The Queer Justice Project

The Queer Justice Project is designed to address unmet legal needs of the LGBTQ+ and Two Spirit [‘queer’] community in Hamilton. It serves as a resource for education, system navigation, and access to justice for queer people. This is a francophone project that has an accompanying English component, and centres the experience of community members living in the margins and intersections. This includes queer newcomers, queer people with disabilities, queer street workers, queer people of colour and Two Spirit people. This community historically and presently has experienced the law as a tool of oppression, and this project aims to educate how the law can be wielded in an empowering way.

The queer community faces disproportionate legal burdens and challenges and the Queer Justice Project works to address this issues. These can include identity document changes (including modifying Indian status cards), intimate partner violence, human rights abuses and discrimination. Further, it is not unusual for members of the queer community to experience legal problems tied to their gender and sexual identity. These can include issues relating to housing, employment, family, immigration and refugee claims, criminal charges and end of life planning.

The project employs three strategies to support queer people in Hamilton:

Training for community groups, service providers and legal workers
Public legal education that is culturally sensitive and delivered with accessibility and creativity in mind
Informed and direct legal support and services for disadvantaged queer clients