CIDA project sends Legal Aid to China

China’s legal aid system has been getting a bit of help from Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) and its community legal clinics. Through a special project funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), LAO and clinic staff have been working to help develop and improve legal aid for ethnic minorities, migrant workers, women and disabled people in rural China.

LAO was approached by the Canadian Bar Association to lend its experience and knowledge to the two-year project aimed at helping the world’s most populous country meet international standards on human rights and rule of law.  The project, called “The Rule of Law: Legal Aid for Marginalized Groups in China”, started in 2011 and has brought Ontario legal aid representatives to China, and Chinese delegates to Ontario.

China’s legal aid system: A brief overview

China has a national legal aid system that was first developed on the mid-1990’s after a series of turbulent historical events. During the decade-long Cultural Revolution, all legal institutions were effectively closed and it was not until the end of the Cultural Revolution in 1976 that the country’s legal system could start to rebuild.

The country established a central National Legal Aid Centre in Beijing, which governs Provincial Legal Aid Centres (PLACs) stationed in each province in China. Provincial Legal Aid Centres oversee Municipal Legal Aid Centres (MLACs) dispersed throughout the provinces. In total, there are currently over 3000 legal aid centres in China.

Legal aid services currently available to clients across the provinces can vary dramatically. There are no national standards for legal aid in China, and because legal aid services are influenced by local tax revenue, services in prosperous urban areas are often significantly more fulsome than services available in rural and remote areas.

Rural legal aid centres in China often face serious challenges with scarce resources, poorly trained staff, minimal technology infrastructure (no internet), and poor public transportation making it difficult for lawyers to see their clients. In rural parts of China there can be challenges in reaching women clients, due to a strong stigma around women taking part in public life or accessing public institutions. In China there are 200 million migrant workers and 100 million ethnic minorities, many of whom face violations of their legal rights and interests in the workplace as well as cultural and linguistic barriers in understanding and using formal legal systems to defend their rights.

 Why is LAO helping China?

China is interested in learning selectively from the experiences and legal systems of other countries as part of a broader trend toward promoting rule of law. The nation has sought assistance from CIDA to address important issues relating to human rights, rule of law, working conditions, and environmental protection.

LAO has served as a model for other jurisdictions around the world and has worked previously on legal aid development projects in China, Bangladesh and Vietnam.

LAO was approached by the Canadian Bar Association, who is the partner agency, to participate in the 2-year project. The goal of the project, which started in 2011 and will last through 2013, is to empower local representatives and give them the tools and knowledge to develop and sustain and effective legal aid system in provinces across the country.

How does the program work?

All costs relating to the project are covered by CIDA, including travel and salary compensation. Designated LAO and clinic staff have met with Chinese representatives on several occasions to exchange knowledge, provide guidance and develop a strategic plan that Chinese legal aid representatives can carry forward after the project is complete.

In October 2011 and March 2013, LAO vice president, David McKillop, Community Legal Education Ontario (CLEO) executive director, Julie Matthews and Grey-Bruce Community Legal Clinic executive director, David Balderson, traveled to China to meet Chinese legal aid representatives and visit the rural provinces participating in the pilot — Yunnan, Jilin and Liaoning — as well as China’s National Legal Aid Centre in Beijing

In June 2012 and April 2013, Chinese legal aid delegates traveled to Ontario to visit LAO’s provincial office, community legal clinics, duty counsel offices and northern communities to gain an understanding of how LAO operates across the province. During their April 2013 visit, they also visited British Columbia, in order to gain a broader understanding of legal aid service options in Canada.

The Rule of Law project is scheduled to run through December 2013, after which Chinese legal aid representatives can carry forward and disseminate the knowledge and training gained through the project. One area of focus for the remainder of the project is assessing how to make better use of technology to serve more clients.

This content was originally posted  by "baillie" on "legalaid"

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International Legal Aid Group 2013 conference: navigating with the wandering lost

How to expand access to justice using scarce legal aid resources was a prevailing theme at the International Legal Aid Group conference I recently attended. It was a very special privilege to work with Dr. Ab Currie, the leading Canadian legal aid researcher currently with the Canadian Forum for Social Justice, on a presentation that discusses the critical role “trusted intermediaries” have in increasing access to justice in Canada.

Trusted intermediaries are our unsung heroes – “problem-noticers”, community partners – new and old, members of the helping professions and others who form a bridge between legal aid services and the legal profession and people who need our help. Recent national and provincial reports have highlighted the crucial role they play in raising the legal awareness of our most vulnerable and poor citizens and ensuring they get referred for the legal help they need.

