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2014-2015 | 10 TH ISSUE<br />
<strong>UNITY</strong> <strong>AND</strong> <strong>DIVERSITY</strong>:<br />
COLLABORATING TO FURTHER JUSTICE<br />
BLACK STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION OF CANADA 24TH ANNUAL NATIONAL CONFERENCE<br />
<strong>UNITÉ</strong> <strong>ET</strong> <strong>DIVERSITÉ</strong>:<br />
COLLABORER AFIN DE PROMOUVOIR LA JUSTICE<br />
24éme CONFÉRENCE ANNUELLE DE L’ASSOCIATION DES ÉTUDIANTS NOIRS EN DROIT DU CANADA<br />
’<br />
FEBRUARY 2015 | BLSA CANADA 1
2<br />
BLSA CANADA | FEBRUARY 2015
TABLE OF CONTENTS<br />
TABLE DES MATIÈRES<br />
4 Letter from the Editor<br />
Lettre de la rédactrice en chef<br />
6 President’s Greeting<br />
Mot de bienvenue du Président<br />
7 I Want to Be A Lawyer Because...<br />
8 Trail Blazers<br />
9 Law School Through My Lens<br />
10 « Comment étudier tout en trouvant sa<br />
place à la Faculté de droit »<br />
11 Let’s Do This: Some Tips for Getting Farther<br />
by Working Together<br />
13 Reflections from the Canadian North:<br />
Law Students in the Territories<br />
[Réflexions du Nord canadien :<br />
des étudiants en droit vivant aux Territoires]<br />
14 Breaking the Silence, Together in Solidarity<br />
16 A Canadian (Law Student) Abroad:<br />
An Internship Experience<br />
19 Where Are the Leaders<br />
20 A Case for Criminal Law<br />
21 « L’intégration au Canada : Aller au-delà des<br />
enjeux linguistiques dans l’intérêt commun »<br />
22 A Black Canadian Female Hero<br />
23 BLSA Canada 2014-2015 Tribute<br />
Hommage de l’AÉND Canada 2014-2015<br />
24 BLSA Canada 2014-2015 National Executive | Comité<br />
exécutif national de l’AÉND Canada 2014-2015<br />
25 Conference Program<br />
Programme de la conférence<br />
30 Thanks to Speakers and Judges<br />
Remerciements aux conférenciers et aux juges<br />
31 BLSA Canada 2014-2015 Sponsors<br />
Commanditaires 2014-2015 de l’AÉND Canada<br />
Cassels Brock is proud to sponsor<br />
BLSAC’s<br />
24 th Annual<br />
National<br />
Conference<br />
To learn about Cassels Brock<br />
please contact Leigh-Ann McGowan<br />
at lamcgowan@casselsbrock.com<br />
or 416 815 4249<br />
© 2010-2015 Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP. All rights reserved.<br />
Cassels Brock - Jan 16/2015<br />
BLSAC Quarter Page<br />
4.5” x 5.5” Portrait<br />
Designer: Darlene Lowe<br />
dlowe@casselsbrock.com<br />
416 860 6611 - fax 416 642 7137<br />
COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE – 2013-2015<br />
COMITÉ DES COMMUNICATIONS – 2013-2015<br />
Natalia Peart, Chair<br />
Stéphanie Jules<br />
Melissa Jean-Baptiste Karen Kernisant<br />
Jalana Lewis<br />
Amanda Wurah<br />
Jeanne Sumbu<br />
COVER PHOTO BY | PAGE DE COUVERTURE EXÉCUTÉE PAR :<br />
Jane Arnett<br />
PORTRAIT BY | PORTRAIT EXÉCUTÉ PAR :<br />
Bruce Woods<br />
Please PRINT a hard copy of the<br />
file and either FAX it or SCAN<br />
and EMAIL it back to me, thanks!<br />
MAGAZINE DESIGN BY | CONCEPTION DU MAGAZINE EXÉCUTÉE PAR :<br />
Keisha Chamberlain<br />
FEBRUARY 2015 | BLSA CANADA 3
L<strong>ET</strong>TER FROM THE EDITOR | L<strong>ET</strong>TRE DE LA RÉDACTRICE EN CHEF<br />
4<br />
BLSA CANADA | FEBRUARY 2015<br />
The Black Law Students’<br />
Association of Canada<br />
(BLSA Canada) 2014-2015<br />
executive is pleased to<br />
present the 10th edition<br />
of the national magazine!<br />
This special edition reflects<br />
two themes that have driven<br />
BLSA Canada’s work—<br />
and that of its chapters<br />
nationwide—over the past<br />
two executive terms.<br />
In 2013-2014, the emphasis<br />
in events and initiatives<br />
was on youth empowerment. In keeping with this theme,<br />
this year’s cover features a portrait of the late human<br />
rights lawyer and advocate, Burnley “Rocky” Jones. The<br />
BLSA chapter at the Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie<br />
University was determined to see an appropriate tribute<br />
paid for his contribution to social justice. Unveiled at<br />
BLSA Canada’s 23rd national conference, it is now among<br />
few portraits of a racialized person on display at the faculty.<br />
This theme is also prevalent within the magazine. Among<br />
the many subjects contributors addressed are their journeys<br />
to law school and staying true to themselves during<br />
