Catalyst III 2025-2027
The Métis Nation of Ontario’s Advocacy Program increases the understanding of individual rights, responsibilities, and the legal system, encompassing knowledge and awareness of laws, regulations, and legal processes, including Gladue report supports and services, that affect the lives of Métis people.
$ 1,144,000
May 30, 2025
Responsive 2025: Empowering Legal Support for Black Women (ELSBW)
The Black Women's Institute for Health (BWIH) will develop employment and human rights law based programming to support Black women employed in Ontario’s healthcare sector, such as nurses, personal support workers, administrative staff, and allied health professionals. BWIH will focus on research and design, including conducting an environmental scan and needs assessement, as well as program and partnership development.
$ 88,000
April 29, 2025
Responsive 2025: Tenant Leadership Against Displacement
Oakwood Vaughan Community Organization (OVCO) will develop the Tenant Leadership Against Displacement (TLAD) program. OVCO will research and design a program which aims to empower local tenants by providing public legal education workshops on tenant rights based on identified needs, a tenant leadership training course, and increased awareness of the legal services available to tenants.
$ 125,000
April 29, 2025
Responsive 2025: University of Toronto Prison Law Division
Downtown Legal Services will establish a Prison Law Division of its clinic that will provide services in areas of law including housing, employment, income support, family, immigration/refugee, and human rights for incarcerated people in provincial custody within the GTA.
$ 250,000
April 29, 2025
Responsive 2025: Artists' Legal Aid
CARFAC Ontario will develop and pilot Artists' Legal Aid, a sustainable and scalable model to provide low-income artists in Ontario with affordable, accessible, and responsive brief legal services tailored to the unique needs of their practices.
$ 231,000
April 29, 2025
Responsive 2025: Break the Silence: Legal Empowerment Against Domestic Violence
Yellow Brick House, located in Richmond Hill, will undertake a comprehensive needs assessment to identify legal information needs, gaps, and best practices for their community, with an emphasis on Kiera’s law, which mandates that judges consider domestic violence and coercive control when rendering decisions.
$ 250,000
April 29, 2025
Responsive 2025: Coming Home: Land-Based Reintegration for Indigenous Justice
Reverend Tommy Beardy Wee Che He Wayo-Gamik Treatment Centre will address the unmet legal needs of Indigenous individuals transitioning from incarceration into community. The Coming Home Land-Based Reintegration project will ensure participants are informed about their rights and legal standing in a culturally appropriate and supportive environment. Working closely with police and social services, the program will provide a substance-free space where individuals can learn, heal, and reconnect with their communities.
$ 500,000
April 29, 2025
Responsive 2025: Non-Family Farm Transfers: A Legal Guide, Toolkit, and Direct Support
The National Farmers Union - Ontario (NFU-O) will develop the Young Agrarian’s Transition Toolkit for Non-Family Farm Transfer. NFU-O will carry out research on farmland transfers and succession in Ontario, hold online and in-person focus groups and workshops, and provide one-on-one legal information and mentorship. This initiative is in partnership with the Young Agrarians to adapt the existing toolkit for British Columbia to the Ontario legal context. The project aims to fill the gap in legal education to navigate the farming legal system in order to complete successful, out-of-family land transfers.
$ 117,000
April 29, 2025
Responsive 2025: First Nations Consultation Resource Hub and Resource Development
The Chiefs of Ontario's Justice Sector will develop resources on the duty to consult by developing an online Consultation Resource Hub. The Hub will provide First Nations communities in Ontario with resources and templates to help them enforce the obligations of others to consult with First Nations before engaging in activities that will impact their land or their rights. The goal of the project is to improve practices and process for consulting, accomodating, and obtaining the consent of First Nations, and to increase the capacity of First Nations to manage consultations with government and industry.
$ 500,000
April 29, 2025
Together for Justice
Community Foundations of Canada (CFC) will recruit and oversee the participation of five rural, remote, or northern community foundations from among its network of 51 across Ontario. CFC will provide funding for up to six grassroots access to justice organizations in their community. CFC will also provide these local community foundations (CFs) with resources and guidance. The CFs will host a series of up to 15 local ‘community tables’ where recipients can connect with and learn from one another and share insights for addressing local justice needs.
$ 1,530,000
April 29, 2025