Bill seeks to transfer legal aid fee-setting authority LEGAL Aid Manitoba lawyers may be getting a raise. On Thursday, the Progressive Conservative government revealed the contents of Bill 50 (Legal Aid Manitoba Amendment Act) it introduced in November. It seeks to transfer the authority for setting fees for private lawyers from the government to legal aid’s management council. "This bill has been a long time coming," said Gerri Wiebe, president of the Criminal Defence Lawyers Association of Manitoba. Legal Aid provides free or affordable legal services to low-income Manitobans using a mixed model, with half of the cases handled by staff lawyers and half handled by private bar lawyers paid a fee, last adjusted in 2008, when the base was set at $80 an hour.