Community legal clinics or community-based clinics help people with low income in a specific area or neighbourhood. If you need legal help but don't have the money to pay a lawyer, you can get help from a community legal clinic. Community legal clinics are found all over Ontario.
Who can use legal clinics?
You do not need Canadian citizenship or permanent resident status to get help from a clinic. You can get help from a legal clinic no matter what your immigration status is.
Any discussion you have with staff at a legal clinic is confidential. This means that anything you tell a clinic worker about your situation is private and will not be repeated. There are limitations to confidentiality, read more in the Law Society of Ontario’s website.
You don’t have to be an adult to get legal help. You can get help from Justice for Children and Youth if you are under 18; or under 25 and homeless or undocumented.
What legal issues do community legal clinics focus on?
Ontario's community-based clinics generally focus on the following legal concerns:
- Social assistance: Ontario Works, Ontario Disability Support Program, etc.
- Housing matters: landlord and tenant disputes, evictions, discrimination, etc.
- Employment issues: wrongful dismissal, workers compensation, etc.
- Immigration matters: family reunification, citizenship and humanitarian and compassionate applications, etc.
Make sure the clinic you want to visit has the services you need. You can call or email them first to ask. Find a community legal clinic near you.
For criminal, family, and immigration law issues, you can apply for legal aid.
Learn more: What do I do if I can’t afford a lawyer?
What legal support is available to students?
Law schools in Ontario have student-run legal clinics open to the public and the university’s students called Student Legal Aid Services Societies (SLASS). Volunteer law students, under the supervision of lawyers, can give you legal advice and even represent you in court for legal issues like:
- Family law matters
- Criminal law matters
- Social assistance
- Housing matters
- Some employment issues
- Some Immigration issues
- University appeals
The Ontario SLASS programs are:
- Downtown Legal Services - University of Toronto
- Community and Legal Aid Services Program (CLASP) - York University
- Queen's Legal Aid - Queen’s University
- University of Ottawa Community Legal Clinic
- Community Legal Services - University of Western Ontario
- Community Legal Aid - University of Windsor
- Lakehead University Community Legal Services
What if my legal issue is not covered by a community-based clinic or a student legal aid society?
You may still be eligible for Legal Aid Ontario’s specialty and ethnolinguistic clinics. These clinics can help people across the province who are marginalized for reasons other than their income. The clinic may focus on a specific area of law or help certain groups like:
- Youth
- Indigenous communities
- Injured workers
- People with disabilities
- Other marginalized groups
What else can community legal clinics help me with?
- Legal advice and information
- Help with forms and other paperwork
- Representation in court (your legal advocate may be a lawyer, community legal worker, or student, depending on the circumstances of the case)
- Referral to a private lawyer who may be able to provide services at a discount or pro bono (for free) or to a community agency
- Legal education and information