Briefing
During a brief stay in British Columbia, you have been asked to interpret at a conference on Canadian law. Among the attendees is a delegation visiting from China.
Listen to Speech
Interpreting Speech #19 – Legal Aid in BC (English-into-Mandarin)
Transcript and reference translation
Ladies and gentlemen. I think everyone here knows why we are here today. We are here today because we believe that every Canadian citizen deserves access to justice, and that this should not depend on the size of your bank account. 女士们先生们大家好。我想大家都知道我们今天为什么会聚集在此。我们今天来此,是因为我们相信每个加拿大公民,无论贫富,都有权享有公平公正。
According to statistics, in any three-year period about 50 per cent of adult Canadians experience at least one legal problem every day. Among the most distressing are family related matters, such as relationship breakdowns, child custody and sometimes even violence. 数据表明,每三年都有百分之五十的加拿大成年公民每天都会碰到法律问题。 其中最让人苦恼的是家庭矛盾,比如婚姻关系破裂或者孩子的抚养问题,甚至是家庭暴力案件。
In these critical situations, people need the ability to access legal advice and representation. But what if they can’t afford it? All too often these legal problems go unresolved, which doesn’t just affect the families involved, but can cause larger social problems. 在这种关键时候,人们就需要接受法律咨询和帮助。但是如果他们承担不了法律费用呢?这就导致了法律问题很多时候都没有被解决,这些并不只是当事人的问题,而是整个社会的问题。
Legal aid is vital to B.C.’s justice system. However, funding was severely cut by the B.C. government in 2002. Since that time, our level of service has been affected significantly, and today there is very little funding for important family law matters such as child support, child custody and division of assets. 法律援助是不列颠哥伦比亚省司法系统中的重要一项,然而在2002年,政府却大幅减少了这方面财政资金。由此我们能够提供的法律援助水准受到严重影响,到现在为止,如子女抚养费、监护权及财产分割等一些严重的家庭法律纠纷案件仍得不到足够的资金支持来解决。
In our family law courts, about 40 percent of hearings proceed with at least one party not having legal representation. This delays the legal process and puts families at a disadvantage in the justice system. 在审理家庭纠纷案的法庭上,一方没有法律代表的听证会占总数的40,这大大延长了法律程序,同时也使受害家庭在司法系统中处于劣势。
The hourly rate paid to legal-aid lawyers has increased just once since 1991, and legal costs haven’t kept up with inflation. As a result, it is difficult to attract and retain capable lawyers who can provide legal aid. 提供法律援助的律师的计时工资只在1991年提高过一次,而诉讼费用却没有根据通货膨胀做出相应的调整。这样的现实情况使得愿意做法律援助律师的人越来越少,也很难留住有能力的法律援助律师。
Compensation given to legal-aid lawyers in B.C. is much lower than that given to government lawyers. In a child-protection case, for example, a legal-aid lawyer is paid around 60 percent of what a government-hired lawyer may be paid. 对于不列颠哥伦比亚省的法律援助律师的补助数额是远远少于对于政府律师的。举例来讲,在儿童保护的案例当中,一位法律援助律师得到的报酬仅仅是一位政府律师所得的百分之六十。
What does this mean in dollars and cents? Well, that’s an hourly rate of $84 for
legal-aid lawyers versus $135 for government lawyers. This has real implications for legal-aid lawyers in being able to represent their clients effectively. 那么从金钱角度衡量这个问题据有什么意义呢?具体来说,就是同样工作一小时,政府律师可以获得一百三十五加币,而法律援助律师只能获得84加币的报酬。这对于法律援助律师是否能够高效地为他们的客户服务来说具有实在的影响。
Today, we call on the government to provide adequate funding for basic legal representation in family law cases. Estimates show we need an additional $15 million to provide significantly better services to those in need. 当今,我们呼吁政府能够为处理家庭法律案件的基层法律代表提供充足的资金支持。而经过预估,我们需要1500万加币来为这些需要帮助的人们提供更好的服务。
We believe that this is a smart and necessary investment in the sustainability of our justice system, and look forward to working with the provincial government on these vital issues to ensure a just, democratic and fair society in B.C. Thank you. 我们相信对于法律系统的持续性来说,这是一次来说明智而又必要的投资,我们也希望同省政府一起努力,保证不列颠哥伦比亚省社会的正义,民主以及公平。谢谢!
Adapted for educational purposes from Opinion: BC Legal Aid in dire need of government funding.
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