June 16, 2017 / Toronto / The Metro Toronto Chinese & Southeast Asian Legal Clinic (MTCSALC) today launches its new name, a new logo and a new province-wide toll free number.
As of today, MTCSALC will change its name to Chinese & Southeast Asian Legal Clinic (CSALC). It will also have a new toll-free number: 1-844-971-9674 in order to serve low income, non-English speaking members of the Chinese, Vietnamese, Cambodian and Laotian communities living anywhere in Ontario.
Prior to this change, MTCSALC’s mandate was limited to serving mainly low income members of the Chinese & Southeast Asian communities living in the Greater Toronto Area. MTCSALC received additional funding from Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) which allows it to expand its services province wide.
“Thanks to the Ontario Government, LAO has received a significant injection of new funding over the last couple of years, part of which has gone into the legal clinic system. LAO recognizes the important services that our clinic has provided to our communities and has agreed to give us new funding not only to enhance our existing services, but also to expand our services province wide,” said Avvy Go, Clinic Director of CSALC. “With the additional funding, we will now be able to provide summary advice and referral services by telephone to low income member of our communities living anywhere in Ontario. After serving the communities for 30 years, our clinic has finally received some much needed new resources to serve our clients’ needs,” added Go.
In view of the new and expanded mandate, CSALC has also launched a new logo to mark the beginning of a new era. “The new logo depicts a bridge, which symbolizes our clinic’s role in bridging the gaps between members of our communities and the justice system. It also represents our resolve to help break down barriers in access to justice for all low income marginalized communities in society,” said Vince Wong, staff lawyer of CSALC and a member of the logo design team.
“OCASI welcomes the launch of the province-wide service by the Clinic and commends Legal Aid Ontario on funding this much-needed expansion. Whether it is called MTCSALC or CSALC, this community based legal clinic has been a key partner of OCASI for many years in advocating for the rights of immigrants, refugees and racialized communities. As a provincial umbrella organization, we are very much aware of how invaluable such a service can be in communities across Ontario, especially for those who live and work in remote and rural areas” said Amy Casipullai, Senior Coordinator Policy and Communications at OCASI – Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants.
Contact
Avvy Go
416-971-9674
goa@lao.on.ca