Although Algonquin College decided this month to hold off on axing its paralegal and law clerk training programs, organizations representing paralegals are still anxious about the potential change, telling the school and Ontario officials that the decision will hurt students, self-represented litigants, and the justice system at large.
In a Feb. 18 letter, the Ontario Association of Black Paralegals and the Paralegal Town Hall noted that Algonquin College offers the only public, English-language training program for paralegals in Ottawa. The closest comparable program is at Belleville’s Loyalist College, more than a two-hour drive away. The closest comparable program for law clerks, at St. Lawrence College in Kingston, stopped accepting new students last spring.
“Both programs at Algonquin are wait-listed annually, demonstrating high market demand,” the letter read.
“The closure of these programs at Algonquin College will have a serious detrimental impact on the provision of legal services in Ontario’s East Region.”
The letter was addressed to Premier Doug Ford, Ontario Attorney General Doug Downey, Ontario Minister of Education Paul Calandra, the Law Society of Ontario, and Algonquin College officials.
In January, Algonquin College announced that its board of governors would review a proposal to scrap more than 30 programs at a Feb. 23 meeting. If the board approved the proposal, the programs – including those that trained paralegals and law clerks – would stop accepting new students in September.
The school said the proposal was partly motivated by financial concerns. Last year, it cut another 41 programs after announcing that the entire post-secondary sector was facing “unprecedented financial challenges” due to provincial tuition freezes, “chronic underfunding,” and a federal policy that reduced the number of available international student visas. The school projected a budget deficit of at least $60 million in 2025 to 2026, rising to $93 million by 2026 to 2027.
After Ontario announced last week that it would funnel an additional $6.4 billion towards post-secondary education, however, Algonquin College said it would hold off on reviewing the new round of program cuts.
But Liz Smith, a paralegal and chair of the Ontario Association of Black Paralegals, says the announcement is not reassuring.
“It’s almost like… you’re hanging off a cliff, and somebody says, ‘You know what? I’m gonna let you hang for a little bit longer before I let you go,’” Smith says.
“I’m glad that they’ve got the funding to be able to delay it, but my hope is that… it’s an actual fact and they keep the program.”
Smith says one of her concerns is that the programs’ closure will increase education costs for students. Private options, such as the programs offered at Algonquin Careers Academy in Ottawa, charge about twice as much in tuition fees as their public counterparts.
The two paralegal organizations argue that axing the programs will also harm self-represented litigants, who often rely on paralegals to guide them through small claims court and other legal processes. By providing such services, the organizations argue, paralegals effectively make legal services more affordable to Ontarians and ease pressure on the court system.
Meanwhile, law clerks provide the administrative support necessary to prevent “higher legal fees, slower file progression, more procedural errors, and diminished client service,” the organizations argue.
Smith says at the Newmarket courthouse, she can work nearly 11-hour days due to the high volume of cases.
“The court system is getting bogged down, and there’s so many delays because there’s so much going on,” she says. “Let’s now take away that pool of Algonquin College students that are graduating… then what happens to the system? It just gets bogged down even more.”
Justin Rochester, a paralegal and co-founder of the Paralegal TownHall, notes that Algonquin College has a large catchment area. By eliminating its paralegal and law clerk programs, the school is “causing an exodus of talent out of your region, which adversely affects those who most need it.”
As an alternative to shutting down the programs, the organizations proposed transitioning them online, which would reduce costs and encourage student enrolment in rural and Northern Ontario.
Rochester says he teaches at one of the colleges that offers a hybrid educational model, which is operating as a pilot project approved by the Law Society of Ontario.
“I can tell you that I have not seen any decline in education, any difference between those programs that are 100 percent in person,” he says. “The students that I’ve encountered in my role in those colleges have been just as informed and just as educated.
“I believe it’s a fair balance to be struck between the current realities,” he adds, referring to Algonquin College’s financial challenges. “We made it very clear in the letter… that this isn’t ignoring or being ignorant of the position colleges are in right now.”
In a statement on Thursday, a spokesperson for the Ontario Ministry of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security told Law Times that “all decisions related to program offerings lie solely with each institution,” and pointed to the $6.4 billion the provincial government invested into the post-secondary sector this month.
A spokesperson for the Law Society of Ontario also said that Ontario’s colleges make independent choices about their program offerings.
“We are monitoring the situation to assess any broader impacts on the availability of accredited paralegal education in the province, and we remain committed to supporting a high‑quality, sustainable paralegal licensing pathway that serves the public,” the spokesperson added.
Spokespeople for Algonquin College and Ford and Downey’s offices did not respond to requests for comment.