Law Times

Page 2 august 18, 2014 • Law Times www.lawtimesnews.com Proposal to create three Toronto legal clinics criticized But proponents argue existing community organizations are too small By Glenn Kauth Law Times s Toronto's legal clinics prepare to consider a merger, some groups are criticizing the pending proposal to create three organizations in the city with another two for the surrounding suburbs. "at's not what we signed on for," says Tim Maxwell, who's co-ordinating a campaign against the proposal on behalf of Kensington-Bellwoods Com- munity Legal Services, of the proposal set to emerge in the coming days. e clinic is one of 16 orga- nizations that signed a memo- randum of understanding that outlined an approach to reform- ing the system in the Greater To- ronto Area. Maxwell emphasizes that the clinic hasn't withdrawn from the process that has fol- lowed but is critical of the pro- posal that's emerging to create three clinics for Toronto itself and one each for Peel and York regions. While he says the clinic isn't against change, it's not happy with the process so far and feels there hasn't been enough consul- tation. "We want to see genuine consultation with low-income communities, clients, staff, and board members of community legal clinics," he says. Other organizations have weighed in as well. "In particu- lar, we are concerned that this amalgamation does not reflect a model of community lawyer- ing that responds to the needs of low-income people," said the Law Union of Ontario in a re- cent letter to Legal Aid Ontario chief executive officer Bob Ward and the Ministry of the Attorney General. Besides the consultation is- sue, the Kensington-Bellwoods clinic is also raising concern about the merger proposal itself. "We do not believe that mega clinics reflect a community- based model for service deliv- ery," Kensington-Bellwoods clinic chairman Gary Newhouse wrote on the board's behalf in a response to the merger proposal. In response to the criticism, LAO noted it's the Toronto area clinics themselves that are lead- ing what it calls the transforma- tion project. "While Legal Aid Ontario supports this project, it is Ontario's clinics who are leading the GTA transformation project," it said in a response to the Law Union of Ontario's letter. "It's really unfortunate that they're misstating some pretty critical facts," says Jack De Klerk, one of the project leads for the transformation efforts, of the Kensington-Bellwoods clinic's position. He denies, for exam- ple, that the mergers will affect community relationships, not- ing the proposal in the works would have four community development workers at each of the new clinics. With funding constraints over the years, there are now only about three or four community development work- ers across the 17 Toronto area clinics, he points out. "When they say we're going to lose it, I would say that's unfair or inaccurate," he says, adding that under the current structure of an average of about seven or eight staff per clinic, most organiza- tions are too small to provide the range of services communities need. "If one of our administrative staff is away, we have to close for lunch," he says of his own clinic, Neighbourhood Legal Services. e merger proposal follows several years of discussions on changing how legal clinics work. e efforts culminated with a 2013 report by six east Toronto clinics aimed at finding more ef- ficient ways to deliver services. e report raised the need for mergers with more details now under consideration for the three clinics in Toronto as well as the two others proposed for Peel and York regions. Almost all Toronto area clinics signed the memorandum of understanding that acknowledged problems with the current catchment ar- eas, concerns about the ability of small organizations to increase their capacity, inconsistencies in the range of services provided, and the fact that the allocation of human resources doesn't rec- ognize changes to the location of the region's low-income popu- lation. e memorandum also emphasized the importance of community boards of directors and the need to continue the full range of services. It also ac- knowledged the need for larger clinics. In defending the merger pro- posal, De Klerk says the idea is to partner with other agencies to offer services throughout low- income neighbourhoods rather than just at clinic offices them- selves. "Our strategy is we need to go to them. We need to have access points in those communi- ties," he says, adding he disagrees with the notion that larger orga- nizations can't provide for ad- equate local services and gover- nance. "ere are lots of commu- nity agencies that are much big- ger than 30 staff," he says, citing larger community organizations in Toronto such as WoodGreen Community Services. Despite the plans for services in individual neighbourhoods, Newhouse still has concerns. "Very little content is offered regarding these 'access points,'" he said in his letter, noting his skepticism that the merged clin- ics would be able to serve local needs. At the moment, De Klerk, who's director of legal services at Neighbourhood Legal Services, says those behind the merger proposal are in the midst of fi- nalizing their report in the next week or so. Aer that, they'll be asking the clinics to offer their views on how the new structure would work for them by the end of the year. From there, the idea is to look at how to implement the changes, he says. Maxwell, though, questions the urgency of the issue. "What I haven't seen anywhere is, what's the bloody rush? What's the cri- sis? ere is no crisis. e lights aren't about to go out at legal aid." As of last Wednesday, the Kensington-Bellwoods cam- paign's online petition had close to 100 signatures. LT NEWS Alternative Legal Career with Practical Law Carswell, a omson Reuters Business, is looking for several talented individuals to join the Practical Law Canada team. Practical Law provides "know how" content to law fi rms and law departments across a range of subject areas. One of the keys to Practical Law is an in-house team of experienced lawyers with excellent writing skills to draft content and help shape the service. 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