The Law for the Future Fund (LFFF) grants awarded this year will to go to support and protect some of the most vulnerable persons in Canada. The eight recipients of grants will assist these less fortunate individuals – a range that includes new migrants to Canada, incarcerated persons and individuals with low literacy skills — through research, education, technology, and tools.
Child Pornography Production in Canada: A Study of Legal Decisions and Media Articles from 2001 to Present – $50,000
The Canadian Centre for Child Protection Inc. has determined that there is a significant amount of data being lost due to child pornography cases in Canada that are unreported. CCCP will identify, collect and analyze reported case law, along with media articles, so that the information and findings from those sources can contribute to a more accurate understanding of issues related to child pornography production in Canada.
The Next Frontier for Public Legal Education: Legally Focused Task Based Activities for Level 1 and 2 Literacy Learners – $26,000
In conjunction with Organization for Literacy in Lambton, The Community Law School (Sarnia-Lambton) Inc. will produce a minimum of 50 task-based activities for use in their literacy programs and other such programs across Canada. This project will focus on helping individuals with low levels of literacy to both read and understand federal laws and systems that could affect them—such as laws related to pensions, employment insurance, human rights, the Criminal code and the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
Remote Connections: Building Canada’s diversity and inclusion through technology-enabled refugee sponsorship support – $25,000
The Remote Connections project by Refugee Hub, housed at the University of Ottawa, will pilot a new, technology-enabled form of service delivery of the Refugee Sponsorship Support Program. The SSP brings together pro bono lawyers, law students and sponsorship experts to support Canadians seeking to sponsor refugees.
Fighting Cybermisogyny Through Law Reform – $25,000
Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF) will engage in research and consultation to develop a legal framework for addressing image-based sexual violence that is rooted in women’s equality rights. LEAF will develop an equality-based legal framework for use in law reform work and strategic litigation on issues involving image-based sexual violence.
Supporting the legal information needs of incarcerated people in Ontario – $21,000
Community Legal Education Ontario/Éducation juridique communautaire Ontario (CLEO) will help University of Ottawa students and other volunteers who work with incarcerated people in need of legal information. CLEO will work with the University of Ottawa to develop an online repository of legal information resources and collaborate with an extensive network of organizations that support incarcerated people to locate, consolidate and share legal information resources.
The Making (and Unmaking) of Medical Inadmissibility: Illness and Disability in Canadian Immigration Law – $20,000
University of Toronto Scarborough/Coalition des organismes communautaires québécois de lutte contre le sida will investigate and systematically document the barriers that prospective immigrants experience as a result of the state’s medical inadmissibility decision-making. Through empirically informed evidence and a final report, the project’s objective is to create new understandings and a robust knowledge base about how these institutional arrangements affect newcomers’ lives.
Statelessness in Canada: Mapping the Legal Structures that Perpetuate, Promote or Eliminate Statelessness – $14,171.08
Stateless persons—defined in international law as someone who is not considered to be a national under the laws of any state— are among the most vulnerable individuals, because they lack legal recognition. The University of Ottawa, Faculty of Common Law will conduct research to outline who are stateless in Canada, and to map out the legal barriers and lack of opportunities that stateless persons face. This research will produce peer-reviewed articles, a toolkit for lawyers and other advocates, and continuing legal education and conference presentations.
IntegralOrg: Research and Education on Federal and Provincial Lobbyist Registration Requirements for Registered Charities and Not-For-Profit Organizations in A Public Advocacy Environment – $11,865.80
This project by IntegralOrg will help charities and not-for-profits better understand their responsibilities for regulatory compliance when they engage in public advocacy dialogue with office holders at various level of government across Canada. IntegralOrg will research and prepare for charities and not-for-profits a comprehensive and professionally produced overview of the lobbying registration and regulatory environment (federal and provincial).
Established in 1984, the LFFF provides financial support for innovative Canadian research projects. Since its creation, the LFFF has helped finance almost 200 innovative and timely research projects. The Board of Directors of the LFFF meets a minimum of two times per year to oversee the operation of the Fund and to consider fundraising issues. To date, the total assistance granted by the LFFF is over $3.9 million. The annual granting budget is approximately $200,000, which typically results in grants for 8-12 organizations in each funding cycle.
For more information on previous grant recipients, please visit the Grants Awarded page.
The deadline for 2020 submissions is May 1, 2020.