Chapter 11: “Poverty Law” Legal Aid Services

The Ontario Legal Aid R eview was established by the Ontario government in December 1996 as an independent task force, with a mandate to undertake a comprehensive review of legal aid in Ontario. The R eview was asked to consider all legal aid programs in the province with the objective of identifying aspects that should be reduced, maintained or enhanced in order that the current and future legal needs of low-income residents of Ontario can be met in the most effective and efficient way possible.

This chapter discusses poverty law legal aid services, including the nature of poverty law needs and the context in which those needs are currently addressed in Ontario i.e. in community clinics. It goes on to make several recommendations relating to poverty law services within the clinic system, specifically in relation to: community governance, clinic accountability, the relationship of the community clinic to the larger legal aid system, clinics’ scope of services, and gaps in poverty law coverage.