The Law Foundation of Ontario has approved 8 new Catalyst grants, representing $6.9M over 3 years. Catalyst is the Foundation’s premiere granting program, providing established organizations working to advance access to justice with 3 years of core funding. With these new Catalyst grants, the program now has 33 active grantees.
The new grants continue the Foundation’s objective to strengthen and expand a mix of legal programs that serve diverse communities across the province. For example, the Elizabeth Fry Society of Peterborough and the Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres will each be providing more support to Indigenous communities through court navigation services and a human rights program, respectively.
Peacebuilders will introduce court navigation, case management, and aftercare support for youth involved in the justice system. The Christie Refugee Welcome Centre will support unaccompanied and separated children throughout immigration proceedings. The Thunder Bay Multicultural Association will broaden access to its Newcomer Legal Clinic for refugees, migrants, and immigrants in northern Ontario.
Catalyst funding also offers organizations the ability to adapt, innovate, and respond to emerging needs. In addition to core activities, the John Howard Society of Ontario will research impacts of the legal system’s adoption of digital technology. HIV Legal Network will equip frontline workers and people who use drugs with legal information on the province’s evolving drug policy. And, the Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund will expand its public legal education on gender-based violence and discrimination to youth and community organizations.
Catalyst IV grantees (2025-2028)
Christie Refugee Welcome Centre
$1,000,000
Christie Refugee Welcome Centre will run the Child Representative Program which will provide minors with qualified volunteer designated representatives and expand staff capacity to provide specialized legal support to all unaccompanied and separated children navigating immigration legal proceedings in Ontario.
Elizabeth Fry Society of Peterborough
$986,000
Elizabeth Fry Society of Peterborough (EFRYP) will provide support to the Indigenous People’s Court E. Naaknind Anishinabek in Peterborough. EFRYP will also sustain and grow its Justice Services Court Case Management program, increasing its capacity to deliver services and to meet the needs of marginalized clients. Staff will support clients to access information, legal resources, and wraparound supports.
HIV Legal Network
$497,000
HIV Legal Network (HIVLN) will equip people who use drugs, service providers, and shelter staff across Ontario with accessible legal information to navigate the province’s evolving drug policy landscape. HIVLN will develop and disseminate legal and policy resources in English and French, and culturally tailored content for Indigenous, Black, and gender-diverse communities. HIVLN will continue to partner with community organizations to determine their language needs and develop workshops and webinars that address key legal questions related to improving access for women, trans, and gender-diverse people who use drugs, particularly within shelter settings.
John Howard Society of Ontario
$844,000
The John Howard Society of Ontario’s Centre of Research and Policy will undertake sector-wide research on the impacts of the legal system’s adoption of digital technology on the most vulnerable justice-involved Ontarians. Funding will support a new Legal Coordinator position and honoraria for research participants and a Core Advisory Committee. They will conduct a needs assessment and then research with people with lived experience, service providers, and lawyers. Using the research, they will design a public legal education program model for people with lived experience and service providers to address the gaps and barriers identified with digital technology uptake.
Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres
$1,000,000
The Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres will strengthen its Indigenous and Human Rights Program. This program seeks to combat anti-Indigenous racism and discrimination by building knowledge about human rights among urban Indigenous communities.
Peacebuilders International (Canada)
$955,000
Peacebuilders International (Canada) will grow its Restorative Youth Circles Court Diversion Program and introduce court navigation, case management, and aftercare support. In partnership with the Youth Justice Transformation Lab, it will also grow its public legal education program to improve understanding of the youth justice system, anti-black racism, and anti-racist approaches. These programs will benefit youth in the criminal justice system, particularly black and racialized youth, by reducing delays, alleviating court backlogs, diminishing stigma and trauma, reducing recidivism, and fill gaps in navigation and aftercare.
Thunder Bay Multicultural Association
$892,000
Thunder Bay Multicultural Association will sustain and expand its Newcomer Legal Clinic (NLC). It will support key staff (a supervising lawyer, outreach coordinator, and intake worker) while broadening access to legal advice, application support, and representation in immigration proceedings and Federal Court. NLC will also formalize its support for frontline service providers and expand regional outreach through regular visits and public legal education sessions.
Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund
$748,000
Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF) will strengthen and expand its public legal education programs in Ontario by delivering workshops on technology-facilitated gender-based violence, workplace discrimination and harassment, reproductive justice, and consent and sexual assault law to high school and post-secondary students and to community organizations. LEAF will also expand its public legal education resources in response to emerging needs and requests, develop and implement a standard volunteer training program, review and amend materials based on feedback and updates to the law, and leverage digital and new media to access wider audiences.
