The Clinique Juridique Francophone d’Ottawa gives free legal advice in French to older adults living in Ottawa. They give legal advice in these areas: 

• consent and capacity 
• procedures when being discharged from hospital 
• rights in long-term care homes 
• Canada Pension Plan, Old Age Security, and the Guaranteed Income Supplement 
  

If you need help, you can book an appointment online or call 613-744-2892, extension 2. 

This website has a directory of gender-based violence services in Ontario. It includes services related to abuse and violence from a partner, ex partner, family member, acquaintance, or someone you don’t know.

CSC has information about programs and services for victims of crime. You can:

• register to get information about the offender who harmed you
• access a Victims Portal to share information with the CSC
• make a complaint under the Canadian Victim Bill of Rights
• access other resources

CSC also has information and resources for families and friends of offenders, such as how to visit an offender.

The association has an online tool to help you find a licensed paralegal. You can search by name, area of law, and location.

Black Legal Action Centre (BLAC) is a community legal clinic that offers free legal services to Black Ontarians with low incomes. The clinic helps with police complaints and legal problems caused by anti-Black racism in the following areas of law:

• education
• employment
• housing
• human rights
• income assistance

For help, fill out BLAC’s intake form and email it to intake@blac.clcj.ca.

Toll Free for people in custody: 1-877-279-0680  or  1-844-302-2694 

The directory has information about services for victims of crime. You can search based on where you live and what type of service you’re looking for.

These organizations offer Victim Crisis Assistance and Referral Services. They also help you apply to the VQRP+.

This website has information about programs and services for victims of crime and their families.

Legal Aid Ontario funds Student Legal Aid Services Societies that operate out of Ontario’s law schools. They offer free legal help to people with a low income in certain legal areas, including minor crimes, housing, and immigration, and when dealing with some tribunals.

They can also help with some family law issues, such as child custody, access, and child support issues. And some help with other family law issues, such as property division and spousal support.

The directory lists all lawyers and paralegals licensed to give legal services in Ontario. You can search by name, address or postal code, language, and area of law.

If you live in the Ottawa or Champlain region and have a disability, ABLE2’s Reach Legal Referral Services may be able to help. They can refer you to a lawyer or paralegal for up to 3 hours of free legal advice in any area of law. But they cannot help with urgent legal issues.

If ABLE2 cannot help, they may refer you to community resources.

Book a meeting online, or call 613-761-9522 extension 452 or 453. You can also email reachlegalreferral@able2.org.

The commissioner can review a decision by the Law Society of Ontario you don’t agree with about a complaint you made about a lawyer or paralegal.

The commissioner’s role is to make sure that the Law Society handled your complaint properly and their decision was reasonable. If the commissioner thinks that the decision was not reasonable, they can ask the Law Society to do something more.

The Office is an independent agency that deals with complaints about police behaviour in Ontario.

The Ontario Legal Information Centre offers a free 30-minute meeting with a lawyer to anyone in Ontario, online or by phone in English or French. The centre provides legal information on any legal topic, and referrals to services. Book a meeting online or call 1-844-343-7462 if you need help.

The OPP is the police force in places that don’t have a local police service. If you live in one of those areas and need a police record check done, contact the OPP. For example, you might need a record check if you’re applying for a job, have signed up for volunteer work, or are adopting a child.

You can get the request form you need from:

• the OPP website
• your closest OPP station

Call 211 if you’re not sure what police force to contact for a police record check.

If you have a legal aid certificate and are looking for a lawyer who accepts certificates, you can use LAO’s online tool. It lets you look for a lawyer by location, area of law, and language. You can also search for a lawyer with experience in domestic violence cases.

In Toronto, ALS provides Indigenous court workers and the Community Council diversion program. They also write Gladue reports in various locations in Ontario. They don’t provide criminal lawyers to represent you in court. Outside of Toronto, there are other Indigenous organizations that offer support to Indigenous people charged with a crime.

If you get a legal aid certificate, this means that LAO pays a lawyer to work for you. To get a certificate you must show that you have a low income by giving information about your income, property, and savings.

And, your legal issue must be one that LAO covers. You may get a certificate for some legal issues about:

• domestic violence
• family law
• criminal law
• immigration law
• refugee law

To apply for a legal aid certificate:

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

The centre gives free legal information and advice to people who have experienced discrimination. If you’re Indigenous, press 4 to reach the Indigenous Service intake staff. The centre can:

• help you fill out an application to the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario
• give legal advice about how to deal with discrimination
• provide legal representation at mediations and hearings, in some situations

There is also an online tool that can help you figure out if your situation might be discrimination.

AJEFO is a group of legal professionals who promote access to justice in French. AJEFO’s services to the public include:

• the Ontario Legal Information Centre, which offers a free 30-minute meeting with a lawyer by telephone or in person at their Ottawa office in any area of law in English and French
• CliquezJustice.ca, which has legal information on many legal topics
• a member directory, where you can search for a legal professional by location and area of law

The Law Society regulates and monitors lawyers and paralegals in Ontario. You can make a complaint to the Law Society if you have a problem with a lawyer or paralegal who didn’t do their job properly or behaved unprofessionally. They don’t deal with issues about fees charged by a lawyer or paralegal.

JFCY is a legal clinic that provides services to people in Ontario who are younger than 18 years. JFCY can give 30 minutes of free legal advice by phone in many areas of law including criminal, education, immigration, and human rights.

They can also help people in Ontario younger than 25 years who are homeless.

During the COVID-19 situation, LAO is offering more telephone support. Call LAO’s summary advice line at 1-800-668-8258 for more information.

LAO has a free summary advice line that can give you up to 20 minutes of information and general advice about your criminal law matter.

This includes information about your legal options and what might happen, first appearance procedures, how to prepare for a pre-trial, diversion, bail, guilty pleas, and sentencing. You can also ask about whether you qualify for a legal aid certificate.

You usually have to call and give some information about your legal issue and where you live, and a lawyer will call you back.

LAO has services for people who have been charged with a crime. This includes:

• a free summary advice line that can give you up to 20 minutes of information and general advice about your criminal law matter
• criminal duty counsel who can give you free legal advice if you don’t have a lawyer on the day of your hearing
• a legal aid certificate program if you have a low income and if your legal issue is one that LAO covers

Criminal duty counsel give free legal advice to people who don’t have a lawyer on the day of their hearing. Criminal duty counsel are paid for by Legal Aid Ontario and work in most courts in Ontario. If they aren’t in court, they’ll have an office nearby.

Duty counsel usually can’t represent you at your trial, but they may be able to:

• help with a pre-trial meeting
• give information and advice
• help you find out if you qualify for a legal aid certificate

Inside the courtroom, they can:

• give information to the court for you
• reschedule your hearing if you appear without a lawyer
• tell the court what’s going on with your case when they reschedule it

The Law Society of Ontario has an online Law Society Referral Service that gives you the name of a lawyer or licensed paralegal who will give free legal advice for up to 30 minutes in any area of law.

If you cannot wait for a lawyer or paralegal to call you back, or if you do not have a call-back number, email lsrs@lso.ca. If you’re in crisis or in custody, call 1-855-947-5255 or 416-947-5255, Monday to Friday, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.

JusticeNet is a not-for-profit organization that can help people find legal services when their income is too high for legal aid and too low to afford legal fees. Their website has a list of lawyers, paralegals, and mediators who charge reduced fees based on your income and family size. You must register and pay a small fee to use their services.