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The Health Justice Program is a partnership between St. Michael's Hospital Academic Family Health Team and Neighbourhood Legal Services, with 3 specialty clinics advising:The partnership is funded through Legal Aid Ontario with in-kind contributions from all partners.
We primarily support rostered patients of the St. Michael’s Hospital Academic Family Health Team (FHT) who are low-income and facing legal issues that affect health and well-being (for example, discrimination, safety, employment, family, or housing). If you’re not rostered with the SMH FHT, we’ll do our best to connect you with the right community legal service. Our mission statement helps guide us in our goals to:
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Our Services:
Legal information, system navigation, and brief services for approx. 300 rostered patients of the St. Michael's Hospital Family Health Team (FHT) per year in a wide range of legal matters. See:
Legal information, system navigation, and brief services for approx. 300 rostered patients of the St. Michael's Hospital Family Health Team (FHT) per year in a wide range of legal matters. See:
- Drozdzal G, Shoucri R, Macdonald J, Radford K, Pinto AD, Persaud N. Integrating legal services with primary care: The Health Justice Program. Can Fam Physician. 2019 Apr;65(4):246-248. PMID: 30979753; PMCID: PMC6467680. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30979753/
Legal education with the health team, legal learners, and patients. See:
- 2019 - Health Justice Tuesdays https://unityhealth.to/health-justice-program/#health-justice-tuesdays
- 2019 - present - Clinical Legal Education Integrated Practice Curriculum for 2L and 3L students at Toronto Metropolitan University's Lincoln Alexander School of Law
- 2021 - present - Clinical Legal Education Health Justice Externship for 3L students at University of Toronto's Faculty of Law (recognized with an Arbor Award in 2023)
- 2025 - Dr. Rami Shoucri & Jennifer Stone, Eds., Health-Harming Legal Needs: A Guide for Primary Care Providers in Canada. Toronto: University of Toronto Press [Forthcoming Fall 2025]
Systemic advocacy project work related to the social determinants of health grounded in community engagement. See:
- Nishwa Shah, Kim Radford, Steve Durant, Rami Shoucri, Jennifer Stone, Navindra Persaud, Andrew D. Pinto, "Advocating for Policy Change: Examples Emerging From a Medical-Legal Partnership in Primary Care" Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, Volume 35, Number 1, February 2024, pp. 8-17 (Article) Published by Johns Hopkins University Press. https://doi.org/10.1353/hpu.2024.a919804 https://upstreamlab.org/publication/advocating-for-policy-change-examples-emerging-from-a-medical-legal-partnership-in-primary-care
See below for examples our advocacy work in the areas of
- Access to Healthcare:
- 2023 - OHIP for All advocacy, in partnership with Health Providers Against Poverty and the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change.
- 2024 - As part of a Health Coalition with HALCO, the HJP successfully intervened at the Supreme Court of Canada in Auer v. Auer, regarding when delegated legislation can be reviewed by courts. (with special thanks to Mannu Chowdhury from Paliare Roland for representing the Health Coalition pro bono)
- Housing Justice:
- 2019 - "Improving Housing Conditions, Improving Health", a community based project funded by the Canadian Mortgage Housing Corporation.
- 2020 - Encampment eviction advocacy: Black v City of Toronto, in which we sought to have the Charter rights of homeless people recognized during the Covid-19 pandemic.
- 2025 - Our submission to the Ontario government regarding the Safer Municipalities Act (Bill 242)
- 2021 - Created video on: Challenges related to Family Responsibility Office/ Service Canada garnishing Old Age Security for low income seniors.
- 2020 - In the case of D.S. v Aviva Insurance Company of Canada, the HJP (as part of a Health Coalition together with Ontarians with Disabilities) successfully challenged Aviva's attempt to limit access to benefits for the claimant because she did not have independent funds to pay upfront for care. (With special thanks to Dianne Wintermute and Karen Spector for jointly representing our coalition in this case.)
- 2021 - In partnership with the Income Security Advocacy Centre, developed a Disability Tax Credit Information Sheet for healthcare providers.
- 2022 - Dr. Gary Bloch and Jennifer Stone, Op Ed., "Ontario needs a government that will legislate health, not poverty," Toronto Star, May 27, 2022.
- 2020 - Health Coalition intervention in Safe Third Country Agreement challenge at the Federal Court of Appeal (intervention application denied). (With special thanks to Ewa Krajewska from Borden Ladner Gervais for representing our Coalition pro bono)
- 2025 - Discussion Paper and recommendations to the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services regarding banning policies at local offices.
- 2025 - Dr. Rami Shoucri et al., "Public Health Law, COVID-19, and the Social Determinants of Health" [working title] Ubaka Ogbogu, C. Tess Sheldon & Jacob J. Shelley, eds., Public Health Law and Policy in Canada (5th edition) (Toronto: LexisNexis Canada, forthcoming).
How do I make contact with the Health Justice Program?
- Contact us directly, or attend one of our drop-in afternoons (see schedule below)
- Ask to be referred to us through your doctor, nurse practitioner, social worker or other health care provider
What should I expect when speaking with the paralegal, law students, or lawyer?
- Please ask for translation services and/or disability related accommodations
- Phone or in person appointments are around 30 minutes long
- At a minimum, we will give you legal information and a referral to legal services in the community
- Bring or have relevant documents ready for review
- To assess our program, we will ask you confidential questions that will remain anonymous. Answering these questions is voluntary
Drop-in clinics
Drop-in clinics are only for patients of the St. Michael’s FHT when you have not been able to get a referral from a member of the health-care team (see schedule at top of page).
Contact information
Xin Meng, Paralegal
[email protected]
Phone: 647-239-8283 (this phone is answered Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.)
Xin Meng, Paralegal
[email protected]
Phone: 647-239-8283 (this phone is answered Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.)
