Course aims to aid licensees tackling Indigenous legal issues and representing Indigenous clients
The Law Society of Ontario is set to implement a new Indigenous cultural training course for licensees after the initiative was approved by most of the benchers.
The course aims to ensure that licensees meet a baseline level of knowledge and competence in acting for Indigenous clients and tackling Indigenous legal matters in areas like corporate and commercial law, estates, civil litigation, administrative and regulatory work, criminal law, family law, child protection, housing and employment, and interactions with government institutions. The LSO worked with other Canadian jurisdictions and Indigenous scholars and legal experts in creating the course, which has been customized for the Ontario legal context.
Through the course, licensees are expected to gain a foundational understanding of the histories, cultures, and rights of Indigenous peoples. The course is also intended to break down barriers and build trust, thereby bolstering First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities’ access to justice.
The Indigenous cultural training course, which can be completed in about six hours, will form part of licensees’ current mandatory CPD requirement and will fully meet licensees’ annual CPD requirements in the year of its completion. Conducted online, the free course is offered in both English and French is a one-time requirement.
Licensees will have a two-year window in which to finish the course; an additional year will be granted to those who must complete the Foundations of Sole Practice program and those in other relevant circumstances, the LSO said. The legal regulator will seek input from licensees as they take the Indigenous cultural training course and modify the course as necessary.
The LSO said it was aligning competency requirements with the law societies of British Columbia, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Québec, and the Northwest Territories; in Québec, such competency requirements are mandated for licensing candidates. The Law Society of Yukon is working on its own course.
The LSO will submit to Convocation a report with the implementation details for approval next month. The course is set to be rolled out in the spring.
