Legal Resources

Access ProBono operates a free lawyer referral service and several pro bono programs serving the legal needs of people and non-profit organizations across British Columbia.

The Community Legal Assistance Program provides legal assistance to low-income people across British Columbia, including summary legal advice, guidance to help you represent yourself, and full representation. They also run a Sexual Harassment Advice, Response, and Prevention for Workplaces (SHARP) program, which provides up to five hours of free confidential legal advice.

Rise Women’s Legal Centre offers services regarding family law matters for individuals who self-identify as women or gender diverse in British Columbia.

The UBC Indigenous Community Legal Clinic provides legal services to the Indigenous community, including possible legal advice, assistance, and representation to eligible clients.

The Disability Alliance BC Disability Law Clinic provides free legal advice to people with disabilities about human rights and discrimination.

The BC Human Rights Clinic provides free legal services to people who need help with a provincial human rights complaint, including summary advice, 1-2 hours of legal assistance, or legal representation for those who are eligible.

Legal Resources Available in Alberta

Pro Bono Law Alberta offers:

civil claims Duty Counsel services (brief legal assistance to self-represented litigants with civil matters before the Alberta Court of Justice in Calgary and Edmonton)
King’s Bench Court Assistance (brief legal assistance to self-represented litigants with civil matters before the King’s Bench in Calgary and Edmonton)
help for non-profits with discrete legal matters.

The Women’s Centre of Calgary hosts a free Legal Advice Clinic for women (includes anyone who identifies as a woman. The clinic addresses and provides advice on family issues, civil cases, immigration, criminal law and some other types of law, but does not provide legal representation.

Alberta has multiple community legal clinics. Each offers different legal services to low- to moderate-income Albertans who have a legal issue but do not qualify for Legal Aid. Their locations include:

The Alberta Legal Information Centre provides free and confidential legal information, guidance, and support to people with civil, criminal, or administrative law issues, in both English and French. They also provide legal information brochures, booklets, and online tools for the francophone community in Alberta. Their services include referrals to bilingual francophone lawyers, referrals to other Alberta organizations, workshops and information sessions, telephone or email consultations, and access to a notary public and commissioner for oaths by appointment. There are no eligibility criteria to access the Alberta Legal Information Centre’s services, other than being a resident of Alberta.

Legal Resources Available in Saskatchewan

Pro Bono Law Saskatchewan provides free legal services to low-income Saskatchewan residents in 15 free legal clinics across the province. At the Free Legal Clinics, clients can receive up to one hour of free legal advice from a volunteer lawyer.

The Public Legal Education Association of Saskatchewan runs the Shift Project, which offers services to anyone who has experienced sexual harassment or violence at work and to anyone who wants to understand whether something that has happened at work is sexual harassment under the law. The program is available to individuals of any age or gender, regardless of income, and no matter how long ago the incident occurred. It offers up to 4 hours of free legal advice.

Legal Resources Available in Manitoba

The Community Legal Education Association operates a Law Phone-In & Lawyer Referral Program, which provides:

general legal information and advice over the phone in response to callers’ inquiries
referrals to law-related agencies where appropriate
a referral to a lawyer on the Lawyer Referral panel where appropriate (the first interview with that lawyer is free, up to half an hour)

CLEA also operates a Workplace Sexual Harassment Hotline for Manitoba.

The Legal Help Centre operates in-person drop-in clinics on a first-come, first-served basis, serving low-income self-represented people. It provides guidance on process, legal information, summary legal advice or referrals to other agencies. In some situations, it may be able to provide further assistance, such as by drafting court documents, writing letters, helping prepare for court, and legal research.

Legal Resources Available in Ontario

Pro Bono Ontario connects volunteer lawyers with Ontarians who can’t afford a lawyer. Their Legal Advice Hotline provides up to 30 minutes of legal assistance on civil matters excluding family and criminal law. Their Workplace Sexual Harassment Hotline provides free legal assistance. They also run a Supreme Court Pro Bono program which provides help with applications for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court.

The Human Rights Legal Support Centre offers human rights legal services to individuals throughout Ontario who have experienced discrimination contrary to Ontario’s Human Rights Code. They provide advice over the phone, assist with filing human rights applications, and represent applicants at various stages of the process at the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (HRTO).

The ARCH Disability Law Centre provides free confidential legal advice to persons with disabilities across Ontario on certain disability-related areas of the law through their Summary Advice and Referral Service.

The HIV & AIDS Legal Clinic Ontario (HALCO) provides free legal services for people living with HIV/AIDS in Ontario in various areas of law, including:

income security
housing/tenant law
immigration/refugee law
HIV and criminal law
employment law
health law and HIV
human rights
powers of attorney and wills
private insurance law
consumer and debt law
HIV and prison law
family law

The Black Legal Action Centre provides free legal services to low and no income Black Ontarians who are facing a legal issue directly related to anti-Black racism, including legal representation, summary legal advice, and help filling out forms.

Luke’s Place supports women who have been subjected to abuse through the family law process. For women in the Durham region, they provide in-person family law support through legal information, summary legal advice, and help preparing forms and evidence. For women elsewhere in Ontario, they offer a Virtual Legal Clinic where women dealing with abuse and family law can receive free legal advice from a lawyer.

