This UV continuing series looks at different legal clinics in Ontario. Legal clinics are a key way that lawyers provide the disadvantaged with access to legal help. Lee Webb visited Keewaytinok this summer and spoke with Paul Lantz, Keewtatinok’s Executive Director. Paul shared with UV information about the services that his clinic provides and opportunities for students who are interested in articling for Ontario’s northernmost legal clinic.
Keewaytinok Native Legal Services is in Moosonee, a town that sits on the Moose River at the southern end of James Bay. Southerner can get their by either flying in to the Moosonee Airport or taking the Polar Bear Express from Cochrane. In the summer, water taxis bring locals and tourists back and forth between Moosonee and the island of Moose Factory. In the winter it’s an easy drive. During freeze up and thaw people take a helicopter to get across the river when they really need to travel.
In total, Keewaytinok serves an area that is home to over 10,000 people. About half of these people come from either Moosonee or Moose Factory with the rest coming from various communities that are further north, like Fort Severn, Kashechewan and Attawapiskat. Because of their position on the Moose River Keewaytinok Native Legal Services is the only clinic in Ontario that you cannot drive to from Toronto and the only one that is on a tidal river.
As a poverty law clinic, Keewaytinok focusses on areas of the law like tenant rights, social assistance, and disability. In addition, the clinic also assists community members with consumer law, debt, aboriginal law, and wills. They provide summary advice in family and criminal law. As a front line service that has they often provide referrals in for many other legal problems. Lee saw this first hand in the summer when someone came by asking how to file a complaint against the local RCMP detachment. Because the clinic is one of the only legal service providers in Moosonee, they commission and notarise a lot of documents.
The clinic employs their Executive Director, one other lawyer, a community legal worker, an office manager and an articling student. Keewaytinok has had several articling students over the last few years. While they are at the clinic students do many of the things that other articling students do. They sit in on interviews with clients, assist in preparation for hearings, perform legal research, draft documents and answer the phone. In addition articling students are central in preparing and delivering public legal education programs. Because of the remote nature of working in the north, articling students also staff the satellite office of the clinic and make home visits.
There are many benefits of working in the unpolluted north in addition to the healthy living. The atmosphere of the clinic and of the northern bar is friendly and collegial. Because there are so few alternate service providers, the clinic sees a very broad variety of case work.
These benefits also pose challenges. The wide range of cases can make it difficult to specialise deeply in any one area. Like in any remote town, the cost of living is very high and the access to services, not to mention really good fresh produce, can be minimal. As a consequence, staff retention at Keewaytinok is sometimes a concern. However, there is also room to be creative, because the community is too small to sustain a dancing venue, most weddings throw open the doors to everyone once the dance begins.
Keewaytinok receives funding for their articling student position form Legal Aid and the Law Foundation of Ontario, but they does not receive funding every year. The clinic has funding this year for a student to start in 2013 though it is uncertain when they will next get funding after that.
