We can’t help you. That was the Ontario government’s response to citizens who followed up on Premier Doug Ford’s promise that they could get legal aid by contacting his office.
Ford’s office forwarded requests for legal aid to former attorney general Caroline Mulroney, newly released emails show.
“Thank you very much for your email about legal aid,” Ford wrote to constituents who contacted his office. “As the issue you raised falls in the area of responsibility of the Honourable Caroline Mulroney, Attorney General, I’ve forwarded your email to her.”
[…]
Michael Spratt, a criminal defence lawyer in Ottawa who has repeatedly asked Ford’s office for help getting legal aid for his clients, obtained the emailsthrough a freedom of information request.
“The government emails show that Ford had no plan and no intent to ever follow through on his legal aid guarantee,” Spratt told HuffPost Canada on Monday.
“His response to those individuals was that it wasn’t his responsibility.”
The documents Spratt received include numerous requests for help from people who heard about Ford’s promise. Their names and details of their situations were removed from the emails before they were released.
[…]
Red Emma Palling’s full article: Huffington Post
