Services in Ontario - Employment Insurance

Legal Aid Ontario funds legal clinics across Ontario. There are two types of legal clinics: community legal clinics and specialty legal clinics.

Community legal clinics provide free legal services to people with low incomes who live in their area. Search for the clinic in your area using your postal code. Most help with:

• income assistance
• tenant rights
• employment problems

Some clinics can help with immigration and refugee problems or debt and consumer problems.

Some specialty legal clinics provide free legal services to specific groups of people with low incomes:

• Advocacy Centre for the Elderly
• Aboriginal Legal Services
• ARCH Disability Law Centre
• Black Legal Action Centre
• Centre Francophone du Grand Toronto
• Chinese and South Asian Legal Clinic
• Centre for Spanish Speaking Peoples
• HIV & AIDS Legal Clinic Ontario
• Justice for Children and Youth
• South Asian Legal Clinic of Ontario

Some specialty legal clinics provide free legal services in only certain areas of law:

• Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario
• Canadian Environmental Law Association
• Income Security Advocacy Centre
• Industrial Accident Victims Group of Ontario
• Injured Workers Community Legal Clinic
• Workers Health and Safety Legal Clinic

The hotline can give you 30 minutes of free legal help and advice over the telephone on civil law matters, which include:

• employment
• housing
• consumer issues
• Powers of Attorney
• corporate law for charities, non-profits, and small businesses

It doesn’t help with family law or criminal law problems.

The hotline generally accepts calls Monday to Friday between 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

The Workers’ Action Centre gives workers free information and advice. Call them to get:

• information about your rights at work
• help figuring out how to deal with an employment problem

Service Canada is a central place to access a wide range of government services and benefits, including Employment Insurance, Old Age Security, Canada Pension Plan, Social Insurance Numbers, and passports. There are Service Canada offices across Ontario.

Service Canada’s Benefits Finder suggests benefits from the Canadian and provincial governments that you may be able to get.