LEGAL AID ONTARIO 2020-21 2022-23 PUBLIC BUSINESS PLAN Table of contents Submitted: February 28, 2020 Approved: October 2, 2020 Section (hide this) Page # Explanatory note ........................................................ 1 Updated: January 13, 2021 Mandate ..................................................................... 2 Overview of programs and activities .......................... 5 LAO priorities ............................................................. 10 Highlights of environmental scan ............................... 14 Inclusion and diversity plan and multi-year 16 accessibility plan ........................................................ Budget summary ........................................................ 18 Organizational health performance measures ........... 20 Legal Aid Ontario 40 Dundas Street West, Suite 200 Toronto, Ontario M5G 2H1 Toll free: 1-800-668-8258 Email: [email protected] Website: www.legalaid.on.ca Ce document est disponible en français. Legal Aid Ontario receives financial assistance from the Government of Ontario, the Law Foundation of Ontario, and the Government of Canada. Legal Aid Ontario | 2020-21 - 2022-23 Business Plan 1 / 1 Explanatory Note A draft of this plan was submitted to the Ministry of the Attorney General on December 31, 2019 and the final version was prepared and submitted to LAO’s Board of Directors for approval in March 2020. The plan was subsequently updated and approved by LAO’s Board on October 2, 2020. The originally submitted version of the plan did not include any information with respect to how LAO and the justice system was responding to COVID-19 pandemic (both in the immediate and longer term). LAO’s response to COVID, and the longer-term changes arising from it, will be addressed in the 2021-24 Business Plan that is being prepared for review by the Board in December. Legal Aid Ontario | 2020-21 - 2022-23 Business Plan 1 / 22 Mandate As of February 2020, LAO operates in accordance with the Legal Aid Services Act, 1998 (LASA). Under LASA, Legal Aid Ontario was established as a corporation independent from but accountable to the Government of Ontario. Legal Aid Ontario has a statutory mandate to promote access to justice throughout Ontario for low-income individuals by means of: • Providing consistently high quality legal aid services in a cost-effective and efficient manner; • Encouraging and facilitating flexibility and innovation in the provision of legal aid services; • Identifying, assessing and recognizing the diverse legal needs of low-income individuals and of disadvantaged communities in Ontario; and • Providing legal aid services to low-income individuals through a corporation that will operate independently from the Government of Ontario but within a framework of accountability to the Government of Ontario for the expenditure of public funds. In fulfilling this mandate, Legal Aid Ontario is committed to providing services which recognize the importance of diversity, access, equity, creativity, and quality. LAO has reviewed the new legislation for its impact on the organization’s mandate and vision and will incorporate any changes or necessary adjustments its strategic plan and business priorities going forward. Governance LAO’s governance structure is outlined in the LASA, which identifies the agency’s accountability relationship with the Province of Ontario; board terms and composition; areas of law where legal aid services are to be provided; methods of providing legal aid; eligibility; corporate powers; finances and administration. LAO’s administration is also governed by a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Attorney General and the Chair of LAO. The Chair of LAO and the Attorney General signed an MOU in November 2014. The MOU: • Confirms the accountability relationships between the Minister and LAO through its Chair • Clarifies the roles and responsibilities of the Minister, the Chair, the Deputy Minister, the President and the Board • Establishes the expectations for the operational, administrative, financial, auditing and Legal Aid Ontario | 2020-21 - 2022-23 Business Plan 2 / 22 reporting arrangements between LAO and the Ministry of the Attorney General • Establishes the mutual expectations of information exchanges; and • Complies with the requirement that an MOU be established, under section 71 of the LASA and the Agencies and Appointments Directive. Current board appointees and terms of office Nomination/ Term of Effective Name Title Lawyer End date appointment office date Charles Chair Attorney 2 years Yes April 11/19 April 10/21 Harnick General Remy Board Attorney 2 years No Jan. 8/18 Serving Boulbol Member General at the pleasure of the Lieutenant Governor Nancy Board Law Society 2 years + Yes Feb. 18/09 