In the common law an impartial and fair judge is essential to the administration of justice. Recently the Canadian Judicial Council issued a statement calling upon judges to help unrepresented litigants. This is a dangerous first step as it will become increasingly difficult in our adversarial system to draw the line.

This is the worst case scenario forced upon our courts by government underfunding of legal aid. In civil cases, save and except for family matters, it is almost impossible to get legal aid. Cases with merit do not proceed as the risks and costs are prohibitive. Access to justice is essential to a free and domocratic society.

The courts mean well but the road to hell is often paved with good intentions. Civil litigators learn the hard way that it is essential to keep some distance from the litigants and not to get too personally or emotionally involved. With judges now encouraged to step into the adversarial proceedings and question witnesses and correct errors of defendants they will inadvertenly become advocates for one side and lose their independence. This is a big mistake!

Our appealate courts will increasingly be called upon to review the actions of judges that cross the line again and again and again.

Our judicial system, already under stress, will be placed between a rock and a hard place and the public will be the big loser. This will not work.