LAO provides coverage for judicial reviews that challenge Bill C-12 eligibility decisions

Published: September 9, 2026

Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) is providing Federal Court judicial review certificate coverage to challenge refugee claim ineligibility decisions made under the new restrictions introduced under Bill C-12.

This coverage will help ensure affected clients can benefit from any successful outcome in the test case litigation that is contesting the legality of the C-12 restrictions on constitutional and other grounds.

The Federal Court has agreed to suspend timelines and hold in abeyance all cases that raise the same legal issues as the test case litigation until the litigation has been decided. As a result, most certificates issued will be for four hours only, with no requirement to submit a detailed merit assessment. However, lawyers will be required to submit a streamlined merit assessment form.

Detailed policy and instructions for lawyers

Additional resources for roster lawyers

LAO has created a dedicated Bill C-12 judicial review resource page for roster lawyers on LAO LAW.

The resource page includes:

• sample language for use in drafting Applications for Leave and for Judicial Review that raise the same issues as the current Federal Court test case litigation;
• updates on the status of the coordinated test case litigation including information on cases being held in abeyance

Roster lawyers are encouraged to review these resources before filing Bill C-12 eligibility judicial review applications. The materials will be updated as the litigation progresses and as further guidance becomes available.

Questions

• Contact immigrationandrefugee@lao.on.ca.