CFCJ November 2014 Newsletter

New Blog Series: Access to Justice Advocates

We are excited to launch a new series on our blog titled Access to Justice Advocates. The series is a response to recent reports that have underscored the importance of innovation and imagination in the pursuit of access to justice. At the Canadian Forum on Civil Justice, we understand that such efforts come down to people - to the diverse advocates working in different and important ways across the access to justice landscape. This month we are pleased to feature Dianne Wintermute, Staff Lawyer at the ARCH Disability Law Centre.

Dianne Wintermute has been working in the community legal clinic system for over 25 years. Called to the bar in 1986, Dianne has extensive litigation experience representing individuals and disability organizations in cases involving the advancement of the rights of people with disabilities and people living in poverty. She has advocated in various tribunals and all levels of the court, including the Supreme Court of Canada. Dianne joined ARCH Disability Law Centre as a staff lawyer in 2009. Prior to ARCH, she was the Executive Director of East Toronto Community Legal Services from 1991 - 2009.

The Canadian Forum on Civil Justice had the exciting opportunity to visit the ARCH offices to chat with Dianne about her work in disability law and her continued dedication to access to justice issues. Dianne brought a unique perspective to our A2J discussion with her extensive experience at the intersection of law and mental health. Dianne spoke to the CFCJ about the changes she believes need to be made both within and outside of the legal field to target impediments to access to justice such as increasing client capacity, autonomy and decision-making power.

Check out her video interview here.

Lives on Simmer! Early Intervention for People Living on the Margins

by Ab Currie

Over the past few months we have been following the progress of the Halton Community Legal Clinic's Legal Health Check-Up Project. This month Ab Currie brings us up to speed on the early days of implementation.

The Legal Health Check-Up Project developed by the Halton Community Legal Clinic has been running for about three months through the early phase of implementation, monitoring and course correction. Project experience is a good teacher and the very early data and project experience is teaching the project team some interesting lessons. One of the main concepts underlying the Legal Health Check-Up Project was that the partnerships between the legal aid clinic and the intermediary groups would allow early intervention and the ability to prevent problems from becoming more complex and difficult to deal with...

Nabila Khan

Canadian Forum on Civil Justice Research Assistant

Nabila Khan, BA Hons (McMaster), is currently enrolled in the JD program at Osgoode Hall Law School. Nabila spent the summer of 2014 working with the International Women's Rights Project (IWRP) and Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST) in Dhaka, Bangladesh to research the experiences of female factory workers in the Ready-Made Garment industry. Building on previous work by IWRP, her research focused on the effects of working conditions on health and safety, wage and sustainability, mental health, ability to fulfill domestic responsibilities and worker autonomy to negotiate. Nabila is currently a student at ARCH Disability Law Centre as part of Osgoode Hall's Disability Law Intensive Program. She is also an active member of the Osgoode Feminist Collective and a volunteer workshop coordinator for LEAF's 'No Means No' program. Nabila is co-producing the Access to Justice Advocates blog series with Sabreena Delhon.

University of Calgary Hosts Access to Justice Double Header

This week Trevor Farrow participated in a panel discussion at the University of Calgary titled “Access to Justice and the Rule of Law: Conflict or Convergence?” The panel also featured Janet Keeping, Leader of the Green Party of Alberta and was moderated by Professor Alice Wooley. The discussion was part of the the two-day Access to Justice Double Header event which closed with a presentation from Supreme Court Justice Thomas Cromwell, titled “Access to Justice: Next Steps.” For photos from the event check our Facebook page.

Better Justice Together

On November 18 Trevor Farrow was among the invited stakeholders and justice system participants at the Better Justice Together Conference hosted by the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General along with the Law Society of Upper Canada and the Action Group on Access to Justice. The event launched Attorney General Meilleur’s four-year plan to improve access to justice in Ontario. Improvements revolved modernizing processes and technologies and providing enhanced support for individuals with mental health issues.

2014 Isaac Pitblado Lectures – Accessing Justice: Beyond Barriers

On November 28 Trevor Farrow, Supreme Court Justice Thomas Cromwell and CFCJ Board Member Melina Buckley are speaking at the 2014 Isaac Pitblado Lectures – Accessing Justice: Beyond Barriers. The event will examine the transformative activities surrounding access to justice in Canada – particularly those related to legal education and professional practice. The 2014 Pitblado Lectures are jointly presented by the Law Society of Manitoba, the Manitoba Bar Association and the University of Manitoba, Faculty of Law.

NOVEMBER 2014