No Funding For The Disadvantaged In Ontario

Sounds like a culling for 4 years, with nothing to suggest paralegals being allowed tap into Legal Aid funding for the disadvantaged.


Ron Payne
Welfare Legal
Hamilton, Ontario


The Law Society of Upper Canada (LSUC) has committed to expanding the paralegal scope of practice over the next four years.
Presented to Convocation Dec. 4, the Priority Planning Committee strategic plan report to Convocation outlines significant changes that will have a dramatic effect on the future of legal services in Ontario. The changes are “robust and ambitious,” affecting paralegal education entry standards, mentoring, professional development, and competence assurance, in addition to expanding the scope of practice.
Paralegal-specific measures in the Strategic Plan 2015–2019 include:

• Working to ensure that high quality instruction is being offered by the accredited institutions that educate paralegal licensee candidates
• Examining enhancements to the paralegal licensing requirements, including possible additional education and training prior to entering an accredited paralegal program
• Exploring the expansion of areas of practice and delivery of services by paralegal licensees

http://paralegalscope.com/scope-to-expand-over-next-four-years/

Wrong message

On Friday I had a phone call wanting someone that doesn’t live here. After saying they had got the wrong number, the caller started to tell me about a homeless shelter for abused women here in Hamilton called Interval House.

The caller explained that women could stay there 27 days and that they were mostly full to capacity. He went on to say that he works for a fund rising company and they wanted to know if I would be willing to donate to this organization.

I asked hem a few questions that he could not answer except for one. I asked him what happens to all the people that they turn away because they are full. His answer was they refer them to other shelters.
My two questions are.

a) What percent of my donated dollar goes to the charity?
b) Why would I donate to an organization that wants money to simply refer people to another shelter?

Ron Payne
Welfare Legal
Hamilton, Ontario
Email welfarelegal2004@hotmail.com
Blog http://welfarelegal.blogspot.ca/

ODSP And Legal Aid

A single on ODSP does not qualify for a legal aid certificate, according to this article, because they receive too much money.

When did this change?


Who is responsible for this?


Why?

But when it comes to eligibility criteria for legal aid, Ontario is on the low end. In a province with a median family income of $73,290, the cut off for a legal aid certificate is $10,800 for a single-person household and $18,684 for a family of two people.
http://www.lawtimesnews.com/201401203721/headline-news/how-does-ontario-legal-aid-compare

Handing out gift cards after the ice storm was a scripted failure and nobody new.

Handing out gift cards after the ice storm was a scripted failure and nobody new.

Not the government, not the legal clinics and not the media

The people of Ontario would have been better served if help was distributed in this manor. 

Stay tune for more on this issue.

 Ontario Works Act.

Who receives emergency assistance

9.  Emergency assistance may be provided in accordance with the regulations to or for the benefit of a person who meets the prescribed conditions. 1997, c. 25, Sched. A, s. 9.

Ontario Works Regulations

Emergency Assistance

56.  (1)  If an applicant requires assistance because of an emergency, emergency assistance may be paid for a period of not more than one-half of a month and thereafter assistance shall only be paid after an application for income assistance has been made under Part II. O. Reg. 134/98, s. 56 (1).

(2)  The administrator may provide emergency assistance under this section if the administrator is satisfied that,

(a) the applicant does not have enough money or assets and is unable to obtain credit necessary to provide for the basic needs and shelter needs for his or her benefit unit; and

(b) a failure to provide the emergency assistance will result in danger to the physical health of a member of the benefit unit or in one or more dependent children being unable to continue to reside with his or her parent who has requested the emergency assistance. O. Reg. 134/98, s. 56 (2).

Ron Payne

Welfare Legal

Hamilton, Ontario

Email welfarelegal2004@hotmail.com

Blog http://welfarelegal.blogspot.ca/

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ron.payne.165

The Gods Have Intervened

Harry represents one side—employees, tenants, trade unionists, women, the disabled, the poor and homeless, the young and aged. Blight represents bosses, big governments, major corporations, polluters and industrial magnates and perpetrators of discriminatory and unsafe practices in the workplace.

Will She Stay or Will She Go?

http://harrykopyto.ca/2013/10/25...

The Gods Have IntervenedIt’s hard to know where to begin. Once you jump through the rabbit-hole into the world of Big Law’s moral police, it’s a different reality.  What others may give you a medal...

Big Brother WILL Be Watching And It Might Cost You

But cards have occasionally been the subject of controversy. State and federal politicians have sought to prevent recipients from using them at casinos, liquor stores and tattoo parlours, among other places. Advocates for the poor, in turn, have argued that governments should not use the cards to try to engineer social behaviour.

Other details, such as whether withdrawals will be subject to ATM fees, are still to be determined.

The article fails to mention that now recipients without bank accounts can cash their cheques at the bank it is drawn on, at no charge and without ID.

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2011/08/08/debit_cards_to_replace_welfare_cheques.html

For the latest on the merging of the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) and Ontario Works (OW) go to http://welfarelegal.blogspot.ca/

Ron Payne

Welfare Legal

Hamilton Ontario

Email welfarelegal2004@hotmail.com

Blog  http://welfarelegal.blogspot.ca/