Company LOGO The Telejustice Project A joint project between Nishnawbe-Aski Legal Services Corporation and

Agenda 1. What does it do? 2. How does it work? 3. Internal Infrastructure 4. Impact of the project

Nishnawbe-Aski Nation

What is the Telejustice Project?  Launched in 2005, the Telejustice Project is an effort to provide for the unmet legal needs of First Nations People living in remote or rural communities.  The project allows pro bono lawyers in Ontario to improve access to justice for NAN.  It is a “urban-to-rural initiative”, which capitalizes on the concentration of legal resources available in the urban centers and acts a compliment to services already provided by our Duty Counsels and other pro bono service providers.  The project uses a variety of communication platforms such as a website, newspapers, newsletter and more to connect the members of NAN with legal information, thus levering our existing services.

Our Volunteers  We presently count with approximately 25 volunteers who are willing to take questions on various areas of law.  Our first batch of volunteers were from the Ministry of the Attorney general, however, they were limited on the type and topics of the legal information they could provide.  Our second wave of recruitment actually resulted in both experienced and new lawyers with a wide range of backgrounds that could answer more questions, in a variety of topics. They come from all over Ontario including Toronto, Sault St. Marie and even Thunder Bay.

Legal Areas Covered by the Project  Originally, the project covered the following areas:  Wills and powers of attorney  Landlord/tenant issues  Employment contracts  Consumer law  Senior legal issues  Administrative law  The project has now expanded to cover the following areas:  Criminal law (including youth justice)  Family Law (including child welfare)  Aboriginal and Treaty Rights

Project Phases Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3 Ask-A-Lawyer Website An interactive online tool that helps CLWs answer client questions in a timely manner. Wawatay Advice Column Monthly column in an Aboriginal Newspaper Information Sheets Web-conference/web- cast Community Legal Education Video-conference Community Legal Education On-line (chat room style) Community Legal Education Legal Info articles housed on the website Project Assessment Redeployment based on feedback from project assessment

Phase I: The Ask-A-Lawyer Website TEXT  The Ask-A-Lawyer website is an interactive question and answer online system that allows our Community Legal workers (CLWs) to submit questions to our volunteers and get a response within 3-5 days.  It is housed on the NALSC website.  While it is only open for use to our CLWs and some of our other field staff, we are hoping to be able to open this website up for use directly by our clients.

The Ask-A-Lawyer Website

Phase I: Wawatay Newspaper Article  The Wawatay newspaper reaches approximately 9,300 people in 80 communities in and around Nishnawbe-Aski Nation.  Column is submitted once a month.  Started out as an information column.  Now it has take the form of a legal advice column.  We have been asked about translation for the column in order to reach those who do not speak English.

Phase II: Information Sheets  One of the greatest access to justice needs in the north is not only access to legal information, but access to legal information in Aboriginal Languages and specific to on-reserve population.  To that end, the project is seeking to develop short and handy information sheets that can be distributed in the communities in Cree, Oji-Cree and Ojibway.  Topics are still being developed but most topics fall under criminal law (pardons, bail), matrimonial on- reserve property, seniors legal issues, wills and powers of attorney and Treaty and Aboriginal rights.  Legal information articles.

Phase II: Web Interfaces  Web casts: to be filmed in Toronto by volunteers . These will be used for information purposes and will be stored in the Ask-A-Lawyer website to be downloaded as needed.  Video Conferencing: where the equipment is available, our lawyers can either do a workshop followed by a question and answer session or provide legal advice to community members in private.  Online chat room.

Infrastructure  The infrastructure needed to provide this project was already in place.  This was done by the government through the Community Access Program which provided rural communities with broadband access to the internet.  However, there are still a few NAN communities that do not have access to the internet or have extremely slow access. That is a challenge that makes it a little more difficult for all of the communities to participate in this project.

Impact of the Telejustice Project  We have been able to provide legal advice in a much faster manner to people who live in the remote north without the benefit of lawyers or the economic means to hire one.  The advice is anonymous which may help those who otherwise would not seek advice out of shame or other reasons.  It has allowed NALSC to compliment the services offered by our duty counsel, who is only able to provide legal advice three afternoons per week.  It allows NALSC to provide additional information and training for our CLWs.  Allows us to provide cross-cultural experience to lawyers who otherwise might not be familiar with the legal and other realities of the far north.

Future Impact Future Impact of the Telejustice Project Expanded Website Increased distribution of info Bilingual, bi-weekly articles Professional development

 Any questions?