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Federation of Ontario Law Associations
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ACCESS TO JUSTICE (A2J)

A2J WEEK 2020

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT & A2J

ISSUES AND SUBMISSIONS

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No matter where you were in the province or what role you play in the justice system there were various ways to participate in Access to Justice Week 2020!


A2J 2020's program featured:

  • A range of events, initiatives and resources organized with a diverse group of partners
  • A full-day public legal education conference 
  • Fully virtual events  


TAKE A LOOK AT A2J WEEK 2020 RESULTS!

#A2JWEEKCAN

ISSUES AND SUBMISSIONS

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT & A2J

ISSUES AND SUBMISSIONS

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On May 30th 2019, FOLA submitted our formal response to the Law Society's  Access to Justice Committee's review of the LSO’s Access to Justice Approach.   You can read background on the LSO's Committee Review, FOLA's submission, and submissions from other Law Associations by clicking on the blue button below

READ MORE

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT & A2J

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT & A2J

PRO BONO SERVICES IN ONTARIO

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The Department of Justice Canada considers access to justice to be a fundamental value of the Canadian justice system, flowing from our country’s respect for the rule of law. Justice Canada is working to advance a people-centered approach to justice that puts consideration of the individual at the heart of justice responses by providing access to information, programs and policies.

LEARN MORE

PRO BONO SERVICES IN ONTARIO

PRO BONO SERVICES IN ONTARIO

PRO BONO SERVICES IN ONTARIO

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There are a variety of services available to residents of Ontario.  See FOLA's comprehensive list below.  If you notice that we are missing any, please let Katie know at Katie.Robinette@fola.ca.


PRO BONO SERVICES (ONTARIO)

LEGAL AID IN ONTARIO

PRO BONO SERVICES IN ONTARIO

LEGAL AID IN ONTARIO

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FOLA has long believed that a sustainable, appropriately and adequately funded legal aid system is critical to the efficient, effective and just functioning of Ontario's justice system.  


Ontario has one of the best legal aid systems in the world, but it is far from perfect and FOLA is actively involved in a number of initiatives to make the system better for both low-income clients who use the system and the lawyers who utilize funding from Legal Aid.  

VISIT OUR LEGAL AID PAGE

ISSUES & SUBMISSIONS - a2J

On May 30th 2019, FOLA submitted our formal response to the Law Society's  Access to Justice Committee's review of the LSO’s Access to Justice Approach.  


You can read our submission here.


Background

From Feb to May 31st 2019, the Law Society’s Access to Justice Committee sought input from lawyers, paralegals, legal and community organizations, and the public to assist in its ongoing review of the Law Society’s approach to access to justice. 


The initiatives are described in a Consultation Paper


The Committee's conclusions stated that:

"Legal needs have a profound negative impact on individuals and society in Ontario. To address these needs with finite resources and a defined regulatory mandate, the Law Society should ensure its access to justice initiatives are effective and consistent with its statutory functions. To that end, the Committee is analyzing the initiatives, which generally fall into four categories:

1) Facilitating access to legal services

2) Promoting accurate and clear legal information for the public

3) Supporting an accessible, fair and effective justice system

4) Providing assistance to external organizations


As part of its analysis the Committee sought responses to the following questions:

1. What do you think of the Law Society’s current access to justice initiatives?

2. Should some of these initiatives be enhanced? If so, which ones and why?

3. Should some of these initiatives be reduced? If so, which ones and why?

4. Should the Law Society launch new access to justice initiatives? If so, which ones and why?

5. What do you or your organization do to facilitate access to justice? Could the Law Society collaborate with you on your initiatives? If so, how?

6. Should the Law Society institute a levy on lawyers and paralegals to support additional

access to justice initiatives?

7. Do you have additional comments on the Law Society’s approach to access to justice?


Read the report here


SUBMISSIONS:  Access to Justice Committee’s Request for Input, May 2019

Read FOLA's Submission  here

Read the Toronto Law Association's Submission here

Read the  County of Carleton Law Association’s Submission here

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ACCESS TO JUSTICE WEEK 2020

ONTARION'S 5th ANNUAL ACCESS TO JUSTICE WEEK RAN FROM OCT 16-30

A2J Week 2020 Schedule 

Ontario’s Access to Justice Week (A2J Week) marked its fifth year in 2020. The Week’s awareness-building programs focused on the impacts of COVID-19 on legal professions and justice sector’s COVID response, public legal education, mental health, as well as Indigenous, language and human rights.


FULL SCHEDULE HERE

SPECIAL MENTAL HEALTH PANEL

FOLA and the Law Society partnered to bring all #A2JWeek participants an engaging panel on mental health titled: The Invisible Crisis: Coping & Caring for Mental Health, Today & Post-Pandemic.


PANELISTS

Alysia Davies, Staff Clinician and Presenter at Homewood Health

Beth Beattie, Senior counsel at the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General

Janet Ozembloski, VP, Legal Counsel, and Privacy Officer at Medcan.

WATCH VIDEO

The Invisible Crisis: Coping & Caring for Mental Health

A SPECIAL FOLA/LSO PANEL ON MENTAL HEALTH DURING #A2JWEEK 2020.  


