News

It’s time to send in your nominations for the Sidney B. Linden Award! The deadline for submission is Friday, November 3, 2017, at 5 p.m. The award is named after Justice Sidney B. Linden, the first chair of Legal Aid Ontario (LAO), who has been involved with legal aid for over 35 years. LAO created the Sidney…

In 2009/10, LAO received numerous complaints from staff and board members within ACLC alleging financial mismanagement, gross misconduct and poor governance at the clinic. Two of ACLC’s Board members resigned because of their concerns. LAO had a responsibility to look into these allegations and tried to resolve these concerns informally through a series of meetings, but the management and board of ACLC refused.

I would like to invite you to a community meeting that Legal Aid Ontario is holding to get input on legal services to the Black community. We want to hear your views in order to begin the important work of setting up a new, independent, Black‑focused and Black-led clinic. We also want to tell you…

As part of its domestic violence strategy, Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) has developed a three-year action plan. The blueprint comes after months of consultations with survivors, partners in the Violence against Women community and other legal and community service providers. During these consultations, LAO received a lot of feedback on how the organization can enhance…

Legal Aid Ontario is working with an advisory committee to establish a new, community-based organization to deliver legal services to Black Ontarians who are experiencing anti‐Black racism. The members of the advisory committee were not involved in the dispute resolution process between LAO and ACLC. Rather, they are advising LAO on how to best meet…

Following a decision to withdraw funding from the African Canadian Legal Clinic, Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) is working with members of the Black community to establish a new, community-based organization to deliver legal services to Black Ontarians who experience anti-Black racism. In the meantime, in addition to the legal services that LAO already provides, LAO…

The Clinic Committee of Legal Aid Ontario’s Board of Directors has decided, under its dispute resolution process, to withdraw LAO’s funding of the African Canadian Legal Clinic (ACLC) effective September 30, 2017. Every dollar of funding currently provided to ACLC will be redirected to a new organization to provide dedicated services to the Black community. LAO’s…

The African Canadian Legal Clinic is in LAO’s Dispute Resolution Process. This process is currently at the third and final stage. Among the possible outcomes are withdrawing LAO’s funding from the Clinic, continuing to fund ACLC, and/or placing additional conditions on the Clinic. Regardless of what the Clinic Committee decides, LAO will work to ensure…

Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) will be holding a series of in-person and online sessions this fall to meet with clients, lawyers, community legal clinics and other community agencies to talk about some of the issues faced by racialized communities when it comes to getting the legal services they need. Ahead of those meetings, LAO is…

Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) is extremely proud of the four staff lawyers appointed as justices of the peace, and the work they have done within this organization. “On behalf of LAO, I extend my warmest congratulations to Mark, Tove, André and Natalia on their appointments.” David Field, LAO president and CEO “On behalf of LAO,…