgoode.yorku.ca/jlsp Citation Information Poirier, Donald. Droit a lAide Juridique des Personnes Confrontees a une Demande de Tutelle dEnfants ou de Personnes Agees. J ournal of Law and Social Policy 5. (1989): 61-88. http://digital ommons.osgoode.yorku.ca/jlsp/vol5/iss1/4 This Article is brought to you for free and open a ess by the Journals at Osgoode Digital Commons. It has been a epted for inclusion in Journal of Law and So ial Poli y by an authorized administrator of Osgoode Digital Commons. DROIT À LAIDE JURIDIQUE DES PERSONNES CONFRONTÉES À UNE DEMANDE DE TUTELLE DENFANTS OU DE PERSONNES ÂGÉES Donald Poirier* SUMMARY The refusai of the New Brunswick McKenna govemment to continue financing civil legal aid may be a signal of what is coming in other Canadian provinces. It also questions the basis on which civil legal aid rests. The author examines the basis of civil legal aid in the con- text of orders of guardianship of children or elderly persons. Three bases of legal aid are examined. The obligation of the legal profession to offer free services is first examined, followed by the utilitarian philosophy applied in our democratic western societies. Finally, inter- national documents and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms are canvassed as a basis for the right to legal aid. Through a systematic analysis of the Charter, the author shows that it is difficult to establish the right to legal ai