Legal Aid Ontario planning three-year increase to financial eligibility for duty counsel and criminal certificate services
Published: December 11, 2024
Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) is proposing a three-year increase to financial eligibility thresholds to allow more low-income Ontarians to access legal aid services and support the province’s goal of reducing the backlog in criminal courts.
Under this proposal, LAO plans to raise its current financial eligibility thresholds for family and criminal duty counsel services and criminal certificate eligibility to $45,440 for families of up to four individuals for three years. This increase will allow more people to receive advice from duty counsel lawyers in court, or to hire a legal aid lawyer if they are facing criminal charges. LAO is also proposing to increase its asset thresholds for family and criminal duty counsel and criminal certificate services to $15,000, regardless of family size.
Proposed changes to Legal Aid Ontario’s financial eligibility thresholds
| Family size | Current criminal certificate / criminal and family duty counsel income thresholds | Expanded income thresholds for criminal certificates / criminal and family duty counsel |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $18,795 / $22,720 | $45,440 |
| 2 | $32,131 / $32,131 | $45,440 |
| 3 | $39,352 / $39,352 | $45,440 |
| 4 | $45,289 / $45,440 | $45,440 |
| Single Boarders | $12,330 | $45,440 |
Quotes
“Legal Aid Ontario’s core mandate is to provide high-quality legal services to individuals who qualify for our service. This announcement is positive news and will result in more individuals being eligible to receive help from LAO. I have every confidence that our duty counsel and private bar lawyers will take on this additional work and make a difference in the lives of those they assist.”
— Steve Pengelly, Board Chair
“The proposal to increase the financial eligibility threshold for legal aid services would help ensure access to justice for approximately 180,000 additional people across our province per year and contributes to a more sustainable justice system. Our government is proud to support this proposal, which would enable Legal Aid Ontario to continue delivering quality legal aid services while moving cases more efficiently through the court process, while reducing backlog.”
—Doug Downey, Attorney General of Ontario, Ministry of the Attorney General
“Legal Aid Ontario looks forward to helping more low-income people access legal advice and representation. This increase in eligibility will see thousands more individuals who are facing criminal charges or family law issues get the high quality, experienced legal support that they need to access justice, resolve their cases, and move forward with their lives.”
—Janet Budgell, President & CEO (Acting)
If you are interested in taking part in LAO’s public consultation on the proposed financial eligibility increases, visit the consultation webpage for more information.