https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/legal-courts-free-lawyers-1.4894201
Legal charity running out of money, time
Pro Bono Ontario dispensed free legal advice to 18K clients last year
An Ottawa legal clinic that provides free advice to litigants in civil matters who may otherwise go unrepresented has run out of money, forcing its closure as soon as next month.
Last year, 18,000 people sought legal counsel at Pro Bono Ontario's (PBO) three offices, two in Toronto and one in Ottawa. Ottawa's office assisted 2,613 people in 2017.
Lawyers volunteer their time to staff the Ottawa office, located at the provincial court house on Elgin Street. Most of their clients are referred by the courts, and come seeking help with such problems as wrongful dismissal, landlord/tenant disputes and estate matters.
PBO received a year's worth of emergency funding from the Law Foundation of Ontario to continue operating in 2018, but that lifeline is about to expire. The registered charity is looking for $500,000 from the province to continue paying the bills, including two paid staff who help manage the Ottawa office.
Gratitude, relief
Lori Shepherd, 45, turned to PBO after her husband died of cancer in January 2017. He hadn't left a will, and she'd left her job to care for him.
Shepherd found herself locked in battle with the executor of her husband's estate to get a share of his $200,000 life insurance policy to help raise their two children, six and 13.
I felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude and relief that somebody could hear me, that somebody could feel my struggle.
- Lori Shepherd, PBO client
Initially she hired a lawyer, but said all she ended up with was a $3,000 credit card bill. That's when she turned to PBO.
In June 2017, Shepherd went to the Pro-Bono office in Ottawa and staff made no promises but said they'd try and find the right lawyer to help her.
"I felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude and relief that somebody could hear me, that somebody could feel my struggle," she said. "Previous to that I'd felt so alone and confused."
PBO referred her to a lawyer at Borden Ladner Gervais LLP who eventually helped her avoid a civil suit and arranged for monthly payments to her children.
"As much as anything I just needed it to be over. The amount of anxiety that I felt through the whole process was overwhelming," Shepherd said. "I felt so grateful when he told me I'd get the money."
'It broke my heart'
Ottawa lawyer David Scott helped create Pro Bono Ontario. Now in his 80s, Scott still volunteers once a month at PBO's Ottawa office.
"The personal satisfaction is enormous," he said. "Last week I helped five people and I walked away euphoric, but then I heard we're going to have to close and it broke my heart" he said
Scott said the lawyers who volunteer at PBO help clients draw up documents and prepare their arguments for court.
"These people are desperate, and before, without this office, they had nowhere to go," he said.
According to PBO, an independent study showed that in 2015-16 the charity provided legal advice worth $5.76 million to unrepresented litigants
Litigants who show up to court unprepared and unrepresented cause costly delays, Scott said. He believes the province has a responsibility to fund PBO through its statutory obligation to provide every citizen with access to justice.
"It's an absolutely critical service, and we're talking about enormously disadvantaged citizens," Scott said. "The time has come for the attorney general and ... the Law Society to face up to these responsibilities."
Pro Bono Ontario Elects Gordon Currie as Chair of the Board of Directors
April 6, 2020: Pro Bono Ontario (PBO) announced today that Gordon Currie, Chief Legal Officer of George Weston Limited, was elected Chair of PBO’s Board of Directors at its AGM on April 2. Gordon succeeds Guy Pratte, a partner at Borden Ladner Gervais LLP.
“Gord is a natural choice for this role,” said Executive Director Lynn Burns. PBO is Canada’s largest pro bono legal service provider, with offices in three court houses, six hospitals and the Free Legal Advice Hotline, which collectively assist 30,000 clients each year. “Gord’s commitment to community service, his leadership and his experience in business and law will help guide us through challenges and help take PBO to the next level.”
“I am truly honoured and eager to step into this role,” Currie said. “Guy leaves large shoes to fill, but with a strong board and very experienced and dynamic management team, I am confident in PBO’s future.”
