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→Time barriers
===Time barriers===
It's not unusual to have to represent oneself in court. The rates of people without lawyers are as high as 80% in some courts. But being in that position means having to learn about the law and court processes. The laws of BC and Canada are published in print and online, and can be found through the provincial government's [https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/ BC Laws website], from the Canadian [https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/ Department of Justice], or, even better, through the awesome website provided by the [https://canlii.org Canadian Legal Information Institute](CanLII). Courthouse Libraries BC also operates library branches in courthouses throughout the province, and the librarians are skilled at helping members of the public locate legislation and other forms of legal information.
This wide availability of legal information is a good thing, but the time it takes to educate yourself is a barrier to justice. Did you do a poor job filling out a legal form because you couldn't make the time to research how to do it well? Did you get a bad outcome as a result? You may have non-negotiable time commitments like kids, a dependent relative, critical healthcare appointment, or a job that you cannot afford to lose. Your family status, disability, limited economic liberty, etc. — none of this will get you a discount on the time it takes to be an informed self-represented litigant. People sometimes resign themselves to unfair outcomes because they don't have the time to do anything else. The time needed to self-educate and digest information is one of the biggest barriers to justice.
===Complexity of the law===