Author: Audrey Jun

Audrey Jun is the Clicklaw Program Coordinator at Courthouse Libraries BC. She manages Clicklaw, working to connect people across the varied public legal education landscape. Audrey was called to the BC Bar in 2014 and combines backgrounds in law, public legal education, and technology.

New Service Alert: Tax Assistance & Information for People with Disabilities

Get help using Clicklaw, New on Clicklaw

tax_aid

Today’s post introduces a New Service from Disability Alliance BC, a Clicklaw Contributor.

Who can use this service?

People receiving BC disability benefits: the Persons with Disabilities (PWD) or Persons with Persistent and Multiple Barriers (PPMB) benefit and need help filing income tax returns from past years.

Click here to learn more about BC disability benefits.

What can this new service do for you?

  • Help you gather the documents necessary to file your taxes
  • Meet with you one-on-one to help you file your basic
    income tax return
  • Provide information and advice (in-person, or by phone and/or email) about filing income tax returns – See their informational page on the Benefits of Tax Filing
  • Provide referrals to community organizations in your area that can help with more complex tax returns
  • Access advice and support for you from a chartered accountant if your tax return is complex

How do I get started?

Find Contact Information, Hours of Service, and more at Disability Alliance BC‘s Service Listing for this service on the HelpMap:

Click here for Tax Assistance & Information for People with Disabilities – Service Listing

Justice Theatre Heads to Haida Gwaii for Restorative Justice Forums

Community posts

By People’s Law SchoolJustice_Theatre

This fall, the People’s Law School launches the first two of its Access to Restorative Justice Community Forums on the Haida Gwaii Islands. The forums, held in partnership with the Haida Gwaii Restorative Justice Program, will take place in Queen Charlotte City on September 15, 2015 and in Masset the following day. Additional restorative justice forums are scheduled for later in the fall in Prince Rupert and Terrace.

The aim of the community forums is to increase the use of restorative justice processes by victims of crime. The forums plan to address issues such as:

  • How can victims of crime and offenders have better access to the restorative justice approach?
  • What needs to be done to strengthen the relationships between police-based victim services and restorative justice agencies?

What is restorative justice?

Restorative justice seeks to repair the harm caused by crime by addressing the needs of victims, engaging the community in the justice process, and encouraging dialogue and healing. Restorative justice involves bringing together the victim, offender and members of the community to discuss the effects of the crime. At a restorative justice session the focus is on the impact of the crime and how to address the harm that was done.

In this approach, crime is understood not only as breaking the law, but as a violation of people, relationships and a disruption of the peace in the community.

Restorative justice principles draw from Aboriginal experience and tradition, including the belief that the community has primary responsibility for addressing crime.

You can find a description of restorative justice on the JusticeBC website.

Read more