PANELISTS

Alysia Davies, Staff Clinician and Presenter at Homewood Health

Beth Beattie, Senior counsel at the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General

Janet Ozembloski, VP, Legal Counsel, and Privacy Officer at Medcan. 


A2J FEDERAL INITIATIVES

ACCESS TO JUSTICE

LET'S TALK OPEN GOVERNMENT

LET'S TALK OPEN GOVERNMENT

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The Department of Justice Canada considers access to justice to be a fundamental value of the Canadian justice system, flowing from our country’s respect for the rule of law. Justice Canada is working to advance a people-centered approach to justice that puts consideration of the individual at the heart of justice responses by providing access to information, programs and policies.


Justice Canada is guided in its efforts to promote access to justice by the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), whose overarching principle is to “leave no one behind.” Sustainable Development Goal 16, or SDG 16, commits the global community to work together to “promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all, and build effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions at all levels.” Justice Canada is the lead department within the Government of Canada for achieving SDG 16.

VISIT A2J CANADA WEBSITE

LET'S TALK OPEN GOVERNMENT

LET'S TALK OPEN GOVERNMENT

LET'S TALK OPEN GOVERNMENT

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Consultations are currently being conducted by the Government of Canada (through the Treasury Board) in an effort to establish an access to justice commitment in the open government plan.


Access to justice means that people have access to the information, resources and mechanisms necessary to effectively resolve their legal problems – issues that can impact many areas of their lives, such as housing, employment, education, health, and public safety.  

LEARN MORE AND HAVE YOUR SAY!

PRO BONO SERVICES IN ONTARIO

Justice for Children and Youth

Justice for Children and Youth is a specialty legal clinic which provides legal services for young people under 18 and homeless youth under 25 in Ontario. They also provide basic, understandable legal information for parents.


Pro Bono Students Canada

  • Appeals Assistance Project Crown Wardship Pilot Program: volunteers assist unrepresented, low income litigants appealing crown wardship no access orders.
  • Civil Court Project (Toronto): a Pro Bono Law Ontario self-help centre at the Superior Court in Toronto to assists low-income, unrepresented civil litigants.
  • Duty Counsel for Law Society Discipline Committee Hearings: volunteer lawyers assist unrepresented solicitors at Law Society Discipline Committee Hearings.
  • Eviction Prevention Project (Western): assists low-income renters facing eviction proceedings.
  • Family Law Project - relies on volunteers from all six Ontario law schools to provide services to unrepresented litigants in Windsor, Kingston, Ottawa, London, Toronto, North York, Milton and Brampton.
  • Federal Court Assistance Project: provides low-income, unrepresented litigants in the Federal Court with the assistance of counsel on matters with a reasonable prospect of success.
  • Health Law Student Advocacy Project (Toronto, Osgoode, Ottawa): helps unrepresented complainants by providing legal information, offering assistance with written submissions, and appearing on their behalf before the Health Professions Appeal and Review Board (HPARB). The HPARB reviews decisions made by the Complaints Committees of Ontario’s health professions Colleges.
  • Immigration and Refugee Detention Centre Project (Osgoode, Toronto): volunteer students go to provincial detention centres to present information to detainees on the immigration and refugee law process in Canada.
  • Judicial Plea: The Appeals Assistance Project: matches volunteers to low-income, unrepresented litigants for civil appeals. Services range from brief advice to full representation, including attendance at hearings.
  • Justice Ontario: a website and phone hotline provides Ontarians with a one-stop entry point for accessing legal resources and basic information on the most common justice-related topics. A project of the Ministry of the Attorney General, it also provides easy access to legal resources such as lawyer referral services and family law information centres.
  • Not-for-Profit Corporate Law Project (Toronto): addresses the vital business needs of non-profit organizations in Ontario in the areas of incorporation, charitable status registration, corporate maintenance and governance, and others.
  • Ontario Securities Commission Litigation Assistance Program: offers volunteer litigation services to unrepresented respondents appearing in enforcement proceedings for the Ontario Securities Commission.
  • Rural Entrepreneurial Legal Handbook Project (Queen’s): helps provide legal information to rural communities by researching and developing legal resources for rural communities in Eastern Ontario. Student volunteers are working to produce a legal handbook for entrepreneurs starting small, rural businesses in the region.
  • Small Claims Court Project (Toronto): provides general procedural and legal information enabling these individuals to complete the court process as independently as possible. In addition to providing information, a duty counsel lawyer can attend hearings or settlement conferences, help clients identify the legal issues related to their case, provide information on the rules and procedures of small claims court and answer general legal questions.
  • Tax Court of Canada Advocacy Project: offers representation to appellants in the informal procedure, with claims under $25,000. This project also operates in Quebec and is a pilot project in Nova Scotia.
  • Wills Project (Toronto, Osgoode): volunteers draft wills and powers of attorney for low-income clients.

Downloads

CCLA Letter to MAG & LSO re PBO Help Centres 2018 (pdf)Download
A2J Committee Report -Convocation - Feb 2019 (pdf)Download
TLA Access to Justice Submissions-May 2019 (pdf)Download
LSO Access to Justice Submission May 2019 - FOLA (pdf)Download
CCLA Access to Justice Submission-May 2019 (pdf)Download
TAG_A2J_Summary_2020 (pdf)Download

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