On 13 March 2015, the Action Committee on Access to Justice in Civil and Family Matters—which was assembled in 2008 at the invitation of the Chief Justice of Canada as a catalyst for meaningful action to justice reform—convened a meeting for provincial and territorial access to justice groups in Toronto, Ontario. The groups met to discuss the future of access to justice in Canada following the...
In November 2014, the Canadian Forum on Civil Justice launched a new series on the A2J 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 CFCJ, we understand that such efforts come down to people–to the diverse advocates working in different and...
Data Collection is Complete The Canadian Forum on Civil Justice recently completed a national study that surveyed over three thousand Canadians about their everyday legal problems. The survey is part of “The Cost of Justice: Weighing the Cost of Fair and Effective Resolution to Legal Problems”—an interdisciplinary, five-year long study funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research...
What does the public think about the justice system? What does justice mean to everyday Canadians? We interviewed 99 Canadians in the Greater Toronto Area and have captured their responses in our colourful new infographic “What is Access to Justice?”You can see the infographic at: www.cfcj-fcjc.org/infographics/what-is-a2j The infographic is based on the “What is Access to Justice” project...
Your landlord refuses to address your mold problem. You were wrongfully terminated from your job. You doctor neglected to follow standard procedure. All of a sudden, you find yourself faced with a legal problem. Who do you call? Where do you start looking for help? Seeking answers to your questions seems like an impossible task, and as frustration sets in, you soon feel like giving up. This cycle...
Did you know that almost 12 million Canadians will face at least one legal problem in a given three-year period? Or that taking just a two-day civil action to trial costs between $13,500 and $37,200? Canadians today are losing their access to justice as the costs of legal services and length of legal proceedings climb steadily upwards. The Canadian Forum of Civil Justice is starting a new segment...