Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli is defending the Ford government decision to reduce the budget to Legal Aid Ontario.
Fedeli says the previous Liberal government spent more and more money on legal aid without achieving the results that legal aid’s clients or taxpayers should expect.
As a result, Fedeli says the Legal Aid Ontario budget is being rolled back to its 2017-18 level.
Fedeli says the government will work with legal aid to make sure money is spent on legal aid clients who need it.
The Tory MPP adds that Legal Aid Ontario has not yet made any decisions on where it will allocate money in this year`s budget.
He expects LAO to communicate this budget information to the clinics in the near future.
Earlier this week, Nipissing Community Legal Clinic issued a news release stating front line services could be reduced as a result of a 30 percent budget cut.
Provincially, the Association of Community Legal Clinic of Ontario called on the Attorney General not to cut funding.