How do we know whether access-to-justice initiatives are working?
Several sessions at the Advancing People-Centred Justice in Canada conference examined how better data, shared measurement approaches, and careful evaluation can help justice systems understand people’s needs and improve their services.
The following resources offer data, research, and practical frameworks for measuring access to justice and learning from the results.
Understanding Legal Problems and Needs
Experiences of Serious Problems or Disputes in the Canadian Provinces, 2021 (également disponible en français)
Drawing on the 2021 Canadian Legal Problems Survey, this Statistics Canada report examines the serious problems experienced by people across Canada’s provinces, the steps they took to address them, and the financial, social, and health consequences that followed. It also considers barriers to accessing justice and differences in the experiences of particular populations.
Everyday Legal Problems and the Cost of Justice in Canada: Overview Report
This CFCJ report presents findings from a national survey of more than 3,000 adults about the everyday legal problems they experienced and the steps they took to resolve them. The study considers the costs of legal problems in financial terms and through their effects on people’s time, health, employment, housing, and overall well-being.
This 2023 report examines legal needs, service gaps, and barriers to justice in Saskatchewan from the perspectives of lawyers and community-based service providers. It also considers the legal and non-legal supports people need, the experiences of underserved groups, and differences between communities across the province.
Measuring Access to Justice
Developed by Access to Justice BC, the A2J Triple Aim brings together three related objectives: improving population access to justice, improving people’s experience of access to justice, and improving costs. The accompanying measurement framework provides justice-sector organizations with a shared approach to assessing and learning from their work.
Social Security Tribunal Access to Justice Framework (également disponible en français)
The Social Security Tribunal of Canada’s framework combines the Department of Justice Access to Justice Index with the A2J Triple Aim Measurement Framework. It shows how a tribunal can use diagnostic and measurement tools as part of a continuing cycle of policy development, evaluation, and improvement.
Learning from Other Fields
Cochrane Methodology Reviews examine evidence about the methods used to conduct systematic reviews, randomized trials, and other evaluations in health and social care. At the conference, the Cochrane approach was discussed as one possible model for building a stronger and more systematic evidence base in access-to-justice research.
Watch the Conference Sessions
The related conference sessions are also available online:
- What Would It Take? Towards a National Strategy for Access to Justice Data
- Between Light and Shadow: Court Data as a Cornerstone of People-Centred Justice
- Beyond the Numbers: Rethinking Outcomes and Metrics that Matter
- Justice That Learns: Borrowing Health’s Tools for Evidence, Evaluation, and Care
- Closing the Feedback Loop: Designing Justice Through Data
This is the second in AJRN’s September series sharing resources connected to the 2026 Advancing People-Centred Justice in Canada conference.
See you in a couple of days for the next one!
ajrn.org 