Throughout North America, Ontario provides paralegals the broadest latitude to actually “practice” law. This is because Ontario is the only province that regulates and licenses paralegals under the same regulatory framework as lawyers. As with the province’s lawyers, paralegals and their activities are regulated by the Law Society of Ontario, under the auspices of Ontario laws and law society’s rules and guidelines. Under the law society’s regulatory framework, paralegals are allowed to advise and represent clients in legal issues involving:

• The Provincial Offences Act (non-criminal traffic violations, municipal by-laws, and “quasi-criminal” offences).
• Provincial tribunals such as the Landlord and Tenant Board, Human Rights Tribunal, and Labor Relations Board.
• Certain Criminal Code summary conviction offences being addressed by the lower courts.
• Assorted mediation or arbitration proceedings.
• Ontario Small Claims Court.

This means that Ontario’s 9,000-plus licensed paralegals can investigate case details, conduct research, request documents, draft pleadings, and write legal reports, and take most other actions a lawyer would take to resolve the case on behalf of their client. Scope of Paralegal Practice with Regard to Criminal Law

Because criminal charges under Canada’s Criminal Code cover serious offences with potentially severe consequences, paralegals are only allowed to represent clients who are facing limited consequences if found guilty. In short, paralegals are allowed to represent people charged with selected summary offence charges or hybrid offences that only prescribe a maximum punishment of six months( being increased to Two Years) in prison and/or a $5,000 fine. All other criminal code offences require representation by a lawyer, though defendants have the legal right to represent themselves.