Province is ‘directly messing with our ability to defend clients’: lawyers protest new Legal Aid ‘guilty plea certificates’

Think about it. The Province owns and administers the court buildings. The Province pays the Judges. The Province pays the Crown Attorneys. The Province funds Legal Aid Ontario. The Province has a huge backlog of criminal cases. A Judge does not have the power to compel the Crown to withdraw any charge, so the Province is prepared to pay a lawyer to help you plead guilty, regardless of financial eligibility, but not for your trial.