The Law Foundation of Ontario granted more than $5M to fund 41 Responsive grants in 2023, more than double the investment of 2022. The Responsive program funds project grants that support innovative, community-based ideas to improve access to justice. In 2023, available grants ranged from $10K to $250K.
Facilitated by an increased budget and proactive support for applicants, the Foundation was able to further its strategic priorities of increasing access to justice for northern Ontario and Indigenous communities. Of the new grants approved, 14 or approximately 34% directly focus on support for Indigenous and/or northern Ontario communities, representing an investment of more than $2M.
Indigenous and northern communities face unique barriers
Colonization and ongoing systemic racism and discrimination continue to have dire effects on the safety, livelihood, and wellbeing of Indigenous peoples across the county. This includes the significant overrepresentation of Indigenous people within Canada’s criminal justice system, as both victims and offenders. While representing approximately 4% of Canada’s population, Indigenous people account for 27-28% of admissions to provincial/territorial and federal correctional services[1].
Indigenous and non-Indigenous people living in northern Ontario also face specific access to justice barriers. There are fewer public and private legal service providers. Those that exist can have long waitlists, be hours or days away, or be inaccessible because of gaps in the region’s cellular and Internet infrastructure. There are compounding factors too, such as high levels of unemployment and poverty, lack of housing and transportation, and addiction and mental health crises.
Dedicated approaches
Several of the 2023 Responsive projects focus on responding to the unique barriers faced by Indigenous and northern communities, offering dedicated approaches for these communities to better understand, access, and navigate the justice system.
For example, the John Howard Society of Simcoe & Muskoka will expand its digital access program to rural and remote communities, including Bracebridge, Collingwood, Gravenhurst, Midland, Penetanguishene, and Wasaga. The rotating clinics help the highly vulnerable and disproportionally criminalized populations to be supported through the court process. The clinics provide technology, referrals, and expertise, such as support for disclosure requests, digital access to court appearances, connection to legal and duty counsel, and record suspension applications.
Sault Ste. Marie Indian Friendship Centre, in partnership with Dr. Jane Dickson at Carleton University, will provide a Gladue Support Worker for Indigenous people in Sault Ste. Marie and surrounding communities. The project will support Gladue reports for bail hearings, a novel approach considering these are traditionally offered at the end, not the start, of a person’s interaction with the criminal justice system. The project will also document Indigenous people’s experiences with the process and the impacts of Gladue reports on the rates of remand and release, informing evidence-based approaches to Gladue generally.
Sudbury District Restorative Justice (SDRJ) will research and create a legal services process map and provide legal and social service referrals and systems navigation to low-income and marginalized youth and their families in the Greater Sudbury region. By increasing knowledge about the justice system and the way it operates, the project aims to help young people better resolve and reduce their interactions with the justice system.
2023 Responsive grants made
Below is the full list of 2023 Responsive grants made:
Aftermetoo
Expanding Aftermetoo legal information about workplace sexual harassment
$139,330
Algoma Community Legal Clinic
Inclusive Housing Law Coordinator
$209,000
Black Femme Legal
Understanding Transmisogynoir (Lawyers Edition)
$100,000
Black Law Students’ Association of Canada
2024 BLSA Canada Conference
$100,000
Canadian National Institute for the Blind Foundation
CNIB Guide Dog Handlers and Police Training
$123,654
Capital Rainbow Refuge
Legal Guide to LGBTQIA+ Refugee Private Sponsorship Applications
$39,000
Christie Refugee Welcome Centre
Centre for Refugee Children – Enhancing Child Representative Legal Support
$77,924
Clinique juridique francophone d’Ottawa du Centre des services communautaires Vanier
Aîné.es Avisé.es
$101,860
Community & Legal Aid Services Programme
ID Clinic – Expansion of Pilot Project
$151,500
Community Justice Collective
Triaging legal needs of unhoused people and shelter-hotel residents
$94,740
Community Living Ontario
Your Legal Guide to Special Education Rights in Ontario
$62,150
COMPASS Refugee Centre
Canada-US Virtual Border Clinic Pilot
$214,964
Disability Justice Network of Ontario
EnAbling Justice: Access and Autonomy for Disabled People Facing Criminalization in Ontario
$42,382
Elizabeth Fry Society of Northeastern Ontario
Justice Navigation Project
$229,168
Elizabeth Fry Society of Northwestern Ontario
Court Support Program
$133,320
Elizabeth Fry Society of Peterborough
Developing Pre-Sentence Community Options for People who are Marginalized
$90,825
Grey-Bruce Community Legal Clinic
Elder law capacity building in Grey-Bruce
$249,953
Healing of the Seven Generations
Dehsahsodre Bail Release and Supervision Program
$202,592
John Howard Society of Simcoe & Muskoka
Rural & Remote Access to Justice Clinics
$204,262
Kijicho Manito Madouskarini Algonquin First Nation
Consultation Knowledge Building, Interpretation, and Implementation
$105,320
Kinbrace Community Society
Making My Refugee Claim Resources Accessible to Refugee Claimants
$250,000
Laadliyan
Enhancing the Legal Capacity of Women International Students
$71,550
Level
Environmental Justice Education for Ontario Youth
$93,260
Muslim Legal Support Centre
Advancing Access to Justice for Vulnerable Muslim Communities in Ontario
$92,000
Nishnawbe-Aski Legal Services Corporation
Community Justice Navigator and Legal Education Officers
$248,800
Parents of Black Children
Law and Advocacy Initiative Project
$139,455
Partners for Planning
Safe and Secure Futures: An Evergreen Approach, Partners for Planning
$157,285
Queen’s University, Faculty of Law
Revitalizing Indigenous Legal Orders Clinical Course
$57,000
San Lorenzo Latin American Community Centre
Conoce tus derechos laborales en Ontario (Know your rights in Ontario)
$15,959
Sault Ste. Marie lndigenous Friendship Centre
Resisting Remand: A Gladue Bail Program for Indigenous People in Sault Ste. Marie
$233,476
Scarborough Community Legal Services
Communities Building Justice Together: Increasing Access to Justice for Indigenous and Black communities in Scarborough
$147,000
Sisters in Sync
We Got You, Sis
$138,200
Society’s Bella Coola Legal Advocacy Program
Legal Information for Indigenous People: National Edition
$46,000
Sudbury District Restorative Justice
Legal System Navigation for Youth & Families
$45,512
The Women’s Centre of Halton
Family Court Advocacy Program
$164,650
Toronto Metropolitan University, School of Journalism
Canada Press Freedom Project: Legal Education for Media
$128,060
TTCriders
Know Your Transit Rights
$35,580
University of Ottawa, Faculty of Law
Innocence Ottawa Indigenous Prisoner Outreach
$55,941
University of Toronto – Ontario Institute for Studies in Education – Department of Leadership, Higher and Adult Education
African, Caribbean, Black Family Group Conferencing Project
$200,810
University of Windsor, Faculty of Law
Civil Procedure and Practice in Ontario: 2023 Edition
$17,397
Whistleblowing Canada Research Society
Building Legal Supports for Marginalized Ontarians
$32,100
[1] Government of Canada. “Overrepresentation of Indigenous People in the Canadian Criminal Justice System: Causes and Responses”. https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/jr/oip-cjs/p3.html#fn5
