In my last blog, I said that Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) had met with hundreds of stakeholders to help us make informed decisions about expanding legal aid eligibility.
The fastest increase in certificates in a quarter century
This plan increases the types of legal matters that qualify for a legal aid certificate. It also implements an important part of the provincial government’s initiative, as set out in the July 25, 2014 provincial budget, to expand access to legal aid services in Ontario.
As a result, we expect to see the most significant and rapid increase in legal aid certificates in more than 25 years.
Thousands of low-income Ontarians who have significant legal needs in very serious legal proceedings affecting their families, employment, education, and status in Canada, will benefit.
How LAO’s new services will make a difference
LAO’s new services are the first step in a multi-year plan to expand access to justice and address high-impact unmet legal needs within the legal aid system.
LAO’s new certificate services, available to financially eligible clients since June 8, include:
Criminal law: LAO is expanding certificate services to financially eligible vulnerable adults or youth who do not have a criminal record, irrespective of whether their liberty is at risk. LAO is also expanding certificates for financially eligible people accused of a crime who are at risk of losing their job, their education or their home. Low-income people accused of a crime in these proceedings will now have full legal representation, up to and including trials. LAO is also expanding its bail services.
Family law: LAO will reduce the number of unrepresented litigants in family law by expanding certificate services to eligible clients in child protection and complex family law matters. This will promote more just, timely, and sustainable resolutions to these important family cases.
Immigration and refugee law: LAO is expanding certificate services for eligible refugees who are facing deportation. LAO is also expanding certificates for Humanitarian and Compassionate applications.
Mental health law: LAO is expanding certificates services for eligible clients who wish to bring guardianship applications before the Consent and Capacity Board and the Superior Court.
Domestic violence: LAO is funding more targeted services for people experiencing domestic violence. It is also making certificates available to people who do not have a criminal record and who are charged with assault against their violent partner while attempting to defend themselves
Test cases: LAO is expanding its certificate-based test case program by introducing new criteria that broaden the public interest criteria for its long-standing Group Applications and Test Case program.
First Nations, Métis and Inuit clients: LAO is expanding certificates for First Nations, Métis and Inuit clients in a variety of legal proceedings, including criminal law and family law.
Each initiative is tailored to meet an important legal need, but they have much in common. They all aim to:
reduce the number of unrepresented low-income litigants
support vulnerable client groups and families
invest in services to address legal problems before they escalate
help low-income Ontarians avoid the life-changing consequences of a criminal record and
improve the administration of justice.
Nye Thomas is LAO’s Director General, Policy and Strategic Research. Nye has been leading LAO’s financial eligibility project.
In honour of Pride, highlights from the last year in LGBTQ news in Ontario
À cette occasion, le ministre de la Santé de l’Ontario a déclaré : « L’exercice de la thérapie de conversion n’a pas sa place en Ontario, une province où l’acceptation, le respect et la diversité sont les forces qui nous tiennent le plus à cœur. »
« Le gouvernement de l’Ontario met en œuvre de nouvelles politiques en matière d’admission et d’hébergement à l’égard des détenus et détenues trans dont les établissements correctionnels provinciaux ont la garde et le soin pour faire en sorte que leurs droits soient reconnus et protégés. »
« Nous connaissons le problème des jeunes lesbiennes, gais, bisexuels, transgenres, transsexuels, allosexuels, en questionnement et bispirituels sans-abri au Canada depuis plus de vingt ans, mais ce n’est que récemment que nous avons commencé à en parler sérieusement à l’échelle nationale.»
La ville de Toronto inclut dans son budget le financement de lits pour les jeunes sans-abri LGBT dans les refuges
« Moi, Alex Abramovich, n’ai eu aucun problème à rester pendant plus de 10 heures dans la salle du conseil municipal le 11 mars. Ce titulaire d’une bourse de recherche postdoctorale au Centre de toxicomanie et de santé mentale qui se bat depuis longtemps pour que les LGBT aient des places dans les refuges de Toronto était tout simplement heureux de voir le budget de la ville de Toronto approuvé; lequel contenait une grande première pour la ville : des places réservées pour les jeunes LGBT dans les refuges. »
Pour en savoir plus : http://www.dailyxtra.com/toronto/news-and-ideas/news/toronto-budget-approves-shelter-beds-lgbt-homeless-youth-100622
« Grâce à une gamme d’initiatives, nous sensibiliserons le public à la violence et au harcèlement à caractère sexuel en Ontario et remettrons en cause les normes et les croyances sociétales. Nous aiderons les victimes pour qu’elles soient mieux soutenues lorsqu’elles demandent l’aide dont elles ont besoin. » Kathleen Wynne
«Nous constatons, à la lumière de données de la santé publique, que l’âge de la puberté diminue constamment. Nous devons composer avec le fait que nos enfants arrivent à la puberté beaucoup plus vite qu’avant», a fait remarquer Mme Sandals. «Et ce que la police, l’aide à l’enfance et la santé publique nous disent, c’est que les enfants doivent apprendre à communiquer (plus jeunes) les parties de leurs corps au cas où (…) ils seraient victimes d’abus.»
Le projet de droit de la famille trans du Sherbourne Health Centre
Le premier projet d’envergure au Canada en matière d’éducation juridique du public destiné aux transgenres « Plus d’un transgenre sur quatre en Ontario est parent; de nombreux parents transgenres ont perdu le droit de visite à leurs enfants; du fait de leur transition, de plus en plus de parents transgenres vont faire face à des questions de droit de la famille dans les années à venir. »
Pour en savoir plus : (anglais seulement) http://lgbtqpn.ca/trans-parenting/
« L’identité sexuelle et l’expression de l’identité sexuelle ayant été ajoutées au Code des droits de la personne de l’Ontario comme motif de discrimination, la HIV & AIDS Legal Clinic Ontario (HALCO) a lancé un projet financé par Aide juridique Ontario (LAO) visant à répondre aux besoins juridiques des personnes et communautés trans en Ontario et à établir la nature des obstacles qui entravent leur accès à la justice. »
« Le mois de la Fierté est une occasion de se rassembler et de célébrer la beauté de la diversité. C’est un moment où les personnes peuvent célébrer tous les aspects de leur identité. Quelle que soit la difficulté d’exprimer son moi véritable les autres jours, le jour de la Fierté, c’est ce moi véritable qui rend une personne spéciale et qui lui donne une place dans la communauté qui célèbre la Fierté. »
Avons-nous oublié des nouvelles? Dites-le-nous dans vos commentaires. Ensemble, célébrons la Fierté.
