It is important that a person who is the client have a right to reasonable and proper representation in court. When it is clear that a lawyer is not doing the job for someone that Legal Aid Ontario has said is qualified to be a lawyer and is being paid to represent the client then Legal Aid Ontario should be concerned in this situation. They should not be saying that a lawyer not meeting the needs of a client in multiple ways is not grounds for a change of lawyer.  It is ridiculous.  Would you want to be forced into a situation where you represent yourself in court if you know you are not capable?  Would you want to be made to keep a lawyer you know is not working for you?  Changes need to be made to Legal Aid Ontario.  Please help make this happen.
 Here is what Legal Aid Ontario sent me:

"This application is refused for the following reasons:
 

•  Your reason for changing lawyers does not meet the criteria required by Legal Aid Ontario. Legal Aid Ontario policies allow a change of counsel only if there are exceptional circumstances. A breakdown in the solicitor and client relationship is not sufficient reason to allow Legal Aid Ontario to provide a change of lawyer."

 How is it I can't get a new lawyer through Legal Aid Ontario even though my previous lawyer often wouldn't do what I instructed her to do and was not giving me a chance to defend myself in Family Court?  She also was not making the judge aware of CAS not holding up their end of the bargain in this case in terms of things they were asked to do in court orders and had not made mention in court that CAS was not returning my calls.  I also asked my lawyer to put together meetings to discuss various issues outside of court with others involved in this case and she would not do that.  She also did not find it unreasonable that at my very last appointment when I asked the legal secretary/secretary to move the meeting into a closed room she refused and told me to sit in the waiting room and wanted to continue to discuss the case and did so in front of a person who came in and sat down and waited to be dealt with.  How is this professional? Also how is it that Legal Aid Ontario thinks it is ok for me to now not have legal representation when it was clear my lawyer was not doing what I asked of her?  I also asked my lawyer to look at documents from a hospital stay for my son and at a police report and discuss them with me and with other important parties and she hasn't done so. She also in the court room never made it clear that I thought this should be going to trial. She has never even made a case as to why it should go to trial which is what I asked for. I made it very clear I wanted this to go to trial as like every person in court they want a chance to defend their position and discredit what others are saying about them in order to get the outcome they want. In a situation that should have been taken care of early I can also say my lawyer did not even ask that the judge recuse herself when it was clear that this judge had handled a previous case of mine and it could be a conflict of interest.  How can this basic mistake be made by a lawyer who is supposed to be properly representing me?  My lawyer also repeatedly on court dates when I tried to instruct her in the court room would say wait until we get outside.  What good is that when there is no judge or CAS to listen to what we are saying?  My lawyer and the courts for that matter constantly just let the process go along to a point where CAS is looking to hand over custody to the other party without ever having been challenged at all on anything.  How can my lawyer just quietly let this happen?  Well this is what she did.  
 Now after I fired this lawyer like I should have I called around and got another lawyer and that lawyer today said I definitely should file an appeal but it seems I can't file one based on having a lawyer that wasn't interested in representing me properly so I am going to have to show debt I am paying on which shows more financial hardship.  Should it really just come to that only?  Why is a lawyer not being held accountable for not doing her job and why is Legal Aid not interested in this? Why are they saying it is not grounds to change lawyers? 

Please help me by signing this petition.  I need your help.  A client of Legal Aid Ontario should be able to expect to get proper representation and when they don't should be able to change lawyers.