Free guides and checklists
Plain-language guides for families facing the justice system in Ontario, and for the lawyers and agencies who support them. Every guide is free to download. No sign-up, no email needed. For legal questions, talk to your lawyer.
For families and people facing the system:
Start with the guide that matches where you are right now. Print them, share them, write on them.
First 24 Hours: Family Checklist
A one-page checklist for the first day after an arrest. Keep the case private, gather papers, sort out money, and look after your household. The short version of our 72-hour guide.
The First 72 Hours: Family Guide
For families in the first three days after an arrest. Finding your person, phone calls, money, visits, court, and looking after yourself, with local (to Bruce-Grey) phone numbers. Checked October 10, 2026.
For families whose loved one is being held. How jail calls work, what to keep off the phone, setting limits on money and calls, and the unwritten rules of the range. From someone who's been there.
Your family's plan for the first two weeks after an arrest. Bespoke Non-Legal Containment for the household and Reputational Containment for work and relatives. Includes a fill-in "who to call" list and a two-week checkpoint.
Sentencing Proof: Weekly Record
A simple weekly sheet for keeping records of your own work while you wait for sentencing: programs, work and routines. Your lawyer can use it as they see fit. Coaching records, not assessments.
A planning grid for the months before a parole hearing and the first 90 days home. Who does what, what to organize, tracking conditions, and week-by-week checkpoints. Logistics only.
An accountability tracker stripping away subjective emotion. Establishes a zero-tolerance tracking mechanism across routine initialization, physical conditioning, and voluntary toxicology.
Stuck and overwhelmed? A one-page, five-minute worksheet. Shrink the next task, set a timer, do it, and write down the win. Print it and use it any time.
For anyone, and the HR, union or career services staff around them, facing a professional job loss. A three-phase coaching approach for when losing the job also shakes who you are.
For defence counsel and community agencies
Guides for getting back on your feet
Clear, straightforward guides for long-term planning, risk management, and getting back on your feet after contact with the justice system.
Applying for a Record Suspension
A plain walk-through of the paperwork for a Record Suspension (once called a pardon): what to gather, in what order, and where to find the official Parole Board of Canada guide and forms.
Links: Official guide and forms (canada.ca) • Accredited fingerprinting companies (RCMP) • Book a free 15-minute call
Practical steps for job hunting with a record: where to look, how to prepare, why safety training helps, and how to talk about gaps in your work history. Includes job-support links.
Links: Find Ontario Works offices • John Howard Society of Ontario: employment programs • Book a free 15-minute callRecord Checks and Telling Employers
What each type of Ontario police record check can show, where to read the official rules, and how to prepare before you decide what to share with an employer. Confirm your situation with a lawyer or legal clinic.
Links: Ontario Police Record Checks (official) • Book a free 15-minute callTalking About Your Record in Interviews
A short, honest four-part outline for answering questions about your record in a job interview, what to leave out, and a printable practice sheet. Put it in your own words and practise it out loud.
Construction Work With a Record
A record doesn’t have to keep you out of the trades. Learn which safety certificates to get, where to start looking, and how to ask for work in person at the site office.
Assets: Where to Look for Construction Work (PDF) • Book a free 15-minute callHow to build a resume that gets you to the interview, even with gaps in your work history. Lead with your skills and training. Save your story for the conversation.
Links: • Starter Certificates Checklist (PDF) • Book a free 15-minute call
Practical steps for finding a place to rent with a record in Ontario: where to look, what to bring to a viewing, how to ask someone to co-sign, and where to get help tonight.
Links: Rental Folder Checklist (PDF) • Co-Signer Conversation Script (PDF) • Find emergency shelter (211 Ontario)Getting Through a Background Check
When a job offer depends on a criminal record check: how to see your own record first, decide whether to share some context with a short letter, and follow up so the employer hears from you.
Links: Context Letter Template (PDF) • Checking Your Own Record (PDF) • Book a free 15-minute callGetting Organized Before Sentencing
A practical guide for people waiting to be sentenced, and their families. How to keep your paperwork in one place, ask people for character letters, and work with your defence lawyer on what they need, and when.
Links: [The Pre-Sentence Behavioral Audit Toolkit] • Book a free 15-minute call
Short briefs on what we do, what we never do, and how to refer. Written to respect your time.
A three-minute read for defence counsel. You handle the law; we handle the logistics. How we keep clients organized between appointments, what their records look like, our no-case-facts rule, and response times.
Compliance Brief for Referrers
For lawyers and agencies doing due diligence. What we do, what we never do, how client information and consent are handled, our credentials and insurance, and what happens in the first 48 hours after a referral.