Notre drapeau est « fièrement » levé. Célébrons la Fierté. pic.twitter.com/P6PBfxNWyA
— AidejuridiqueOntario (@AidejuridiqueON) June 22, 2015
The Legal Health Check-Up project: an intermediary’s perspective
By Colleen Sym
People arrive at the door of Michael’s church seeking help, often by happenstance or sometimes by design. The Reverend Canon Michael Patterson is the rector at the Anglican Church of the Incarnation in Oakville.
For many, it’s a last resort. These people are desperate and have come looking for charity; justice is far from their minds. At Michael’s church, people are met with compassion in a place where they’ll be heard without judgement.
As they tell their story, defences start to come down and they grow more forthcoming. A relationship of trust is built. Discussion follows about immediate proactive help that can be provided by the parish to alleviate crisis.
It’s often at this moment that Michael shifts the direction of the conversation to explore the underlying systemic issues embedded in someone’s experience. One of the tools he uses is the Legal Health Check-Up. Available in paper or electronic form, the tool gives trusted intermediaries like Michael a list of questions to ask the client in the areas of income, housing, employment, education and health to identity the common legal problems of people living in poverty.
Piloting the Legal Health Check-Up through community partners
The church is one of the seven community partners who participated in the Halton pilot of the Legal Health Check-Up project. Other partners are:
Halton Community Legal Services and these partners piloted the Legal Health Check-Up as a form of outreach. An active offer of services by the legal clinic is made through trusted intermediaries who are part of the existing contact networks accessed by people in need of legal services. Through the Legal Health Check-Up and the relationship that has developed with legal clinic staff, Michael can call someone who knows where to go for help—he can access warm referrals and the clinic’s networks of contacts.
More than just a referral
The evaluation report of the project, prepared by Dr. Ab Currie, was released at the Southwest Legal Clinics’ Conference in late April.
As part of the evaluation process, Michael reported that he likes the project because it has structure. The project is more than just giving people a phone number and telling them to call to get legal advice.
An opportunity for change
While for some potential clients, “legal” is a red flag, Michael’s reassurance helps people to overcome their suspicions. “It makes an enormous difference to be able to tell people who already know and trust me that this is a project I’ve been directly involved in, and that I’m intricately connected through the network of people who will be offering their help,” says Michael.
“To put people at ease, I try to remind them that everything is confidential, that they can always change their minds, and that this is a different kind of experience than they may have had in the past with agencies. Though it may still feel like a risk for the client, I ask them to consider that it could be an opportunity for change.”
Requests for clinic referrals
During the pilot, 300 people completed the Legal Health Check-Up. For those who were connected to the tool by a community partner, between 65 per cent and 90 per cent of the completed forms resulted in a request for a referral to the legal clinic for assistance.
As a result, client intake at the clinic during this period increased by about one-third.
When asked if he had learned anything because of his involvement in the project, Michael responded, “There’s a need for a coalition of groups and agencies who work systemically to get people out of their situations, and there is a need for a unified direction to work together. It’s the role of the legal clinic to lead that process.”
Looking ahead to future pilot projects
Developing a holistic and integrated legal service delivery model with community partner support is how we’re beginning to lead this process. In year two of the project, the legal clinics in Brant Haldimond Norfolk, Guelph and Wellington County, and Hamilton will undertake pilots in their communities. In Halton, the project will be expanded and consolidated.
Extending the Reach of Legal Aid: Report on the Pilot Phase of the Legal Health Check-Up Project: https://www.legalhealthcheckup.ca/pdf/legal-health-check-up-pilot-evaluation.pdf
Colleen Sym is the Executive Director/Lawyer at Halton Community Legal Services, a community legal clinic funded by Legal Aid Ontario. The legal clinic provides poverty law services to the low income community in Halton. Areas of law include tenants rights, employment law, human rights, entitlement to social benefits and pensions.
John Artis, wrongly convicted: What is a day of your life worth?
By John Artis
Oct. 2 of this year will be the second annual Wrongful Conviction Day, which honours the wrongly convicted and raises awareness about what leads to wrongful convictions.
If you feel that you haven’t been touched by wrongful conviction, you’re mistaken. Wrongful conviction is relevant to everyone in our society who feels they’re entitled to fairness from the law. What happened to Rubin and I could happen to anyone.
When judges or juries are deciding whether someone goes to prison, they are truly holding that person’s life in their hands. That’s why it’s so critical that justice is both fair and accountable.
One-third of my life taken
I was Rubin Hurricane Carter’s co-accused in 1967 for a triple murder charge. I served 15 years in jail in New Jersey for crimes that neither of us committed.
I was only 19 when we were put away. I had 5,478 days of my life taken from me. Put another way: 780 weeks, 180 months, or nearly one third of my life. My knowledge of our innocence sustained me through those years.
How much is one day of your life worth? How about one year? Or 15 years? Think about it. Take a moment. Try to put yourself in the shoes of the wrongly convicted, and on Oct. 2, ask those around you to do the same.
Racism: alive in our institutions
Wrongful convictions are not random acts of misfortune. They are a symptom of a justice system that doesn’t provide a level playing field for everyone.
Racism, for instance, was a defining factor in my experience with the criminal justice system.
Following my exoneration, U.S. District Court Judge Haddon Lee Sarokin said the prosecution was “predicated upon an appeal to racism rather than reason, and concealment rather than disclosure.” According to Sarokin, the case should never even have gone to trial. He called it the most egregious violation of constitutional rights that he’d seen in all his time on the bench.
Racial prejudices come into play at every level of law enforcement throughout North America: from how suspects of crimes are described by eyewitnesses, to who police officers will approach, to how someone with a complexion like mine will be perceived by a jury “of their peers.” Racialized poverty also impacts the likelihood of whether an accused can afford good legal representation to effectively counter a serious criminal charge.
I want to see better accountability for violators of the law who work within the law. It should be applicable to them just like it is applicable to all of us who are citizens in society.
Trying to keep up from behind a wall
It’s not only the experience of being incarcerated that’s incredibly difficult; it’s trying to make a life for yourself if and when you get out. After you’ve been away from the world for a long time, trying to fit back in is very frightening. You’ve been removed from society, and you’re trying to keep up from behind a wall.
You read and hear about current events and ask questions, but no matter what, you’re still far, far behind. It’s like getting on a GO Train, riding it for 15 years, and then stepping off at the same place you were before. But everything has changed: technology, language, people, behaviours and attitudes.
Some prisoners get out and then commit crimes so they can return to a familiar environment.
Trying to provide for yourself is also very challenging. No one wants to hire a felon.
Even if you have been exonerated of a conviction, the world and potential employers may still see you as guilty. Criminal convictions, even wrongful ones, stay with people for the rest of their lives.
And if you’re seeking compensation or reparations from the state following exoneration, your only option is to begin yet another legal process through the same system that put you away in the first place.
