Services in Ontario - Getting benefits and services

During the COVID-19 situation, many community legal clinics are no longer meeting with people in person, but will provide services over the phone. Call ahead for more information.

Legal Aid Ontario funds community legal clinics across Ontario to give free legal services to people with low incomes. Lawyers, community legal workers, and law students can help people with some legal problems, like social assistance, housing, and workers’ rights.

To get help from a clinic:

• your legal issue must be one the clinic deals with
• you must live in the area the clinic serves
• you must have a low income

Most clinics also give brief advice or what’s called “summary advice”, without asking about your financial situation. If your local clinic can’t help you, they may be able to refer you to someone in your community who can.

This website provides newcomers with information and resources to settle in Ontario, Canada in the areas of:

• immigration and citizenship
• health
• employment
• education
• daily life

There is also a directory that can help you find a settlement agency near you. 

This directory helps refugee claimants find a doctor in their city who is approved by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to perform their immigration medical exam. 

Service Canada is a central place to access a wide range of government services and benefits, including Employment Insurance, Old Age Security, Canada Pension Plan, Social Insurance Numbers, and passports. There are Service Canada offices across Ontario. 

Service Canada’s Benefits Finder suggests benefits from the Canadian and provincial governments that you may be able to get.

Legal Aid Ontario funds Justice for Children and Youth to offer free legal help in the Toronto area to young people under 18 and homeless youth under 25.

They focus on all areas of children’s law including youth criminal justice, education, mental health, human rights, and provincial offences. They also give general legal advice and information to young people, to parents on education issues, and to professional and community groups.

This service connects refugee claimants with a healthcare service provider who can assist with initial medical assessments and referrals to other health services. It is not an emergency or crisis line. 

CAMH offers psychiatric consultation and possible brief culturally sensitive interventions to refugee claimaints during their first 2 years in Toronto. A doctor’s referral is required. 

Women’s College Hospital offers a Crossroads Clinic that provides medical services to refugee claimaints during their first 2 years in Toronto. They provide a range of services including:

• management of chronic diseases like diabetes and hypertension
• full primary care for children including immunizations
• pregnancy care
• family planning advice
• annual health exams
• assistance with issues like sleep disorders, depression, and anxiety
• arranging appointments with specialists
• health education 

The Canadian Centre for Victims of Torture (CCVT) is a community-based organization that helps victims of torture, war, genocide, and crimes against humanity. They provide treatment, tools, and support that allow refugees to heal from trauma and become active community members.