New Legal Aid Alberta program to monitor lawyer-client discussions sparks concerns

Legal Aid Alberta (LAA) signed a new five-year governance agreement with the province on Wednesday, but one of the organization's newest programs is creating confidentiality, privilege and privacy concerns. LAA announced a new monitoring program in mid-July that would allow its managers to listen in on lawyer-client interviews for "quality assurance" purposes. It was first implemented in August, but has quickly received criticism. Wayne Webster, a Calgary criminal defence lawyer who works for LA