Legal Aid is a government program that offer low-income clients free legal help with various types of legal problems.

The areas of law typically covered by Legal Aid in various provinces in Canada are refugee law, criminal law, and family law. There are differences between the Legal Aid programs in each province, so you should consult with the program in your own province to better understand what help may be available to you.

Kinds of Legal Aid in Canada

1. Lawyers in Private Practice

– the government gives legal aid certificates to eligible individuals and these individuals use the certificates when hiring lawyers in private practice. Legal Aid pays these lawyers a fixed rate of pay for a maximum number of hours per legal matter. Many provinces will only give legal aid certificates for family, refugee, or criminal matters, not for civil matters (so, not for employment, Wills, contracts, personal injury etc.). Legal Aid programs are available in AB, BC, MN, NB, NT, ON.

2. Staff Lawyers in a Clinic

– the government funds clinics for the public who can access free legal information, and sometimes free representation, through these clinics. Clinics often assist with civil matters for which individuals cannot get a legal aid certificate, such as immigration, disability law, or other civil matters. There are legal aid clinics in NL, NS, ON, PEI, SK, YK.

3. Combination of Both

– available in QC, ON

4. Duty Counsel

– the government pays individual lawyers (called duty counsel) to attend the Court house on specific days; these lawyers are available only that day to give advice and assist individuals who otherwise have no lawyer. Duty counsel lawyers are not hired by each individual person; instead, duty counsel give advice on the spot, and only for that day. Duty counsel are typically only available for family or criminal matters, such as before family case conferences, before bail hearings or before entering a plea.

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