Parkdale Community Legal Services Annual General Meeting

September 24, 2008

Annual Report

Introduction to PCLS

Board of Directors

Management Team

Student Program

Staff

Law Groups

Statistics – Casework & Outreach

PCLS - Mission StatementPCLS helps people to avoid, prepare for and overcome poverty law problems through a combination of:community development and action;the provision of competent and professional legal advice and representation; and,community legal education.

PCLS works with our client community, in all its diversity, to build and mobilize an ever increasing community movement for social change, to create the social and economic conditions to eradicate poverty and oppression, to restore and revitalize the quality of life and enhance self-reliance in the Parkdale and Swansea communities.

Intensive Program in Poverty Law

We have twenty law students per academic term from Osgoode Hall Law School of York University. They take part in the law school's ‘Intensive Program in Poverty Law.’

This program attempts to develop in the students a critical analysis of lawyering, of poverty, and the limited utility of ‘traditional lawyering’ techniques versus ‘non-traditional (`poverty law') lawyering’ (law reform work, community development).

The actual service delivery — legal advice, assistance and representation — is provided by the law students and articling students under the supervision of the staff lawyers. Law students and articling students also take part in community development and law reform projects.

Map of Our Service Area

N

High Park

Liberty

Village

South

Parkdale

Ro

nces

valles

Villag

e

Bloor WestVillage

Swansea

PCLS

Lakeshore Boulevard

Du

fferin

Stree

t

Ossin

gton A

ven

ue

Stracha

n A

ven

ue

Gardiner Expressway

Springurst

King Street West

Liberty Street

Dundas Street W

Bloor Street West PCLSService

Area

- Humber River to the west;

- Bloor Street [south side] to the

north

- Ossington/Strachan Avenue [west side] to the

east

- Lake Ontario to the south

For Exceptions: see PCLS’

Case Selection Policy

Du

fferin

Mal

l

Liberty Place

Queensway

South K

ingsway

Bloor St. West

Parksid

e D

rive

Ro

nce

svalle

s Ave

nu

e

La

nsdo

wn

e A

ve

CNE

CAMH

Humber

River

Gardiner Expressway

Lakeshore Boulevard

Little Portugal

DufferinGrove

Parkdale

Queen Street West

Liberty Street

RicohColiseum

LamportStadium

BMO Field

Jam

eso

n Ave.

College Street W.

Du

fferin

St.

LakeOntario

Ontario Place

Exhibition Place

GO station

St. Joseph’s Hospital

PCLS Org ChartParkdale Swansea

Communities

PCLSMembership

PCLS Board Of Directors

Management TeamClinic Director, Academic Director,

Director of Administration

Landlord & Tenant GroupLawyer, 2 CLWs, GA,

5 law students

SAVAH GroupLawyer, 2 CLWs, GA,

5 law students

Immigration GroupLawyer, CLW, GA,

5 law students

Workers’ Rights GroupLawyer, CLW, GA,

5 law students

Articling StudentsReceptionists, Admin Assistant,

Assistant to AD & Cleaner

Osgoode HallLaw School

Legal Aid Ontario

PCLS Annual Budget - $1.8MA - PERSONNEL

Salaries, Permanent Staff $1,223,952.00

Contract Staff $00

Salary Recovery $0.00

Salary Subtotal $1,123,952.00

Benefits $212,716.00

Pay Equity Benefits $84,938.00

Benefits Recovery $0.00

Staff Recruitment $0.00

Bookkeeping $11,557.00

Legal Fees $6,800.00

Lawyer’s Professional Dues $6,596.00

SUB-TOTAL: $1,552,930.00

C - ACCOMMODATION & EQUIPMENTRent $119,229.00

Utilities - Gas $21,000.00

Tax Overruns $1,000.00

Cleaning $32,170.00

Parking, Security $1,250.00

General Office Repair $13,000.00

Photocopier – Base & Overruns $7,800.00

Outside Photocopying $1,200.00

Photocopy Recovery $0.00

Equipment Rental $3,250.00

Maintenance Contracts $6,100.00

Repair of Equipment $225.00

SUB-TOTAL: $206,224.00

B - TRANSPORTATION & COMMUNICATIONSAGM $1,050.00

Board Expenses $1000.00

Staff Travel- Local $3,375.00

Staff Travel - Meals $70.00

Staff Travel - Out of District $ 0.00

Telephone - Service & Equipment $7,700.00

Telephone - Long Distance $1,750.00

Telephone Recovery $0.00

Mail- Canada Post $5,200.00

Mail – Courier $1,810.00

Mail – Recovery $0.00

Publicity $1,240.00

SUB-TOTAL: $24,845.00

D – STATIONERY & CAPITAL SUPPLIES, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT & MISCELLANEOUS

Stationery\Office Supplies $19,300.00

Stationery Recovery -$0.00

Library Purchases $11,512.00

Conference Fees – Lawyers $1,012.00

Conference Fees – CLWs $1,012.00

Conference Fees - Support Staff $1,015.00

Conference Fees – Management $1,012.00

Conference Fees – Recoveries $0.00

Bank Charges $400.00

Miscellaneous Expenses $2000.00

Capital Purchases $8525.00

Capital Purchases Recovery $0.00

SUB-TOTAL: $46,088.00

Areas of Law

The legal services we provide are in a wide variety of subject areas, including: tenants' rights;

