Legal Aid may decide to refuse your application or withdraw your legal aid for different reasons. It may be that your income is too high or you didn’t provide all the documents you were asked for. But if you disagree with the decision, you can appeal it.
Identifying the reason for the decision
Of course, you’ll need to know the reason for the refusal or withdrawal to determine if it was justified or not. You will be sent as “notice of refusal or withdrawal of legal aid” which will state the reasons for the decision. These may include:
- You don’t meet all the conditions to qualify for legal aid
- Your case clearly has little chance of success
- The services requested are provided by another government body (such as the labour standards board)
You can contact your Legal Aid office for more information and to better understand the reasons for the decision.
Providing all required documents
The Legal Aid office will ask you for several documents to determine your financial situation and decide if you qualify for legal aid. If you don’t provide all these documents, your application will be refused, even if you actually meet the eligibility conditions.
If you forget to send in any documents, contact the Legal Aid office in order to provide the documents needed to complete your application.
Deadline for applying for review
If you wish to contest the refusal, you have 30 days from the date you received the decision. A Review Committee will examine your file and you will be given an opportunity to explain your situation. The Committee will either change the decision or confirm it.
To contest the decision, you must:
- Complete and sign the “Request for Review” form enclosed with your notice or available online from the Commission des services juridiques website
- Enclose the notice of refusal
- Send the required documents to the Review Committee by mail or by fax.
