NEWS: Premier Doug Ford fired Attorney General Caroline Mulroney, the minister responsible for the cruel and unpopular Legal Aid cuts. Click here to send new Attorney General Doug Downey an email asking him to reverse the Legal Aid cuts now.
The Ford government made a catastrophic 30% cut to Legal Aid Ontario funding in its 2019 budget, increasing to 40% in 2021. The hardest hit are Ontario’s most vulnerable people, including women fleeing domestic violence, refugees fleeing life-threatening persecution, and innocent people facing prison because they can’t afford a lawyer.
As a result of these cuts, new costs are piling up as Ontario’s already overburdened court system will face extraordinary delays as even more people have to try to be the lawyer they can't afford. Research shows this means court proceedings take much longer and there is a higher likelihood of appeal.
There are three things you can do now to help stop these cuts:
- Send Premier Doug Ford and your MPP an email to tell them to stop these heinous cuts. It's easy using the form a little lower down on this page.
- Join the fight to stop legal aid cuts. Whether you're a group or individual, we need your support so click here to sign-up.
- Tell us your access to justice story.