New Gladue writers to help backlog

Legal Aid Ontario is expanding Gladue writing services in northeastern Ontario with funding to Aboriginal Legal Services in Toronto to hire Gladue writers for Windsor, Sudbury, North Bay and Sault Ste. Marie. Gladue reports provide background on the lives of Aboriginal†people in conflict with the law. Jonathan Rudin with Aboriginal Legal Services in Toronto said hiring Gladue writers for the communities will reduce the long waiting list. “We’ve been advocating for this for a very, very long time, and we’re very pleased that Legal Aid Ontario has stepped up,” he said. Currently, ALST employs Gladue report writers in Toronto, Hamilton-Brantford-St. Catharines-Welland, Kitchener-Waterloo, Sarnia, Ottawa, Niagara, Barrie and Oshawa-Peterborough-Lindsay. Legal Aid Ontario said the positions are mainly provincially funded.