Resources for Members of the Public
Peterborough
Please note that the Peterborough Law Library is not open to members of the public, and library staff cannot answer legal questions or reference questions from members of the public.
The resources listed below are available to members of the public.
Legal Aid Advice Counsel:
VIRTUAL ADVICE COUNSEL (Zoom/phone): A Duty Counsel Lawyer along with a Mediator are available each day to speak to individuals confidentially on a first come, first serve basis by zoom.
Zoom Meeting ID: 872 1912 512
Or call 1-647-558-058
Passcode: 32145
Virtual: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, 10AM - 1PM
IN PERSON ADVICE COUNSEL: A Duty Counsel Lawyer is available in the Peterborough Courthouse to speak to individuals confidentially on a first come, first serve basis
In-Person: Tuesday, 10AM – 1PM
Peterborough Community Legal Centre
The Peterborough Community Legal Centre (PCLC) is a non-profit corporation with a community based membership and Board of Directors elected at our Annual General Meeting. THE PCLC provides free and confidential legal services, in multiple areas of law, for low income people living in Peterborough City and County who have a certain type of legal problems.
Find a Lawyer Referral Service
The Law Society Referral Service (LSRS), known for the past 40 years as the Lawyer Referral Service (LRS), has been filling an important community need by connecting lawyers and people looking for assistance with a legal matter.
Now, in response to growing public demand, the Law Society is expanding its referral service to include paralegals as well as lawyers.
When you call the LSRS, we will provide you with the name of a lawyer or licensed paralegal who will provide a free consultation of up to 30 minutes to help you determine your rights and options.
Toll-free Crisis Line 1-855-947-5255
Toronto area Crisis Line 416-947-5255
Legal Aid Ontario
Legal Aid Ontario (LAO), an independent agency funded largely by the Province of Ontario, is responsible for the delivery of high quality legal aid services to low-income individuals throughout Ontario. LAO provides legal aid services in a number of areas, including criminal and family matters, and immigration and refugee hearings. Legal aid certificates are issued to eligible individuals, who can then retain a private lawyer of their choice.
LAO also funds 80 independent, community-based legal aid clinics. These clinics provide legal aid services for poverty law matters, such as housing, social assistance, pensions, workers' compensation, and employment insurance.
Duty counsel services may also be available for people facing criminal, family or youth courts without legal representation.
Parties with a small income, or who are receiving social assistance may qualify for legal aid. Legal aid can help pay for some or all of parties' legal costs. Visit Legal Aid Ontario's website for a list of addresses of legal aid offices and clinics throughout the province. The numbers for local legal aid offices are also available in the white pages of telephone books.
CLEO
Community Legal Education Ontario
Community Legal Education Ontario
CLEO's work focuses on providing information to people who face barriers to accessing the justice system, including income, disability, literacy, and language. As a community legal clinic and part of Ontario's legal aid system, CLEO works in partnership with other legal clinics and community organizations across the province.
Your Legal Rights
Your Legal Rights is a collection of legal information resources produced by hundreds of organizations across Ontario. These include resources and webinars for community workers produced by CLEO and other organizations.
Steps to Justice
Steps to Justice is a first-of-its-kind initiative that empowers people in Ontario to understand and take action to deal with their legal problems. It gives comprehensive online information on common legal problems that people experience in family, housing, employment and other areas of law.
Steps to Justice:
equips people to work through their legal problems through easy-to-understand steps
includes practical tools, such as checklists, fillable forms, and self-help guides
gives referral information for legal and social services across Ontario
has live chat and email-based support for users with additional questions
Legal Line
Legal Line has provided Canadians with free legal information and help since 1993.
CanLII
CanLII was founded and is paid for by the lawyers and notaries who are members of Canada’s provincial and territorial law societies, which comprise the Federation of Law Societies of Canada. The CanLII.org website provides access to court judgments from all Canadian courts, including the Supreme Court of Canada, federal courts, and the courts in all Canada’s provinces and territories. CanLII.org also contains decisions from many tribunals nationally. CanLII.org contains the consolidated statutes and regulations of every jurisdiction in Canada. In the last few years, CanLII have added annual statutes Federally and for the provinces of New Brunswick, Saskatchewan, and Quebec. Our companion website, CanLII Connects, hosts a database of case commentary and case summaries by the legal community. This commentary is linked to and from the caselaw on CanLII.org.
