Episode 66: Access to Justice Collaboration Across Canada
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Episode 66: Access to Justice Collaboration Across Canada
Broadcast Date: August 17, 2023
Summary
In this episode, host Daniel J. Escott explores the transformative landscape of access to justice in Canada in the company of his guests, esteemed legal experts Mark Benton, K.C. and Brea Lowenberger. Together, they discuss the impact of the Action Committee on Access to Justice in Civil and Family Matters at both national and local levels and explore how collaborative efforts between stakeholders can help improve access to justice across Canada.
Related Documentation
- Access to Civil & Family Justice, A Roadmap for Change – Action Committee on Access to Justice in Civil and Family Matters, Ottawa, Canada, October 2013.
Guests
- Brea Lowenberger, BA, JD, LLM, Director, CREATE Justice and Access to Justice Coordinator, College of Law, University of Saskatchewan
Brea Lowenberger, BA, JD, LLM, is Saskatchewan’s Access to Justice coordinator, a sessional lecturer for the Dean’s Forum on Access to Justice and Dispute Resolution course at the University of Saskatchewan College of Law, and the co-founder and director of CREATE Justice, an action-oriented access to justice research centre at the University of Saskatchewan that is working on transforming legal and justice services and the removal of systemic barriers to justice.
- Mark Benton, K.C., Vice Chair, Canada’s Action Committee on Access to Civil and Family Justice Matters
Mark has been a lawyer since 1980 and served as the CEO of Legal Aid BC from 2003 to 2022. His legal practice experience includes general practice, appellate advocacy, and four years as an adjunct professor at the University Of British Columbia Faculty Of Law. His experience includes: leadership in legal aid program innovation, design, implementation, governance and administration; chairing the Association of Legal Aid Plans of Canada; contributions to a number of Canada’s government and non-government justice task forces; presentations to Canadian Parliamentary and Senate Committees about systemic problems in the justice system; advising several governments and NGOs on the development and administration of legal aid programs outside Canada; a member of the Canadian delegation to the UN 2019 High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development; representing clients in Courts and Tribunals; working with the Chief Justice of BC and others to found Access to Justice BC.
Mark currently serves as the vice chair of Canada’s Action Committee on Access to Civil and Family Justice. He also works closely with the board of the Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice and is a board member of the Canadian Forum for Civil Justice.
Host
- Daniel J. Escott, Judicial Law Clerk, Federal Court; Researcher & Chair of the CIAJ National Student Committee, CIAJ
Daniel is a lawyer called to the bar in Ontario in 2023, and serves as a Researcher for the Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice (CIAJ) with a focus on digitization and legal process design. He also sits as Chair of the CIAJ National Student Committee. Originally from Newfoundland and Labrador, Daniel has a keen interest in access to justice and the use of technology in law.
During his legal studies, Daniel joined the CIAJ’s National Student Committee as a member in 2020. Throughout the COVID-19 Pandemic, he volunteered with and was eventually elected to the Board of Directors for the National Canadian Lawyers’ Initiative, providing and supporting pro bono legal research and services through the use of remote access and digital communication technologies. Daniel also helped coordinate the University of New Brunswick Faculty of Law’s community tax clinic.
Before law school, Daniel worked in Ottawa as the Digital and Social Media Lead for Canada’s Minister of Science and Sport. He served five years with the Royal Canadian Air Force, retiring as a Lieutenant in 2018. Daniel received his law degree from the University of New Brunswick in 2022, and an undergraduate degree in business administration from the Memorial University of Newfoundland in 2018.
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