social assistance;

workers' rights;

immigration & sponsorship;

refugee claims;

mental health law, and,

domestic violence.

Mini-ClinicsWe have 'mini–clinics' [on–site 'cultural interpreters'] different afternoons, to decrease barriers to those in our diverse client community who would otherwise have difficulty accessing our services. The six languages are:

SpanishPortugueseVietnamese

PolishTamil

Tibetan

Board of Directors

Reflecting the dual mandate of the clinic, Board members include:

Parkdale/Swansea community residents; present and/or past clients of the clinic; faculty members of Osgoode Hall Law School; lawyers appointed by Osgoode's Dean (former students of the Parkdale program); a student participating in the Parkdale program elected by their fellow students; and,the Academic Director of the clinic.

Board of Directors [cont’d]In the past year the Board has:

Held a training session on understanding financial statementsWorked on making board meetings more productiveDealt with a conflict-of-interest situationResponding to consultations from our funders Legal Aid Ontario, and the umbrella organization Association of Community Legal Clinics of OntarioParticipated in an Osgoode Hall Law School faculty recruitmentDealing with a shortfall in our legal disbursementsWorking on changes to our annual planning processGetting comfortable with using a SharePoint website for collaborating

Board Website

PCLS Management Team Clinic Director

The Clinic Director has overall responsibility for the delivery of legal services and outreach services subject to the over-riding authority of the Board.

Academic Director

The Academic Director has primary responsibility for student education, conducting the Academic Seminar and law reform and research carried out by the students, monitoring and adjustment of student workloads, and management of student supervision.

Director of Administration

The Director of Administration is responsible for the monitoring and management of money, supplies, the physical plant, our physical assets, and support personnel.

PCLS Management Team [cont’d] Management Team has been

working on the following initiatives in the past year:Hirings for six leaves of absenceManaging shortfall in LD fundingReceived visitors from the Edmonton legal clinicWorking with ‘A-Team’ on file storage roomNegotiating medical/dental insurance contractConsulted with staff on a capital purchase program regarding an operating surplusOrganized retreat on healthy workplace initiatives

PCLS – Student Program

The formal educational component of the student program include:an introductory week of clinic based skills instruction (Skills Training Week) during the last week of August

an orientation week at the beginning of each semester

a weekly seminar offered during the school year at the law school by the Academic Director

Group meetings conducted at the clinic by staff lawyers or CLWs two mornings a week, and,

The writing of a 30-page law reform research paper, which is intended to be a contribution to the Clinic's ongoing law reform work. .

PCLS – Student Program [cont’d]

The following initiatives were worked on in the past year by Professor Shelley Gavigan and others:Revision of Skills Training Week

Organized a Clinic Instructors’ Roundtable with another teaching clinic

Professional Development Fund created for clinical instructor staff

Developed a ‘PCLS Social Justice Quiz’ with fall term students

Had a reference librarian review the law library in the clinic

PCLS Staff – Service Delivery

Staff Lawyers

Law Students (unpaid)

Articling Students

Community Legal Workers (CLWs)

PCLS Staff – Admin Support

Group Administrators

Admin Assistant

Receptionists

Office Cleaner

Staff - AchievementsStaff worked on healthy workplace initiatives arising from a retreatDeveloped a new interactive websiteTwo staff lawyers awarded sabbaticals to do work on clinical instructor teaching modulesWorkers’ Rights CLW obtained grant to conduct research on precarious employmentWorked on improvements to information at reception areaReceived funding for a Tibetan language mini-clinic from the Law Foundation

PCLS Website

Law Groups – L & T

The casework of this group includes negotiations with landlords and their agents, and representation of tenants before the Landlord and Tenant Board in housing matters (evictions, disrepair, etc.), as well as human rights in housing issues.

The community work of this Group is directed at tenant organizing, self-help (including roomers) and working with the homeless.

