Legal Aid Services Act, 2020, S.O. 2020, c. 11, Sched. 15

• Jurisdiction: Ontario

Legal Aid Services Act, 2020

S.o. 2020, chapter 11
Schedule 15

Consolidation Period: From March 1, 2022 to the e-Laws currency date.

Last amendment: 2020, c. 36, Sched. 7, s. 317.

CONTENTS

Purpose and Interpretation

Purpose

1 The purpose of this Act is to facilitate the establishment of a flexible and sustainable legal aid system that provides effective and high-quality legal aid services throughout Ontario in a client-focused and accountable manner while ensuring value for money.

Definitions

2 In this Act,

“board” means the board of directors of the Corporation; (“conseil”)

“by-laws” means the by-laws made by the board under section 25; (“règlements administratifs”)

“Corporation” means Legal Aid Ontario, continued under section 16; (“Société”)

“lawyer” means a person licensed under the Law Society Act to practise law in Ontario as a barrister and solicitor; (“avocat”)

“legal aid services” means the legal and other related services provided by the Corporation to individuals under this Act; (“services d’aide juridique”)

“Minister” means the Attorney General or such other member of the Executive Council to whom the administration of this Act is assigned under the Executive Council Act; (“ministre”)

“personal information” has the same meaning as in section 38 of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act; (“renseignements personnels”)

“person responsible”, with respect to an individual, means a person specified by the rules who is responsible for contributing towards the cost of legal aid services provided to the individual; (“personne responsable”)

“prescribed” means prescribed by the regulations; (“prescrit”)

“regulations” means the regulations made under this Act; (“règlements”)

“rules” means the rules made by the board under section 46, if effective in accordance with that section; (“règles”)

“service provider” means a person or entity authorized under clause 5 (2) (b) to provide legal aid services. (“fournisseur de services”)

Legal Aid Services

Legal aid services

3 The Corporation may, subject to the regulations, provide as legal aid services any legal or other related services that it considers appropriate, including,

(a) legal services that are ordinarily provided to individuals by a lawyer;

(b) legal and other related assistance for individuals wholly or partly representing themselves in a proceeding, including limited scope representation and the provision of summary advice or legal information;

(c) legal and other related services in an Ontario court or tribunal on a daily or such other basis as may be required for the purpose of advising or representing individuals in a matter before the court or tribunal;

(d) alternative dispute resolution services; and

(e) public legal education and information.

Areas of law in which legal aid services provided

4 The Corporation may, subject to the regulations, provide legal aid services in the following areas of law:

1. Criminal law.

2. Family law.

3. Poverty law, being law in relation to matters that particularly affect low-income individuals, including housing and shelter, income maintenance and social assistance.

4. Child protection law.

5. Human rights law.

6. Health law, including mental health law.

7. Employment law.

8. Education law.

9. Immigration and refugee law.

Manner of providing legal aid services

5 (1) In this section,

“community legal clinic” means a community legal organization that is structured as an independent corporation without share capital whose members of its board of directors are members of the community or communities it serves or are persons who have a substantial association with or interest in the community or communities it serves; (“clinique juridique communautaire”)

“community legal organization” means a community organization that provides legal or other related services to the community or communities it serves, and includes a community legal clinic. (“organisme juridique communautaire”)

Same

(2) The Corporation may provide legal aid services by,

(a) employing lawyers and other persons to provide the services; and

(b) authorizing, in accordance with the rules, lawyers, law firms, community legal organizations, Indigenous legal services organizations, student legal services organizations or other persons or entities to provide the services as service providers.

Same

(3) In determining how to provide legal aid services, the Corporation shall, to the extent practicable, ensure a mix of service providers, as well as a mix of service providers and persons employed to provide legal aid services, that are appropriate for maintaining a flexible and sustainable legal aid system.

Same

(4) In determining how to provide legal aid services in the area of criminal law, family law or child protection law, the Corporation shall have regard to the foundational role of private practice lawyers in providing services in those areas of law.

Same

(5) In determining how to provide legal aid services in the area of poverty law within the meaning of paragraph 3 of section 4, the Corporation shall have regard to,

(a) the foundational role of community legal clinics in providing services in that area of law;

(b) determinations by community legal clinics of the legal needs of the communities they serve in that area of law; and

(c) any other information on the legal needs of communities served by community legal clinics in that area of law that is provided or made available to the Corporation.

Same

(6) In making a determination under clause (2) (b), the Corporation shall not consider the financial impact of the determination on a service provider.

Payment of service providers

(7) The payment of service providers for providing legal aid services shall be determined in accordance with the rules.

No effect on Law Society of Ontario’s jurisdiction

(8) For greater certainty, nothing in this Act permits the Corporation to permit or authorize a person or entity to practise law or provide legal services in Ontario if the person or entity is not permitted or authorized to do so under the Law Society Act.

Considerations respecting the provision of legal aid services

6 In making a determination under section 3 or 4 or subsection 5 (2), the Corporation shall consider,

(a) the needs, as determined by the Corporation, of individuals and communities in Ontario for legal aid services, including Indigenous individuals and communities and Francophone individuals and communities;

(b) the costs of providing various legal aid services;

(c) the Corporation’s financial resources; and

(d) any other matter that may be prescribed.

Eligibility for legal aid services

7 (1) An individual is eligible to receive legal aid services, in the manner the Corporation considers appropriate, if the individual applies in accordance with the rules and meets any financial and other eligibility requirements that are specified by the rules.

Failure to meet eligibility requirements

(2) If an individual fails to meet the eligibility requirements set out under subsection (1), the Corporation may refuse or cease to provide legal aid services to the individual.

Review

(3) If provided for by the rules, an individual may apply in accordance with the rules for a review of the Corporation’s determination of his or her eligibility to receive legal aid services.

Refusal to meet eligibility requirements

(4) An individual who refuses to meet an eligibility requirement shall be considered to have refused to receive legal aid services.

Same

(5) Subsection (4) applies only after the completion of any review under subsection (3) of the individual’s eligibility to receive legal aid services.

Residents and non-residents

(6) Rules made for the purposes of this section may distinguish between and take different approaches with respect to individuals who are ordinarily resident in Ontario and individuals who are not.

Legal aid services to be provided without cost

8 The legal aid services provided by the Corporation to an individual shall be provided without cost to the individual, except as otherwise provided in this Act.

Contribution

9 (1) The Corporation may, in the circumstances set out in the rules, require an individual, or a person responsible for the individual, to agree to contribute towards the cost of providing legal aid services to the individual in an amount determined or to be determined in accordance with the rules.

Terms of agreement

(2) An agreement under subsection (1) may provide for the times and manner of payment, and for the payment of a rate of interest on overdue payments in accordance with the rules.

Recovery of contributions

(3) The amount that an individual, or a person responsible for the individual, agrees to contribute towards the cost of providing legal aid services to the individual shall be paid by the individual or the person responsible for the individual, and is a debt owing to the Corporation that may be recovered in any court of competent jurisdiction.

Enforcement by court

(4) If a person does not pay an amount that he or she agreed to contribute when it becomes due, the Corporation may issue a notice stating that the person is in default under this Act and setting out the amount owed to the Corporation.

Same

(5) The Corporation may, without any personal attendance, file the notice with the Superior Court of Justice or the Small Claims Court, as applicable, and, on filing, the notice is enforceable as if it were an order of that court.

Refusal to contribute

(6) If the Corporation requires contribution towards the cost of providing legal aid services to an individual and the individual or the person responsible for the individual, as the case may be, refuses to contribute, the individual shall be considered to have refused to receive legal aid services.

Requirements respecting information

10 (1) An individual receiving or requesting to...