Located in the heart of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, Allard Law's Indigenous Community Legal Clinic (ICLC) is dedicated to helping meet the needs of everyone who steps through its doors, says ICLC Legal Services Director and Allard Law lecturer Salima Samnani.
It’s that ethos that inspired the ICLC team to begin working with Indigenous families who had lost a loved one, to help them navigate the complexities of estate administration.
The Clinic’s new Grant of Probate Applications Project, funded by the Law Foundation of British Columbia, is making it easier for Indigenous families to gain access to funds that are owed to them, including class action settlements that were awarded to now-deceased survivors of residential schools.
Here, Samnani reflects on the ICLC’s new project and the Clinic’s broader impact.
What inspired the ICLC’s new Grant of Probate Applications Project?
Samnani: We see a lot of families whose loved ones have passed away without a will, and the family has nowhere to turn to navigate the very complex and expensive process of applying for a grant of probate, which is what allows someone to be named an executor.
The ICLC has also been involved in helping survivors and their families apply for compensation for the horrors they suffered in residential school, day school and the Sixties Scoop. Many of these individuals passed away during the process, and when the compensation came through, it got stuck in limbo. Families had cheques they could not deposit or money that was not being released to them. Creating an estates program felt like a natural extension of our work. There are very few places in Vancouver that offer free estate services to the Indigenous community.
How have Allard Law students been involved?
Samnani: Students work with families to get a grant of probate. Applying for a grant of probate is complex and finicky, so from a legal perspective, students learn how to navigate complex Supreme Court legal paperwork and understand how to work with registries. On a human note, students get to work with clients who educate them on the very worst parts of colonization. And students learn the value of being trauma informed and compassionate when working with clients.
How would you describe the impact of the Grant of Probate Applications Project and the ICLC’s broader work?
Samnani: Many of the folks who come to us are distraught and do not feel safe or have the funds to retain a lawyer. The Grant of Probate Applications Project has made it so much easier for families to finally access the compensation they are owed.
Beyond this one project, the Clinic has had an indelible impact on students and the Indigenous community. Allard students consistently report that the ICLC was one of their best law school experiences because it’s where they came into themselves as future lawyers and saw how justice unfolds in complex ways.
Clients say the ICLC is one of the few safe spaces where they always feel welcome, heard and championed. We do not turn anyone away from our doors. Everyone leaves with something, even if it’s a cup of coffee and a compassionate conversation. We offer complex legal help in novel areas of law, and that’s a unique service in the DTES.
