Editorial: Small victory

The Safe Streets Act has been under fire for years by critics, who argue it criminalizes homeless people.

The act also has another nasty side effect — clogging up the courts and creating bureaucratic hurdles for those who are charged and the lawyers who are helping them.

I also buy the argument the act unnecessarily ends up criminalizing people who struggle with mental illness.

That’s why a story this week in Law Times may seem like it marks a small victory.

However, I’d argue it’s the type of policy development that deserves to be celebrated.

Fair Change Community Services has struck an agreement with the Old City Hall courthouse in Toronto allowing appeals of Safe Streets Act tickets to occur with less paperwork.

That means if an appeal involves more than 50 tickets, an expedited process can be used.

This, in turn, will make a drastic change in terms of how much time is needed by lawyers to help their clients.

As someone who worked in a newsroom and then transferred to a government setting, it was shocking for me to encounter the number of documents required for even the simplest of procedures.

That’s why when changes occur to make court processes more flexible, they deserve to be commended.

Innovation in the courts can be tricky and difficult to come by.

In a longer journey to get the SSA repealed, a headline screaming “less paperwork” may not be sexy or glamourous.

But the change must be a warm boon to lawyers in the trenches.

These are the folks who are taking small steps every day to fight the act and its unsavoury consequences for people who have been ticketed.