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Home / Cases and Law Reform / Issue Areas
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ISsue Area

Access to Justice

Thanks to the legal battles fought by feminists, certain acts that were once accepted in Canadian society – or at least tolerated – are now widely recognized as contrary to law, including marital rape, sexual harassment, and the unfair apprehension of Indigenous children. While these legal victories have been significant, without access to justice – or recourse to the legal system to enforce these rights in individual cases – the apparent gains in gender equality rights will ring hollow. 

LEAF has acted to secure and deepen access to justice for women and girls across issues and legal arenas, for instance: 

  • In the family law context, we argued that the state’s failure to pay for legal representation for parents in temporary wardship cases is unconstitutional and a failure to provide access to justice for the poor;   
  • Bringing constitutional challenges is spectacularly expensive. In Caron v. Alberta, we argued that public interest groups who are bringing lawsuits to advance the rights of marginalized and minority groups should be granted funds from the parties they are suing in order to fund their lawsuits;  
  • The make-up of a jury matters. In 2014, we argued that the systematic exclusion of Indigenous on-reserve residents from the jury roll in Ontario is discriminatory.  

LEAF will continue to fight to ensure access to justice for women and gender diverse people. 

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Current Work

LEAF’s Feminist Strategic Litigation Project

The main objective of the FSL project is to evaluate LEAF’s past strategic litigation work.
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Related Cases & Law Reform

Cases

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Canadian Alliance for Sex Work Law Reform v. Canada (Attorney General)

This case is about the constitutionality of Criminal Code sex work provisions. LEAF intervened before the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. Facts...

A.S. v. H.M.Q.

This case concerns the rights of complainants in sexual assault trials. LEAF intervened before the Supreme Court of Canada. Facts...

Canadian Council for Refugees, et al. v. Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, et al. (2021, 2022)

This case concerns the constitutionality of the Safe Third Country Agreement, and the equality rights of women fleeing gender-based violence and...

Jackson Estate v. Young (2020)

This case concerned whether or not a common-law spouse is entitled to any part of their spouse’s estate when that...
See More

Submissions

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LEAF and NWAC joint letter in support of access to justice for Indigenous people in Canada
BLAC, CAEFS, and LEAF Submission on Bill C-5
See More

News

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Supreme Court decision fails to address the mass incarceration of Indigenous women and makes equality rights claims more difficult
LEAF tells Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice to meaningfully consider sex workers’ equality rights
See More
Cases and Law Reform
  • Our Work
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    National Office
    180 Dundas Street West, Suite 1420
    Toronto, ON M5G 1Z8
    [email protected]
    Phone: 416.595.7170
    Toll-free: 1.888.824.5323
    Facsimile: 416.595.7191

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      • Board
      • Law Program Committee
      • FAQs
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    • Cases and Law Reform
      • Our Work
      • Issue Areas
        • Reproductive Justice
        • Indigenous Rights and Law
        • Identity-Based Oppression
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        • Gender-Based Violence
        • Access to Justice
        • Workplace Rights
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      • Search Cases & Submissions
      • Current Work
        • Basic Income Project
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