Community Legal Information: Legal aid & public legal information

Community legal clinics provide legal information, advice, and representation on various legal issues, including social assistance, housing, refugee and immigration law, employment law, human rights, workers' compensation, consumer protection law, and the Canada Pension Plan.

• Legal Aid Ontario
  • Get legal aid help in over 200 languages at 1-800-668-8258 toll-free (or 416-979-1446 in Toronto).
• Law Society of Ontario Lawyer Referral Service
  • The LSO offers a free-to-use referral service to the public. 
• Ontario Legal Information Centre/Centre d’information juridique de l'Ontario
  • The Ontario Legal Information Centre offers information, legal referrals, and educational presentations.

Legal clinics affiliated with Osgoode:

• Community and Legal Aid Services Program (CLASP)
  • CLASP provides legal assistance in the areas of administrative law, criminal law, and immigration law for low-income residents in the city of Toronto.
• Parkdale Community Legal Services (PCLS)
  • PCLS provides representation and legal assistance in the following areas: Social Assistance, Violence and Health (SAVAH), Immigration, Workers’ Rights and Tenants’ Rights.

Legal aid organizations in Canadian provinces and territories other than Ontario:

• Legal Aid BC

• Commission des services juridiques (Québec) (bilingual)

• Legal Aid Manitoba

• Legal Aid Saskatchewan

• Legal Aid Alberta

• Legal Services Board of Nunavut

• Legal Aid Commission of the Northwest Territories

• Yukon Legal Services Society (7/15/2021: website under construction)

The following organizations are dedicated to providing accessible, reliable, and current legal information and education to members of the public.

• CLEO (Community Legal Education Ontario) - CLEO promotes community legal education, and offers training, webinars, and lesson plans

• Steps To Justice - step-by-step guided pathways with information about legal problems, organized by area of law

• National Self-Represented Litigants Project - resources for self-representing litigants

• Ontario Legal Information Centre - general legal information and free legal referral services

• Cliquez-Justice.ca - legal information in French

• Charterpedia - legal information about the Charter of Rights and Freedoms

• Housing Help/Aide Logement

• MMS.watch - this resource monitors the constitutionality of each mandatory minimum sentence (MMS) under the Canadian Criminal Code and Controlled Drugs and Substances Act

Independent non-profit advocacy organizations in Ontario:

• CCLA (Canadian Civil Liberties Association)

• Community Justice Collective

• CERA (Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation)

• ACTO (Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario)

• FMTA (Federation of Metro Tenants Associations)