What is the Northumberland Community Legal Centre (NCLC)

The Northumberland Community Legal Clinic is a community legal clinic that provides free and confidential legal advice, representation and assistance to the low-income residents of Northumberland County. The NCLC is staffed by lawyers and licensed paralegals, and is governed by the regulations of the Law Society of Ontario. It is also a sister agency of The Help Centre.

The NCLC is funded by Legal Aid Ontario, and there is no charge for our legal services. Clients may, however, be asked to pay back any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in the completion of their file, such as medical reports and filing fees. Clients must live within Northumberland County. For legal representation, our clients must also meet the Legal Aid Ontario financial eligibility guidelines for family income and assets.

No one ever sees themselves in the situation of requiring legal assistance they can’t afford, but it does happen. To help meet the needs of our community members, our areas of practice cover:

  • Tenants’ Rights (*Please note: Tenants only. We don’t advise or represent landlords.)
  • ODSP – Ontario Disability Support Program
  • OW – Ontario Works
  • Employment law (Please note: Workers only.  We don’t advise or represent employers.)
  • WSIB – Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (Please note: Workers only.  We don’t advise or represent employers.)
  • CPP – Canada Pension Plan
  • EI – Employment Insurance
  • Employment Standards
  • OAS – Old Age Security and GIS – Guaranteed Income Supplement
  • Ontario Human Rights Code
  • Wills and Powers of Attorney
  • Forms completion
  • Seniors’ issues

*Please note that we do not help with the following areas of law: Real Estate, Family, Criminal, Highway Traffic or Small Claims Court. See our Resources page for assistance with these areas.

NCLC services cover a wide range of assistance for low-income residents of Northumberland County, including:

  • Summary legal advice gives the client information on their legal rights and responsibilities specific to their current legal situation.   
  • Legal representation depends on case merit and client family financial eligibility, along with other legal eligibility requirements (ie. availability of clinic resources, case selection priorities, time frames, conflict of interest). Each case and client is assessed to ensure they meet the eligibility requirements. 
  • For those who do not qualify for legal representation, self-help guidance and referrals to other sources of assistance are provided including contacts at other legal clinics or community agencies. Self–help guidance, “how-to” and legal information is available so that the client can take steps on their own to resolve their legal problem.  See Steps to Justice.
  • NCLC also aids in community development initiatives. If your community group is working towards social justice goals that fall within the NCLC practice areas, contact us to see if we can be of assistance.   
  • NCLC furthers its community work by providing public legal education to groups and individuals through both presentations and publications in its areas of practice.  Contact us to arrange a no-cost presentation on any of our areas of practice!
  • NCLC also works on law reform, working to change laws and policies at all levels of government to benefit low-income individuals.  We make submissions to government on legislative and policy changes that affect our clients.
  • NCLC is involved in projects to improve access to justice.  The Sexual Harassment in the Workplace initiative (SHIW), for victims of sexual harassment at work; and the Independent Legal Advice/Independent Legal Representation (ILA/ILR) for victims of gender-based violence are both funded by the Department of Justice Canada. 

The Northumberland Community Legal Centre is part of The Help and Legal Centre of Northumberland. The Help and Legal Centre of Northumberland is a registered charity (Reg. No. 88894 3198 RR0001) 

We gratefully accept donations to further our work.

Not sure the type of legal help you need?

Call our office and our staff will help to guide you. Our telephones are answered
every Monday to Friday from 9 am to 5 pm.

Phone us at: 905-373-4464 | Toll-free: 1-800-850-7882

Disclaimer:
This site is designed and operated by the Northumberland Community Legal Centre for your information purposes only.  It is NOT intended to be relied on as legal advice. Any use of or reliance on this site, the contents of this site or the information provided through this site shall be at your sole risk.  NCLC updates in the information on this site as often as possible, but makes no representation or warranty of any kind regarding this site, the contents of this site or the information provided through this site.  While we make best efforts to verify all information provided on this site, there is no guarantee of accuracy.

Please Note:
Contacting the Legal Centre by email does not mean that we represent you unless we have agreed to do so and a retainer has been signed. Unless you have already retained the Legal Centre, no information in an email will be considered confidential. Please do not send information without first contacting the Legal Centre by phone and getting consent.