‘What We Heard from Community’ report notes upcoming roadmap will affirm shared foundation
The Law Society of Manitoba’s recently released “What We Heard from Community” report for the Manitoba Access to Justice (A2J) Initiative discusses the access-to-justice challenges revealed during the 15-month consultation that comprised the project’s first phase.
According to the regulator, the initiative aimed at improving access to justice and transforming the justice system unites community members, frontline service providers, elders, and provincial and Indigenous governments.
Community consultation
The report noted that the consultation also engaged Indigenous organizations, knowledge keepers, administrative tribunals, and legal, social, financial, and spiritual providers across the not-for-profit, public, and private sectors.
The consultation, which included group and one-on-one dialogues, sought to hear out the perspectives of the Francophone, Black, racialized, newcomer, and 2SLGBTQIA+ communities, as well as rural and urban dwellers.
For the report, the law society also gathered insights from roundtables; presentations and updates from advocates, academics, and community leaders; and a survey of service providers, leaders, board members, and students.
“What we learned is clear: advancing access to justice is not limited by a lack of ideas, commitment, or investment, but by how we collaborate to navigate system-wide change,” the law society said in a news release.
Challenges to access to justice
According to the report, available in English and French, the community consultation revealed:
- a complex A2J challenge that covers the mandates and responsibilities of all government levels, three court levels, and various public, private and community service providers
- barriers to safe, compassionate, fair, equitable, timely, and affordable justice
- systems and services that do not cater to everyone
- gaps in terms of shared infrastructure, processes, and time to act collectively
- slow, fragmented, and unsustainable progress
- the importance of systemic and transformational change spanning governments, sectors, and organizations
- the need for new ways of working, tools, and processes
“What we heard is clear: if we are to deliver justice, if we are to improve on people’s access to badly needed services, we must approach it differently,” said Leah Kosokowsky, the law society’s chief operating officer, in the report. “We must reimagine our overall approach, with urgency and purpose.”
“You eloquently articulated that A2J means more than access to legal counsel or public legal information: it means belonging, feeling seen and safe within the justice system and so much more,” added Leita Kalinowsky and Frankie Snider, consultants to the law society.
Next steps
According to the law society, the insights gleaned from the community consultation will inform the work to launch an Access to Justice Action Coalition, which will strive to attain the community’s vision through co-design, collaboration, leadership, and accountability throughout the ecosystem.
The law society shared that the report’s findings will support a Manitoba access-to-justice roadmap that seeks to:
- Affirm a shared foundation
- Identify broad strategies for change
- Define governance and accountability
- Lay out investment and implementation pathways
More Law Society of Manitoba news
Here are some other news stories involving Manitoba’s legal regulator.
Last May, the law society shared that its benchers elected Ken Mandzuik as the 106th president and Sharyne Hamm as vice president.
Mandzuik – who succeeded Kyle Dear, the law society’s 105th president, as announced in July 2025 – previously served as the legal regulator’s vice president.
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