their studies. They highlight the power of tenacity and<br />
optimism, and these insights can be a source of inspiration—especially<br />
for students who hope to enter law<br />
school in the future like our youngest contributor, Chantelle<br />
Morris, a high school student and winner of BLSA<br />
Canada’s 2013-2014 essay contest.<br />
This year’s focus is on unity and diversity and the ways<br />
in which collaborating with allies can strengthen our<br />
efforts to improve diversity within law schools and the<br />
profession. As such, some allies external to BLSA contributed<br />
work. As well, in our special centre feature, two students<br />
reflect—in words and photographs—on summer<br />
placements in the northern territories. The importance<br />
of working together and acknowledging shared interests<br />
in achieving racial equality resonates.<br />
I would like to thank the communications and translations<br />
committee members from both executive terms for<br />
their excellent work on this publication.<br />
I sincerely hope you enjoy this year’s special edition!<br />
Natalia Peart<br />
VP Communications, BLSA Canada National Executive<br />
2013-2015<br />
Le comité exécutif de l’Association des étudiants noirs en<br />
droit (AÉND Canada) 2014-2015 est fier de vous présenter<br />
la 10 e édition du magazine national. Cette édition spéciale<br />
expose deux thèmes qui ont été le fondement des<br />
initiatives de l’AÉND Canada et ses branches au cours des<br />
deux dernières années.<br />
Au cours des années 2013-2014, nos évènements et initiatives<br />
ont été axés sur l’autonomisation des jeunes.<br />
À cet effet, la page de couverture illustre le portrait de<br />
Burnley « Rocky » Jones, un avocat et activiste des droits<br />
de la personne. Le branche de l’École de droit Schulich<br />
de l’Université Dalhousie tenait à rendre hommage à cet<br />
avocat pour sa contribution à la justice sociale. Ce portrait<br />
a été dévoilé lors de la 23 e conférence nationale de<br />
l’AÉND Canada, et se trouve maintenant au milieu des<br />
quelques portraits de personnes racialisées sur les murs<br />
de la faculté.<br />
Notre thème est omniprésent dans les articles du magazine.<br />
Parmi les sujets abordés, les écrivains ont traité<br />
de leurs parcours à l’École de droit et de l’importance de<br />
rester soi-même pendant ses études. Ils ont aussi souligné<br />
l’importance du pouvoir de la persévérance et de<br />
l’optimisme, qui peuvent être une source d’inspiration,<br />
notamment pour les étudiants qui espèrent commencer<br />
des études en droit. Par exemple, Chantelle Morris, une<br />
étudiante du secondaire et la rédactrice la plus jeune de<br />
ce magazine, a remporté le concours de rédaction de l’AÉ-<br />
ND Canada 2013-2014.<br />
Cette année, nous avons concentré nos efforts sur l’unité<br />
et la diversité, ainsi que sur les façons que la collaboration<br />
peut nous aider à renforcer les liens avec nos alliés<br />
pour augmenter la diversité au sein des facultés de droit<br />
et de la profession juridique. C’est la raison pour laquelle<br />
des organisations externes ont contribué à cette initiative.<br />
De plus, dans l’article de fond central et le photoreportage<br />
deux étudiants partagent leurs expériences de<br />
travail estival dans les Territoires dans le Nord canadien.<br />
Ils expliquent tous les deux à quel point le travail d’équipe<br />
et le partage d’intérêts communs sont essentiels.<br />
J’aimerais remercier les membres des comités de communication<br />
et de traduction des deux derniers comités<br />
exécutifs pour leur excellent travail relativement à cette<br />
publication.<br />
J’espère sincèrement que vous éprouverez du plaisir à<br />
lire l’édition de cette année!<br />
Natalia Peart,<br />
VP Communications, Association des étudiants noirs du<br />
Canada, 2013-2015
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FEBRUARY 2015 | BLSA CANADA 5
PRESIDENT’S GRE<strong>ET</strong>ING | MOT DE BIENVENUE DU PRÉSIDENT<br />
Fellow BLSA Canada members,<br />
friends and allies,<br />
Welcome to the 24th annual<br />
Black Law Students’<br />
Association of Canada national<br />
conference in this<br />
beautiful City of Montréal!<br />
As the late human rights<br />
leader, Nelson Mandela,<br />
once stated, “Our deepest<br />
fear is not that we are inadequate.<br />
