Legal Services Society Survey

Vancouver, BC - According to a recent Legal Services Society survey conducted by Ipsos Reid, 93% of British Columbians support legal aid services, once those services are explained to them, with 61% saying they strongly support legal aid and 32% moderately supporting legal aid. Just 6% of British Columbians oppose legal aid.

Most British Columbians also rate legal aid as important to the various aspects of the justice system. Ninety-six percent say legal aid is very or somewhat important for family court, 94% say it is important for criminal court, 85% for immigration and refugee matters and 93% for other civil proceedings.

When asked, 85% of British Columbians say they were aware there were legal aid services in BC, with just 15% saying they were unaware.

Fifty-three percent of British Columbians say that legal aid is inadequately funded, while 36% either say that it is adequately funded (31%) or that it is more than adequately funded (5%). Seventy-eight percent of British Columbians agree that governments should give funding for legal aid services the same priority as for services such as health care, education, welfare and child protection, with 40% strongly agreeing and 38% moderately agreeing. Just 21% disagree.

British Columbians were asked whether they would agree or disagree that everyone should have the right to access the justice system. Agreement with this idea is almost universal, at 97%.

The survey was conducted by Ipsos Reid on behalf of the Legal Services Society. These results are based on 730 telephone interviews with British Columbians, 18 years of age and older on the BC Reid Express omnibus survey. Interviews were conducted between March 4th and March 10, 2008 with residents from throughout the province. People who are, or who are closely related to a Legal Services Society employee or a lawyer who provided legal aid services, were excluded from the survey.

With a provincial sample of 730, one can say with 95% certainty that the overall results are within 177 3.6 percentage points of what they would have been had the entire BC population been surveyed. The margin of error will be larger for sub-groupings of the survey population.

These data were weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual BC population according to the 2006 Census data.

For more information on this news release, please contact:
Rhys Gibb
Director
Ipsos Reid
(778) 373-5112
[email protected]

Or

Mark Benton
Legal Services Society
(604) 601-6004

About Ipsos Reid
Ipsos Reid is Canada's market intelligence leader, the country's leading provider of public opinion research, and research partner for loyalty and forecasting and modelling insights. With operations in eight cities, Ipsos Reid employs more than 600 research professionals and support staff in Canada. The company has the biggest network of telephone call centres in the country, as well as the largest pre-recruited household and online panels. Ipsos Reid's marketing research and public affairs practices offer the premier suite of research vehicles in Canada, all of which provide clients with actionable and relevant information. Staffed with seasoned research consultants with extensive industry-specific backgrounds, Ipsos Reid offers syndicated information or custom solutions across key sectors of the Canadian economy, including consumer packaged goods, financial services, automotive, retail, and technology & telecommunications. Ipsos Reid is an Ipsos company, a leading global survey-based market research group.

To learn more, please visit www.ipsos.ca.

About Ipsos
Ipsos is a leading global survey-based market research company, owned and managed by research professionals. Ipsos helps interpret, simulate, and anticipate the needs and responses of consumers, customers, and citizens around the world.

Member companies assess market potential and interpret market trends. They develop and build brands. They help clients build long-term relationships with their customers. They test advertising and study audience responses to various media. They measure public opinion around the globe.

Ipsos member companies offer expertise in advertising, customer loyalty, marketing, media, and public affairs research, as well as forecasting, modeling, and consulting. Ipsos has a full line of custom, syndicated, omnibus, panel, and online research products and services, guided by industry experts and bolstered by advanced analytics and methodologies. The company was founded in 1975 and has been publicly traded since 1999.

In 2007, Ipsos generated global revenues of e927.2 million ($1.27 billion U.S.).

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