Glossary

In Criminal Law

The ladder principle is used in bail court to help decide how much supervision you should have if you’re released. The bottom of the ladder is the least amount of supervison and the top of the ladder is the most. Each step up the ladder restricts your freedom more. For example, an undertaking without conditions is at the bottom of the ladder. A house arrest is at the top of the ladder.

A person with no criminal record and no criminal charges is usually assumed to be at the bottom of the ladder. But, if the allegations against the person are serious the court may move them up the ladder to ease their concerns about releasing him or her.   

The more offences the person has on their record and the more serious the offences are, the higher the person moves up the ladder.

In Housing Law

A land lease home is a home that is owned by someone who does not own the land the home is on. The owner of the home is a residential tenant who pays rent for the land. They might also pay for common areas and services, like recreational facilities or snow plowing. This arrangement is like a mobile home park except the homes are permanent structures that are not designed to be moved.

In Housing Law, Human Rights

An independent agency set up by the Ontario government to resolve disputes between landlords and tenants. It is similar to a court, but less formal. It has “members” who are like judges and make decisions after hearing both sides.

In Housing Law

Members of the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) make decisions about issues that are covered by the Residential Tenancies Act. They’re in charge at LTB hearings. Their role is like that of a judge in a court. An LTB member is sometimes called an adjudicator.

In Housing Law

Usually means a written tenancy agreement, often one for a fixed term.

In Wills and Powers of Attorney

A legacy is a gift of a specific sum of money to a person or organization in a will.

In Family Law, Health and Disability, Mental health, Immigration Law, Refugee Law

A legal aid certificate is a document that says Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) has agreed to pay for a certain number of hours of a lawyer’s time to work on certain legal issues. You must show that you have a low income and that your legal issue is one that LAO covers.

To apply for a legal aid certificate:

• call LAO at 1-800-668-8258
• use their online service
• visit one of their regional offices

You have to find a lawyer who agrees to work for you and agrees to accept your certificate. You can search a list of lawyers who accept legal aid certificates on the LAO website.

In Income Assistance, Child tax benefits

A legal representative is someone you choose to take care of your legal issues.

You can have different legal representatives for different legal issues. For example, you may have a legal representative who only represents you to the Canada Revenue Agency about a Canada child benefit issue.

The Canada Revenue Agency has a process you have to follow to authorize a representative.

In Debt and Consumer Rights

A Licensed Insolvency Trustee is a person licensed by the federal government to help people with consumer proposals and bankruptcies.

In Debt and Consumer Rights

A lien is when there is money owing on the vehicle. For example, if the original owner has not fully paid their car loan, there will be a lien on the vehicle. It is important to know if there is a lien so that you do not become responsible for paying off the original car loan.