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We’ve temporarily changed some of our services.

Legal Aid Ontario is moving!
Starting April 2023, Legal Aid Ontario’s Provincial Office, Toronto Family Law Services Office, Criminal Senior Counsel Services Office, and Refugee Law Office will be located on the seventh floor of the Atrium on Bay.

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Atrium on Bay
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  • Services
    • Temporary service changes due to COVID-19
    • COVID-19 and the courts: Answers to frequently asked questions
    • Our services
    • Criminal legal issues
    • Domestic Violence
    • Family legal issues
    • Mental health legal issues
    • Refugee and immigration legal issues
    • Legal clinics
    • How to apply
    • Find a lawyer
      • Finding the right legal aid lawyer
    • What do you think about our services?
  • For legal professionals
    • COVID-19: Ongoing list of supports for lawyers
    • LASA 2020 process updates for lawyers
    • Changes to policies and certificate coverage
    • Roster resources
      • Audit & Compliance
      • Billing
      • Case management
      • Forms library
      • Legal Aid Services Act, 2020 policies
      • Legal Aid Online
      • LAO LAW
      • Minimum experience requirements
      • More resources
    • Do legal aid work
    • Mentoring
    • Test case funding
    • News for lawyers
    • B3 Newsletters
    • Contacts for lawyers
  • Corporate
    • About
      • By-laws
      • Our clients
      • Board of Directors
      • Executive Team
      • Board Advisory Committees
      • Sidney B. Linden Award
      • French Language Services
    • Legal Aid Services Act, 2020
      • LASA 2020 Rules and Policies
      • LASA 2020 glossary
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Impact of Race and Culture Assessments (IRCAs)

For criminal lawyers

What are IRCAs?

IRCAs are reports focused on Black and other racialized adults and youth, primarily at the sentencing stage of a trial. They help sentencing judges consider how an individual’s experiences of racism, poverty and discrimination inform the individual’s circumstances, the offence committed and the individual’s experience with the justice system.

In 2021, the Government of Canada announced that it would provide funding to legal aid plans across the country to support the implementation of IRCAs. These additional funds enable LAO to provide IRCAs for individuals, who self-identify as Black or as a member of another racialized community who:

  1. has a legal aid certificate

  2. is facing jail time of two years or more or is a youth facing a custodial sentence.

Clients who self-identify as Black do not require a court order to obtain an IRCA.

Clients who self-identify as a member of any other racialized community require a court order to obtain an IRCA.

LAO may also provide funding for IRCA reports for Black and other racialized individuals with legal aid certificates where the Crown is seeking less than two years, but the individual’s circumstances suggest that an IRCA report is needed to arrive at a fair sentence. Contact us at gencasemgmt@lao.on.ca to learn more.

How to request an IRCA

A roster member whose client meets the criteria for an IRCA report can request the report from LAO on behalf of the client, using the following process:

  1. Request a disbursement for an expert. Use the form: Request for authorization – IRCA report
  2. Submit the form through the Legal Aid Online portal.

A Big Case Management case manager or a staff lawyer from Lawyer Services and Payments will review the request and advise you of the decision through the Legal Aid Online portal.

IRCA criteria for individuals with legal aid certificates

To be approved, a request for an IRCA report must meet all the following criteria:

  1. The individual must self-identify as Black or as a member of another racialized community and
  2. The Crown is seeking a sentence of two years or more; or
  3. A youth is facing a custodial sentence (open or closed custody facilities).

Clients who self-identify as Black do not require a court order to obtain an IRCA. Clients who self-identify as a member of any other racialized community require a court order to obtain an IRCA.

Once the criteria have been met, LAO will authorize a disbursement for the IRCA at a rate of $100 per hour for up to 40 hours. This covers the cost of assessors/social workers and supervision by a Master of Social Work.

LAO may also provide funding for IRCA reports for Black and other racialized individuals with legal aid certificates where the Crown is seeking less than two years, but the individual’s circumstances suggest that an IRCA report is needed to arrive at a fair sentence. Contact us at gencasemgmt@lao.on.ca to learn more.

IRCA criteria for individuals who do not have a legal aid certificate (including self-represented)

  • The individual self-identifies as Black or as a member of another racialized community
  • The court has issued an order or endorsement for an IRCA

The order/endorsement should be sent to LAO’s Protocol Case Unit, LAO will then issue payment to the organization authorized to produce the IRCA report. Further information can be obtained by contacting generalcasemgmt@lao.on.ca.

  • This form is feedback only.

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For criminal lawyers

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