Legal FAQ

These questions come up when people encounter the Canadian legal system without a lawyer — a landlord dispute, a debt collection letter after a family member's death, a Small Claims filing, or confusion about who can legally enter their rental unit. The answers below are specific to Canadian law and include the numbers, deadlines, and provincial differences that determine what you can actually do.

Legal Representation in Canada: Lawyers, Paralegals, and Duty Counsel

Canada has several categories of legal professionals, and the right choice depends on the type of matter, the province, and your budget. Ontario is the only province where paralegals are independently regulated and can appear in court without lawyer supervision — a distinction that matters significantly for cost.

What is the difference between a paralegal and a lawyer in Canada, and when should you use one?

A lawyer holds a JD or LLB degree and is licensed to practice across all areas of law in their province. A licensed paralegal in Ontario holds a college diploma or equivalent, is regulated by the Law Society of Ontario (LSO), and can handle a defined — but practically useful — scope of work.

What Ontario paralegals can do:

• Represent clients in Small Claims Court (claims up to $35,000)
• Appear in Ontario Court of Justice for traffic offences and provincial offences
• Represent clients before the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB), Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (HRTO), Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB), and Social Benefits Tribunal
• Draft legal documents within their licensed scope

What Ontario paralegals cannot do:

• Appear in Superior Court or Federal Court
• Handle divorce, custody, or child support matters
• Draft wills or powers of attorney
• Conduct real estate transactions

Outside Ontario, paralegals work under lawyer supervision and cannot appear in court independently.

When a paralegal makes financial sense: A contested LTB hearing in Toronto typically costs $800–$1,500 with a paralegal; the same matter with a lawyer often runs $3,000–$5,000. For Small Claims disputes, LTB applications, and traffic matters, a licensed paralegal provides competent representation at roughly one-third the cost.

How to verify credentials: The LSO maintains a public directory of all licensed lawyers and paralegals in Ontario. Search by name before hiring anyone who claims to be a licensed paralegal — unlicensed "legal consultants" operate in some communities and have no regulatory oversight.

Duty counsel is a separate option for people who cannot afford any representation. Legal Aid-funded duty counsel lawyers provide brief advice and same-day representation at most criminal courts and some family courts. At the Ontario LTB, duty counsel is available through community legal clinics — but availability varies by location and is not guaranteed.

Resolving Disputes Without a Lawyer: Small Claims Court Across Canada

Small Claims Court is designed for people without legal training. The process is simpler than Superior Court, filing fees are lower, and in most provinces you can represent yourself effectively with basic preparation. The monetary limits vary significantly by province, and some provinces have added online dispute resolution options that are faster than going to court.

How does small claims court work in Canada, and what can you actually claim?

The four-step process (Ontario as the reference model):

1. File a plaintiff's claim. Describe what happened and how much you are owed. Filing fees in Ontario: $102 for claims up to $1,000; $204 for $1,001–$10,000; $394 for $10,001–$35,000. In BC, the Civil Resolution Tribunal (CRT) handles claims up to $5,000 entirely online through written submissions — no hearing required for most disputes.

2. Serve the defendant. Deliver the claim to the defendant according to the rules — in person, by mail, or by an approved alternative. In Ontario, defendants in the province have 20 days to respond.

3. Settlement conference. Most provinces require a settlement conference before trial. A judge or deputy judge meets with both parties to explore resolution. Approximately 60–70% of Ontario Small Claims cases settle at or before this stage.

4. Trial. If no settlement is reached, both parties present evidence and witnesses. The judge issues a judgment.

Monetary limits by province (June 2026):

What you can claim: Unpaid invoices, security deposit disputes, property damage, defective goods or services, breach of a small contract, unpaid personal loans. Pain and suffering claims belong in Superior Court — Small Claims courts do not award general damages for emotional distress in most provinces.

Winning is not the same as collecting. A judgment in your favour does not automatically transfer money to your account. If the defendant does not pay voluntarily, you must enforce the judgment separately — through garnishment of wages or bank accounts, or seizure of personal property. In Ontario, a creditor can garnish up to 20% of a debtor's net wages. Bank accounts can be garnished in full, subject to exemptions. Enforcement requires additional court filings and fees.

Quebec's Small Claims Division operates differently from every other province: lawyers are prohibited from representing parties. This levels the playing field but also means you must present your own case, in French or English, before a judge of the Court of Quebec.