Gratitude for my present
We are raised to believe that the law is unbiased, fair and honest. That is ostensibly the reason that lady justice has a blindfold. But there are thousands of people who have languished in prison for years. Wrongfully. And there’s no relief or recognition for them.
It’s not fair when a police officer approaches some people differently than others. It’s not fair when people are intimidated, or evidence is falsified or hidden. It’s not fair when two people face the same charges under similar circumstances but one walks and the other goes to prison because the first could put more resources behind their defense.
I learned a long time ago that all of this can make you extremely angry if you allow it to permeate your heart and your feelings. I also learned that anger and hatred will consume the vessel that contains it.
I cope with the wrongs that were done to me by practicing gratitude for my present. Yesterday is history and a memory. If I were to lament having lost a third of my life, I could never make any progress whatsoever in going forward and enjoying whatever life I have left. The state of New Jersey would still be controlling my life if I were to do that.
So right now, this moment in the present: this is the future. This is my time, and yours, to do what we can to prevent future wrongful convictions.
This Wrongful Conviction Day
This Wrongful Conviction Day, I’m hoping that we’ll get even more media coverage and participation from the general public than we did last year. I’d like to see the Law Society reception be standing room only and full of press.
Anyone can help by educating themselves, by having discussions with people in their lives about the causes of wrongful conviction, and by growing their own concern and interest. We need to challenge apathy and encourage action.
For legal professionals who have dedicated their careers to justice, I urge you to hold yourself and your colleagues to the highest standard of accountability. Be confrontational if necessary. When someone’s life is in the balance, everything that possibly can be done must be done.
And if you happen to find yourself on the prosecution’s side of the table: don’t stack the deck. It’s already stacked.
John Artis was charged alongside Rubin Hurricane Carter in 1966 with the murder of three white men in Patterson, New Jersey. The 19-year-old, who had never been in trouble with the law, was given a life sentence with a minimum of 25 years. After witnesses recanted their testimony, a new trial was ordered in 1976, where both Mr. Artis and Mr. Carter were reconvicted and the life sentence re-instated.
In 1981, after spending 15 years in prison, Mr. Artis was released. Charges were dismissed in 1985 after the pair was successfully granted a Writ of Habeas Corpus which was upheld by the United States Supreme Court. While in prison, he became Vice President of the Lifer’s Group at Rahway Prison and helped to form a juvenile awareness program. Once released, he started an organization called “Creating Youth Awareness” to help troubled youth stay out of prison. For 30 years, he worked in juvenile detention centers, group homes, psychiatric centres and residential schools.
John, upon hearing that his good friend Rubin Hurricane Carter had been diagnosed with prostate cancer, took an early retirement and moved to Toronto to help Mr. Carter until his death three years later.
Building bridges through community partnerships
Pictured above from left to right: Cheri Herdman, supervisor, DPNCHC Early Years and Children’s Services, Tamara Largie, supervisor, DPNCHC Early Years Health Promotion and Initiatives, Amy Slotek, LAO program coordinator, and Alex de Melo, LAO staff family lawyer.
By Amy Slotek
The Legal Aid Ontario professionals who work out of the Davenport-Perth Neighbourhood and Community Health Centre (DPNCHC) in Toronto’s west end help address the access to justice gap in this community. This is why and how they do it.
Joseph’s story
Joseph1 is a 50-year-old man who suffers from severe diabetes and is on disability assistance. When his income was garnished by Ontario’s Family Responsibility Office for child support arrears, he had to choose between eating, having a roof over his head and paying for his insulin.
Joseph did not know that a resolvable legal issue was exacerbating his medical condition: Ontarians can apply to have a child support order changed if their disability precludes them from working.
By the time his social worker – Legal Aid Ontario’s on-site health care partner at Davenport-Perth Neighbourhood and Community Health Centre – referred Joseph to our office, his condition was deteriorating. He had lost vision in his right eye, was losing vision in his left, and could no longer work.
Thankfully, members of our team intervened and advocated to have Joseph’s arrears rescinded and child support order terminated. As a result, Joseph has a more stable income, and can better manage his condition.
The DPNCHC-LAO partnership
DPNCHC is a multi-service agency that has been in operation for three decades in the diverse and vibrant west end of Toronto. Over half of the people who live in this community are immigrants to Canada. Many struggle with poverty, systemic barriers and an inability to access the services they need to make positive changes in their lives.
DPNCHC provides primary health care to residents as well as health promotion programs such as:
mental health and addictions counselling
adult drop-in and community dining programs
settlement services
crisis intervention
literacy programs
a youth health clinic;
early years, youth and seniors programs.
I joined LAO to develop the integrated legal services program at DPNCHC in March 2014. Our team:
provides immigration and family law services on site
coordinates referrals to onsite programs and legal aid funded programs, including community and speciality clinics, across the GTA
trains DPNCHC staff, like Joseph’s social worker, to identify legal needs and refer those in need to our team as early as possible.
Reaching those at the margins
Non-legal advisors are routinely the point of contact for people with legal problems. A 2012 Australian survey, for example, revealed that 69 per cent of individuals are more likely to seek help from non-legal than legal supports and that the more marginalised the individual, the less likely he or she is to seek professional legal help. The sad reality is that those who need legal support the most are often the least likely to seek it out.
The reasons for this are complex. Individuals who live precariously, experience homelessness or survive abuse do not always know if they have a legal issue, who they can trust or what supports are available to them. As lawyers, we are sometimes regarded with suspicion, representing a justice system which is not always just.
The role that non-legal professionals, or trusted intermediaries, can play in facilitating access between legal aid services and people who need our help has received international attention. To do this important work, intermediaries require support, access to information and the skills to spot legal issues, some of which are hidden and evolving.
LAO partnerships like the one at DPNCHC seek to strengthen the capacity of frontline workers to meet this challenge.
From crisis management to crisis prevention
Our potential clients are often confused about what a lawyer does and surprised that we have an office in a community agency. Many think the role of real-life lawyers is restricted to the role of fictional lawyers on television – to vindicate the violated rights of a client in court. Lawyers do play this very critical role, but we are also problem solvers, advice givers and negotiators.
Helping clients plan their legal affairs early on before they escalate into crisis can sometimes make a world of difference. When a woman is planning to flee from violence in her home and has the benefit of turning to a lawyer for advice, she can better plan her escape. When parents with precarious immigration status have access to confidential legal support, they are able to make better informed decisions for themselves and their children.
Such “preventative lawyering” requires the public to begin seeing lawyers as individuals who they can trust and with whom they can engage early on. It also requires lawyers to be accessible in community spaces to build trust and facilitate strong relationships with community service providers to reach those in need as early as possible.
There are good precedents for this south of the border. Legal Aid societies in the United States have been engaging in community partnerships with health care providers since the early 1990s. When fueled with resources, coordination and commitment to succeed, they have yielded promising results and also illustrate that:
Service delivery models have traditionally been set up as though peoples’ legal and non-legal needs can be easily separated. They cannot.
