Can I just address your first point about funding women in domestic...?
In British Columbia, if there's no risk of jail, which there wouldn't likely be for a first offender in a domestic assault situation where there are no serious injuries, that male won't get legal aid. The woman is unlikely to get legal aid in the domestic if there's a related family situation, so both individuals are going to be floundering within the justice system. We will then have the attendant costs of the court having to appoint counsel because it's not advisable, of course, for the man.... As we know, it's more often the man than the woman, but sometimes women are charged with domestic assault, too. However, it's not appropriate for the accused to be cross-examining the complainant, whether it's the husband or the wife, so we have attendant delays because the trial will have to be adjourned while counsel is appointed.
Then, of course, the related family case will be sidetracked because they really intersect. The family case will pass protection orders. There will be bail conditions under the Criminal Code. These won't be compatible, so applications will have to be made in the family court and in the criminal court, and none of these individuals have a lawyer. It's so inefficient. That's why a dollar invested can lead to seven dollars of savings. It's not a difficult issue.
In respect of the pro bono question, every lawyer who does legal aid does pro bono. The mandatory pro bono is directed, really, at the large law firms, where lawyers are making good incomes. They're being paid big hourly rates by corporations, very often, or by wealthy individuals. I think the mandatory pro bono is really aimed at those individuals and those large firms. As for the legal aid lawyers, we all do pro bono. A large percentage of the hours we spend on a case are not compensated. That's the reality, and it's getting worse and worse and worse.