Refugee law services consultations closed
Refugee law services transformation feedback – February 2013
Between Feb. 21 and Mar. 11, 2013, LAO is asking the refugee bar and stakeholders for their feedback on its proposed new refugee law services delivery model. LAO developed this new model in light of Bill C-31 and in consultation with stakeholders over the past few months.
Feedback received from Feb. 21 to March 11 consultations
Feedback received at the Fall 2012 consultations
Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) is sharing feedback it received from stakeholders on the delivery of LAO’s refugee law services during 13 consultations between November and December, 2012.
- Refugee law services consultation feedback
- Fall 2012 Consultation stakeholder feedback and LAO response
- Refugee Law Association 2013 feedback and LAO response
Consultation feedback has informed the revised model presented in the tables below. Changes are noted in green .
Participate
View the proposed service model and provide your feedback:
|
Services |
Designated ‘safe’ country |
Non-designated |
|---|---|---|
| Merit assessment | Yes | Yes |
| Public legal information | Yes | Yes |
| Summary legal advice | Yes | Yes |
| Basis of Claim (BoC) preparation | Yes in some cases | Yes in most cases |
| Hearing preparation | No in most cases | Yes in some cases |
| Hearing representation | No in most cases | Yes in some cases |
| Refugee Appeal Division (RAD) | Not available under legislation | Yes in some cases |
| Judicial review | No in most cases | Yes in some cases |
| Stay applications | No in most cases | Yes in some cases |
- All refugee applications for legal aid will be merit assessed to determine level of service
- Services will be prioritized to ensure BoC funding
- Hearing representation maybe reserved for complex meritorious cases
- Fund RAD matters on a pilot basis (Refugee Law Office (RLO)/Ottawa office, certificates) to determine cost and benefit
Service providers
|
LAO GTA District Office |
|
|---|---|
| LAO Refugee Law Office | Stream meritorious cases of nationals from high acceptance rate countries to Refugee Law Office (e.g. Afghanistan) where Legal Aid Workers (LAWs), licensed paralegals and lawyers will provide cost-effective service. |
| Clinics (Under discussion) |
Stream meritorious cases of nationals from countries to a particular linguistic/ethnic clinic (e.g. Metro Chinese, South Asian, Centre francophone, Center for Spanish Speaking Peoples), speciality clinic or general service clinic. |
| Private bar | Stream meritorious cases of nationals from high volume non-designated countries to private bar service contractors (service agreements) to leverage efficiencies.
Block fees to be developed for low volume countries. |
| Licensed paralegals | Stream meritorious cases of nationals from high volume non-designated countries where the acceptance rate is high to licensed paralegal contractors. Supply of licensed refugee paralegals currently limited. |
| Country streaming will be reasonably applied. Claimants, for instance, who due to the nature of the claim prefer not to be streamed to an ethnic clinic could be streamed to another provider. Likewise, claims may be streamed elsewhere when linguistic clinics are unable to absorb the volume of claims. | |
Service Providers & Services
|
Service providers |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Services |
LAO Refugee Law Office |
Clinic |
Private bar |
Licensed paralegals |
| Public legal information | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Summary legal advice | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Basis of Claim prep | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Hearing prep | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Hearing representation | Some cases only | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Appeal (RAD) | RLO, Ottawa District – pilot | No | Yes – pilot | No |
| Judicial review (JR) | Some JRs | No | Yes | No |
Potential outcomes of draft refugee services model
- More efficient, effective intake processes through automation
- Enhanced merit screening by clear policy framework
- Service level and service provider identification based on merit, country streaming, client need, and budget
- Prioritization of BoC preparation
- Creation of the RLO as “center of excellence”
- Client access to public legal information and summary legal advice
- Refugee services by panel of licensed paralegals
- Innovative payment methods – service contracts, block fees
- Engagement of linguistic clinics, general service clinics, Student Legal Aid Services Societies (SLASS) and community agencies in service delivery
- Strengthened refugee services quality through panels, enhanced standards
- A diversified refugee services delivery model by 2014/15: RLO, clinics, SLASS, private bar, paralegals
Consultation Date
Starts: February 21, 2013 at 12:00am
Ends: March 11, 2013 at 12:00am