Legal Aid struggling to keep up in Happy Valley-Goose Bay

The Newfoundland and Labrador Legal Aid Commission is struggling to keep up with the number of cases it has to handle in Happy Valley-Goose Bay.

Provincial director Nick Summers said 177 individual appearances are scheduled for the next two weeks at provincial court.

Summers said the commission has five positions in central Labrador, but with two vacancies, it has had to fly in lawyers from other parts of the province.

He said adding more legal aid lawyers would help, but other resources are lacking.

"There is only one interview room, there is a limited amount of space for holding people who are in detention, there are a limited number of sheriff's officers who have to provide security in the building, and so on," he told CBC News.

Summers said with about 3,000 cases per year, Happy Valley-Goose Bay is the second busiest court in the province, behind St. John's.