Two Ontario government ministries will cut their funding for the African Canadian Legal Clinic (ACLC) in Toronto which last year was the focus of considerable media attention after it was alleged that the ACLC board and management had ” engaged in financial mismanagement.”

A joint statement this week from the Ministry of the Attorney General and the Ministry of Children and Youth Services said that ” the government has made the decision to transition funding to other community agencies that serve the Black community across the GTA.”

“The Ministry of Children and Youth Services and the Ministry of the Attorney General will be working closely with these agencies to help ensure there is no gap in services and that existing clients experience a smooth transition to other service providers,” the statement noted.

” Our goal continues to be providing the Black community and Black youth with access to the resources and supports they need to succeed,” it added.

For the current fiscal year, which ends on March 31, the Ministry of Children and Youth will provide close to $800,000 to the African Canadian Community Services (ACCS), an entity of the ACLC. For the same period the Ministry of the Attorney General has provided $85,060 to ACLC. The current service contract with ACLC relating to the Attorney General’s Direct Accountability Program (DAP) will end March 31.

Last August, Legal Aid  Ontario (LAO) had announced  that it would withdraw funding of the ACLC, effective September 30, 2017.

Every dollar of funding currently provided to ACLC will be redirected to a new organization to provide dedicated services to the Black community, said a news release from the  LAO.

Margaret Parsons, executive director of the clinic, could not be reached for comment.