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When Access Isn’t Enough: Examining the Intersection Between Social Inequality and Access to Justice

In her recently published book, On the Run: Fugitive Life in an American City, sociologist Alice Goffman follows the lives of several young men living in an inner-city community in Philadelphia. Through immersive fieldwork and rich ethnographic detail she illustrates “how fear of confinement has transformed work, health, and family life, causing men to disengage

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Connecting Ottawa

In December 2008, the Law Foundation of Ontario tasked Karen Cohl and George Thomson with the responsibility of finding durable solutions for individuals facing linguistic and rural barriers to accessing justice. In response to their findings, a pilot project funded by the Law Foundation and Connecting Ottawa was born.  I had the opportunity to intern

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Extending the Reach of Legal Aid – The Halton Legal Health Check-Up Project

In an effort to overcome the realties of unmet legal needs in South Western Ontario, the Halton Community Legal Services (HCLS) has created the Legal Health Check-Up project. Primarily funded by Legal Aid Ontario’s Fund to Strengthen Capacity of Community and Legal Clinics, this initiative maintains that the key to effective resolution of legal problems lies in early and

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Reforming the Family Justice System in Alberta

Reforming the Family Justice System The Reforming the Family Justice System initiative is a collaboration between government, the Courts, and a number of organizations, academics and professionals that work within the family justice system in Alberta. The initiative is  founded on the reports of the Family Working Group and the Prevention, Triage and Referral Working Group of

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Reflections on the Action Committee Colloquium Report

In January, the Action Committee held a two day Colloquium with a cross-section of stakeholders in the access to justice community. This meeting provided a platform from which to transform key access to justice recommendations into actionable strategies. The Colloquium featured breakout groups and keynote speakers that engaged both the innovation and institutional and structural

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Access to Justice Spotlight: A Review of the Recent Access to Justice Report in Australia

The problems associated with a lack of access to justice are a serious concern here in Canada. These concerns have been deftly captured in two recent national reports – one from the Action Committee on Access to Justice in Civil and Family Matters and one from the Canadian Bar Association – and several recent studies,

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