L & T InitiativesCasework to preserve affordable housing – e.g. – Spencer Input into LTB forms & proceduresWorked on a repair ‘self-help kit’ with OCAPSupporting the City in an OMB challenge to a by-law preserving the former ‘Pope Squat’ Working with the Parkdale Tenants Ass’n (PTA):• Golden Cockroach Award to

worst landlord in Parkdale• Lord of the Slums/Slums

Unlimited Campaign• Landlord licensing Campaign

Organizing TCHC tenantsOrganizing METCAP tenants Golden Cockroach Award

Law Groups – SAVAH

The work of the ‘SAVAH’ Group (SAVAH - Social Assistance, Violence & Health) primarily focuses on problems of income maintenance (i.e. social assistance, workfare, disability benefits). The Group also concerns itself with assisting victims of violence and the criminal justice system, and the mental health system.

Law Groups – SAVAH [cont’d]

Major campaigns this group is involved with include:ODSP Action Coalition – Train the Trainer & Access to ODSP

Working GroupNo One Is Illegal

Ontario Needs A RaiseHands Off

Don’t Ask Don’t TellTicketbusters

Mad PridePAVE – Parkdale Anti-

Violence Education Working Group

Law Groups – Immigration

This group works on issues relating to refugee claimants and immigrants, including:

refugee determination;

family reunification;

rights of children; and,

applications for landing based on humanitarian and compassionate grounds.

Law Groups – Immigration [cont’d]

JR’s – e.g. medical inadmissability due to HIV/AIDsTwo Strikes, You’re OutWar Resisters CampaignDrop The Fee AdvocatesChildren’s Right to Education & HealthDon’t Ask, Don’t TellNo One Is Illegal

War Resisters Campaign Drop The Fee

Advocates

No One Is Illegal Campaign

Law Groups – Workers’ Rights

This Group addresses the concerns of non-unionized workers and covers the areas of:employment standardsemployment insuranceemployment related human rights, andworkers' compensation.

The community work includes involvement with contingent workers' organizations as well as other community groups concerned with workers, outreach to workers, public education and raising awareness of issues and problems of non-unionized workers.

Law Groups – Workers’ Rights

Involved in a number of group cases involving unpaid wages, etc.Considerable media attention – e.g.- Toronto Star’s “War On Poverty”Work with the Workers’ Action Centre, a member run workers centre, on:

• Bad Boss Campaign• Employment Standards -

expansion & enforcementWork with the Employment Standards Work Group to improve the Employment Standards Act, and policies and practices of the Ministry of Labour.

Casework StatisticsPCLS STATISTICS 2007

LANDLORD &TENANT

SAVAHIMMIGRATIO

N&REFUGEE

WORKERS'RIGHTS

AFFIDAVITS & MISC.

TOTAL

Files Opened

191 66 63 126 2 448

Files Closed

195 62 53 66 0 376

Brief Services

*

110 503 207 216 540 1576

Summary

Advice

635 84 440 186 188 1533

* - Brief Services – legal files with no more than two hours work.

Summary of Legal Work - 7 years

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

L&T SAVAH IMMIGRATION WORKERS

Casefiles, Brief Services & Summary Advice by Group

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

Summary of Casework Activities

Over 10,000 assisted or referred for assistance448 new files opened404 files carried over1576 brief services1526 summary advice376 files closed3954 assisted (6678 counting family members)3787 referrals made

Outreach FilesCommunity

Development

Clinic

Membership

Public

Legal

Education

Law

Reform

Media

Contact

Training

Sessions

Files Open Start

of Year 60 94 77 67 117 81

Files Opened

During Year 23 20 20 15 28 10

#

Staff/Audience n/a 114 2446 34

# Meetings/Copie n/a 92 13634 9

Oral

Presentations 77 38

Written Briefs/

Publications 17 10

Outreach Files Open & Opened

0

50

100

150

200

CommunityDevelopment

Clinic Membership Public LegalEducation

Law Reform Media Contact Training Sessions

Outreach Files By Year

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

Outreach Files by GroupParkdale Community Legal Services

Clinic Membership Files 2008

18

98

22 IM

L&T

WR

SAVAH

Parkdale Community Legal Services Law Reform Files 2008

13

88

13IM

L&T

WR

SAVAH

Parkdale Community Legal Services Public Legal Education Files 2008

18

73

33

IM

L&T

WR

SAVAH

Parkdale Community Legal ServicesCommunity Development Files 2008

17

64

28

IM

L&T

WR

SAVAH

Summary of Outreach Activities

Staff attended 92 meetings38 oral law reform presentations were made10 written briefs were submitted77 PLE presentations2446 participants17 PLE publications13,634 copies distributed28 media contacts34 staff attended 9 training sessions

The End

This is only a partial snapshot of some of the great work done by all our board members, staff, students and volunteers

Thanks to all of them for all the great work!

Any Questions?