Province launches website to give Ontarians access to advice

Print

E-mail

Text

The Ontario government has made it easier for residents to gain access to necessary information on the province's judicial system through the launch of its new Justice Ontario website.

The site (www.ontario.ca/justiceontario) went online Wednesday, Aug. 27 and was unveiled that day at a special announcement at the Toronto Reference Library in midtown Toronto. Ontario Attorney General Chris Bentley was on hand to discuss the website and accompanying toll-free telephone line.

"It's a single point of access for easy-to-understand legal information that's accessible to all Ontarians," he said. "So many people these days access information not simply through books but online."

The site offers information in 173 languages, helping to ensure newcomers to Canada will be able to make use of the advice contained therein. In addition to the Justice Ontario website, a toll-free telephone number (1-866-252-0104) has been set up to serve those who would prefer to gain information via the phone.

Justice Ontario was created through a joint partnership with the Law Society of Upper Canada, the Ontario Bar Association, Legal Aid Ontario Pro Bono Law Ontario and a variety of other legal organizations, providing up-to-date legal information for those in need.

The website and phone line will offer information on criminal, civil and family law matters, human rights issues, tickets and fines, wills, estates and other legal issues. Justice Ontario can also be used to help Ontarians find a lawyer and, for a nominal fee, get quick legal advice.

"If you don't necessarily need a lawyer but you need legal advice, there's a link (on the site) where you can get 30 minutes of legal advice with a $6 fee attached to it," Bentley said.

York South-Weston MPP Laura Albanese attended the launch and demonstrated the system's capabilities by placing a call to the toll-free number in Italian. Throughout the call, a translator worked with a Justice Ontario legal representative to offer quick advice on procuring a lawyer.

Albanese said that by providing the services in so many languages, Justice Ontario would help serve the majority of Ontarians.

"We have a multicultural reality that we live in here in Canada," Albanese said. "I think that (serving) 173 languages is really marvelous."

Bentley noted that while the site was fairly comprehensive, it would grow as more and more people make use of the service.

"We're going to build up a list of questions over time that are the most frequently asked," he said. "This is our opportunity to make the legal system work for the people we serve."

He added that because the site was being run in partnership with various legal groups, all of whom were offering their time for free, the cost of running and operating Justice Ontario was negligible.

"One of the magical things about this project is that it costs next to nothing, but you can see the power of it," he said.