Ontario Justice Education Network/Réseau ontarien d’éducation juridique

I’m amazed at the impact this program can have in only six weeks… It changed my life. I left understanding the justice system a whole lot more. I felt there was more hope for justice, hope for change, hope for it to be different, hope for positive.

Jacquie Dyer – Participant in Toronto Community Housing Mock Trial Project

• OJEN/ROEJ is a group of educators and justice-sector volunteers who work together to deliver programs that help youth learn how to navigate the legal system in their everyday lives.

• Local volunteer committees in 12 provincial centres deliver programs to every region of Ontario

• Last year alone, 3000 justice sector volunteers delivered justice education projects in partnership with schools and community organizations province-wide

• Over 200,000 youth benefit from OJEN/ROEJ’s programs and resources annually

What is Justice Education?

Justice education goes beyond providing young people with information about rights and legal procedures; it creates opportunities for open and honest conversations with people who work within the legal system. We help youth build the knowledge and skills they will need to manage the legal aspects of everyday problems – including how to tell when a problem has a legal dimension, when and where to ask for help, and how to keep small problems from becoming big ones. We also work to make sure the justice sector is listening to the public, by creating opportunities for open and honest conversations between legal system workers and youth.

OJEN/ROEJ’s justice education programs are experiential learning activities such as mock hearings, youth-police dialogues and diverse legal workshops. We also provide tailored, culturally relevant outreach programs to Aboriginal, Francophone, newcomer and high-risk communities across the province of Ontario.