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Welcome...

under development ...to South Ottawa Community Legal Services’ new web site. The web site is currently under development. While this process is ongoing we are providing a brief overview of some information that may be of assistance.

About Us:

South Ottawa Community Legal Services is a non-profit agency providing free legal assistance to low income individuals living in southern or eastern neighbourhoods in Ottawa. We serve most neighbourhoods south of the Queensway and Highway 174 and east of Fisher Avenue and Prince of Wales Drive.

We are governed by a board of directors elected by and accountable to our community. We are funded by Legal Aid Ontario. We provide legal services to low income people who qualify financially, geographically and who need legal assistance in our areas of practice.

Services:

Our clinic provides services ranging from brief advice to individuals, referrals to appropriate agencies, written information packages on legal issues, representation before courts and administrative tribunals, presentations to groups on specific legal issues in areas in which we specialize, outreach work with community groups (often in partnership with other community agencies), as well as participation in a range of initiatives aimed at law reform that will positively affect the lives of the low income Ontarians we serve.

We can help you if you are having problems with:

  • Housing;
  • Immigration and Refugee Issues;
  • Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP);
  • Ontario Works;
  • Workers' Compensation;
  • Employment Insurance;
  • Canada Pension Plan or Old Age Pension benefits.

We usually give summary advice by phone on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. We also have an “Advice Lawyer” provided by Legal Aid Ontario available to prepare affidavits on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3:00 - 7:30. No appointments are necessary, but first come, first served.

Community Development

We will work with individuals, groups and agencies to provide workshops and training on issues of importance to low income residents in the neighbhourhoods we serve.

Law Reform

We will also work with other agencies to lobby federal, provincial, municipal and local government for changes to proposed legislation and policies that affect our community. Please contact us if you would like to arrange for us to come and meet your group.

Public Legal Education

Do you need someone to come out and speak to your group? We offer workshops and training sessions to members of the community to inform them of their rights and how the laws affect them.

Ask us about “the Wheel of Justice!”


Proud Member of the ACLCO

Contact Information:

1355 Bank Street, Suite 406*
Ottawa, ON KlH 8K7
Telephone: (613) 733-0140
Fax: (613) 733-0401
TDD: (613) 733-4113

*We are located on the south-east corner of Riverside and Bank Streets, across from Billings Bridge Plaza with nearby access to the OC Transpo Transitway.
Please call to make an appointment.

Hours of Operation:

Monday: 1:00 - 4:30
Tuesday - Friday: 8:30 - 12:00 and 1:00 - 4:30

How to find us:

Map of the Billings Bridge area

What Clients have said about us...

"The clinic's atmosphere is excellent. Everyone is so supporting that you make the client feel at ease."

"Staff are patient, understanding, take their time to explain and to listen."

"It is a welcoming environment that is ready to accommodate people of different cultures."

"All personnel were professional, courteous and pleasant. We felt confident in their hands."

"I wanted to thank you on a personal level for helping my mother successfully plead her case. My mother has struggled enormously in her life ... producing a slew of university-bound and educated students such as myself. Despite my mother's tenacity and her achievements, she is a vulnerable person in society: an immigrant, a single-mother and a recipient of social assistance, none of which she could control.

There is an obvious stigma attached to "welfare moms", allegedly lazy people .... Without people like you, people like my mother would be drowned in an unfeeling system leaving them at the mercy of people who subscribe to such characterizations. I cannot overstate my gratitude towards you."