Requiring people to travel to multiple sites to get their housing, health care, and legal needs met, for instance, tends to shuffle them between service providers with little coordination. It also makes them feel as though they are constantly moving through a “revolving door.”
This can cause frustration and anxiety, and create additional barriers for low-income clients who may not have the resources to travel.
Furthermore, legal issues often act as triggers. A family breakdown, for example, can lead to income loss, debt, homelessness, anxiety and stress. It is those issues that are often at the forefront of a client’s experience. Without adequate community supports for clients in need, legal professionals often step in to assist with these non-legal issues, resulting in lawyers assuming professional roles that we were not trained to fulfill.
Strong LAO community partnerships are a good alternative, helping to provide valuable non-legal services to legal aid clients with complex needs.
When I asked my colleague and family law staff lawyer, Ana Rico, about her experience providing legal services in a community agency setting, she explained:
I find that my job is a lot easier to do when there are community partners who can support clients to manage their survival needs. Once a client has been able to manage those, they are then more able to focus on exercising their legal rights.
Lawyers are not trained to work with survivors of trauma so having community support workers onsite to help survivors tell their stories, which are often key elements of the legal case they must present to the justice system, is also extremely valuable.
How our access to justice strategy worked for Joseph
As for Joseph, prior to the onset of blindness and the loss of his employment, he worked for many years supporting homeless people with addictions and mental health issues. He is proud of the work that he did and wishes he could continue.
He never thought that he would find himself in his current position or that he would need legal aid. But he stresses that he was happy to get legal support at a community agency close to his home, where he receives other support services.
As he puts it, “I was learning how to manage my blindness and I had to turn to the social worker at DPNCHC to help me manage simple tasks. I could not even make a phone call because I could not see the numbers on the phone.
“I would never have been able to travel downtown or to the court house to get legal assistance because of the challenges I now face with my mobility and vision.
Thankfully, I was able to walk down the hall to get legal help when I needed it most.”
Get more information about the LAO-DPNCHC partnership.
Get more information about the Davenport-Perth Neighbourhood and Community Health Centre
Amy Slotek, a lawyer with experience in anti-discrimination, international and refugee law, coordinates the Legal Aid Ontario services program at the Davenport-Perth Neighbourhood and Community Health Care Centre and was co-founder of the first refugee legal aid program in Turkey.
1 Name and details have been changed to protect this client’s identity.
How lawyers resolve family law disputes
By John-Paul Boyd
This past July I was able to sample the views of 167 lawyers and judges attending the Federation of Law Societies of Canada‘s National Family Law Program in Whistler, British Columbia through a survey designed and implemented by two prominent academics and the Canadian Research Institute for Law and the Family. The survey asked questions about participants’ views on shared parenting and shared custody, litigants without counsel, and dispute resolution.
In the course of digesting the resulting data for a report, I noticed something very interesting about the information we’d collected on dispute resolution. We had asked lawyers to tell us the percentage of their family law cases which are ultimately resolved by: arrangements made by the parties themselves; negotiation involving lawyers; mediation; collaborative settlement processes; arbitration; through court with the assistance of a judge at an interim hearing or a judicial conference; or, through court at trial. Here’s what the numbers told us:
As you can see, the lion’s share of cases are resolved through negotiation, primarily negotiation involving lawyers. (If you click on the image, you’ll get a larger, clearer version of this chart.) By region, lawyers reported that their family law cases were settled through lawyer-involved negotiation as follows:
North (Northwest Territories, Yukon): 23.3%
British Columbia: 41.1%
Prairies (Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan): 37.4%
Ontario: 38.7%
Maritimes (New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia): 50.6%
The rate of resolution by negotiation in the Maritimes is astonishing at more than half of lawyers’ files. British Columbia sits in second place with two out of five files resolved through negotiation, followed closely by Ontario.
Mediation is popular in British Columbia and Ontario, but less so in the north, the prairies and the Maritimes, perhaps because of smaller populations or a smaller number of trained mediators:
North: 10.0%
British Columbia: 25.5%
Prairies: 17.9%
Ontario: 24.8%
Maritimes: 10.0%
I was surprised to see relatively low rates of resolution through collaborative settlement processes, as it seemed to me that collaborative processes are more widely used in British Columbia and Alberta, but I wasn’t terribly surprised to see the low rate of resolution through arbitration. Arbitration has been widely accepted by the Ontario family law bar, and is becoming more accepted in British Columbia as a result of its new family law legislation; in other provinces arbitration isn’t used at all.
The relatively high rate of settlement through pretrial court processes, however, reflects my own experience as a family law lawyer. Quite often litigation is commenced not because a trial is anticipated but in order to deal with urgent problems, compel document disclosure, signal a party’s sincerity and commitment to a particular position, or move settlement discussions along. Judicial settlement processes, such as Judicial Case Conferences and Settlement Conferences in British Columbia or Judicial Dispute Resolution hearings in Alberta, are extraordinarily effective ways of getting past the stumbling blocks to settlement. Quite often the judge’s considered opinion of the likely outcome or of the merit of a party’s case is enough to modify unreasonable positions and encourage settlement.
By region, lawyers reported that their family law cases were settled by pretrial court processes involving a judge as follows:
North: 33.0%
British Columbia: 25.8%
Prairies: 21.1%
Ontario: 28.2%
Maritimes: 21.6%
Finally, the rates of resolution by trial, which I, and I believe most lawyers, view as an option of last resort, were wonderfully low. The rate of resolution by trial was higher than resolution by arbitration but about the same as resolution through collaborative processes, and only a fraction of the rates of resolution by lawyer-involved negotiation and pretrial conferences. By region, lawyers reported that their family law cases were settled at trial as follows:
North: 4.4%
British Columbia: 10.0%
Prairies: 5.4%
Ontario: 7.6%
Maritimes: 5.9%
Here British Columbia is a surprising outlier with a rate of resolution by trial significantly higher than everywhere else except perhaps Ontario, which had the next highest rate of resolution by trial. However, bearing in mind that the people who need to hire a lawyer to deal with their family law dispute generally have fairly complex and sometimes intractable problems, an overall rate of resolution by trial of 10.0% and 7.6% isn’t bad. Breaking things out by province, however, Alberta had the lowest rate of resolution by trial at 3.8% (what an incredibly low number; that’s less than 1 in 25 of lawyers’ family law files!) and Saskatchewan the highest at 12.9%.
