Other Areas of Law

This section includes information about some other areas of law that might be of interest to people living in Ontario, including:

  • information for victims of crime in Ontario
  • Ontario’s Criminal Injuries Compensation Board (CICB) , and
  • information about real estate in Ontario.

Victims of Crime

This section has information for victims of crime in Ontario.

The Ontario Government website has information about programs and services for victims of crime:  www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca/english/ovss/programs.asp

The Government of Canada has a Federal Ombudsman for Victims of Crime whose website includes information about victim services, victim rights, and registering as a victim:  www.victimsfirst.gc.ca/index.html

If you are afraid that someone close to you might hurt you, please see Family/Domestic Violence in our Family Law section.

Guide:  Women living with HIV and intimate partner violence: Questions and  Answers / Femmes vivant avec le VIH et violence au sein d’une relation intime : Questions et Réponses

This guide is for women, including trans women, who are living with HIV and who experience or are at risk of experiencing violence from their intimate partner. Intimate partner violence can be physical, emotional, psychological or sexual abuse from someone with whom you have or had an intimate relationship.  The guide is available on our website:

The guide can be printed in booklet format in Adobe Reader or Acrobat.  The guide is available in Spanish and Swahili on the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network website:  www.aidslaw.ca/site/women-living-with-hiv-and-intimate-partner-violence-questions-and-answers/?lang=en.

Getting legal help

If you are living with HIV in Ontario, please contact us for free legal advice about this or other legal issues.  If you live in Ontario you can contact your local community legal clinic for information about services in your community.

Criminal Injuries Compensation Board

The Ontario Criminal Injuries Compensation Board (CICB) provided financial compensation for victims of violent crime and family members of deceased victims of violent crime in Ontario:  www.sjto.gov.on.ca/cicb/.

The Ontario government has eliminated the CICB. The CICB stopped accepting applications on September 30, 2019.  CICB applications in process will be processed.

The Ontario government indicates that individuals seeking compensation for costs that result from being a victim of crime should contact the Victim Quick Response Program+ (VQRP+): https://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca/english/ovss/vqrp.php.

The VQRP+ is very different from the CICB. If you have been a victim of a crime of violence and you are living with HIV in Ontario please contact us for free legal advice.

Getting legal help

The law can be very complicated so if you have a question or problem, we recommend that you get legal advice about your situation:

Real Estate Law

“Real Estate” law generally has to do with buying and selling property, mortgages, property ownership issues, etc.  Real Estate law is usually handled by private lawyers on a fee-for-service basis.

The Law Society Referral Service (LSRS) of the Law Society of  Ontario is an on-line service that provides a referral to a lawyer or paralegal for an in-person or phone consultation of up to 30 minutes at no charge: https://lsrs.lso.ca/lsrs/welcome. The LSRS crisis telephone for people in custody, in crisis, in a shelter or in a remote community without internet access is 416-947-5255 or toll-free 1-855-947-5255, Monday to Friday 9 am to 5 pm. For more information please see the Law Society Referral Service information on the Law Society of Ontario website: https://lsrs.lso.ca/lsrs/welcome.  The Law Society of  Ontario was formerly the Law Society of Upper Canada.