Public Engagement and Political Discourse Over Access to Justice

The urgency of Canada’s Access to Justice crisis – where more than half of family litigants and around one third of civil litigants now come to court without a lawyer – is attracting growing attention with the justice system. But is A2J is an issue that the public cares deeply about? Surely, if the public were really concerned about A2J, we would hear campaigning politicians talking about it?

Drawing on data from the National Self-Represented Litigants Project, Julie Macfarlane will argue that we under-estimate the importance of A2J to growing numbers of people, and especially those both directly and indirectly affected by the self-represented litigant phenomenon. What will it take for this experience to be directly reflected in our political discourse?