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Equitable access to the justice system for people with speech, language, and communication disabilities
About Communication Access to Justice
Communication Access to Justice (CAJust) is a national non-profit organization that promotes access to the justice system – including police, corrections, and courts - for people who have speech, language and/or cognitive disabilities. CAJust trains, supports, and publishes a national list of Communication Intermediaries (CIs) who neutrally intermediate between victims, witnesses, accused persons, and justice professionals.
CAJust was established as a joint initiative in 2021, by the current leadership of CAJust and Communication Disabilities Access Canada (CDAC). The organization builds on CDAC’s past work, and in particular the extensive work of CDAC’s Executive Director Barbara Collier in the areas of communication intermediaries and access to justice. CAJust will continue this legacy by advancing access to police, legal, and justice services for victims, witnesses, and accused persons with communication disabilities. CAJust gratefully acknowledges CDAC’s contributions of start up and operational funding, consultation, and access to CDAC’s extensive library of resources and communication intermediary training.
What are Communication Intermediaries (CIs)
Communication intermediaries (CIs) are speech language pathologists (SLPs), trained to facilitate two-way communication between individuals with speech, language and/or cognitive-communication disabilities and justice professionals. Like language translators, CIs act as neutral officers of the court. They provide the accommodations needed for individuals with communication disabilities to have equitable access to legal, police, corrections, and justice services in Canada.
Communication Intermediary Code of Ethics
Communication Access to Justice’s (CAJust’s) Communication Intermediary (CI) Code of Ethics outlines the standards for CI conduct during their work. It is built on four pillars: Professionalism, Neutrality, Confidentially, and Respect.