The Barbra Schlifer Commemorative Clinic in Toronto provides free legal services to women who have experienced violence and abuse, including in the following :

spousal assault/domestic violence
adult sexual assault
childhood sexual violence
violence against you as a woman in your home country

They can give you information about your legal rights, the legal protections available to you, and your legal options in court. The Clinic also operates It’s My Choice, a program that offers independent legal advice and representation to survivors of sexual assault and intimate partner violence.

The Ontario government provides funding for independent legal advice for women, men, and gender-diverse people who have experienced sexual assault in Ontario and currently live in Ontario. The program provides for up to four hours of free legal advice.

The Ontario Legal Information Centre provides bilingual legal information and referral services to anyone in Ontario with a legal problem. The Centre d’information juridique de l’Ontario’s services include free 30-minue virtual meetings with a lawyer to anyone with a legal issue in Ontario (no eligibility criteria) and workshops both online and in person. They also provide referrals virtually.

CLEO’s Steps to Justice website provides information in English and French on legal topics like abuse and violence, family law, and income assistance. CLEO’s Guided Pathways, a free online tool to help fill out legal forms, draft letters, and identify next steps, is available through the website in English and French.

Legal Resources Available in Québec

Justice Pro Bono is a non-profit that mobilizes the legal community to donate expertise and time for those in Québec who do not have the resources to access legal services. Their services include:

the General Assistance program, which connects people unable to pay for a lawyer or notary with free legal representation; it is available everywhere in the province and covers various areas of law.
a family law program that offers families going through separation access to legal and psychosocial resources (including up to 45 minutes of videoconferencing with a lawyer or notary)
assistance in filling out immigration forms for refugee claimants
immigration law information service for temporary foreign workers with a closed work permit (available in English, French and Spanish)
legal services for patients and their families, available to patients in healthcare facilities that have entered into a Medical-Legal Partnership with Justice Pro Bono.
free legal consultations on immigration matters offered to migrants with no secure status and no medical coverage, in partnership with Médecins du Monde (available to patients of Médecins du Monde only)a mobile legal clinic providing free legal information and advice to communities in Nunavik several times a year

Juripop offers access to legal services at low cost for people turned away from legal aid, but still unable to pay for a lawyer, including:

legal assistance
court representation in Montreal, Laval and Longueil
drafting documents
accompaniment in negotiations and mediations

The YWCA Legal Information Clinic in Montréal offers confidential, one-on-one 30-minute consultations with experienced volunteer lawyers and notaries on a variety of topics for women and their families ranging from 0$-20$. They also offer legal workshops and a Community Legal Corner, a program with free legal information, support, and accompaniment services.

The Coalition des organismes communautaires québécois de lutte contre le SIDA (COCQ-SIDA) offers a free HIV Info Rights service, a legal information service provided by a lawyer on legal issues related to HIV/AIDS, for people living with HIV/AIDS, or for those living in a situation where the rights of people living with HIV/AIDS are affected.

Head and Hands is a community organization that serves youth ages 12-25. In addition to many other services, they provide urgent access to legal consultation for youth involved in criminal law issues. They also host regular virtual legal clinics in several other areas of law, including family law, employment law, and tenant law. Head and Hands also provides a Commissioner of Oaths service which youth can use to change their name or sex designation on official documents. They also provide workshops on topics like police interactions, renters’ rights, and workers’ rights for youth.

Legal Resources Available in Nova Scotia

Legal Info Nova Scotia offers legal information on a range of topics. It also provides:

Lawyer and Mediator Referral Services

a Workplace Sexual Harassment Legal Advice Program, which offers up to 4 hours of free legal advice

Family Law Nova Scotia is a website that offers legal information relating to the law, processes, and services that make up family law in Nova Scotia.

Legal Info Nova Scotia offers legal information on a range of topics. It also provides lawyer and mediator referral services and a Workplace Sexual Harassment Legal Advice Program, which offers up to 4 hours of free legal advice.

Legal Resources Available in New Brunswick

The Public Legal Education and Information Service of New Brunswick offers legal information on a range of topics and operates a toll-free family law information line and virtual family law information centre.

Legal Resources Available in Prince Edward Island

Prince Edward Island has a Pro Bono Legal Advice Clinic for Self-Represented Litigants which offers free summary legal advice to self-represented litigants in the areas of family law and civil law. The clinic is by appointment only and allows self-represented litigants to meet with a volunteer lawyer in private for a 45-minute consultation.

Legal Info PEI provides legal information and support navigating the justice system to people in PEI. Some areas of law they provide information on include sexual violence, criminal law, and family law. They also provide specific resources for youth on cyberbullying, sexting, consent, child protection, and youth rights. Legal Info PEI also has legal navigators who help clients understand PEI’s legal systems and laws and can refer clients for low-cost legal advice through their lawyer referral service.

Legal Resources Available in Newfoundland and Labrador

The Public Legal Information Association of Newfoundland and Labrador provides general legal information online and operates a legal information line and a lawyer referral service. They also run the Journey Project, which offers a Sexual Violence Legal Support Service providing up to 4 hours of free legal advice for individuals who have experienced sexual violence.