Serving Cooper Member 3 years + at the 3 years + pleasure 3 years of the Lieutenant Governor Christa Board Law Society 2 years + No July 22/15 July 21/20 Freiler Member 3 years Carol Board Law Society 2 years + Yes Sept. Sept. Hartman Member 3 years 30/15 29/20 Malcolm Board Attorney 2 years Yes June 6/19 June 5/21 Heins Member General Peter Board Attorney 2 years No Dec. 31/18 Dec. 30/20 Owsiany Member General Michel Board Attorney 2 years + No July 22/15 July 21/20 Robillard Member General 3 years Sean Board Law Society 2 years Yes Dec. 31/18 Dec. 30/20 Robichaud Member David Board Attorney 2 years No June 20/19 June 19/21 Wexler Member General Legal Aid Ontario | 2020-21 - 2022-23 Business Plan 3 / 22 Nomination/ Term of Effective Name Title Lawyer End date appointment office date Ann Marie Board Law Society 2 years No March Serving Yantz Member 22/17 at the pleasure of the LG David President LAO Board N/A No Jan. 1/16 N/A Field & CEO / of Directors Ex Officio Board Member Legal Aid Ontario | 2020-21 - 2022-23 Business Plan 4 / 22 Overview of Programs and Activities LAO provides legal assistance to approximately 1 million financially and legally eligible clients annually, through a range of services. Administratively, LAO consists of a provincial office, located in Toronto, and six districts based on the Ontario judicial districts. The regions and respective districts are as follows: • the Northern Region (Northeast and Northwest districts and Parry Sound) • Central East District (Barrie, Muskoka, Oshawa, Newmarket) • Eastern District (Ottawa and vicinity west to Belleville) • Toronto District (Toronto Central, Toronto North) • Central West District (Hamilton, Halton, Peel, Orangeville/Dufferin); and • West District (Essex, Lambton and Kent, London, and Kitchener/Waterloo and Guelph/ Wellington). Legal aid assistance is available through: a) Calling LAO’s Client Lawyer Service Centre (CLSC) toll-free from anywhere in Can- ada. Service is provided in more than 200 languages, including 18 Aboriginal lan- guages and dialects, through simultaneous interpretation services. LAO’s CLSC provides general information on the range of legal aid services available to eligible clients, how to apply and who is eligible. In addition, the CLSC provides referrals to other programs and services, such as duty counsel, community and student legal clinics, the Ontario Disability Support Program, Ontario Works, the Family Responsibility Office, Citizenship and Immigration Canada, the Ontario Labour Relations Board, shelters, and other community resources. Figure 1 illustrates the number of phone calls answered by the CLSC over the past two years. Calls are streamed into two tiers. On tier 1 calls clients are matched to the appropriate service and referred to other programs. On tier 2 calls clients are assessed for financial eligibility, provided with legal information, or referred to staff lawyers for legal advice in family law, criminal law or immigration and refugee law. Clients can also apply for a legal aid certificate. Legal Aid Ontario | 2020-21 - 2022-23 Business Plan 5 / 22 FIGURE 1: NUMBER OF PHONE CALLS ANSWERED BY TIER b) Speaking with a duty counsel lawyer or an LAO staff worker at one of 57 courthouse locations. Duty counsel services are provided, either by staff lawyers or by private practice lawyers who are paid on a per diem basis, in courthouses in Ontario including more than 30 remote and fly-in locations. Duty counsel lawyers provide front line advice, information and representation to individuals who would otherwise be unrepresented and unassisted. Figure 2 shows the number of duty counsel assists provided by area of law. In appropriate cases, especially vulnerable clients facing criminal charges can Legal Aid Ontario | 2020-21 - 2022-23 Business Plan 6 / 22 be referred to the Senior Counsel Program. This program provides full-service representation including trials and appeals, through a staff lawyer model across the province, to clients who meet the Duty Counsel financial guidelines and who are unable to access justice without this assistance. FIGURE 2: TOTAL PERSONS ASSISTED BY DUTY COUNSEL AND AREA OF LAW (2018/19) Number of persons assisted by duty counsel 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 Criminal 441,840 439,030 460,988 508,679 516,160 Civil 161,599 154,337 144,989 139,977 138,063 Total 603,439 593,367 605,977 648,656 654,223 c) Receiving a legal aid certificate issued by LAO staff in district offices, court locations and through LAO’s CLSC, to retain a private lawyer to represent them in proceedings before criminal or family courts and administrative tribunals, including the Immigration and Refugee Board. When a client receives a legal aid certificate, he or she can take it to one of more than 4,000