These numbers are very reassuring. They suggest that family law lawyers emphasize dispute resolution processes other than trial in their practices, and tend to resolve their files primarily through lawyer-involved negotiation, judicial conferences and mediation. The relatively low rates of resolution through collaborative processes are explained, I think, by the facts that collaborative practice is well established in some provinces but is still developing in others and that not all family law disputes are amenable to this sort of intensive, dialogue-based process. The low rates of resolution through arbitration are explained by the different legislative treatment of non-commercial arbitration across Canada and the legal cultures that have developed as a result. In Ontario, arbitration is widely accepted and entrenched in family justice; in British Columbia, however, arbitration has just moved onto the scene as a result of its new family law legislation.
From an access to justice perspective, these numbers suggest that people are better able to afford counsel to manage their cases from start to finish as so few cases wind up being resolved through costly trials. However, you have to be able to afford counsel to begin with to enjoy the luxury of resolution other than by trial, and, as we know from research previously published by the Institute, settlement short of trial is significantly less likely in cases where one or more parties are without counsel than if all parties are represented by counsel.
At the end of the day, these data reflect very well on lawyers’ approach to their clients’ cases. However, clients must still be able to afford the services of counsel or they will, more likely than not, face the trial counsel would have helped them avoid.
A note about the data
The greatest number of responses to this question were received from Alberta (about 28 on average), British Columbia (about 38) and Ontario (about 13); all other provinces and territories yielded 10 or fewer responses. As a result, I have lumped the data together by region in an effort to produce more meaningful numbers, giving responses as follows:
North: range of 5 to 6 respondents
British Columbia: range of 5 to 41
Prairies: range of 35 to 44
Ontario: range of 11 to 15
Maritimes: range of 13 to 16
The survey received no responses from judges and lawyers practicing in Nunavut or Prince Edward Island. A small number of responses were received from Quebec practitioners; I have excluded these responses on the ground that Quebec’s civil law system is not readily comparable with the common law system used throughout the rest of Canada.
John-Paul Boyd is the executive director of the Canadian Research Institute for Law and the Family.
This piece originally appeared on Access to Justice in Canada Blog/Forum on Oct. 22, 2014.
Dr Meb Rashid de Canadian Doctors for Refugee Care : Comment les coupures dans la couverture des soins de santé nuisent aux réfugiés
Dr Meb Rashin est un médecin qui se spécialise en soins de santé aux réfugiés à Toronto. Il est un cofondateur du Canadian Doctors for Refugee Care (docteurs canadiens pour les soins aux réfugiés).
Des dirigeants du secteur de la santé ont uni leur voix pour marquer leur opposition aux modifications au système canadien de soins de santé pour les réfugiés annoncées en avril 2012 et entrées en vigueur en juin 2012. En tant que médecins, nous savons que ces coupures :
Privent des personnes parmi les plus vulnérables de notre société de services dont elles ont un besoin urgent;
Sont si compliquées que les demandeurs d’asile et les médecins ne les comprennent pas;
Ne sont pas rentables : attendre que les gens deviennent plus malades et aient besoin de soins plus intensifs coûte de l’argent;
Placent tous les Canadiens à risque : les demandeurs d’asile qui ne reçoivent pas les soins dont ils ont besoin lorsqu’ils sont malades finissent souvent par être admis à l’hôpital pour un traitement plus coûteux, sans compter le risque de contagion qu’ils peuvent présenter;
Représentent un coût énorme en douleur et souffrance humaines.
Avant les coupures
Avant juin 2012, les professionnels de la santé pouvaient fournir à tous les demandeurs d’asile et réfugiés, peu importe leur pays d’origine ou l’avancement du traitement de leur demande, des soins d’un niveau très similaire à ce qui est couvert par l’Assurance-santé de l’Ontario. Les demandeurs d’asile et les réfugiés pouvaient voir un médecin, obtenir au besoin des tests de diagnostic ou de laboratoire et accéder à un ensemble de services, de la même façon que les bénéficiaires de l’aide sociale, y compris le remboursement des médicaments sous ordonnance.
Tout ce qu’il fallait savoir, c’était que le patient était dans le système des réfugiés et qu’il détenait un certificat valide. Les personnes dont la demande de droit d’asile avait été refusée, connues sous la désignation « demandeurs d’asile déboutés », étaient encore couvertes pour aussi longtemps qu’elles demeuraient au Canada, jusqu’à la date de leur expulsion.
Le processus était simple, clair et efficace.
Comment les coupures affectent les réfugiés et les demandeurs d’asile
Les coupures de juin 2012 ont des répercussions différentes selon le groupe de réfugiés, et ces répercussions peuvent varier pour une même personne lorsque sa demande progresse dans le système de détermination du statut de réfugié.
Par exemple, le gouvernement fédéral a dressé une liste de pays d’origine désignés (POD) qui sont censés représenter les « pays sûrs ». Les pays figurant sur cette liste sont « des pays qui ne produisent habituellement pas de réfugiés, qui respectent les droits de la personne et offrent la protection de l’État ».[ref]http://www.cic.gc.ca/francais/refugies/reforme-surs.asp [/ref]
Les demandeurs d’asile dont le pays d’origine ne figure pas sur la liste des POD peuvent obtenir des services similaires à ceux couverts par l’Assurance-santé de l’Ontario, avec quelques exclusions, comme les soins à domicile et les soins de longue durée.
Par contre, les demandeurs d’asile provenant d’un POD n’ont aucune couverture des soins de santé si ce n’est pour le diagnostic et le traitement d’environ trois douzaines de maladies considérées comme relevant de la santé publique et de la sécurité publique.
Une personne ordinaire n’a aucun moyen de savoir si ses symptômes sont dus à une maladie figurant sur cette liste. Par conséquent, de nombreux patients, qui ne savent pas vraiment s’ils sont couverts pour un ensemble particulier de symptômes, attendent avant de consulter un prestataire de soins de santé. À cause de ce retard, leur état de santé peut se détériorer et les soins devenir plus coûteux.
Par ailleurs, certains pays de la liste des POD ne sont en fait pas sûrs pour tous leurs citoyens. Les réfugiés qui fuient ces pays comprennent notamment les dissidents politiques en provenance du Mexique (principale origine de demandeurs d’asile au Canada jusqu’en 2009) et la population rom hongroise — la Hongrie venait en tête des pays d’origine des demandeurs d’asile au Canada de 2010 à 2012.
Avant 2012, la Commission de l’immigration et du statut de réfugié reconnaissait que certaines de ces personnes fuyaient la persécution et devaient être protégées. Alors, pourquoi leur refusons-nous maintenant l’accès aux soins de santé?
Ce n’est pas tout : les réfugiés réinstallés (ceux qui viennent au Canada grâce au parrainage du gouvernement, d’un groupe ou d’une communauté) sont tenus de respecter un autre ensemble complexe de règles et de procédures.
