Queen’s Legal Aid (QLA) will expand all of its services and broaden its outreach initiatives in Kingston and the surrounding area thanks to additional funding from Legal Aid Ontario (LAO).

LAO recently announced it would provide an additional $100,000 annually for each of the seven student legal aid services in the province. QLA will use the resources to expand its current services, launch new outreach initiatives, and improve the learning experience for law students.

“Thanks to the increased investment from Legal Aid Ontario and the Ontario government, we will have additional capacity to provide legal services to low-income residents of Kingston and the surrounding area, and students at Queen’s and St. Lawrence College,” says Faculty of Law Dean Bill Flanagan.

The areas of practice at QLA include relatively minor criminal offences, serious provincial offences, landlord/tenant disputes, provincial social assistance, Canada Pension Plan appeals, Small Claims Court and Criminal Injuries Compensation Board claims. With the funding increase, QLA will expand to handle applications and appeals to the Ontario Human Rights Commission and represent clients in employment law cases.

In addition, QLA will move forward with new services including public legal education outreach initiatives aimed at advising local residents of their legal rights and helping them avoid unnecessary legal interventions. The overall QLA program will grow with the training of new caseworkers, the hiring of a new review counsel, and making use of technology to enhance the legal learning process for students and clients.

“Law students working at QLA under the supervision of review counsel receive invaluable hands-on experience,” says Jana Mills, Acting Senior Review Counsel, QLA. “They take pride in providing high quality legal services to members of our community who could not otherwise access their rights. Under the umbrella of Queen’s Law Clinics, QLA looks forward to the expansion of services this new funding permits.” 

Established in 1971, QLA recently co-located to the LaSalle Mews building in downtown Kingston with the faculty’s other law clinics: Business Law, Elder Law, Family Law, and Prison Law.

Queen’s Faculty of Law is a leader in providing excellent experiential learning opportunities through its clinical programs. Last year, the faculty launched the Queen’s Family Law Clinic with the financial support of LAO.

When each clinic reaches its target enrolment, 100 upper-year students – approximately 50 per cent of the class – will have the option to earn academic credit from a clinical law course every year. Furthermore, more than 70 students volunteer annually with QLA.

Visit Queen’s Law Clinics for more information.