Further Resources

Table of Contents

  1. Need help with a legal question?
  2. Free Confidential Legal Advice for Youth Under 18
  3. School Boards by Province and Territory
  4. Police Complaints Commissions & Investigative Bodies by Province & Territory
  5. How to write a press release
  6. How to find your Member of Parliament
  7. Mental health resources

This resource list was compiled by Teen Legal Helpline, and can be found at teenlegalhelpline.org/resources. The links for the NWT and Nunavut have been changed.

Alberta

Children’s Legal & Education Resource Centre (CLERC): youthlaw.ca

Answers to common questions that youth have about the law in Alberta. You can use a service called “Ask a Lawyer” to speak with a free and experienced lawyer who specializes in youth law.

British Columbia

Legal Rights for Youth: legalrightsforyouth.ca

Answers to common questions that youth have about the law in British Columbia.

Manitoba

The Manitoba Association for Rights and Liberties (MARL): marl.mb.ca/youth-program/under-18-handbook

Publishers of the “Under 18 Handbook” that answers common questions that youth have about the law in Manitoba.

New Brunswick / Nouveau-Brunswick

Youth Justice - Public Legal Education and Information Service of New Brunswick (PLEIS-NB): youthjusticenb.ca/english

Answers to common questions that youth have about the law in New Brunswick, as well as educational games and videos.

Justice pour les jeunes - Service public d’éducation et d’information juridiques du Nouveau-Brunswick (SPEIJ-NB): youthjusticenb.ca/french

Vous pouviez consultez ce site web de Nouveau-Brunswick qui offre aux jeunes une ressource en ligne compréhensible sur la loi. Ici vous pourriez jouer des jeux éducationnelles et regarder des vidéos qui vous enseignerez la loi.

Newfoundland and Labrador

Public Legal Information Association of NL (PLIAN): publiclegalinfo.com

Answers to common questions about the law in Newfoundland with a section specific to youth. You can call the “Legal Information Line” (not just for youth) for legal information over the phone.

Northwest Territories

Legal Services - Northwest Territories Department of Justice: justice.gov.nt.ca/en/browse/legal-services

Answers to common questions about the law in the Northwest Territories.

Nova Scotia

Legal Information Society of Nova Scotia: legalinfo.org

Answers to common questions about the law in Nova Scotia with a section specific to youth.

Nunavut

Public Legal Education - Legal Services Board of Nunavut: nulas.ca/en/public-legal-education

Answers to common questions about the law in Nunavut.

Representative for Children and Youth: rcynu.ca

Works one-on-one with a child or youth, listening and helping the young person address his or her concerns.

Prince Edward Island

Legal Information for Youth - Community Legal Information Association of Prince Edward Island (CLIA PEI): cliapei.ca/youth/content/page/front_home

Answers to common questions about the law in PEI with a section specific to youth. You can call CLIA for help if you cannot find the information you are looking for.

Québec

L’espace jeunesse - Éducaloi: educaloi.qc.ca/jeunesse L’espace jeunesse d’ Éducaloi est plein d’information sur les lois québécoises qui impactes les enfants et les adolescents.

Youth Zone - Éducaloi: educaloi.qc.ca/en/youth

Answers to common questions that youth have about the law in Quebec and a list of support organizations.

Saskatchewan

The Public Legal Education Association of Saskatchewan (PLEA): plea.org

Answers to common questions about the law in Saskatchewan with a section specific to youth.

Yukon

Yukon Public Legal Education Association (YPLEA): yplea.com

Answers to common questions about the law in the Yukon. You can call the “Law Line” (not just for youth) if you would like an answer to your legal question.

Not all provinces/territories offer these services, unfortunately. If you don’t see your province/territory listed here, contact one of the above organizations and ask if there is an organization you can call that offers free confidential legal advice for youth under 18.

Alberta youthlaw.ca/ask-a-lawyer/

British Columbia legalrightsforyouth.ca

Fredericton, New Brunswick frederictonlegaladviceclinic.ca

Nova Scotia legalinfo.org/how-lisns-can-help/welcome-to-legalinfons

Ontario teenlegalhelpline.org/ jfcy.org/about-us/contact-us/

Prince Edward Island cliapei.ca/youth/content/page/front_home

Quebec barreau.qc.ca/pdf/affiches/urgence-juvenile-avocat-bilingue.pdf

Saskatchewan plea.org/contact/

PLEA doesn’t give legal advice but can tell you about different options for getting legal advice

3. School Boards by Province and Territory

Once you go to your board or district’s website, you can see a list of all the trustees or members, and then find out which trustee or member represents your area, or school. You may also be able to find their contact information to contact them by phone or email. If not, you can call the general number of the school board and ask for the contact information directly.

