Over the past year, LABC has been working to improve client access to Impact of Race and Culture Assessment (IRCA) reports, and we’ve made significant improvements to share with lawyers.
Increased capacity for IRCAs
In May 2026, LABC held a training session for new IRCA assessors from various communities, including Black, Asian, and South Asian communities. We expect to add to our supply of assessors who can now prepare IRCA reports for our clients very soon as they complete the course work.
We have also updated our IRCA FAQ in the Lawyer Portal and are working on changes to the tariff to better reflect the availability of IRCAs. As a reminder, IRCAs are available for any criminal client who comes from a racialized community. They usually take up to three months to prepare and can be requested through an authorization request on the client’s contract. We can also prepare shorter IRCA letters if there are time constraints.
Additional hours for counsel
LABC has received funding for counsel who order IRCA reports for their client, or who make IRCA-type submissions in court. Any lawyer who is approved for an IRCA report will receive five hours of additional preparation to review the IRCA and prepare submissions for court. The additional hours can also be requested through an authorization request if counsel wants to make IRCA-type submissions in court without an IRCA report.
IRCA Guide and lawyer training
With the help of an IRCA assessor and private bar lawyers, LABC is pleased to announce the IRCA Guide (PDF). This resource is designed to assist lawyers on how to use the information in IRCAs throughout their client’s criminal matters. It also provides guidance on how to obtain IRCA-like information or principles from the client in a trauma-informed way if an IRCA report is unavailable.
LABC will also be holding an in-person training session for lawyers interested in learning more about collecting IRCA information from their clients and using it in court. Training will take place on September 17, 2026, at UBC Robson Square and will feature some of our IRCA Guide authors. The training session will be recorded and available to view after the event.
Sign up for the in-person training session.
If you have questions, email Irca@legalaid.bc.ca.
