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This month's On the Radar gives highlights of rule changes for people on Ontario Works (OW) and the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP). These changes include increases in the value of assets people can own and new rules about gifts that won’t affect their assistance.
The rules are complicated. There's more detailed information on the Steps to Justice website.
More tenants in Ontario are now protected from large rent increases.
This month's On the Radar has information about this important change and about the rules for rent increases.
Following the release of Ontario's Changing Workplaces Review report, the government moved quickly to propose changes to the Employment Standards Act.
This month's On the Radar talks about these changes and how they could affect workers' rights.
This month’s On the Radar talks about the process that the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) uses when they do a medical review.
This month's On the Radar highlights information about being sued in Small Claims Court, as featured on the Steps to Justice website.
This month's On the Radar highlights information about making a claim in Small Claims Court, as featured on the Steps to Justice website.
This month's On the Radar highlights information on the rules about hours of work and breaks, as featured on the Steps to Justice website.
New rules mean that parents on social assistance who also get child support payments now have more money.
This month's On the Radar highlights this change. It also talks about some other things that people on assistance should know if they get child or spousal support.
Site provides comprehensive and reliable information on everyday legal problems related to family, housing, employment and other areas of law
TORONTO, Jan. 18, 2017 /CNW/ - Problems with landlords, unfair treatment at a job, and getting separated or divorced: these are some of the issues that Ontarians face every day. However, many cannot access the information they need to understand the legal implications of their problems and respond.
Now they can go to Steps to Justice – a new website that empowers people in Ontario to understand and take action to deal with their legal problems.
A first of its kind, Steps to Justice presents easy-to-understand, step-by-step information on common issues that people experience in family, housing, employment and other areas of law.
Steps to Justice is designed to:
Steps to Justice is led by Community Legal Education Ontario (CLEO) and brings together key justice sector players such as the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General, the Superior Court of Justice and the Ontario Court of Justice, the Social Justice Tribunals of Ontario, Legal Aid Ontario, the Law Society of Upper Canada, and the Association of Community Legal Clinics of Ontario.
"While people across the province depend on the Internet as a source of information, it is difficult for people to know if they are consulting a reliable website for legal information," says Julie Mathews, Executive Director of CLEO. "People in Ontario face legal issues every day and now they can connect with simple and accurate online information to help them take steps in their situation."
A recent study by The Action Group on Access to Justice (TAG) showed that a majority of Ontarians seek legal advice at some point in their lives and almost half of those surveyed report facing barriers accessing the justice system.
"Projects like Steps to Justice help break down barriers by giving all Ontarians the legal information and tools they need," says Attorney General Yasir Naqvi. "This is an empowering initiative and a great example of how we can use technology to make the justice process and the law more accessible and open to everyone. Collaborating on Steps to Justice is an example of another big step forward in our collective effort to increase access to justice."
Numerous justice sector partners are collaborating on content development to ensure the information is accurate and practical; the website will be updated regularly based on their input. Justice sector and community organizations will also be able to embed or present this automatically-updated Steps to Justice content on their own websites to share with their users.
"Justice and community organizations are responding to the public's need for accessible, reliable and accurate legal information," says Paul Schabas, Treasurer of the Law Society of Upper Canada. "The Law Society created TAG to facilitate cross-sector collaboration and we are proud of its work in fostering the development of Steps to Justice. The people of Ontario now have an enhanced, coordinated initiative that they can count on."
About Steps to Justice:
Led by Community Legal Education Ontario, Steps to Justice is a collaborative project of leading justice sector organizations. It is a signature initiative of The Action Group on Access to Justice.
About CLEO
CLEO (Community Legal Education Ontario/Education juridique communautaire Ontario) is a non-profit organization that provides accurate and easy-to-understand information and education about the law for people in Ontario, particularly those who have low incomes or other disadvantages. CLEO is funded by Legal Aid Ontario, the Department of Justice Canada, and the Law Foundation of Ontario.
About TAG
The Action Group on Access to Justice (TAG) is catalyzing solutions to Ontario's access to justice challenges by facilitating collaboration with institutional, political and community stakeholders. It is funded by the Law Foundation of Ontario with support from the Law Society of Upper Canada.
About the Survey:
Public Perceptions of Access to Justice in Ontario was conducted online with 1,500 Ontarians ages 18 and over from August 22 to 25, 2016. The margin of error for a comparable probability-based random sample of the same size is +/- 2.6%, 19 times out of 20. The data were weighted according to census data to ensure that the sample matched Ontario's population according to age, gender, educational attainment, and region. Totals may not add up to 100 due to rounding.
SOURCE The Action Group on Access to Justice
The University of Ottawa Refugee Assistance Project (UORAP) and Community Legal Education Ontario (CLEO) are delighted to announce the launch of a new online training tool for refugee support workers and others who assist refugee claimants in preparing for their hearing.
The new Hearing Preparation Training includes a series of instructional and case study videos, along with a suite of supporting written resources. It will help trainees understand the basics of a refugee claim, what evidence can support a claim, how to support gathering and submission of evidence, and what happens at the refugee hearing. These resources can be used independently or in conjunction with other training curricula.
Please visit www.refugee.cleo.on.ca/en/uorap to learn more and to take this training!
Background: The University of Ottawa Refugee Assistance Project (UORAP) was funded by the Law Foundation of Ontario to produce access to justice resources for the refugee support community following 2012 legislative changes to Canada's asylum system. In 2013, the UORAP produced written materials and developed a full-day training curriculum to equip refugee support workers to assist claimants as they gathered and submitted evidence for their claims on new, tight timelines. In 2013-14, 12 expert UORAP trainers delivered that curriculum to over 300 community workers across Canada.
This training and its supporting resources benefit from the expert input of over 15 expert refugee lawyers from across Canada, multiple community consultations, and feedback from hundreds of UORAP trainees. Special thanks goes to Productions Cazabon, our volunteer actors, and exceptional crew for making this video adaptation possible!
Questions and comments can be directed to refugeehub@uottawa.ca.
These resources were generously funded by the Law Foundation of Ontario.
Community Legal Education Ontario
Éducation juridique communautaire Ontario
This site contains general legal information for people in Ontario, Canada. It is not intended to be used as legal advice for a specific legal problem.
CLEO is funded by:
Copyright © 2017 CLEO (Community Legal Education Ontario / Éducation juridique communautaire Ontario).
Disclaimer: This site contains general legal information for people in Ontario, Canada. It is not intended to be used as legal advice for a specific legal problem.