Alberta

Alberta School Boards Association: asba.ab.ca/about-asba/people/school-boards

Band Operated Schools in Alberta: education.alberta.ca/media/3402139/bandoperatedschoolsinab.pdf

British Columbia

School/District Contacts Map: bced.gov.bc.ca/schools/bcmap.htm

Independent School Authorities (Private schools): bced.gov.bc.ca/apps/imcl/imclWeb/IndSchoolAuthority.do

Manitoba

Manitoba School Divisions and Districts: edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/schools/schooldivmap.html

New Brunswick

School Directory: nbed.nb.ca/schooldirectory

Newfoundland and Labrador

School Districts: ed.gov.nl.ca/edu/k12/schoolsdistricts/districts.html

Northwest Territories

NWT Teachers’ Association Interactive Map: nwtta.nt.ca/interactive-map

Nova Scotia

Schools and Regional Centres for Education: ednet.ns.ca/our-schools-regional-centres-education

Note

In March 2018, Nova Scotia voted to get rid of the school board system for all of its English language schools. Once the transition fully takes place, the province will run the schools directly. The Conseil scolaire acadien provincial will still exist.

Nunavut

District Education Authority: gov.nu.ca/education/information/district-education-authority

Ontario

Find a School or School Board: edu.gov.on.ca/eng/sbinfo/

Prince Edward Island

Public Schools Branch: edu.princeedwardisland.ca/psb/

La Commission scolaire de langue française: https://cslfipe.wordpress.com/

Note

PEI no longer has different school boards. It has something like a school board that is run by the government directly – one for the English-language schools, and one for the French-language schools.

Québec

Commissions scolaires: fcsq.qc.ca/commissions-scolaires/

English School Boards Association School Boards: qesba.qc.ca/en/school-boards

Yukon

School Councils: education.gov.yk.ca/councils.html

4. Police Complaints Commissions & Investigative Bodies by Province and Territory

Alberta

Alberta Law Enforcement Review Board:solgps.alberta.ca/boards_commissions/law_enforcement_review_board/Pages/default.aspx

Alberta Serious Integrated Response Team (ASIRT): solgps.alberta.ca/programs_and_services/public_security/ASIRT/Pages/default.aspx

Calgary Police Commission: calgarypolicecommission.ca

Edmonton Police Commission: edmontonpolicecommission.com

British Columbia

Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner: opcc.bc.ca

Independent Investigation Office: iiobc.ca

Manitoba

Manitoba Law Enforcement Review Agency (LERA): gov.mb.ca/justice/lera

Manitoba Independent Investigation Unit: iiumanitoba.ca/

New Brunswick

New Brunswick Police Commission: https://www.nbpolicecommission.ca

Newfoundland and Labrador

Royal Newfoundland Constabulary Public Complaints Commission: justice.gov.nl.ca/rncpcc

Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia Office of the Police Complaints Commissioner: gov.ns.ca/opcc/annualReports.htm

Nova Scotia Serious Incident Response Team: sirt.novascotia.ca

Ontario

Special Investigations Unit: siu.on.ca

Ontario Office of the Independent Police Review: oiprd.on.ca

Ontario Civilian Commission on Police Services: slasto.gov.on.ca

Prince Edward Island

Office of the Police Commissioner: policecommissioner.pe.ca

Québec

Police Ethics Commissioner: deontologie-policiere.gouv.qc.ca/accueil

Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan Public Complaints Commission: saskatchewan.ca/government/government-structure/boards-commissions-and-agencies/saskatchewan-public-complaints-commission

Federal (RCMP and Military)

Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP (CPC): cpc-cpp.gc.ca

Canadian Military Police Complaints Commission (MPCC): mpcc-cppm.gc.ca

5. How to write a press release

Check out this excellent resource at Advocates for Youth: advocatesforyouth.org/topics-issues/organizational-development/251-working-with-the-media

6. Find your Member of Parliament

Find your Member of Parliament at the Parliament of Canada website: ourcommons.ca/Parliamentarians/en/members

7. Mental health resources

Kids Help Phone

A free, anonymous and confidential helpline for youth between the ages of 5 and 20 - Call 24/7: 1-800-668-6868. You can chat with a live counsellor online from Wednesday - Sunday, 6 pm - 2 am EST at kidshelpphone.ca.

Suicide prevention hotlines

https://suicideprevention.ca/need-help

First Nations and Inuit Hope for Wellness Help Line

Free national telephone crisis intervention and counselling support for First Nations and Inuit. Help can be reached toll-free, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by calling 1-855-242-3310.

Mindyourmind.ca:

A space where youth can get information, resources and tools to manage stress, crisis and mental health related problems. mindyourmind.ca

Mental Health First Aid Canada

A good list of resources for all sorts of questions related to mental health - mentalhealthfirstaid.ca/en/faqs-resources/resources

Teenmentalhealth.org:

Mental health information addressing the needs of youth (ages 12 to 25 years), families, educators, health providers, policy makers and others. teenmentalhealth.org