We are attaching government links that will help you find useful legal information:
LawFacts (
http://lawfacts.ca) provides free legal information about criminal, family, and refugee law, and court-related mental health issues. Resources for Aboriginal Canadians and help with finding a lawyer are also available.
Written by Legal Aid Ontario lawyers and staff from across Ontario, the goal of LawFacts is to answer questions about common legal issues and improve access to justice for all Ontarians.
Steps to Justice (https://stepstojustice.ca) gives reliable and practical information on common legal problems including:
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Step-by-step information to help you work through your legal problems
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Practical tools, such as checklists, fillable forms, and self-help guides
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Referral information for legal and social services across Ontario
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Live chat and email support if you can’t find the answers to your questions
Many leading justice sector organizations are partners contributing to Steps to Justice, including the Ministry of the Attorney General, Legal Aid Ontario, community legal clinics, the Law Society of Ontario, the Superior Court of Justice, the Ontario Court of Justice, The Action Group on Access to Justice, among others.
Legal Topics include:
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Abuse and Family Violence
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Criminal Law
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Debt and Consumer Rights
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Employment and Work
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Family Law
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Health and Disability
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Housing Law
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Human Rights
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Immigration Law
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Income Assistance
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Refugee Law
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Tribunals and Courts
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Help from Lawyers and Paralegals
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French Language Rights
If you are having problems with:
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the new cannabis laws
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getting out of a door-to-door contract
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the police stopping me
- getting paid for overtime and holidays
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collecting child support
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getting my landlord to fix something
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getting a divorce
The Ministry of the Attorney General
(
https://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca/english/justice-ont/index.php) is responsible for providing a fair and accessible justice system which reflects the needs of the diverse communities it serves across government and the province. It strives to manage the justice system in an equitable, affordable and accessible way throughout the province.
Justice Ontario is your one-stop source for questions about Ontario's legal system, including:
- Justice Ontario
- How do I find a lawyer?
- Family Law
- Criminal Law
- Lawsuits and Disputes
- Human Rights
- Wills & Estates
- Tickets and Fines
You can also call them at 1-866-252-0104 for legal information in over 170 different languages.
For persons with disabilities, information may also be made available in alternative formats.
The Law Society
(
https://lso.ca) has a duty to protect the public interest, to maintain and advance the cause of justice and the rule of law, to facilitate access to justice for the people of Ontario, and to act in a timely, open and efficient manner. The Law Society offers
public services such as:
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Complaints Services, which receives and responds to complaints about lawyers and paralegals
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a comprehensive online directory with lawyer and paralegal contact information
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the Law Society Referral Service, which provides you with the name of a lawyer or paralegal who will provide a free consultation of up to 30 minutes to help you determine your rights and options
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a directory of lawyers who are certified specialists in specific areas of law
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the Compensation Fund, which helps clients who have lost money because of the dishonesty of a lawyer or paralegal.
To promote
access to legal services, the Law Society supports programs such as Pro Bono Law Ontario (
https://www.probonoontario.org), Ontario Justice Education Network (
http://ojen.ca/en) and the Law Commission of Ontario (
https://www.lco-cdo.org/en).
The Law Society's Equity Initiatives Department seeks to ensure that law, the practice of law and the provision of legal services are reflective of all peoples in Ontario by actively participating with Aboriginal, Francophone and equity-seeking groups, through consultations, meetings and public education activities.
Legal Aid Ontario (
https://www.legalaid.on.ca/en) provides many programs and services to help low-income people who need legal aid. You must be
financially eligible to qualify for most services, and your legal matter must be one that Legal Aid Ontario covers. Our programs and services include the following.
Toll-free telephone services
Call Legal Aid Ontario tollfre to speak to legal aid staff, and access a wide range of legal aid services, information and advice. Help is available Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The best time to call is between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m.
Duty counsel services
Duty counsel are lawyers who give immediate legal assistance to lowincome people appearing in court without a lawyer. If you have a criminal or family law issue, you should speak to duty counsel before your court appearance.
Find out more about how
duty counsel can help you.
Community and specialty clinics
Legal help is available to lowincome people through 72 independent community legal clinics in Ontario, including
17 specialty clinics.
Community legal clinics provide services for legal issues such as:
- tenant rights
- Ontario Works and Welfare
- Ontario Disability Support Program
- government pensions
- immigration
- employment insurance
- workplace safety and insurance
- Workers' Compensation
- employment rights
- criminal injuries compensation
- human rights
Contact a
community legal clinic directly to see if you are eligible for their services.
mediate393 (
https://mediate393.ca) provides government-funded family mediation and information services in Toronto’s Superior Court of Justice (393 University Avenue, 9th floor) and two Ontario Courts of Justice (311 Jarvis St and 47 Sheppard Ave.).
Free in-court (on-site) Family Mediation
Mediation is free for anyone in court for a:
- motion
- conference
- pre-trial
- trial
- dispute Resolution Officer meeting
Mediation is voluntary. You do not need to be referred by the judge. A judge cannot order you to mediate, but they may order you to attend a confidential intake meeting if you are attending a conference. You will not be forced to mediate if you do not want to do so, or if the mediator decides that your case is not suitable for mediation.
You do not need a lawyer to mediate. If you have a lawyer they can come with you to the mediation.
On the day of your court hearing, visit the Family Law Information Centre and speak with the Information and Referral Coordinator. They will give you information about mediation, and will also try to help you get legal advice, support if you are in an abusive relationship, and other resources.
The mediator will meet privately with each of you to assess if mediation is appropriate for you.
On-site mediation will take 2-3 hours. You may have to wait for the mediator to be available.
If the mediator cannot see you on the day of your court hearing, you can make an appointment to come back for a free mediation another day.
Free Family Law Information
The Family Law Information Centre (FLIC) is an excellent resource for anyone needing information about separation and divorce. The FLIC for
Toronto's Superior Court of Justice is located at: 393 University Avenue, Suite 900 (9th floor) Toronto, Ontario M5G 1E6 The FLICs at the
Ontario Courts of Justice are located at: 311 Jarvis Street (ground floor) Toronto, Ontario, M5B 2C4 416-326-1694 47 Sheppard Avenue East (main floor) Toronto, Ontario, M2N 5X5 416-250-6161
Hours of operation for all locations are Monday to Friday, 8:30am – 5:00pm. Our
Information and Referral Coordinator (IRC, is in the FLIC every week day to give you information about services in your language and community, including counseling, help for abused women and men, addiction support, child and family support, interpreters, etc.
