HALCO provides legal services to people living with or affected by HIV in Ontario. HALCO’s legal services include summary legal advice, brief legal services, referrals and legal representation. For information about other legal services in Ontario, please scroll down.
HALCO Legal Services
Summary Legal Advice, Brief Services & Referrals
HALCO provides free summary legal advice and brief services in our Areas of Legal Practice [see below]. There are no financial eligibility guidelines for HALCO summary advice and brief services. If we cannot provide assistance, we will do our best to provide referrals to other services.
Representation
Legal representation is free and available to clients who meet financial eligibility guidelines and whose legal problem is within our Areas of Legal Practice [see below]. If HALCO is unable to provide representation, we will do our best to provide referrals to other services.
HALCO’s Areas of Legal Practice Include:
- Income Security (including Ontario Disability Support Program, Ontario Works, Canada Pension Plan, Old Age Security)
- Housing (tenants, Co-op members, etc.)
- Human Rights (federal and provincial)
- Employment Standards
- Immigration
- Private Insurance Matters
- Substitute Decision Making and Powers of Attorney
- Regulated Health Professions Complaints
- HIV-related Prison Matters
- Criminal Injuries Compensation Board applications for victims of crime
- Other Administrative Law Matters
Although we do not practice all areas of law, we may be able to provide information or referrals to other services. For example, if you have a family law problem, please call us for information and referrals.
If you are facing HIV-related criminal charges, please call us right away.
You can visit our Areas of Law pages for general information about many legal topics.
Other Legal Services in Ontario
The following sections provide information about a number of other legal services available in Ontario, including community legal clinics (like HALCO) and other Legal Aid Ontario services, for example Legal Aid certificates, advice lawyers, and duty counsel. Private lawyers and licensed paralegals also provide legal services and usually charge fees. Law Help Ontario provides free legal information, resources and services.
Community legal clinics
Community legal clinics provide free legal services to people across Ontario. Legal clinics are independent not-for-profit organizations with volunteer Boards of Directors. There are two types of community legal clinics:
- General community legal clinics that provide services to people in the clinic’s local community, and,
- Specialty community legal clinics, like HALCO, that provide services to a particular group of people or in a particular area of law.
Here are links to more information about community legal clinics:
General legal clinic information on the Legal Aid Ontario website:
www.legalaid.on.ca/en/contact/contact.asp?type=cl
Specialty legal clinic information on the Legal Aid Ontario website:
www.legalaid.on.ca/en/contact/contact.asp?type=scl
Getting legal help: Community Legal Clinics in Ontario is a Community Legal Education Ontario (CLEO) booklet that lists all the legal clinics in Ontario, and that is available on-line and in print:
www.cleo.on.ca/english/pub/onpub/PDF/legalHelp/ontario.pdf
HALCO is a member of the Association of Community Legal Clinics of Ontario: www.aclco.org/index.html
Legal Aid Ontario (LAO)
Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) provides many programs and services to help low-income people with legal issues. You must be financially eligible to qualify for most LAO legal aid services. LAO programs and services include:
- telephone services
- duty counsel lawyers in family and criminal courts
- advice lawyers in courts and in the community
- community legal clinics
- Student Legal Aid Services Societies (SLASS)
- Family Law Information Centres and Family Law Service Centres
- LAO law offices, and
- Legal Aid certificates to pay private lawyer fees
For more information about Legal Aid Ontario (LAO), please visit the Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) website: www.legalaid.on.ca
Human Rights Legal Support Centre (HRLSC)
The Human Rights Legal Support Centre (HRLSC) offers human rights legal services to individuals throughout Ontario who believe they have experienced discrimination. The Centre’s services range from legal assistance in filing an application at the Tribunal to legal representation on human rights applications. For more information, please visit the Human Rights Legal Support Centre (HRLSC) website: www.hrlsc.on.ca/
Private Lawyers and Licensed Paralegals
Private lawyers and licensed paralegals provide legal services in Ontario. Some private lawyers accept legal aid certificates, and others charge fees for legal services. The Law Society of Upper Canada regulates the provision of legal services in Ontario, and is responsible for the licensing of lawyers and paralegals.
For more information, please visit the Law Society of Upper Canada website: www.lsuc.on.ca
The Law Society of Upper Canada operates the Lawyer Referral Service, which provides referrals to private lawyers for up to 30 minutes of free legal advice. For more information please see the Lawyer Referral Service information on the Law Society of Upper Canada website: www.lsuc.on.ca/faq.aspx?id=1146
Law Help Ontario
Law Help Ontario (LHO), a service operated by Pro Bono Law Ontario, provides a wide range of legal information and resources for people in Ontario: www.lawhelpontario.org/