By Matthew Daldalian
Marjorie Michel and guests following the April 24 announcement in Montreal. Courtesy Marjorie Michel media relations office.
Federal funding announced in Saint-Michel
The Saint-Michel Legal Clinic will receive more than $290,000 over two years under a new federal funding package aimed at reducing barriers faced by Black Canadians in the justice system.
The announcement was made the morning of April 24 at the clinic in Montreal’s Saint-Michel district by Marjorie Michel, who said Ottawa is investing $8.6 million over two years in 24 projects across Canada through its Black Justice Strategy.
Among the 24 funded projects, the Saint-Michel Legal Clinic was the only Quebec organization selected.
“Justice can only be fully just when it is representative of society,” Michel said in French.
She said the Saint-Michel clinic would use the funding to offer legal guidance to Black adults dealing with the criminal justice system, along with culturally appropriate court preparation, psychological support and training sessions.
“It will also set up mobile legal clinics across Montreal and Laval in order to reach more people,” Michel said.
Local clinic says need is clear
Fernando Belton, executive director of the Saint-Michel Legal Clinic and lawyer at Belton Lawyers, said the federal initiative follows several years of consultation on the overrepresentation of Black Canadians in the justice system.
“One of the first step of that strategy was to actually try to understand the reason why there’s a disproportionate amount of black people inside of the justice system,” Belton said.
He said part of the answer is already known.
“There’s information that we already know that is linked to [systemic racism] inside of the system,” Belton said.
Statistics Canada figures show Black people represented 6.2 per cent of accused persons in criminal courts between 2016 and 2023, despite accounting for 3.7 per cent of Canada’s population.
Mobile clinics planned
Belton said the clinic intends to measure success through direct outreach and the number of people assisted.
“We have an amount of people that we want to accompany this year,” he said. “We have mobile clinic that we’ll be doing across Quebec.”
He said the model is meant to bring services directly into communities rather than waiting for people to seek help on their own.
“It means that we will be going to places where black people are,” Belton said.
The clinic plans to work with Black-led and community organizations already active in the province.
Belton named groups including Hoodstock, l’Association québécoise des avocats et avocates de la défense and Association des avocats de la défense de Montréal, along with other partners supporting the rollout.
Justice and health linked
Speakers at the event also noted that justice issues often come with lasting mental health consequences.
Clinic representatives said racial profiling and discrimination can produce anxiety, isolation, loss of trust in institutions and chronic stress long after a legal matter ends.
The new funding will support group psychological services and spaces where participants can share experiences without judgment, organizers said.
Michel said representation also matters within the legal profession itself.
“The presence of Black lawyers in law firms, the courts, universities and all decision-making bodies is a democratic necessity,” she said.
Looking ahead
The federal Black Justice Strategy was first introduced in 2024. Organizers at Friday’s event described the funding as a first step rather than a final solution.
Belton said the goal now is to move beyond consultation and toward concrete services.
For Saint-Michel, that will come as expanding local legal support while reaching Black communities across Quebec.