PBO also appointed three new Directors: Mary Paterson, Partner at Osler Hoskin & Harcourt LLP, Deborah Templer, Partner at McCarthy Tétrault LLP and Marc Toppings, VP and Chief Legal Officer, University Health Network. All three have demonstrated a commitment to access to justice and have worked closely with PBO for several years.
About PBO
Founded in 2001, Pro Bono Ontario is a registered charity that provides free legal services to nearly 30,000 clients each year, assisting vulnerable Ontarians with the civil, non-family legal problems that account for approximately 60 percent of unmet legal needs in the province. www.probonoontario.org
Media contact: Lynn Burns, Executive Director
416-977-4448 ext. 925
https://www.probonoontario.org/about-pbo/
Pro Bono Ontario is here to help Ontarians who have essential legal needs but can’t afford a lawyer.
Many of our clients are vulnerable individuals who desperately need help with everyday legal problems. These include frail people on fixed incomes who have fallen prey to predatory lending schemes, caregivers facing job loss when tending to sick relatives, children facing barriers to their education, or self-employed contractors struggling to collect monies owed. These and other struggling groups approach us by the thousands for help. Our services prevent a spiral of costly social problems, and often mean the difference between shelter and homelessness, food on the table and hunger, economic stability and bankruptcy, productive work and unemployment.
We also help build communities by supporting start-ups, artists, social service organizations and social entrepreneurs with the legal issues that come with running a small business in Ontario.
Pro Bono Ontario develops and manages high quality programs that connect volunteer lawyers with Ontarians who can’t afford a lawyer. Wherever possible, we embed our free legal services in front-line environments like courthouses, schools and hospitals – places frequented by people with legal problems they can’t afford to address.
Thank you for your interest in Pro Bono Ontario.
CHAIR
Gordon Currie (Executive Vice President & Chief Legal Officer, George Weston Limited)
VICE CHAIR
Sarah Armstrong (Partner, Fasken)
TREASURER
Daniel Holden (Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary, Nestlé Canada Inc.)
DIRECTORS
Louis Century (Goldblatt Partners LLP)
Maria Douvas (Chief Legal Officer, RBC)
Jennifer Gold (Partner, Wood Gold LLP)
Mitchell E. Kowalski (General Counsel and Compliance Officer Canada, Aoyuan International)
Kike (Kikelomo) Lawal (Executive Vice-President and Chief Legal Officer, CIBC)
Eric Moss (SVP, Deputy General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer Legal & Regulatory Compliance, BMO Financial Group)
Mary Paterson (Partner, Osler Hoskin & Harcourt LLP)
Bryson Stokes (Firm Managing Partner, Blake Cassels & Graydon LLP)
Deborah Templer (Partner, McCarthy Tétrault LLP)
Marc Toppings (VP and CLO University Health Network)
STAFF
Lynn Burns, Executive Director
Yonit Fuhrmann, Deputy Director
Matt Cohen, Director of Litigation Assistance Projects
Jennifer Marston, Director of Hotline Operations and Knowledge
Isabella Mentina, Managing Lawyer (Ottawa)
Jennifer Flores, Staff Lawyer, Free Legal Advice Hotline
Elizabeth Legge, Staff Lawyer
Brian Houghton, Litigation Projects Manager
Laurine Shaw, Systems Administrator
Nicole Kellow, Pro Bono Coordinator, Education Law and Charitable Law Projects
Cho Rok Youn, Hotline Coordinator
Eunji Kim-Currie, Hotline Coordinator
Lee Ann Chapman, PBO at SickKids Triage Lawyer
Adina Goldberg, PBO at Children’s Hospital Triage Lawyer
Hilary Mack, PBO at McMaster Children’s Hospital Triage Lawyer
Adil Munim, Staff Lawyer, Free Legal Advice Hotline
Afeefah Rasack, Hotline Coordinator
Olha Senyshyn, Staff Lawyer, Canadian Legal Support for Ukrainians
Toronto man billed more than $8K for rental car damage he says he didn't cause
Sandy Soufivand says Enterprise Rent-A-Car billed more than $8,000 in damage
Two weeks later, the car broke down and now the rental company is blaming him. The situation has caused a number of sleepless nights, Soufivand said.
