Which free legal clinics take human rights cases in Ontario?
Ontario funds specialty legal clinics that serve a particular community or a particular area of law, and most are not limited to one region. Several take human rights matters. The Human Rights Legal Support Centre is separate from all of them, covers any Code matter, and applies no income test at all.
Start with the thing nobody explains
Legal Aid Ontario does not issue a certificate for a human rights case. Certificates — the voucher that pays a private lawyer to represent you — go to criminal, family, and refugee and immigration matters. Human rights sits in clinic law and with the Support Centre, both of which ration by different rules.
The practical consequence is a gap: someone on an ordinary income, with a services-side discrimination claim and no union, is often too well off for a clinic, not a priority for the Support Centre, and was never eligible for a certificate.
Find the service that covers you
Filter by what you need. Ask two questions on the first call: do you take human rights matters at the Tribunal, and do you represent, or advise only? Two clinics can both list human rights and mean very different things.
Open to anyone, regardless of income
| Service | What it is |
|---|---|
| Law Society Referral Service | A free 30-minute consultation with a lawyer or paralegal in the relevant area. No income test. Also the place to confirm someone is licensed and in good standing. |
| Pro Bono Ontario | Free advice hotline for people who do not qualify for Legal Aid but cannot afford a lawyer. |
| JusticeNet | Connects people of modest means with lawyers and paralegals working at reduced rates. |
| Duty counsel | Free same-day advice at courthouses to anyone appearing that day, regardless of income. |
| Student legal clinics | Law students supervised by lawyers at several Ontario law schools. Scope varies by clinic and by term. |
| Licensed paralegals | Permitted to represent people at the Tribunal, and often materially cheaper than a lawyer. |
One under-used route: many employment and human rights lawyers will do a paid consultation, or unbundled work — reviewing your application rather than running the whole case. If you are otherwise self-representing, two hours of review before filing buys more than two hours anywhere later.
Free legal advice for survivors of sexual offences
Ontario funds independent legal advice for survivors of sexual offences, delivered across the province by the Barbra Schlifer Commemorative Clinic. It is free, confidential, and separate from any police or court process.
| What you get | Free legal advice by phone or video, plus referrals and counselling support. The number of covered hours has changed over time — the clinic is the authority on the current amount. |
| Who qualifies | Age 16 or older, living in Ontario or where the offence happened in Ontario. Open to women, men, trans and gender-diverse people. |
| Reporting | Not required. Available whether or not you went to police, at any time after the offence. |
| Does not cover | Representation in court. |
| Contact | 416-323-9149 · schliferclinic.com |