Where do low-income Ontarians get free or affordable legal help? Most people know that legal aid exists, but do you know how it actually works? Teachers, join us to dive into how Legal Aid operates, from a panel of lawyers who have been working in the system for years. We will review and explain the different types of help that Legal Aid offers, who can access them, and how.

Including:

• The certificate program

• Duty counsel

• Community legal clinics

• Specialty clinics

• Student legal clinics

Speakers: Simone Bern, Criminal Policy Counsel and Lead for the Bail Strategy at Legal Aid Ontario; Lenny Abramowicz, Executive Director, Association of Community Legal Clinics of Ontario.

OJEN offers special thanks to the Law Foundation of Ontario, whose funding made this webinar and so many other crucial projects possible. Visit our website: http://ojen.ca/en/

COVID-19 continues to have a changing impact on the law and all of our lives. In this webinar, teachers will learn from leading experts how COVID-19 has affected criminal, employment and housing law.

This webinar features Meghan Scott (Crown Attorney, MAG) on changes in the criminal justice system, Kumail Karimjee (employment lawyer, Karimjee Law) on changes in employment law, and Nina Hall (Staff Lawyer, Kensington Bellwoods Community Legal Services) on housing law.

Presented as part of the 2020 Summer Law Institute on August 13, 2020.

NB: The information presented here was accurate as of the date of recording. It is likely to change quickly in the future. If you are having a legal issue, please seek more recently updated legal information and speak to a lawyer. Nothing in this recording constitutes legal advice.

Presenter materials:

Employment Law Presentation: download

Housing Law Presentation: download

Criminal Law Presentation: download

Their Voices Will Guide Us is an educational and outreach initiative of the National Inquiry intended to facilitate critical thinking, purposeful reflection, and dialogue around the perceptions and lived realities of Indigenous women and girls, including members of 2SLGBTQQIA communities.

Ms Bearhead is a longtime Indigenous activist and educator. She is the head of Education and Programming for the Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre at the University of British Colombia, the Director of Reconciliation for Canadian Geographic and was the Education Coordinator for the National Inquiry into Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls (NIMMIWG). Ms. Bearhead is the lead author of “Their Voices Will Guide Us”, a curriculum resource for teachers and student and youth engagement guide to help turn classrooms into spaces of critical thinking and reflections around perceptions and realities of Indigenous women’s and girls’ lived experiences. She will join us to speak about the national inquiry and the curriculum it inspired.

Related Resources:

For information about Their Voices Will Guide Us, please visit: www.mmiwg-ffada.ca/commemoration-art-and-education/their-voices-will-guide-us

Webinar presentation: Download

Their Voices Will Guide Us: Webpage

Their Voices Will Guide Us (Student and Youth Engagement Guide): PDF and Word Document

Related OJEN Resources:

The Cases that Have Changed Society (Delgamuukw v British Columbia): Download

Tsilhqot’in Nation v British Columbia: Download

Lax Kw’alaams Indian Band v Canada: Download

Daniels v Canada: Download

R v Kokopenace: Download

In Focus – Idle No More: Download

Seven young people, backed by Ecojustice, are suing the Government of Ontario for weakening its climate targets because it will lead to widespread illness and death, violating Ontarians’ Charter-protected rights to life, liberty, and security of the person. As young people, the applicants say they and people like them will bear the costs of climate in action more than previous generations. Alan Andrews from Ecojustice spoke to us about this litigation, Ontario's climate plan, and young people's leadership in the fight against climate change.

Originally presented during the 2020 Summer Law Institute, on August 5 2020.

The Top 5 Cases is one of our oldest and finest traditions at OJEN. This year, Justice Lorne Sossin joins is to detail what he thinks are the 5 most important cases coming through our appeals courts in the past year.

Originally presented for the 2020 Summer Law Institute, July 28 2020.