Ukrainian Lawyers Visit
Cobourg Legal Clinic
By Andrij Kowalsky
During the early 20th century, the Town of Cobourg, Ontario was once a summer
retreat for American industrialists. On June 28, 2010, the Northumberland Community Legal Centre
embraced the town’s legacy of welcoming important international visitors by
hosting Ukrainian lawyers. A delegation
from the Open Society Institute (OSI), International Renaissance Foundation
(IRF), and directors from eight Ukrainian community law centres were in Cobourg
as part of their seven-day, educational tour of Ontario’s rural and urban
community legal clinics. 
Founded in 1993 by renowned philanthropist George
Soros, the OSI supports the transition work of former Eastern European
Communist countries into rule-of-law states.
OSI spearheads public policy reforms in justice, education, public
health, and independent media to facilitate a vibrant, conscious, and open
civil society. Building, administrating
and sustaining the infrastructure necessary for change in Ukraine is the work of IRF, an
outreach of the OSI.
A pluralistic legal system is a priority for Ukraine. Biased judges and omnipotent prosecutors,
operating in woefully underfunded courts have allowed the rich and politically
connected to supplant Soviet apparatchiki
as primary beneficiaries of the law. The
OSI, RFI, and its partners are recalibrating the scales of justice by
supporting the establishment of legal aid clinics in four, primarily rural,
Ukrainian regions. These clinics will
facilitate access to justice by educating, advocating, and legally representing
indigent citizens. The enlightenment of
legal knowledge will empower these people to advocate for themselves.
Ontario’s community legal
centres provide an excellent comparative model.
A network of over seventy independent clinics staffed by lawyers,
articling students, paralegals and clerks offer low-income individuals and
specialized groups a range of tailored legal services. In no uncertain terms, these legal clinics
are the first and last resource of legal assistance for the province’s
underprivileged populations.
Left unmediated, poverty is a universal deterrent
for accessing justice. Drawing on their
expertise in worker’s rights, social assistance and housing law, legal staff
members of the Northumberland Community Legal Centre were knowledgeable
ambassadors of laws addressed by legal aid clinics. They fomented an open forum of insightful
discussion with their Ukrainian counterparts regarding substantive legal
issues.
The Ukrainians’ visit to the Northumberland
Community Legal Centre was capped by a distinguished reception. Rick Norlock,
federal Member of Parliament, and Lou Rinaldi, Member of Provincial Parliament
for Northumberland-Quinte West, attended as did members from the Northumberland
Law Association and senior regional management for Legal Aid Ontario, the primary source of
funding for provincial legal aid clinics.
Discussion with the wide range of guests allowed the visitors to expand
on pressing matters. After the
gathering, the coterie embarked
on their final stop, Toronto, before departing home
the next day.
The delegation left for Ukraine better informed about
Canadian Law and the principles and practice behind Ontario’s community legal aid
clinics. They have forged new contacts
and relationships with a passionate, sympathetic and knowledgeable Ontario
Bar. By visiting the Northumberland Community
Legal Centre the Ukrainian lawyers learned about “the value of having the legal
clinic be part of a joint agency with a social service NGO that provides
complimentary service. This creates one
stop for clients for both legal and 'social work' type issues, and aids in the
recognition of legal issues, even if presented to the other agency as some
other type of problem” notes Lois Cromarty, Executive Director of the
Northumberland Community Legal Centre.
The project of social justice is alive in Ukraine.
Andrij Kowalsky, MA, LLM, is a PhD candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School at York University in Toronto.
PHOTO
Ukrainian delegation at Northumberland Community Legal Centre