Par exemple, depuis l’entrée en vigueur des coupures le 30 juin 2012, les réfugiés réinstallés parrainés par le gouvernement ont conservé une couverture identique à celle d’un bénéficiaire de l’aide sociale en Ontario et à celle dont bénéficiaient tous les réfugiés au Canada avant ces coupures.
Par contre, les réfugiés qui sont parrainés par des groupes communautaires, des églises ou d’autres répondants n’ont plus accès à la couverture des soins médicaux essentiels dans le cadre du Programme fédéral de soins intérimaire (PFSI). Ces personnes ne sont pas des demandeurs d’asile; elles ont déjà été acceptées comme des personnes fuyant la persécution et ont commencé les démarches pour obtenir la citoyenneté canadienne. Néanmoins, elles n’ont plus accès aux médicaments, aux soins dentaires d’urgence ni à la couverture pour les prothèses, le counseling et d’autres services. Ces coûts doivent être pris en charge par les groupes privés qui les parrainent, souvent de petites organisations qui n’ont pas les ressources suffisantes.
Ce ne sont là que quelques exemples des failles de ce système.
La conséquence concrète est que les règles sont si complexes et si difficiles à comprendre, que les réfugiés et les demandeurs d’asile n’ont pratiquement plus accès aux soins de base.
Les médecins voient des gens, pas le statut de réfugié
Les coupures posent aussi des difficultés aux médecins, qui ont tendance à considérer les gens comme des personnes qui ont besoin d’aide, et non comme des personnes qui en sont à telle ou telle étape d’un processus politique.
Nous constatons que ces coupures affectent plus durement les personnes les plus vulnérables parmi la communauté des réfugiés.
Nous voyons des cas horribles de personnes sans couverture d’assurance pour les soins médicaux d’urgence… par exemple, une femme que j’ai récemment traitée qui avait été victime d’un viol en série après avoir été incarcérée à cause des activités politiques d’un membre de sa famille. Elle était parvenue à s’enfuir, mais à son arrivée au Canada, elle n’avait aucune assurance pour couvrir le dépistage des infections sexuellement transmissibles, pour s’assurer qu’elle n’était pas enceinte ou pour obtenir du counseling psychologique.
Nous voyons des gens qui ont fui le jour même où ils ont été témoins de l’assassinat de membres de leur famille et qui n’ont aucune assurance-santé pour couvrir le coût des médicaments nécessaires pour traiter les troubles graves de stress post-traumatique.
Nous voyons des enfants gravement malades, sans assurance-santé pour les tests de diagnostic, les radiographies ou les médicaments.
Nous voyons des femmes enceintes dont le statut de réfugié change au cours de leur grossesse, les laissant soudainement sans assurance, y compris pour leur accouchement.
Un casse-tête administratif
En raison de mon engagement au sein de l’association Canadian Doctors for Refugee Care (CDRC), j’ai passé beaucoup de temps à étudier les détails du Programme fédéral de soins intérimaire (PFSI). C’est donc en connaissance de cause que je peux affirmer que ces coupures sont non seulement inhumaines, mais aussi un casse-tête administratif. En fait, la plupart des médecins n’y comprennent rien.
Le nouveau système nous oblige, avant même que nous voyions un patient, à savoir à quel groupe de réfugiés il appartient, à quelle étape il se trouve dans le système de réfugiés, de quel pays il vient et, parfois même, quel est le diagnostic.
Par exemple, les cliniciens qui accèdent au système PFSI ont reçu une liste de 17 pages de codes de diagnostic qui ne sont assurés que si nous excluons l’une de 34 conditions de santé. C’est absurde. Les médecins ne vont pas porter ces listes avec eux afin de les déchiffrer pour savoir quels services sont effectivement couverts.
En outre, un ensemble de symptômes peut être couvert pour un patient, mais ce même patient peut perdre la couverture en cas de diagnostic d’une condition non prise en charge. Cela exigerait que les médecins commencent à traiter des patients, mais ignorent leur déontologie et mettent fin aux soins si, au cours de l’évaluation, l’état de ces patients passe dans une catégorie qui n’est pas assurée.
De plus, beaucoup d’entre nous trouvent vraiment choquant de devoir donner des soins différents selon le pays d’origine d’un patient. Nous pouvons traiter un enfant venant de Somalie parce que son pays ne figure pas sur une liste, mais nous sommes censés refuser de traiter un enfant atteint de troubles similaires s’il vient de Hongrie.
Les soins de santé sont utilisés pour empêcher les gens de venir ici
Le gouvernement voudrait nous faire croire que toutes ces coupures n’affecteront que les « faux » réfugiés.
Il est clair que ce n’est pas le cas.
À mon avis, le gouvernement utilise le manque d’accès aux soins de santé pour empêcher ou dissuader les gens qui fuient la persécution de venir au Canada, car ils ne seront pas en mesure d’obtenir des soins de santé pour eux-mêmes ou pour un membre malade de leur famille. Ceci est répréhensible. Aucun gouvernement ne devrait se servir des soins de santé pour leurs politiques en matière d’immigration.
Ce n’est pas une question partisane; c’est une question de droits de la personne. Et bien évidemment, les tribunaux sont d’accord. La décision de 2014 de la Cour fédérale exigeant une inversion des coupes indique clairement que cette législation vise les personnes les plus vulnérables. Si l’intention était de faire souffrir les gens, cet objectif est atteint.
Traditionnellement, le Canada était reconnu sur la scène internationale pour la façon dont nous traitions les réfugiés.
En tant que signataires de nombreux traités internationaux, nous avons offert à un petit nombre de réfugiés la possibilité de s’installer ici quand ils craignent d’être persécutés dans d’autres parties du monde.
Si nous voulons changer le caractère de notre pays sur ce front et ne voulons plus respecter les traités internationaux, nous devrions en débattre publiquement.
Entre-temps, utiliser les soins de santé comme un outil de politiques en matière d’immigration est immoral.
Remembering the women who have lost their lives to violence
By Michelle Squires
Twenty five years ago on Dec. 6, 1989, 14 women were murdered by an armed man in the name of “fighting feminism.” And every year, to mark the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence against Women, Women’s College Hospital staff and community partners place a rose in a vase in the memory of each of the murdered women. A fifteenth rose is placed to remember the lives of the women and children murdered as a result of domestic violence this past year.
As the lead for Legal Aid Ontario’s (LAO’s) Domestic Violence Strategy, I’ve had the opportunity and privilege to work with and learn from members of the Violence against Women community.
If recent current events are any indicator, much remains to be done to address domestic violence and violence against women.
At Women’s College Hospital’s commemoration, Premier Kathleen Wynne asked, “What is it about this culture we have created that has not created safety for people coming forward?”
She addressed the need to “explore alternatives to the criminal justice system that will allow more people to bring complaints forward – because we know we can do better.”
