The Law Foundation of Ontario has increased its support of the Action Committee on Access to Justice in Civil and Family Matters (Action Committee).
Established by Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin in 2007, the Action Committee fosters engagement, pursues strategic approaches to reforms, and coordinates the efforts of participants across Canada concerned with civil and family justice.
In 2024, the Foundation approved a 3-year grant of $313K to the Action Committee. This grant more than doubles the Foundation’s previous granting and is the first multi-year versus annual grant. The Foundation supports the Action Committee through our national Access to Justice Fund, which is funded by cy-près awards.
Of interest, this was the first time that Canadian law foundations collaborated to streamline their grantmaking to the Action Committee. Rather than requiring the Action Committee to complete multiple applications, the law foundations of Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, and Saskatchewan combined their processes into one. This created a more efficient process for the Action Committee, and the granting foundations.
The new funding will allow the Action Committee to build more operational capacity and increase programming across Canada. This includes a new nation-wide listening tour by Justice Andromache Karakatsanis and the hiring of a bilingual project manager.
The Action Committee works across all jurisdictions with representation from 23 provincial/territorial collaboratives, 5 national equity-seeking organizations, and 22 justice sector institutions. It coordinates and tracks metrics on justice and connects people to share innovations throughout the year and at its annual Summit. Over this 3-year grant, the Action Committee will prioritize activities dedicated to reducing systemic barriers that keep people from finding affordable solutions to their legal problems, fostering accessible public legal education, enhancing interdisciplinary collaboration, and promoting dispute resolution outside the courts.
About the Access to Justice Fund
The Law Foundation of Ontario’s Access to Justice Fund (ATJF) is a distinct and permanent fund that makes grants to projects that improve access to justice across the country. The Foundation created the ATJF in 2009 after receiving a $14.6 million cy-près award from Cassano v. TD Bank.
Courts continue to approve The Law Foundation of Ontario as a fitting and accountable recipient of both fixed and residual cy-près awards given its experience and expertise in granting, broad access to justice mandate, and prudent financial management. This allows the Foundation to develop additional calls for funding and make grants through the ATJF.
