Dear Law Association Presidents and members,

FOLA continues to engage, as a stakeholder, along with others, to negotiate and advocate on behalf of the LAO  practising lawyer.  

Below is the newest successful advancement of expanded LAO services to be engaged during COVID-19.

The email from Marcus Pratt, as forwarded herewith, is self explanatory but should you have questions or additional commentary, please, reach out to me:  terrylbrandon@sympatic.ca.

These materials are also located on our website along with regular updated COVID -19 practice information and can be found at : https://fola.ca/legal-aid

Wishing you stay well, Terry L. Brandon, FOLA LAO Chair 

Subject: Emergency Certificate Coverage for Temporary Absence Passes

Good afternoon:

Please feel free to share this information with your members.

As part of LAO’s continuing response to COVID-19, lawyers will be able to apply for legal aid coverage on behalf of in‑custody clients requesting temporary absence permits.

A new application form will be available on our website by Friday, April 3, 2020.

This follows the Ontario government’s announcement that it would expand the use of temporary absence permits by allowing authorized inmates to be absent from an institution unescorted for a period of 72 hours or longer.

Lawyers may immediately start work related to obtaining TAPs on your clients’ behalf, but you must submit an application, once available, to receive coverage.

How it will work

 After downloading and filling in the application form, email it to the address provided.

We will process it without legal and financial testing, or merit consideration.

Each application requires that the lawyer attest to the following conditions to obtain coverage:

• The inmate is not serving a sentence for a violent offence and is not classified as a maximum security offender
• The inmate will not, by reoffending, present an undue risk to society during the absence·        

We will issue a legal aid certificate in advance. Signed consent and declaration forms may be submitted after May 29, 2020, where required.

See https://www.legalaid.on.ca/in-briefs/legal-aid-ontario-to-provide-coverage-for-temporary-absence-permit-tap-requests/

Take care and be safe, Marcus