Community Legal Assistance Society, previously Vancouver Community Legal Assistance Society, is a

non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

which provides legal services to low- and moderate-income persons in the areas of

mental health law Mental health law includes a wide variety of legal topics and pertain to people with a diagnosis or possible diagnosis of a mental health condition, and to those involved in managing or treating such people. Laws that relate to mental health incl ...

human rights law International human rights law (IHRL) is the body of international law designed to promote human rights on social, regional, and domestic levels. As a form of international law, international human rights law is primarily made up of treaties, ag ...

, and

poverty law Harvard Law defines poverty law as, "the legal statutes, regulations and cases that apply particularly to the financially poor in his or her day to day life". In a commonsense understanding and in practice, the goal of poverty law is to protect the ...

. Founded in 1971, CLAS is often referred to as Canada's first community law office. CLAS operates a BC Human Rights Clinic, a Mental Health Law Program, and a

-focused Community Law Program.

History

CLAS was founded by future

premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

Mike Harcourt Michael Franklin Harcourt Officer of the Order of Canada, OC (born January 6, 1943) is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 30th premier of British Columbia from 1991 to 1996, and before that as the 34th List of mayors of Vancouver ...

. In the summer of 1971, it opened its first office at 527 East Broadway in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

References

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History

References

See also