The Telejustice Project

Recently, Pro Bono Law Ontario (PBLO) announced a new project developed in partnership with Nishnawbe-Aski Legal Services Corporation (NALSC) in Thunder Bay. The Telejustice Project enables pro bono lawyers throughout Ontario to improve access to justice for the Nishnawbe-Aski Nations communities (NAN communities) in northwestern Ontario.

The first phase of the Telejustice Project involves a web-based interface called Ask-a-Lawyer, which is housed on the NALSC website. The system uses an interactive question-and-answer format that enables Community Legal Workers (CLW’s) at NALSC to submit legal queries on behalf of NAN community members. These questions get dispatched to lawyers on the volunteer roster, who respond anonymously with their answers. The knowledge of these pro bono lawyers leverages the Community Legal Workers’ ability to serve their very large and remote client base.

The Telejustice Project represents a shift in the way PBLO delivers pro bono services to remote, rural communities in Ontario. An “urban-to-rural initiative”, this project model, capitalizes on the concentration of legal resources available in urban centers. By using technology to bridge distances, PBLO can complement the local pro bono services provided by small firms and sole practitioners in rural Ontario. “Lawyers throughout Ontario have told us that pro bono is an important part of the legal profession,” says Lynn Burns, Executive Director of PBLO. “However, we understand that rural practitioners face unique barriers in participating in organized pro bono. PBLO’s urban-to-rural projects will level the playing field of access to justice concerns without placing too much pressure on lawyers in rural areas."

In the case of meeting legal needs for the Nishnawbe-Aski Nation communities, the NALSC is an unusual legal clinic in that it not only delivers a wide range of legal services and alternative processes, but does so in ways that are culturally sensitive to the NAN communities’ unique values, customs and traditions. Crucial to the operation of this clinic are the staff of Community Legal Workers.

These CLW’s provide a wide range of paralegal and law-related services throughout the 49 remote NAN communities that extend from the Manitoba border on the west to James Bay on the east, occupying approximately two-thirds of Ontario. The CLWs work with justice personnel and the NAN communities to improve the administration of the Euro-Canadian legal system of justice and assist clients and their families in dealing with legal matters. Due in part to their remote geographical locations, many NAN communities struggle with challenges ranging from the effects of isolation and minimal employment opportunities to inadequate housing, community services, medical/dental services, and education. The goal of the Telejustice Project is to help lessen these geographical barriers to justice by adding technology into the mix of the clinic’s service delivery methods.

Evelyn Baxter, Executive Director of NALSC, says, “Anything we can do to support our CLW’s will have a wide impact on our communities’ ability to access justice. It’s not just the legal services being provided pro bono that is so great, this sends the message that government lawyers and the legal profession as a whole care about our community. There is tremendous value in that.”

In 2006, the second phase of the Telejustice Project will launch to include expanded legal support for Nishnawbe Aski Nations at large via the Wawatay – a bi-weekly, bilin­gual Native-language newspaper that reports on events, issues and news affecting First Nations people across the province. (see www.wawatay.on.ca) . The “Ask-a-Lawyer” website will also be expanded and made available to NAN community members. These initiatives will be implemented in direct response to the CLWs’ assessment of the greatest legal need in the communities they serve. Phase two will once again tap into the resources of pro bono lawyers.

Pro Bono Law Ontario promotes access to justice in Ontario by creating and promoting opportunities for lawyers to provide pro bono(free) legal services to persons of limited means. To learn more, visit: www.pblo.org. The Telejustice Project was funded in part by the Ontario Trillium Foundation.