Table 9-3
Legal aid plan direct legal service expenditures, staff and private lawyers by type of civil matter, current dollars — Other

Ontario has 77 legal aid clinics that are independent, non-profit organizations funded by the legal aid plan. Staff lawyers and community legal workers at these clinics provide legal aid services primarily in “other” civil matters, particularly in the area of poverty law which includes, social assistance/income maintenance, landlord and tenant, workers’ compensation, criminal injuries compensation, and refugee and immigration matters. In 2011/2012, these clinics accounted for about 90% of direct staff expenditures on “other” civil matters. Ontario’s figure for direct legal aid expenditures includes an estimate for work done by private lawyers, but not billed to the legal aid plan by year-end.

Organizational structure and delivery of services changed in 2010/2011. Regional front line offices were transformed into Legal Service Centers providing information, brief services, expanded duty counsel and decisions for full certificate coverage. The creation of Legal Service Centers resulted in realignment of services provided by staff lawyers for certain types of matters.

Prior to 2010/2011, figures for legal aid expenditures were based on an accounting system administered by the Government of Nunavut departments of finance and justice; figures for 2010/2011 and 2011/2012 legal aid expenditures are based on an accounting system developed by a third-party accountant on behalf of the Legal Services Board (LSB) of Nunavut. Consequently, legal aid expenditures for 2009/2010 and earlier, on the one hand, and 2010/2011 and 2011/2012, on the other hand, are not comparable.