Part of Access to Justice in Nova Scotia is ensuring that people have access to legal services and lawyers that reflect the demographics of our province. At the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society, we create a culturally competent Bar by working with internationally trained lawyers who are eager to join the profession in Nova Scotia and help meet the demand of the public’s need for legal services.

When a lawyer from a jurisdiction outside of Canada is looking to join the Nova Scotia Bar, the Society sees this as an opportunity to improve access to justice. Internationally trained lawyers not only increases the supply of lawyers in this province, but they bring their own cultural and lived experiences, helping to build a profession that is in step with the province’s diversity.

In 2015, the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society led the justice community in an engagement campaign to hear from the public about their experiences with the justice system. For Access to Justice Week 2023, we are taking a look at this project and sharing how it still informs our work.

#TalkJustice was a community outreach initiative designed to allow the Society to better understand the challenges and barriers equity-seeking communities face when going through the justice system. Through #TalkJustice, the Society hoped to strengthen our rapport with equity-seeking and economically disadvantaged communities and to improve relationships between these communities and other justice system sectors, including the Courts, police, and social services.

The Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society is pleased to announce the launch of the Innovation Sandbox Pilot Project, an initiative to encourage creative and novel solutions to access to justice issues across Nova Scotia. The Innovation Sandbox Pilot Project was created at the direction of Council at the November 2022 meeting.

As we enter Access to Justice Week, I would like to take this opportunity to reflect on what access to justice is, what the Nova Scotia justice community does to promote it, and what resources are available to our members to understand what we can all do to advance the public interest and improve the administration of justice.

Access to justice is a universal principle which outlines that citizens within a democratic society must be able to participate in the justice system to exercise their rights fully, challenge discrimination and marginalization, hold lawmakers accountable, and generally have their voices heard. For us, it is crucial that the public has access to competent lawyers, both professionally and culturally.