Lawyers in England are refusing to represent some people because their legal aid system is insufficient to maintain a viable practice. The legal aid system in Ontario is similarly perpetually on the brink.

“Lawyers are refusing to represent people charged with certain crimes amid a crisis over solicitors’ pay, with one burglary suspect turned away by 12 legal firms, the Law Society president has said. Richard Atkinson, who leads the organisation representing more than 200,000 solicitors in England and Wales, said its members lost money if they took such cases and warned that other crimes, including lower level sexual offences, also risked becoming uneconomic for practitioners.”

https://www.theguardian.com/law/2024/dec/16/lawyers-refusing-to-represent-people-charged-with-certain-crimes-amid-pay-crisis