This is a joint project between Osgoode Hall, University of Toronto Faculty of Law & Lincoln Alexander School of Law.
Name of Organization: Black Legal Action Centre
Website of Organization: www.blacklegalactioncentre.ca
Organization’s Mandate: Established in 2017, the Black Legal Action Centre (BLAC) is an independent not-for-profit community legal clinic, funded by Legal Aid Ontario, that combats individual and systemic anti- Black racism by providing free legal services, conducting research, developing public legal education materials, and engaging in test case litigation and law reform.
Project Name: Medical Anti-Black Racism
Project Type: Public Legal Education (presentations, workshops, podcasts, brochures, blogs, etc.) & Research (memoranda used for internal purposes only)
Project Delivery: Remote
Description of Project: Anti-Black racism within the medical system, including mistreatment and disparities, has been documented through social science evidence and more. In the past few years, BLAC has received several requests for assistance from people who suspected that the negative medical outcomes experienced by their family members were due to anti-Black racism. BLAC does not currently deal with medical malpractice cases, but given the prevalence of this issue, the legal clinic would like to see what avenues of redress may be available.
Role of Student Volunteers: In the past years, students have:
– Develop a public resource on anti-Black racism in health care.
– Conduct legal research on the prevalence of anti-Black racism in health care (e.g. maternal, mental).
– Outline possible avenues of redress (e.g. complaint to regulatory body, civil claim for medical negligence, application to human rights tribunal, appeal to Consent and Capacity Board), including the process and associated pros/cons (e.g. adverse costs, remedies, timelines, limitation periods). This portion will include a review of relevant case law.
– Pull together available community resources (e.g. patient navigators).
– Research possible issues with provincial or federal laws and regulations that may be leading to disparate health outcomes, and which BLAC might seek to reform.
In the 2024-2025 school year, the students will conduct legal research to update the previous research. The volunteer will also be asked to create an informative presentation that pulls all these threads together, which will ultimately be used for public legal education sessions.
Role of Supervising Lawyer(s): Will review research plan, findings, memo and public resource and approve final deliverables. The Supervising lawyer will be available during the course of the project to answer questions of a legal nature, provide guidance, and give feedback.
Type of Law: Health Law, Human Rights Law
Main Project Deliverable: Creating produced content (e.g. research memos, brochures, podcasts, etc.)
Number of Student Placements: 1 student
Hours per week the student volunteer(s) will be expected to work: 3-5 hours/week
Regular shifts or a flexible schedule: No regular shifts. Schedule is flexible.
Is there a workspace provided for the student at the Organization: Most of this work can be done remotely. However, BLAC does have laptops, desks, and printers that students can use, if needed.
Devices and technologies the students will be required to have: Computer, internet, phone.
Is there an expectation for the student(s) to be bilingual: No.
Law School Pre-Requisites: N/A
Other Requirements or Expectations: History of self-directed research. Strong research background (e.g. freedom of information requests). Background in healthcare or science is an asset.