Legal Aid
In 1998, the Ontario government enacted the Legal Aid Services Act in which the province renewed and strengthened its commitment to legal aid for the people of Ontario. The Legal Aid Act established a Legal Aid Plan of Ontario, an independent but publicly funded and publicly accountable non-profit corporation, to administer the province’s legal aid program.
Legal Aid Plan of Ontario's mandate in the Legal Aid Services Act is to provide access to justice for low-income persons by means of providing consistently high quality legal aid services in a cost-effective and efficient manner.
Legal Aid clients have one thing in common – they are people with low or no income and require legal aid. The Legal Aid Plan of Ontario helps disadvantaged people, including single parents seeking child support from delinquent ex-partners; victims of domestic violence; parents seeking custody of children to protect them from abuse; injured workers; refugees; and accused persons with legal aid issues.
Only people meeting strict financial eligibility limits receive legal aid. Wherever possible clients are asked to contribute toward the cost of their legal fees to assist the legal aid plan.
SERVICES
Legal Aid Plan services are carefully targeted to meet diverse client needs and make the most efficient use of the resources. Poverty legal aid services such as helping people to obtain or maintain social assistance benefits - are delivered through a network of community-based legal aid clinics, funded by the Legal Aid Plan of Ontario.
The Legal Aid Plan of Ontario also runs a certificate program. The Legal Aid Plan of Ontario issues certificates, which low-income people use to retain legal aid private lawyers to represent them in proceedings before the criminal or family courts, and certain administrative tribunals or immigration/refugee boards. The certificate is the private lawyer’s guarantee of payment from Legal Aid Plan of Ontario
The Legal Aid Plan of Ontario also provides duty counsel services performed by staff and private-sector lawyers for people who arrive in criminal, family or youth courts without a lawyer.
Getting Legal Aid
Legal Aid is available to low income individuals and disadvantaged communities for a variety of legal problems, including criminal matters, family disputes, immigration and refugee hearings and poverty law issues such as landlord/tenant disputes, disability support and family benefits payments.
To apply for a legal aid certificate, you must attend in person at a local legal aid office. If you are eligible for legal aid, you can get a legal aid certificate which you can take to the lawyer of your choice. Legal assistance is also available through the community legal clinic program.
Every Ontario resident who needs legal assistance can apply for legal aid. Eligibility for legal aid certificates is based on financial need and the type of case. The applicant may pay nothing or a portion of the cost of legal aid, depending on their financial situation
If you qualify for a legal aid certificate, legal aid may be able to pay your lawyer for some of these things. This is not a complete list. To find out more about your specific case, please talk to your local legal aid office.
Criminal Charges:
- An offence which would likely result in jail time (eg: assault, impaired driving causing bodily harm, robbery, welfare fraud, break and enter) may be eligable for legal aid.
Family Matters:
- To get custody of your children
- To help you deal with the Children's Aid Society
- To get access for you to see your children
- To help you if your partner denies you access to your children
- To set up child or spousal support payments
- To stop your partner from selling or destroying your property
Immigration and Refugee matters:
- Refugee hearings before the Immigration and Refugee Board
- Sponsorhip and deportation appeals
- Detention reviews
For some civil cases and final appeals:
- Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal
- Social Benefits Tribunal matters
- Employment Insurance appeals
- Mental health hearings and appeals
Eligibility for Legal Aid
If you need legal aid and you have little or no money, Legal Aid may be able to help you pay for a lawyer. To apply for legal aid you must do a financial eligibility test to see if you qualify.
Testing
The Legal Aid staff will ask you questions to find out what is your financial status and to decide if you have enough money to pay for your own lawyer. The Legal Aid office must do a financial test for you, your spouse, common-law partner or same-sex partner, any of your dependant children. Legal Aid Ontario sets the financial guidelines.
How do you know if your eligible?
The legal aid financial test has two parts: the asset test and the income test.
The Legal Aid staff first determines if you have enough money/assets available to pay your lawyer without Legal Aid's help. Then the look at your monthly income and expenses to determine if you have any money left over that could be used to pay for your legal fees.
What is the asset requirements testing?
Legal Aid looks at all your assets, such as cash, bank accounts, stocks, bonds, and RRSPs to see if you can pay for all your legal fees. The Legal Aid office will also include anything that you can sell or easily convert into cash.
Depending on your situation, you may be expected to use some of your assets to help pay for your legal aid fees.
Legal Aid offices will also look at other assets, such as houses and property. Normally if you own a house or property, you are expected to borrow against it to pay for legal fees and legal aid. If you cannot borrow against it, they will ask you to agree to sign a lien against the property.
You must provide proof of your assets.
What is the income test?
Legal Aid will ask you to give information about all of your sources of income, for your dependant children, your spouse, common-law spouse or same-sex partner.
Income includes worker's compensation, employment income, employment insurance, pensions, social assistance, commissions, self-employed earnings, child tax benefits, rental income, etc.
To determine your net income, Legal Aid will deduct any payroll deductions, day care costs and child support payments from your gross income.
If you are on social assistance, you are usually eligible for legal aid, depending on your available assets. You may be eligible for legal aid without a detailed test if your net income is:
- Family size 1 $7,212
- Family size 2 $12,900
- Family size 3 $13,644
- Family size 4 S15,372
- Family size 5+ $15,372
If your income is more than these amounts, you need to complete a more detailed test. You may qualify for free legal aid, but you may be asked to help pay for some of your legal fees, or you may be refused legal aid.
You must prove your sources of all income to Legal Aid through pay slips, social assistance, pension income, EI or WSIB statements, and financial statements if you are self-employed.
What expenses are considered?
Legal Aid allows a set amount of money for your monthly expenses based on the size of your family and type of shelter you have. We include things like rent or mortgage, food, clothing, transportation, telephone, and personal expenses.
Legal Aid do not include rent or mortgage payments or other expenses that are over our set allowances. We may consider other expenses, if it's needed for health or well-being.
You may have to show proof of your expenses, such as rent receipts, utility bills and debt payments.
What type of decisions can be made?
After the financial test is done, Legal Aid can calculate how much money you have available to pay for a lawyer. Based on the legal aid policies, you may receive free legal aid, but you may have to repay all or some of the legal fees, or you may be refused legal aid.
If you have income and/or assets left over equal to the cost of hiring a private lawyer, your application for legal aid will be refused.
What if I dont agree with the decision?
If Legal Aid asks you to contribute some money to your legal fees and you don't feel you can afford to, or if you are refused legal aid, you can appeal the decision to the Area Committee. You can also reapply if there is a change in your financial circumstances.