Based on the ground-breaking and historical work of Ontario’s community legal clinics and other advocates, academics and activists across Canada, our presentation identified the broad spectrum of learning needs of this special group of intermediaries. We also highlighted innovative resources that exist or are being created in Ontario and other provinces by a number of organizations, particularly Ontario’s community legal clinics. Developing clear strategies and providing resources to support these essential partners in helping to enhance access to justice needs to be an important priority for legal aid organizations.

Later this year, the findings of our literature review, key informant interviews, and focus groups will be captured in a paper that will be shared through the International Legal Aid Group’s website. Our conference presentation will be available shortly at the same site. Sharing our findings with our colleagues from other countries produced some new synergies and we uncovered other promising practices for doing this work effectively. We cannot underestimate the value of working with legal aid partners from other countries – this recent exercise has been both valuable and inspiring.

Michele Leering is the Executive Director and Lawyer at the Community Advocacy & Legal Centre in Belleville, Ontario. 

This content was originally posted  by "Michele Leering" on "legalaid

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Why we need to improve legal aid services to Ontario’s Aboriginal clients

Last month, I had the privilege of joining a panel discussion during the Indigenous Bar Association’s 25th annual conference student day for Aboriginal students. And on Nov. 20, I look forward to my role as keynote speaker for the Nishnawbe-Aski Nation Wide Justice Summit dinner (which we help fund).

These engagements provide me with a welcome opportunity to talk about the many opportunities now available at Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) for Indigenous law students and about our Aboriginal Justice Strategy. But they also raise a number of timely issues relevant to everyone interested in access to justice.

I think it is essential for LAO — and for the legal profession in general — to understand the importance of providing more supports to Ontario’s Aboriginal peoples. It’s important for LAO because we have a statutory mandate to promote access to justice throughout Ontario for low-income individuals. And it’s important to our justice system partners because awareness of Aboriginal-specific legal issues and rights are an important part of the equation when discussing how to provide improved legal aid services to Aboriginal clients who are within the Canadian justice system.

Why? The numbers speak for themselves. While Aboriginal people only make up two per cent of Ontario’s population, they are, sadly, overrepresented, within the criminal justice system — particularly Aboriginal youth — and are also overrepresented in dealing with Children’s Aid Society matters. Between April 1, 2012 and March 31, 2013 alone:

• 12 per cent of the certificates we issued during this timeframe — a total of 11,175 certificates  were to people who identified as Aboriginal. This is an increase of two per cent from the 2011/2012 fiscal year.
• 13 per cent of the certificates LAO issued for serious offences are for Aboriginal clients
• 11 per cent of LAO’s criminal certificates issued to youth are Aboriginal clients
•  9 per cent of any CFSA related certificates are issued to Aboriginal clients

We have increased accessibility of information on LAO services for Aboriginal people through LAO’s website and public legal education materials.

We have also provided ongoing support to the Nishnawbe-Aski Legal Services Corporation; the Ontario Federation of Indian Friendship Centres’ Community Justice Program; Aboriginal Legal Services of Toronto’s Gladue caseworker program in the GTA.

These accomplishments have noticeably increased understanding and awareness among LAO staff and service providers regarding Aboriginal clients and communities.

But much remains to be done — given the increasing need for Aboriginal legal representation and the woeful lack of Gladue report services to meet this demand.

We are launching another phase of our Aboriginal Justice Strategy. Our strategic priorities over the next five years will be to:

• update and improve LAO’s understanding of the legal needs and unique circumstances of Aboriginal populations in Ontario and how to address them
• strengthen LAO’s internal capacity to enhance services to Aboriginal clients and communities, and ensure sustainability of improvements
• improve and increase access to Gladue services for Aboriginal people and communities
• develop a place-based model for delivering legal aid services that is responsive to the localized needs of Aboriginal individuals and communities and in recognition of the fact that communities in different geographic areas have unique needs.

We all, however, have a role to play. We’d like to hear more about other services provided to Aboriginal people and communities, and continue to establish on-going and localized relationships with Aboriginal communities, stakeholders, and service providers.

I’d be happy to hear from you, as would LAO policy counsel Fallon Melander, who was recently elected to the Indigenous Bar Association’s Board of Directors. If you have any thoughts to share with LAO, please provide us with your feedback in the comments below.

Source: This content was originally posted  by "John McCamus" on "Legalaid"

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