Advocacy North for Elders and Seniors is a program run by community legal clinics in Northern Ontario. They offer legal help and advice to elders and seniors who have low incomes and are dealing with legal issues related to their age.  

They offer free and confidential help and advice in these areas: 

• retirement homes and long-term care homes 
• consent and capacity 
• wills and powers of attorney  
• elder abuse  
• consumer rights including scams 

There are Home and Community Care Support Services organizations across Ontario that decide who receives home and community care services. They decide the level of care people need and how long they’ll get that care. They also provide placement services for long-term care homes.

They were previously called Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs).

The Retirement Homes Regulatory Authority is an independent, self-funded, not-for-profit organization. It’s mandated by the government to protect and ensure the safety and well-being of seniors living in Ontario’s retirement homes.

This Action Line can assist people with complaints about home and community care by helping them contact the Home and Community Care Support Services office that arranged the care. It can also refer them to an Independent Complaints Facilitator for additional help. Complaints made through this Action Line will not be investigated by government officials.

The Government of Ontario has a Long-Term Care Family Support and ACTION Line. It is toll-free at 1-866-434-0144.

This line is for making urgent complaints about a long-term care home. Complaints are urgent if they are about harm, neglect, or danger to residents.

An official from the Ministry of Long-Term Care will investigate your complaint. This may include an inspection of the home.

Hours of operation: 8:30 a.m.-7 p.m., 7 days a week.

The Patient Ombudsman can help with complaints about public hospitals, long-term care homes, and Home and Community Care Support Services. But before contacting the Ombudsman, you must first try to resolve the complaint with the organization itself. Then, if you’re not satisfied with the outcome, you can make a complaint to the Ombudsman.

Legal Aid Ontario funds the Advocacy Centre for the Elderly (ACE). It is a community legal clinic that gives services to seniors with low incomes in the areas of:

• Health care consent and advance care planning
• Consumer protection
• Elder abuse
• Health care
• Home care
• Long-term care homes
• Pensions and income
• Retirement homes

ACE does not help with wills or powers of attorney, or give legal advice on estate administration, real estate, criminal law, or family law matters.

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 (IAVGO) Community Legal Clinic
• Injured Workers Community Legal Clinic
• Workers Health and Safety Legal Clinic

Elder Abuse Prevention Ontario has compiled a searchable database intended to assist seniors, families, caregivers and service providers in navigating the system of available supports, programs and services in Ontario, to assist older adults who have experienced or are at-risk of abuse.

The Seniors Safety Line is a 24/7, confidential and free resource that provides information, referrals and support in over 150 languages for seniors experiencing abuse.

Call 1-866-299-1011 for support.

If you are in danger right now, call 911 or your local police.

The helpline is a 24-hour telephone and TTY crisis line for women who have experienced abuse. It helps women in over 200 languages, and offers counselling, support, information, and referrals to legal and community services.

You can call them or text #SAFE (#7233) on a Bell, Rogers, Fido, or Telus mobile phone.

The Seniors Centre helps older adults or their families/friends in the GTA with financial, psychological, physical or neglect situations. Staff help you work through your situation and to come up with options on what you can do.

There is no income test.

Services are available in-person every Tuesday from 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. or call 416-651-8300 and leave a message for the coordinator. Services are provided under the guidance of the Prevention of Elder Abuse Coalition of Etobicoke and York (PEACE).