How Credit Unions and Banks Help Power Legal Support in BC

On a weekday morning in Kelowna, the waiting room at the Okanagan Thompson Legal Clinic fills quickly. A senior trying to hold onto their housing. A parent sorting out a protection order. Someone preparing for a hearing they don’t fully understand, but can’t afford to get wrong.

For many, this is where the legal system becomes real. Less abstract, more immediate. And, with the right support, more navigable.

The Law Foundation of BC provides more than $1.4 million each year to support access to justice for residents of Kamloops, Kelowna and the surrounding rural Okanagan. Trace the funding back a step further, and you’ll find interest rate agreements with banks and credit unions come into the story.. Interest earned on lawyers’ pooled trust accounts is what funds the Law Foundation’s grantmaking. When banks and credit unions set competitive rates on these accounts, even small increases can mean hundreds of thousands of dollars more for community impact.

What are pooled trust accounts?

These are client funds held temporarily at banks and credit unions during transactions such as real estate closings or estate settlements.

Regional legal clinic creates rural access to justice

In rural areas like much of the Okanagan and Thompson regions, geography shapes access. Long travel distances, limited transit, and unreliable internet access can make legal help difficult to reach. The Law Foundation of BC ensures that creating access to justice outside of urban centres remains a priority.

With this support, the Okanagan Thompson Legal Clinic can serve hundreds of people each year who might otherwise go without legal help.

Here, the clinic’s staff of community legal advocates support clients with a wide range of issues, such as income assistance, provincial disability benefits, federal income security programs, employment insurance benefits, debt, and residential tenancy issues

Legal advocates also help clients with completing documentation and forms and preparing written appeals. They also support clients at negotiation and mediation sessions, as well as providing legal representation at tribunal hearings and arbitrations. Specialized family law advocates assist with protection orders, parenting arrangements, child support, spousal support, limited property and debt issues, and child protection information and guidance.

Competitive interest rates mean stronger communities

Demand for legal advocacy and services continues to outpace capacity. The Okanagan Thompson Legal Clinic currently supports more than 400 clients each year, with a steady waitlist.

Sustaining and expanding this work depends on the Law Foundation of BC’s interest rate agreements with financial institutions. When banks and credit unions agree to higher interest rates, that means more resources for legal clinics, advocacy programs, and community-based legal support like the Okanagan Thompson Legal Clinic.

By offering competitive rates on pooled trust accounts, credit unions and banks can directly support access to justice in their communities. Many leading financial institutions are already part of this effort through rate agreements with the Law Foundation.

Today, the Law Foundation of BC funds more than 120 legal service programs in the province, including legal clinics and over 75 community law and family law advocacy initiatives.

The growth of the Okanagan Thompson Legal Clinic shows what is possible when financial institutions, the legal sector, and community organizations work together. The continued participation from all these partners will extend that impact, ensuring more people across the Okanagan can access the legal support they need.

The Law Foundation extends its sincere appreciation to the legal professionals who choose to direct their pooled trust accounts to Preferred Financial Institutions, and to the dedicated legal advocates and staff who deliver these essential services across the province every day.