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“We want to make sure we are protecting the most vulnerable Albertans by provided adequate access to legal services,” Ganley said. “At the same time, we also have a responsibility to ensure that tax dollars are spent prudently.”

During the review, Legal Aid Alberta will use its current $66-million annual budget — $55.2 from the province and $10.8 million from the federal government — to focus on key areas to make the dollars stretch farther. It will stop providing information, referral and brief services, and representation for some civil law matters, so it can spend more on areas of greatest need, including criminal law, family and child welfare and immigration matters.

On an interim basis, lawyers offering legal aid will be paid $92.40 per hour, up from the current $84, one of the lowest provincial levels.

More Albertans will also qualify for legal aid, as the financial eligibility threshold rises three per cent. A family of four, for instance, will be eligible for services if it earns $37,434 annually, up from $36,344.

“This will reduce the number of individuals forced to represent themselves or make applications for court ordered counsel and help decrease delay and the strain on individuals and the courts,” a statement from Legal Aid Alberta says. The office will expand family duty counsel to Fort McMurray, Grande Prairie, St. Paul, Wetaskiwin, Red Deer and Medicine Hat. Such services are currently available in Edmonton, Calgary and on the Siksika Nation southeast of Calgary.