Archives: Grants (page 7)

Community Legal Education Ontario’s CLEO Connect program will continue to develop clear, accurate, and practical legal rights education and information resources to help people understand and exercise their legal rights, with a particular focus on support for trusted intermediaries.

Connecting Ottawa will continue to coordinate a consortium of over 50 legal and non-legal organizations to implement a regional plan to provide legal information and referrals to people who are not proficient in English or French or who face communication challenges as the result of a disability or sensory impairment. The initiative will also enhance linkages between legal and community workers in Ontario.

The FCJ Refugee Centre serves refugees and others at risk due to their immigration status through all steps of the refugee determination and refugee appeals processes. The Centre primarily works with refugee claimants, rejected refugee claimants, individuals with precarious immigration status, temporary foreign workers, and those who have been victims of human trafficking. It also provides training workshops and legal education materials for frontline workers who serve refugees in the Greater Toronto Area and other parts of southern Ontario on aspects of the immigration and refugee process and procedures. The Catalyst grant will help the Centre to ensure it has the capacity and expertise to serve its clients and assist other organizations to do so, as well as to ensure its evolution and sustainability.

Innocence Canada is dedicated to identifying, advocating for, and exonerating individuals convicted of a crime that they did not commit and to preventing such injustices in the future through legal education and justice system reform. The Catalyst grant will enable the organization to continue to coordinate and administer its pro bono program, which reviews and assesses claims of innocence, as well as to enable the continuation of its legal education program.

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 their lives in Canada without official authorization or documentation, and thus are vulnerable to deportation to birth countries where they have little to no connection. 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.

The Law Commission of Ontario (LCO) will conduct research, provide multidisciplinary analysis, and develop reports on current and emerging legal policy issues to promote access to justice and contribute to public debate on a broad range of legal issues, such as artificial intelligence, consumer protections, protection orders, and environmental accountability. Through this initiative, LCO aims to promote access to justice and contribute to public debate, benefiting justice sector stakeholders and the general public.

Law in Action Within Schools is a partnership between the University of Toronto Faculty of Law, Osgoode Hall Law School, and the Toronto District School Board, and will continue to deliver a law and justice-themed academic and extra-curricular high school program designed to teach students about law and justice. It will support them to graduate from high school, access post-secondary education, and consider a justice sector or legal profession career.

Level’s Indigenous Youth Outreach Program engages First Nations, Métis, and Inuit youth throughout Canada in specialized justice education and mentorship activities led by predominantly Indigenous justice sector volunteers. The program encourages youth to increase their critical thinking and leadership skills and their knowledge of the law and careers in justice.

Luke’s Place Support and Resource Centre for Women and Children will continue to provide family law support for women who have experienced intimate partner violence, as well as training, resources, and mentoring to frontline workers and lawyers who assist them in Durham region and provincially.

The Métis Nation of Ontario’s (MNO) Justice Program will provide culturally informed legal support to Métis people through brief services, legal information, system navigation, and legal referrals. This initiative will enhance MNO’s capacity to respond to the current and emerging legal needs of its citizens.