Proactive disclosure
Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) is a publicly funded organization, committed to transparency. If you require further information on LAO's expenses and how your tax dollars are put to use, please feel free to contact us.
Memorandum of understanding
LAO operates within a framework of accountability arising from the laws that govern it, including the Legal Aid Services Act and the Human Rights Code, provincial policies, agreements with clinics and its own internal policies. LAO’s administration is also governed by a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Attorney General of Ontario and LAO.
The MOU between LAO and the Ministry of the Attorney General was revised April 2014.

Budget
Salary disclosure
Under the Public Sector Salary Disclosure Act, organizations that receive public funding from the Province of Ontario are required to disclose the names, positions, salaries and taxable benefits of employees who were paid a salary of $100,000 or more. This information is published annually on the Ontario Government website.
Expense reports
PDF copies of the quarterly expense reports for the LAO's senior management, president and CEO and the Chair of the board of directors
Contracts
PDF copies of contracts made between LAO and various vendors, employees, and other organizations.
Service agreements
Details of service agreements made between LAO and other organizations.
Public proceedings of the Board
Agendas, minutes and other materials for the Legal Aid Ontario Board of Directors meetings.
- 2017 public proceedings of the Board
- 2016 public proceedings of the Board
- 2015 public proceedings of the Board
- 2014 public proceedings of the Board
- 2013 public proceedings of the Board
- 2012 public proceedings of the Board
- 2011 public proceedings of the Board
- 2010 public proceedings of the Board
- 2009 public proceedings of the Board
Board advisory committees
Information requests
Legal Aid Ontario (“LAO”) grants access to information requests according to the Legal Aid Services Act (“LASA”) and the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (“FIPPA”). LAO goes to great lengths to grant access to requesters while complying with its duties under FIPPA and LAO's governing legislation.
LAO was established in 1998 under LASA. From 1999 to September 2014, LAO received 213 requests for access to information. Approximately 35% of those requests were for access to a client's own personal information of which 78% were granted and 15% were partially granted. Furthermore, about 33% of all requests for access to information received during that time period were requests by either third parties or by clients for third party information. Of those requests, about 24% were granted and approximately 17% were partially granted. Last, approximately 32% of all requests for access to information received from 1999 to September 2014 were for access to general information about LAO of which approximately 63% were granted, and nearly 18% were partially granted.
LAO is committed to transparency and public access to information within the limits of its governing legislation. In that spirit, in cases where LAO does not have any records responsive to the request, LAO endeavours to provide other relevant information to the requester that may be of assistance when it is possible to do so. In addition, beginning in April 2013 LAO made it its general practice to not charge clients an application fee for requests for personal information pertaining to their own records. Prior to April 2013, LAO would grant a client's request for a waiver for the application fee if the client had so requested and the request was for their own records.
LAO has published the decision letters for the requests for third party information and requests by third parties, and requests for general records. See: Proactive disclosure. In order to comply with our obligations under FIPPA and LASA, the necessary redactions have been made to these materials. The decision letters to requests for a client's own personal information have not been posted.
Status update on Deloitte and MNP reports recommendations
- Status update on Deloitte and MNP reports recommendations
- Appendix A Deloitte Recommendation List
- Appendix B Deloitte Report Risk Analysis
- Appendix C MNP Recommendations
- Appendix D Deloitte Portal Review
- Appendix E Deloitte Addendum to April 13-2010 Report on Legal Aid Online Billing
- Appendix F MNP Summary of Results
Clinic Information Management System (CIMS)
Community legal aid clinics
- 2016/17 funding:
- 2015/16 funding:
- 2014/15 funding:
- Status of LAO funds for the clinics project
- Total amount of funding recovered by LAO from legal clinics as annual community clinic budget surpluses from 2006
Immigration and refugee
- Immigration and refugee law advisory committee: Meeting minutes
- Data for Hungarian refugee claims between 2006 and 2014
Legal aid panels
General and third-party information requests
These are written requests for records of a non-personal nature and responses for information requested by a third party (such as a law firm) on behalf of a client.
Public interest related correspondence and information
African Canadian Legal Clinic (ACLC)
Committee decisions

Decision on reconsideration of clinic committee decision dated August 17, 2017
October 18, 2017

Final Clinic Committee Decision
- Executive summary
August 16, 2017

Clinic Committee Decision
January 19, 2017

Clinic Committee Decision
June 20, 2016

Clinic Committee Decision
November 7, 2014

Clinic Committee Decision
September 5, 2014
Reviews

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC): Procedures with respect to the African Canadian Legal Clinic
April 2017

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC): Internal audit - follow-up to 2013 PwC Forensic Review
April 2016

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC): Forensic Review and Supplemental Forensic Review (credit card review)
April 2013 / Supplemental report, go to page 198
Agreements and policies

Memorandum of Understanding with the ACLC
PDF

Funding agreement with the ACLC
PDF

LAO-Clinic dispute resolution policy
PDF
Fact sheets

Why did Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) withdraw its funding from the African Canadian Legal Clinic (ACLC)?
PDF
Family Legal Services Review

Letter regarding Legal Aid Ontario's feedback on the Family Legal Services Review
Letter to the Ministry of the Attorney General regarding the feedback Legal Aid Ontario provided for the Family Legal Services Review submitted by Justice Annemarie Bonkale to the Attorney General of Ontario and the Treasurer of the Law Society of Upper Canada (LSUC) on December 31, 2016.
May 1, 2017 / PDF
Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services

Letter regarding the cost of inmate telephone communications
Joint letter with the John Howard Society to the Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services
September 13, 2017 / PDF

Letter regarding Legal Aid Ontario feedback on corrections reform legislation
Letter to the Ministry of Community Safety and Correction Services to share experiences and provide feedback regarding legislative reform in correctional law.
July 31, 2017 / PDF