"It was just a lot of stress, just so much stress," he said. "Unable to think, unable to sleep. Just an overwhelming amount of stress."
Soufivand rented the car following a collision with his personal vehicle in August. The rental was paid for by his auto insurance company, Aviva, but after the car broke down a mechanic found a damaged transmission and evidence of impact to its undercarriage. Though Enterprise is holding Soufivand responsible for the damage, Aviva agreed to cover the bill after CBC Toronto reached out.
When the rental car broke down, he noticed it was leaking fluid. Enterprise Rent-A-Car later billed him more than $8,000 for a new transmission and damage to the undercarriage. (Sandy Soufivand)Though the bill is no longer a problem, Soufivand wants to warn others to fully review any rental agreements they sign.
He signed Enterprise's agreement which included a statement that the renter received the vehicle in "good physical and mechanical condition."
Soufivand feels that this is unfair given that he does not have the expertise of a mechanic.
"The overwhelming majority of people that rent a car from them are not going to be car mechanics," he said. "You cannot sign off saying that every mechanical component in the car is in good condition because you cannot verify that.… They don't have a mechanic there."
In an email statement to CBC Toronto, Enterprise Holdings, the company that owns Enterprise Rent-A-Car, stated, "we follow a maintenance schedule with our vehicles based on the manufacturer's recommended requirements.
"This includes regular oil changes, tire inspection and rotation, brake, suspension, exhaust, vehicle fluids checks, and a general vehicle inspection. We also perform regular visual vehicle inspections for safety items, such as tires and warning lights, as well as changes in vehicle condition."
Sandy Soufivand says it's unfair for Enterprise to have him sign off on the mechanical condition of the car when he doesn't have any mechanical expertise. (Sandy Soufivand)The statement reaffirmed that Enterprise believes Soufivand is at fault, "as [the vehicle] would not have been drivable if the damage existed earlier."
Jennifer Marston, a lawyer with Pro Bono Ontario, told CBC Toronto that people need to carefully read any rental agreements they sign.
Even so, if this issue did go to court the terms of the contract would likely be up for debate, she said.
"If there's an onerous term of a consumer contract buried in the fine print then the company can't necessarily rely on that to enforce its rights," Marston said.
A judge would also likely take into consideration the power imbalance between Soufivand and the rental company, she said.
"The business has had months and years and the benefit of legal advice in developing this contract and the consumer is often in line at the counter and with other people waiting behind them and being asked to sign on a dotted line quickly to get the transaction complete," Marston said.
She added that the bill could be fought in court but Soufivand said hiring a lawyer would cost him around the same as the bill itself.
Now that the insurance company has agreed to cover the cost, he's just happy to move on from the situation.
But he does have some advice for other renters.
"Before you get in the car, when the adviser is there doing the walk around, ask questions," he said.
"When was the last time that a mechanic took a look at it? What happens if I'm driving it and I've done nothing wrong and the car breaks down? Will I be held responsible for it? Ask all of those important questions and make sure that you're not driving away in a vehicle that has been previously damaged."
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Attn Matthew Wiens, Director; Phone: 416-597-0770 ext 927 Why have somebody call me an LIE to me? |
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Thu, Dec 21, 2017 at 4:04 PM
N'esy Pas?
"Soufivand rented the car following a collision with his personal vehicle in August. The rental was paid for by his auto insurance company, Aviva, but after the car broke down a mechanic found a damaged transmission and evidence of impact to its undercarriage. Though Enterprise is holding Soufivand responsible for the damage, Aviva agreed to cover the bill after CBC Toronto reached out."
Legal charity running out of money, time
Pro Bono Ontario dispensed free legal advice to 18K clients last year
Laurie Fagan · CBC News · Posted: Nov 07, 2018
Yea Right