Prof. Fred Zemans

Professor Fred Zemans provides a comprehensive account of his role as founding director of Parkdale Community Legal Clinic in 1971, Canada’s pioneering community-based legal clinic. Born in Calgary in 1938 to Jewish immigrant families, Zemans studied at University of Toronto and London School of Economics before entering U of T Law School in 1961, where he was influenced by Bora Laskin and other prominent faculty. After articling and practicing at Goodman & Goodman, he became involved in community work in Yorkville and was recruited to Osgoode Hall Law School in 1971 to establish an innovative poverty law program.

The Parkdale clinic was established with federal funding from Health and Welfare Canada and the American CLEPR Foundation, initially intended for Rexdale but ultimately located in Parkdale due to stronger community organizations. The clinic faced significant opposition from the Law Society of Upper Canada, which threatened legal action and questioned the legitimacy of this new model of legal service delivery. Zemans describes the challenges of establishing a community-controlled clinic while maintaining academic standards, the development of specialized departments (landlord-tenant, welfare, immigration), and the integration of community legal workers alongside law students.

The interview extensively covers landmark cases like Pajelle Investments v. Herbold, which reached the Supreme Court of Canada and helped establish tenant rights, and the clinic’s role in law reform efforts. Zemans discusses the 1974 Osler Commission, which recommended provincial funding for clinics while maintaining Law Society control over the broader legal aid system, and the subsequent Grange Commission that created the Clinic Funding Committee structure. He retired from Parkdale in 1975 after establishing it as a sustainable model that influenced community legal services across Canada.

This description was written by AI and may contain some inaccuracies.