Dr. Janice Du Mont, an applied psychologist and scientist at the Violence and Health Research Program at Women’s College Research Institute – and also, the keynote speaker at the commemoration – echoed the premier’s words.
“Taking stock is important because it allows us to take action more strategically,” she said. “If women and children are to lead violence-free lives, then we need to take urgent action.”
As a researcher focused on making the world a better place for women and girls, Dr. Du Mont says there’s a need for the international community to frame violence against women as both a human rights issue and a public health issue.
In her keynote speech, she said, “States have an obligation to prevent and investigate and punish violence against women.”
Citing Statistics Canada’s 1993 Violence Against Women Survey, Dr. Du Mont pointed out that half of all women in Canada have experienced at least one incident of physical or sexual violence since the age of 16 – but only 6 per cent of these assaults are reported.
“We’ve learned that violence against women is as serious a cause of death as cancer,” she told a packed audience.
LAO places a priority on helping vulnerable clients such as people who are experiencing domestic violence – but we also recognize the need to enhance our services to provide more holistic, integrated services that are based on client need.
If you know someone affected by domestic violence who is in need of legal help – whether it’s to get a restraining order or to proceed with a separation or to deal with an immigration sponsorship breakdown – please have them call LAO toll-free at 1-800-668-8258.
Michelle Squires is leading LAO’s Domestic Violence Strategy.
We have known about the issue of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, transsexual, queer, questioning, and two-Spirit (LGBTQ2) youth homelessness in Canada for over twenty years [ref]O’Brien, C. A., Travers, R., & Bell, L. (1993). No safe bed: Lesbian, gay and bisexual youth in residential services. Toronto, ON: Central Toronto Youth Services.[/ref], but we have only recently started to have serious conversations about this problem nationally. This is an issue that has been neglected and left out of important dialogue on youth homelessness for far too long. As we welcome 2015, we need to make sure that we do not continue to have the same discussions, but that we begin to foster dialogue on strategies and solutions that will eliminate this critical social justice emergency.
It has been estimated that approximately 25 to 40 per cent of homeless youth in Canada identify as LGBTQ2 [ref]Josephson, G. & Wright, A. (2000). Ottawa GLBT wellness project: Literature review and survey instruments. Retrieved from http://www.homelesshub.ca/Library/Literature-Review-and-Survey-Instruments-54233.aspx[/ref]. LGBTQ2 youth are overrepresented in the homeless youth population, but underrepresented in shelters, which is part of the reason that it is so difficult to scale the issue of LGBTQ2 youth homelessness. Additionally, shelters do not collect data on youths’ gender and sexual identities, making it even more difficult to measure the prevalence of queer and trans youth homelessness.
Barriers to homeless LGBTQ2 youth self-identifying
The latest round of the City of Toronto Street Needs Assessment (2013) included a question about LGBTQ2 identity, which was a result of a series of meetings that several others in the area of youth homelessness and myself had with city managers. For the very first time, their results confirmed that 21 per cent of youth in the shelter system identify as LGBTQ2, more than twice the rate for all age groups [ref]City of Toronto. (2013). Interim report: 2013 Street Needs Assessment. Retrieved from http://www.toronto.ca/housing/SNA2013interim_report.htm[/ref].
Although 21 per cent is high, we actually have reasons to believe that the prevalence of LGBTQ2 youth homelessness in Toronto is in fact higher. For example, many youth choose to not come out as queer or trans to volunteers conducting the survey, for a variety of reasons that often stem from issues regarding safety; and countless LGBTQ2 youth did not have a chance to complete the survey because they are part of Toronto’s hidden homeless population and do not access services, also due to issues regarding homophobia and transphobia in the shelter system and drop-in programs.
Transgender youth in the shelter system
Transgender youth, especially transgender women of colour, are often the most underrepresented group of people in the shelter system and the most discriminated against group of people because not only are they dealing with transphobia, but also racism, and oftentimes, homophobia as well. Intersectionality and the issue of intersecting oppressions is very real for this population of youth, because it is such a diverse community, and youth are often oppressed on different levels.
Even though shelters are supposed to be accessible to trans and two-Spirit residents, in their self-defined gender; unfortunately, this is not always the case. The floor that a person will be placed on in a shelter has more to do with the staff’s perception of a person’s sex and less to do with how an individual actually identifies, which of course, is highly problematic because not all individuals’ gender identity is congruent with the sex assigned to them at birth.
Although we know this, still there are no dedicated emergency shelters or transitional housing projects for LGBTQ2 youth in Canada.
Homeless LGBTQ2 youth and criminal victimization
We also know that LGBTQ2 youth experiencing homelessness face increased risk of physical and sexual exploitation, mental health difficulties, substance use, suicide, and criminal victimization.
Homeless youth experience significantly higher rates of criminal victimization than housed youth [ref]Abramovich, I.A. (2013). No Fixed Address: Young, Queer, and Restless. In. Gaetz, S., O’Grady, B., Buccieri, K., Karabanow, J., & Marsolais, A. (Eds.), Youth Homelessness in Canada: Implications for Policy and Practice. Toronto: Canadian Homelessness Research Network Press.[/ref]. These rates are higher again for LGBTQ2 youth, who are frequently victimized, ridiculed, and beaten up on the streets and in the shelter system simply for their gender and/or sexual identity [ref]Dunne, G. A., Prendergast, S., & Telford, D. (2002). Young, gay, homeless and invisible: A growing population? Culture, Health & Sexuality, Dunne, G. A., Prendergast, S., & Telford, D. (2002). Young, gay, homeless and invisible: A growing population? Culture, Health & Sexuality, 4(1), 103-115 [/ref] [ref]Van Leeuwen, J. M., Boyle, S., Salomonsen-Sautel, S., Baker, N., Garcia, J. T., Hoffman, A., & Hopfer, C. J. (2006). Lesbian, gay, and bisexual homeless youth: An eight-city public health perspective. Child Welfare, 85(2), 151-170. [/ref]
However, the public discourse on crime and homelessness tends to revolve around homeless youth as perpetrators of crime, rather than victims of crime [ref]Gaetz, S. (2004). Safe streets for whom? Homeless youth, social exclusion, and criminal victimization. Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice, 46(6), pp. 423-455[/ref]. Street life is dangerous and can be extremely harmful, particularly for youth. The stressful and difficult circumstances of street life create significant challenges to youths’ mental, emotional, and physical health[ref] Kelly, K., & Caputo, T. C. (2007). Health and street/homeless youth. Journal of Health Psychology, 12(5), 726-736. [/ref].