Tenant Rights and Landlord Obligations in Canada

Residential tenancy law is entirely provincial, and the rules on landlord entry, notice requirements, and tenant remedies differ significantly across the country. What is legal in Alberta may be illegal in Ontario. The most common tenant complaint across all provinces is unauthorized landlord entry — and every province has specific rules on this, including what counts as a genuine emergency.

Can a landlord enter your rental unit without notice in Canada?

No. In every Canadian province, a landlord must give advance written notice before entering a rental unit, except in genuine emergencies. The notice period, permitted hours, and valid reasons for entry are set by provincial legislation.

Notice requirements by province:

Valid reasons for entry in Ontario (under the Residential Tenancies Act):

• To carry out repairs or maintenance the tenant has requested or the landlord is required to do
• To show the unit to prospective tenants (if the landlord has given a notice of termination or the tenant has given notice to vacate)
• To show the unit to prospective buyers
• To conduct an inspection with proper notice
• If the tenant has abandoned the unit

What counts as an emergency: A burst pipe, fire, gas leak, or situation requiring immediate entry to prevent damage or protect safety. A landlord cannot claim "emergency" to skip notice for a routine inspection or a repair that could wait until the next day.

Remedies for unauthorized entry in Ontario: A tenant can file an application with the LTB for a rent abatement — a reduction in rent as compensation for interference with quiet enjoyment. The LTB has awarded abatements of 5–25% of monthly rent for repeated unauthorized entries. As of mid-2026, the LTB's backlog exceeds 53,000 cases, with contested application wait times of 12–18 months. This makes documentation critical: record every unauthorized entry in writing — date, time, what the landlord did, and any witnesses — and send a written notice to the landlord citing the specific section of the Residential Tenancies Act. This creates a paper trail if you need to file a complaint or negotiate a resolution.

In Alberta, there is no rent control and no LTB equivalent — disputes go to the Residential Tenancy Dispute Resolution Service (RTDRS), which offers faster hearings than Ontario's LTB, typically within 30–60 days of filing.

Estate Law and Debt After Death in Canada

Many people assume that when someone dies, their debts disappear or transfer automatically to family members. Neither is true. The estate — the assets the deceased person owned — must pay debts before beneficiaries receive anything. Family members are not personally responsible for a deceased person's debts unless they co-signed the debt or are joint account holders. Understanding this distinction prevents costly mistakes during estate administration.

What happens to your debt when you die in Canada?

When a person dies, their estate is responsible for paying their debts. The executor (called "estate trustee" in Ontario) must identify all debts, notify creditors, pay valid debts from estate assets, and distribute what remains to beneficiaries.

Order of payment from the estate:

If the estate has no money: If debts exceed assets, the estate is insolvent. Creditors receive what they can from available assets; the remainder is written off. Children, spouses, and siblings are not personally responsible for the deceased's debts — unless they co-signed the debt or held a joint account.

Joint debt is the key exception. If a spouse co-signed a credit card or line of credit, they remain fully responsible for the entire balance after the other spouse dies. The debt does not split in half. The surviving co-signer owes the full amount, regardless of who made the purchases.

Canada Revenue Agency and death: The CRA is a preferred creditor and takes priority over most other unsecured debts. The executor must file a final T1 tax return for the year of death (and potentially a T3 trust return for the estate). The CRA can hold the executor personally liable if they distribute estate assets to beneficiaries before paying the CRA's claim. Executors should obtain a clearance certificate from the CRA before making final distributions — processing typically takes 6–18 months.

Registered accounts (RRSP, TFSA, RRIF): These pass directly to named beneficiaries outside the estate and are not available to creditors — with one exception. If the estate is named as beneficiary, or there is no named beneficiary, the registered account forms part of the estate and is subject to creditor claims. Naming a specific beneficiary on registered accounts is one of the most effective ways to protect those assets from estate creditors.

Common-law partners and intestacy: In most provinces, a common-law partner has no automatic right to inherit from the estate if there is no will. They also have no priority over creditors. In Ontario, the Succession Law Reform Act gives the first $350,000 of an intestate estate to the spouse — but "spouse" means legally married. A common-law partner of 20 years receives nothing automatically. A will is the only reliable way to ensure a common-law partner receives assets.

Probate fees on the estate: Before the executor can transfer most assets, the will must be probated — validated by the court. Probate fees (estate administration tax) in Ontario are 1.5% of the estate's value over $50,000. BC charges 1.4% over $50,000. Alberta has no probate fees. Registered accounts with named beneficiaries and jointly held property pass outside the estate and avoid probate entirely.

Key Numbers and Deadlines at a Glance

These figures apply as of June 2026. Provincial figures change periodically — verify current amounts with the relevant provincial authority before filing.