Strengthening Legal Support: IRLC's New Partnership
Enhancing access to justice for immigrants and refugees in British Columbia
On February 1, 2025, the Immigration and Refugee Legal Clinic (IRLC) transitioned to a new host, the Community Legal Clinic Operating Society of British Columbia, which also operates the Okanagan-Thompson Legal Clinics in Kamloops and Kelowna. Founded in 2019 and funded principally by the Law Foundation of BC, the IRLC has been hosted by Immigrant Settlement Services of BC (ISSofBC) for the past six years. This change of host agency aims to enhance the delivery of legal services to low-income individuals dealing with complex immigration and refugee issues across British Columbia by coordinating efforts with other community legal clinics.
In the complex landscape of immigration and refugee law, the IRLC offers free legal advice and representation and is dedicated to assisting those who are often left without recourse due to financial constraints or gaps in traditional legal aid services. This includes individuals who cannot afford private representation, as well as vulnerable clients dealing with complex immigration legal issues.
Since opening its doors, the IRLC has successfully advocated for secure immigration status for hundreds of vulnerable individuals, including families with children. More than 100 survivors fleeing abusive relationships received timely legal advice through initiatives like IRLC’s Gender Violence Legal Representation Project. One of the IRLC’s critical roles is to act as a safety net for individuals who face imminent risks in their countries of origin; its advocacy efforts aim at securing permanent residency or refugee protection for those at risk. The Clinic represents clients before various bodies including the Immigration and Refugee Board, Federal Court, Immigration Refugees Citizenship Canada, and Canada Border Services Agency.
Converting interest into legal protection
The IRLC’s vital services operate largely behind the scenes due to the sensitive nature of the work. Nevertheless, they represent a cornerstone of critical access to justice services in British Columbia. As with other legal clinics supported by the Foundation, demand for service vastly exceeds capacity and a result, staff lawyers are unable to assist everyone who needs their services. Thanks to interest earned on lawyers’ pooled trust accounts, the Foundation has been able to increase core funding to these services in the past, although more remains to be done. The Foundation's Preferred Financial Institutions offer competitive interest rates on these accounts, establishing a sustainable funding source for legal clinics and aid services. By directing their business and pooled trust accounts to these institutions, lawyers can actively contribute to enhancing access to justice throughout British Columbia and support the work of organizations like the IRLC that make a direct and sometimes life-saving impact on the lives of their clients.
"As a profession, I think we can take a lot of pride in the contributions that we make to access to justice through the Law Foundation," says Karen Ameyaw, Chair of the Law Foundation of BC’s Board of Governors. "The interest earned on lawyers’ pooled trust accounts ensures the Foundation can provide funding for organizations that provide free legal services and justice programs for low-income people across the province.”
The Foundation provides core, ongoing funding for over 120 direct legal service programs around the province including 16 legal clinics and over 75 poverty and family law advocacy programs. This wide network of programs, like the IRLC, provides critical assistance for individuals and families in need in every region of British Columbia. The Foundation would like to thank all legal professionals for their support of this network as well as the staff who work tirelessly to provide these services to British Columbians every day.
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Top Photo: Mural at Harbour Centre in Vancouver: “The Belonging Action”, 2012, by Melanie Schambach. Learn more about the mural’s creation here. Photo by Mike (squeakymarmot) is licensed under CC BY SA 2.0; Image cropped to fit this page.
Second Photo entitled “Vancouver Mural Festival” by alexjuy is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0, depicts a block of Main Street in Vancouver south of Broadway. Two murals visible are “The Present is a Gift”, 2016 by Drew Young & Jay Senetchko, and a mural at Kafka’s Coffee by Sandy and Steve Pell: Pellvetica.
Third Photo by Katie Moum on Unsplash.
