Can I get legal aid for a criminal charge?
Short answer
Yes. Criminal matters are among the areas covered by legal aid in Quebec. Eligibility depends on your income, your property and your liquid assets, based on thresholds that are indexed every year and administered by the Commission des services juridiques.
In detail
Legal aid has two streams: a free stream, if your income and assets are below the set thresholds, and a contributory stream, where you pay a contribution based on a scale. The thresholds are reviewed every year and follow increases in the minimum wage: the Quebec government uses as its benchmark the income of a single person working 35 hours a week at minimum wage.
The thresholds therefore change annually. To know the exact amount in force today, you have to check with the Commission des services juridiques or the legal aid office for your region: it is that office that makes the eligibility decision.
One point that is often misunderstood: income below the threshold does not automatically guarantee eligibility. The office also assesses the value of your property and liquid assets (real estate, vehicles, investments, RRSPs, TFSAs). Conversely, a refusal can be challenged.
What to document
Gather your proof of income ahead of time (pay stubs, notices of assessment, benefit statements), the list of your property and your bank statements. Note the date of your application, the name of the office and the date of the decision. If legal aid is refused, keep the refusal letter: it sets out the reason and the time limit to challenge it.
Put your facts in writing, free. Writing your version down early, keeping your documents dated and preparing your questions for a lawyer: the tool is there to document, never to advise.
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Official sources
- Commission des services juridiques — Legal aid
- Indexing of legal aid eligibility thresholds — Gouvernement du Québec
Related questions
- Who decides to lay criminal charges in Quebec?
- Can the victim withdraw the complaint?
- How long does the police have to lay charges against me?
- What is the first appearance and what happens there?
- What is disclosure of the evidence and how do I get it?
See all the answers · the full guide collection · Lire en français
What this page is not
This is general legal information about the law of Quebec and Canada, dated and sourced. It is not legal advice, not a strategy, and not a prediction about the outcome of a case. In Quebec, only lawyers and notaries may give legal advice (Act respecting the Barreau du Québec, ss. 128 and 133). Laws and amounts change: the official source always prevails over us.