Grants and Contributions

Support the travel costs for 6 Indigenous Courtworkers from Aboriginal Legal Services to attend the Indigenous Courtworker Program National Gathering 2026 in Vancouver, British Columbia, February, 2026.

The grant is in support of costs associated with gathering and validating client data from the program for the Indigenous Justice Program’s (IJP) recidivism study.

The project will provide the services of a Victims Rights Advocate to assist families attending Court and Circle processes, especially families dealing with the Child Protection System. The Victims Rights Advocate will work with Victim Services, the Giiwedin Anang Council (an Indigenous Family Dispute Resolution Program) and a Legal Clinic Child Protection Lawyer to support victims through the Giiwedin Anang Council and Talking Circle process either through the child welfare or the civil stream. A dedicated Victims Rights Advocate will increase access to justice and a sense of community for Indigenous victims and survivors of crime.

Hold a one-day conference, in conjunction with our Indigenous Knowledge Keeper program, on Indigenous Legal Traditions.

To bring together restorative justice programs and Gladue caseworkers from all Indigenous communities in Ontario for two days in Toronto to learn, discuss best practices, celebrate sucesses and network.

The Ontario Indigenous Courtwork Training 2023 Project will consist of six virtual focus groups conducted by a facilitator to identify areas for training including hybrid virtual/in-person work environment. The focus groups will also identify additional areas of concern and need for further training. A training module will then be developed and delivered over 2 in-person training sessions to be held in Fall 2023. Organizations include: Aboriginal Legal Services (ALS), Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centers (OFIFC), Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO), and Mohawk Council of Akwesasne (MCA).

|This project will support the facilitation of a gathering in Toronto between March 27-29, 2023 which will create a forum for knowledge sharing between survivors, Indigenous community members, experts, academics and Indigenous organizations in the context of the identification of unmarked graves and burial sites of Indigenous children at former Indian residential schools. The project will support communities and surivors to attend the gathering and provide input into the recommendations being developed by the Independent Special Interlocutor for the investigation and protection of unmarked burials and the identification of the missing children of former Indian Residential schools.

These projects will support an Elders Gathering on the land to develop the future direction of ALS, and the Strategic plan which will provide a clear path and roadmap for a broader journey of continued growth, innovation and service excellence.

This multi-year project will address the challenges and opportunities presented by the centralization of the Gladue Courts in Toronto, Ontario. A key focus of this project will be to ensure greater Indigenous input into decisions about the Gladue Courts and how they incorporate Gladue Principles.

This multi-year project will focus on engaging urban Indigenous people in the development of Indigenous Justice Strategy in the greater Toronto area.