Canada-wide
Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies (CAEFS) - l'Association Canadienne des Sociétés Elizabeth Fry (ACSEF)
April 23, 2008 - 11:50amCAEFS is an association of self-governing, community-based Elizabeth Fry Societies that work with and for women and girls in the justice system, particularly those who are, or may be, criminalized. Together, Elizabeth Fry Societies develop and advocate the beliefs, principles and positions that guide CAEFS. The association exists to ensure substantive equality in the delivery and development of services and programs through public education, research, legislative and administrative reform, regionally, nationally and internationally.
L'ACSEF est une association de sociétés autonomes dont la mission est de venir en aide aux femmes confrontées au système de justice pénale ou qui sont susceptibles de faire l'objet d'accusations criminelles ou pénales. Ensemble, les Sociétés Élizabeth Fry déterminent les valeurs et les positions de l'Association et en font la promotion, cherchant à faire reconnaître le droit de ces femmes à un traitement juste et égalitaire dans les services et les programmes qui leurs sont destinés, en sensibilisant le public, par la recherche et en intervenant dans les débats portant sur les réformes administratives et législatives, tant au plan régional que national et international.
Location
Canada Without Poverty - Canada Sans Pauvreté
April 23, 2008 - 10:17amCanada Sans Pauvreté est une organisation non partisane sans but lucratif qui travaille à l’élimination de la pauvreté au Canada.
Location
Canadian Feminist Alliance for International Action
April 23, 2008 - 9:54amLocation
Practicing Law for the Poor
April 16, 2008 - 8:52pmWexler argues that the traditional practice of law that is taught in law schools and practiced by lawyers does not efficiently deal with the legal problems of poor people. He suggests an alternative model where the lawyer’s role consists of assisting poor people to organize to create a cooperative environment, where they can collectively solve their own legal problem under the guidance of poverty lawyers. He believes that this is beneficial because it empowers poor people and provides them with a permanent infrastructure to advance their rights in society that cannot be taken away from them by the government, or by lawyers who no longer wish to work in poverty law.
Wexler suggests that a poverty lawyer can empower his or her clients in the following ways:
- Informing individuals and groups of their rights: A lawyer can talk about their rights in a way that they understand.
- Writing manuals and other materials: A lawyer should produce materials and make the law accessible to the poor. Having a summary of laws gives them knowledge of their legal rights, which is necessary for them to engage in legal battles.
- Training lay advocates: If poor people are trained properly they could take on the roles of advocates and appear before tribunals and boards to solve their own problems.
- Educating groups for confrontation: Lawyers can prepare people for confrontation against whom the poor people have grievances.
Practicing Law for Poor People
April 16, 2008 - 8:41pmAn exhaustive analysis of the extent and quality of legal services available to low-income Canadians in each province and territory. The report points out that civil legal aid is underemphasized even though it is one of the most widely needed services, as most of the poor need help in civil law matters. They need more assistance as consumers because they are the main targets of consumer fraud, they also need help in terms of landlord disputes which are more common among low income people, and also, they may need legal assistance with regards to issues of discrimination, welfare matters, and unemployment benefits. There are also certain disadvantaged groups in society such as women, immigrants and refugees, aboriginals, the elderly and people with disabilities who desperately need such services due to the double burden they face as minorities/disabilities as well as their low income. Legal aid in this area could be used to validate the claims of such groups, and perhaps bring initiatives to strike down laws that do not respect the rights of such vulnerable groups. Also, it could help communities organize themselves into groups to defend rights and educate the poor about their legal rights, which is an important task in a democratic society.
The report concludes that the current system does not meet the needs of the poor and recommends sweeping changes.
A National Survey of the Civil Justice Problems of Low and Moderate Income Canadians: Incidence and Patterns
April 16, 2008 - 8:09pmThis is a study of problems having legal aspects experienced by low and moderate income Canadians. The main objectives of the study are to determine the incidence of law-related problems among this segment of the population and the social and demographic groups that are most vulnerable to problems.
The study identified a number of marginalized groups who had legal problems, including a growing segment of the labour force in unstable forms of non-standard employment, such as part-time work and marginal self-employment. These workers have lower and frequently interrupted incomes, limited access to benefits such as medical care, dental care and no pension benefits other than the minimal public pension system.This long-term structural change in the economy may signal the need for increased legal assistance.
History of Poverty Law in Canada
April 16, 2008 - 8:01pmThe premise of this paper is that a better understanding of the history of poverty law in Canada, as well as its roots in other jurisdictions, will inform discussions in the future. It is intended as a discussion paper for the development of a national network of poverty law advocates across the country, which will assist in defining the critical elements of community-based poverty law services. The paper starts with the history of poverty law services in Canada and goes on to talk about their decline, both in Canada and internationally. It then describes trends in poverty law services, and continues with a jurisdictional review of what is available across Canada.
The Legal Problems of Everyday Life
April 16, 2008 - 7:59pmThis is a study of the legal problems that, for the most part, people do not take to the formal justice system to resolve. It looks at legal problems experienced by the public in their daily lives, based on a survey of 6665 adult Canadians. The author concludes that “access to justice services can play an important role in building an inclusive society, diminishing social disadvantage, dependency and the related costs to public service. Access to justice gives effect to full citizenship, assisting people without the means to do so themselves to resolve or avoid the problems that might limit their ability to enjoy the benefits that are the fundamental purposes of society.”
Women and the Canada Social Transfer: Securing the Social Union
April 16, 2008 - 7:57pmSince the repeal of the Canada Assistance Plan (CAP) in 1995, social assistance and civil legal aid have been in decline, with devastating effects for the poorest women. On its face, CAP was neither a gender-specific nor a human rights-promoting instrument. But, the spending designations and the standards set out in CAP were an important means of protecting the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living and of promoting women’s human rights. They helped to ensure that the poorest women had basic economic security and access to justice. In 1995, Canadian women were told that shifting to unconditional block funding would increase innovation by the provinces and foster improvements in basic social programs. But after 10 years, the evidence shows that this has not occurred. Instead, social assistance and civil legal aid for family law and poverty law — the areas of law in which women most often need legal assistance — have been devastated by cuts and the imposition of new rules that shrink access.
