Ontario

Legal Aid Ontario pays lawyers to represent you at your asylum claim hearing by giving lawyers certificates, which are like vouchers for legal services, if you cannot afford a lawyer in Ontario. You can take a legal aid certificate to a lawyer and use it to “pay” for that lawyer’s services for a certain number of hours.

The Canadian Red Cross First Contact Program provides accurate information about emergency shelter, social services, legal and health services, walk through orientation and general information that includes a high-level review of the refugee determination process, Interim Federal Health, legal aid, the shelter system, social services, English classes, work permits and more, and provides 24/7 telephone information and referral services, focused primarily on after-office-hours referrals for newly arriving refugee claimants.

The Ontario Coalition of Service Providers for Refugee Claimants includes refugee houses and agencies who work with vulnerable populations across Southern Ontario and two in the United States.