My research on LGBTQ2 youth homelessness in Canada
My work has looked closely at the phenomenon of LGBTQ2 youth homelessness in Canada for almost 10 years. My PhD study focused on the denial of home and safety to queer and trans youth. Over approximately two years, different groups of people came together to discuss what is holding up and sustaining the homophobia and transphobia in the shelter system, how homophobia and transphobia occurs and is managed in the shelter system, and how broader policy issues serve to create oppressive contexts for LGBTQ2 youth. I pursued this study because it is a missing element in Canadian research and it is an issue that I am very passionate about, and is both personal and political for me. In my study, I found that service providers offering support to homeless youth are not fully equipped or prepared to deal with situations of homophobia and transphobia [ref]Abramovich, I.A. (2013). No Fixed Address: Young, Queer, and Restless. In. Gaetz, S., O’Grady, B., Buccieri, K., Karabanow, J., & Marsolais, A. (Eds.), Youth Homelessness in Canada: Implications for Policy and Practice. Toronto: Canadian Homelessness Research Network Press.[/ref].
Factors such as institutional erasure, homophobic and transphobic violence that is rarely dealt with, and discrimination make it difficult for LGBTQ2 youth experiencing homelessness to access the shelter system, therefore, queer and trans youth often feel safer on the streets than in shelters and support services. This study has suggested that it is both the excessive bureaucratic regulation and the lack of necessary bureaucratic regulation in highly significant areas, that play a key role in creating the disjunctures that occur for queer and trans youth in the shelter system.
Looking ahead
This research study made it possible for the voices of LGBTQ2 homeless youth to be heard in the context of a serious public health problem. It also successfully engaged the community and situated homeless youth as knowledge makers and creators, who are the experts of their own experiences. This work has offered evidence that has been used to implement changes to existing services and policies so that the appropriate support can be made available to LGBTQ2 youth experiencing homelessness.
The Government of Alberta has recognized that ending youth homelessness will require targeted responses for specific subpopulations, which will include critical attention on meeting the needs of LGBTQ2 youth. Over the next 6 months, I will work closely with Alberta Human Services and stakeholders across Alberta to create strategies that can be adopted by youth support services and shelters across the province of Alberta. It is my hope that other provinces across the country will follow Alberta’s lead and begin prioritizing this population of young people, whom have been neglected for much too long.
It has taken many years of advocacy and activism for this issue to gain any recognition. It has taken a lot of hard work to convince decision makers that LGBTQ2 youth homelessness is a serious issue that must be prioritized.
In 2015, let’s change the way that we approach this issue in Ontario, and let’s work towards strategies that will lead to solutions, so that all young people can receive the support that they require.
Dr. I Alex Abramovich has been working in the area of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, transsexual, and queer (LGBTQ) youth homelessness for almost 10 years. Alex is a nationally recognized leader in the area of LGBTQ youth homelessness and is one of few Canadian researchers studying the phenomenon of queer and trans youth homelessness.
Alex currently works at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in the Community Based Research Postdoctoral Fellowship Program, where he is leading a study that focuses on LGBTQ2 youth homelessness and access to mental health services.
Pictured above: A group of Parkdale Project Read students saying “thank you”.
The relationships between literacy levels, poverty and access to justice are well established (try a quick web search). Knowing this, it’s hardly surprising that a typical learner at Parkdale Project Read – an adult literacy project located in downtown Toronto – struggles with poverty and faces many social and systemic barriers, including the justice system.
Intersecting and cumulative hurdles
“Our adult literacy learners are usually older than 16 and have low basic literacy levels,” says literacy coordinator and George Brown College professor Nadine Sookermany. “The challenges they encounter are intersecting and cumulative.”
“It’s not unusual for our students to say they have been stuck in a low-paying jobs, burdened with labels and medical diagnoses, or reported as unfit parents,” adds Jo Alcampo, another literacy coordinator.
According to Sookermany, the legal difficulties alone are enormous. “Being given legal documents to sign without the resources or supports to evaluate them first is a common experience,” she says. “Some documents can have life-changing impacts; like people with mental health issues being hospitalized without their informed consent, loving mothers unknowingly signing their children into care, or tenants who don’t know their rights being taken advantage of by landlords.”
Navigating the health system is another huge barrier. Sookermany elaborates: “Someone may see their doctor and want another opinion or referral. But they might not understand what the doctor said or be able to read information given to them. Sometimes our tutors will accompany someone to a medical appointment to provide support.”
Alcampo summarizes, “Adults with literacy challenges are broadly misunderstood, and run up against all kinds of systems that are not accessible for people with literacy challenges.”
Creating space to learn
At Parkdale Project Read, literacy is about the whole learner—not just reading and writing. Says Alcampo, “Literacy is also about how you feel confident in your self-esteem and being able to name and articulate your emotions, so you can assert your rights and what you need.”
Over 35 years ago, Parkdale Project Read began as a collection of volunteers in the basement of the Parkdale Public Library. The project was launched by Dr. Rita Cox in response to requests from the local community for help with reading and writing.
Today it has its own storefront location at King and Dufferin. Learners can sit down with a volunteer tutor for one-to-one support or in a group, access online toolkits such as Helping Myself Learn, participate in a vibrant literacy café, or publish their life stories on its Learners’ Gallery.
“We try to create an informal atmosphere,” says Alcampo. “While we do teaching and learning here, we also want people to feel like they can come in and have a cup of tea. A lot of people say what makes Parkdale Project Read so effective is learning here in this space and as a part of this community. Many people call this their second home.”
Community legal workers from nearby Parkdale Community Legal Services sometimes come in and provide public legal education sessions. “It makes a big difference for our students to access legal information in a familiar and comfortable space that doesn’t feel like an institution,” says Alcampo.
Writing their own stories
Sookermany describes the adult literacy learners she knows as resilient and tenacious.
“Adult literacy learners have very developed critical-thinking skills. They have an exceptional ability to navigate every system you can imagine. They’ve had to create strategies throughout their entire lives to get by.”
She continues, “Our learners are voters, they’re on boards of directors, and they’re active citizens. They’re incredibly resourceful and they just find ways to participate.”
When students make gains in their literacy comprehension levels, the possibilities are endless. Some learners find their satisfaction in feeling more equipped for day-to-day tasks, like attending a PTA meeting and being an active participant, reading the full text of something with their name in it, or feeling more confident interacting with other adults. Others go on to publish their life stories. And still others graduate to an academic upgrading program with George Brown College.
“Having a community feeling like we do here at Parkdale Project Read is also a kind of literacy. When people feel safe and secure, they can learn better. Not having that makes it difficult for anyone to concentrate.”
Ask your local library for ways you can get involved. Libraries frequently run or have connections to literacy programs.
In your work
If you’re creating materials for print or web, or communicate with the general public in your work, familiarize yourself with the Flesch-Kincaid test and tool to check readability level of your writing. https://readability-score.com/
Check out the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Standards to learn more about what you can do to encourage the accessibility of information online.
