The Law Society of Ontario has approved the implementation of a new Indigenous cultural training course for licensees. The course is intended to enhance competence for licensees who may represent Indigenous clients or deal with Indigenous legal issues across a wide range of practice areas, including corporate and commercial matters, estates, civil litigation, administrative and regulatory work, criminal law, family law, child protection, housing, employment and interactions with government institutions.
The LSO says the course will support a baseline level of knowledge and competence and align Ontario’s competency requirements with several other Canadian law societies that have introduced or are developing comparable training. The course has been designed for legal professionals, tailored to the Ontario legal context, and developed with input from Indigenous scholars and legal experts.
The training will be mandatory for all licensees but will form part of the existing mandatory CPD requirement. It will be a one-time obligation, delivered online and at no cost. Completion of the course will fully satisfy a licensee’s annual CPD requirement in the year it is completed. Licensees will have two years to complete the course, with an additional year available for those required to complete the Foundations of Sole Practice program and those in other relevant circumstances.
The course is expected to take approximately six hours and launch in spring 2026. The LSO presents the initiative as a competence measure, but also as part of removing barriers and building trust in order to improve access to justice for First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities.