Archives: Grants (page 34)

The Centre for Refugee Studies will develop an open access legal analytics online application (Refugee Law Portal) to provide refugee lawyers and refugee claimants access to timely data relating to refugee law decision-making, including data visualization, statistical analysis, customizable views of granular data, and links to relevant published decisions. The objective of this initiative is to lessen the asymmetry in access to data by making data on refugee law adjudication user-friendly and freely accessible to all interested parties, and it offers a model for the development of nonprofit open-access legal technology that advances access to justice and transparency in the justice sector.

Christie Refugee Welcome Centre will pilot a program for unaccompanied and separated refugee children (minors under 18 years old who are in Canada without a parent or legal guardian) by providing specialized services and establishing connections with federal immigration bodies, Ontario child welfare system agencies, and community legal organizations. The initiative will improve immigration, settlement, child welfare, and education outcomes for these minors.

Community Legal Education Ontario will examine the evaluation methods and range of processes that are currently being used by community-based organizations in Ontario to assess their public legal education and information (PLEI) work. The objective of this initiative is to lay the groundwork to develop a measurement tool to assist community-based organizations assess the impact of their PLEI programs and projects.

Indigenous Bar Association (IBA) will measure the current progress of ongoing efforts to revitalize Indigenous laws in Ontario. Using a broad range of measurement indexes, the IBA will examine both the revitalization of Indigenous laws within Indigenous spaces and communities, as well as the application of Indigenous laws in common and civil law spaces (such as courts). IBA will also develop toolkits for Indigenous communities, as well as for courts and tribunals in Ontario so they can continue with evaluation work beyond the lifespan of this initiative.

The Indigenous Law Centre at the University of Saskatchewan (ILC) will continue work on its legal education initiatives, which include national legal research, academic and publications programs, and a national summer law program. This initiative will support ILC’s ongoing efforts to advance access to justice for Indigenous peoples.

The Childhood Arrivals Support and Advocacy Program works to support undocumented childhood arrivals. These are young people who were moved to Canada as children who have lived all their lives without official authorization or documentation, and thus are vulnerable to deportation to birth countries where they have little to no connection. Program activities include outreach to youth, teachers, and parents through schools and community programs and legal system navigation, including pro bono legal support, in an effort to file permanent residence applications.

Law in Action Within Schools (LAWS) will place students in paid four-week jobs with legal aid clinics and public interest organizations as part of their summer job program. The grant benefits high school students involved in the LAWS program, offering them an opportunity to learn about access to justice, observe the legal aid system in action, and interact directly with community members.

Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) will collect, analyze, and report on race-based data in bail and case outcomes by tracking data from all LAO service providers (both duty counsel and the private bar). The objective of this initiative is to improve data collection and facilitate evidence-based inferences on the impact of racial background on bail and case outcomes.

Legal Clinic of Guelph and Wellington County, in collaboration with Halton Community Legal Services, will offer a mobile legal clinic, called Wellington Halton Law Van, to enhance the network of rural supports available to low-income residents of Wellington and Halton Counties. Building on and expanding the original Wellington County Mobile Legal Service pilot project, this three-year project will improve access to justice in the rural portions of the region. It will also foster relationships among health care providers, the local bar association, mental health services, libraries, nonprofit organizations, community groups, and faith organizations.

Migrant Workers Alliance for Change (MWAC) will create and share public legal education (PLE) resources on housing rights to migrant agricultural workers based in Brantford, Hamilton, and the Niagara region. MWAC will raise awareness among migrant workers of basic housing standards and the ways in which they can assert their right to decent housing. The PLE resources will be available in English and Spanish. Partners include the Ontario Employment Education & Research Centre. This initiative will fill a gap in PLE resources that address the needs of migrant agricultural workers experiencing housing issues.