Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) is committing $9 million over the next three years to help community and legal aid clinics improve access to justice and outcomes for low-income Ontarians. LAO will fund 15 clinic projects in this first funding instalment.
This comes as a result of $30 million in additional funding announced by the Ontario government in May 2013. LAO is investing $3 million for 2013/14 in two new funds for legal clinics, student legal aid clinics and other community agencies. The projects funded focus on delivering integrated services through existing community access points and clinic modernization. This new funding is in addition to the more than $70 million in annual funding LAO provides to 76 legal aid clinics throughout Ontario.
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“We are pleased to fund these projects, which will make an important difference in clients’ ability to access justice. We were impressed with the thinking that went into the proposals we received — so much so, that LAO will support some of the projects that didn’t meet the funding criteria through other LAO funds.”
– John McCamus, LAO Board Chair
Quick facts
- LAO received 78 project applications over four months.
- The project budgets range from $55,000 to $400,000.
- Legal Aid Ontario funds 76 independent community and legal clinics.
- 17 of these are specialty clinics, focussing on a specific demographic or issue.