Our deepest fear is<br />
that we are powerful beyond measure.” As law students,<br />
our power knows no bounds. We have the potential to<br />
strengthen further when we unite with like-minded partners<br />
outside of this organization in our pursuit of social<br />
justice and racial equality.<br />
This year’s theme, ‘‘Unity and Diversity: Collaborating<br />
to Further Justice,’’ explores the value of combining our<br />
efforts with those of groups concerned with social justice<br />
issues. To this end, BLSA Canada formed closer connections<br />
with other student groups, including the Latin<br />
American Law Students Association, Indigenous Law<br />
Students Association, and the South Asian Law Students<br />
Association. We have also strengthened ties with a variety<br />
of community members and external organizations.<br />
We believe they all add to the richness of the events<br />
and initiatives that BLSA Canada and its chapters run<br />
throughout the year.<br />
This year, BLSA Canada is delighted to pay tribute to the<br />
late Hon. Leonard Braithwaite, Canada’s first black parliamentarian.<br />
His legacy of public service and activism is<br />
truly inspirational.<br />
I would like to thank the national executive team. They<br />
worked tirelessly to organize this conference and produce<br />
this magazine. I also wish to extend the executive’s<br />
sincerest thanks to our sponsors, mentors, judges and<br />
speakers for their contributions. We recognize all those<br />
who have collaborated with us to make this event a success.<br />
Join us in the spirit of unity, diversity and collaboration.<br />
Enjoy the conference!<br />
Moses Gashirabake<br />
President, Black Law Students’ Association of<br />
Canada – 2014-2015<br />
Chers membres de l’AÉND Canada, amis et alliés,<br />
Je vous souhaite la bienvenue à la 24 e conférence nationale<br />
annuelle de l’Association des étudiants noirs en<br />
droit du Canada dans la merveilleuse ville de Montréal!<br />
Tel que le défunt Nelson Mandela, leader des droits de la<br />
personne, l’a dit : « Notre peur la plus profonde n’est pas<br />
d’être inadéquats, notre peur la plus profonde est d’être<br />
puissants au-delà de toute limite. » En tant qu’étudiants<br />
en droit, notre pouvoir est sans borne. Il est possible<br />
pour nous d’être encore plus forts lorsque nous nous<br />
joignons à des partenaires semblables en dehors de<br />
notre organisation dans le but d’atteindre la justice sociale<br />
et l’équité raciale.<br />
Cette année, notre thème « Unité et diversité : collaborer<br />
pour faire avancer la justice », dévoile l’importance de<br />
combiner ses efforts avec d’autres groupes préoccupés<br />
par les questions relatives à la justice sociale. Ainsi,<br />
l’AÉND Canada a tissé des liens étroits avec d’autres<br />
associations étudiantes, dont l’Association des étudiants<br />
de l’Amérique latine en droit, l’Association des<br />
étudiants autochtones en droit ainsi que l’Association<br />
des étudiants de l’Asie du Sud en droit. De plus, nous<br />
avons amélioré encore plus nos rapports avec plusieurs<br />
membres de la communauté et organisations externes.<br />
À notre avis, chacune de ces organisations contribue à<br />
la richesse des évènements et des initiatives de l’AÉND<br />
Canada et de ses branches qui ont lieu tout au long de<br />
l’année.<br />
L’AÉND Canada est fière de rendre hommage à l’honorable<br />
Leonard Braithwaite, feu, le premier député noir<br />
Canadien. Son héritage à titre de service public et d’engagement<br />
dans la collectivité est une véritable source<br />
d’inspiration.<br />
Je souhaite remercier les membres du comité exécutif<br />
national. Ils ont travaillé sans cesse pour organiser cette<br />
conférence et produire ce magazine. J’aimerais aussi<br />
remercier nos commanditaires, nos mentors, nos juges<br />
et nos conférenciers pour toutes leurs contributions.<br />
Enfin, j’aimerais remercier tous ceux qui ont participé<br />
au succès de cet évènement.<br />
Ensemble, partageons nos sentiments d’unité, de diversité<br />
et de collaboration. Amusez-vous à la conférence!<br />
Moses Gashirabake<br />
Président, Association des étudiants noirs en droit du<br />
Canada – 2014 -2015<br />
6<br />
BLSA CANADA | FEBRUARY 2015
I WANT TO BE A LAWYER BECAUSE...<br />
By Chantelle Morris<br />
All around the world,<br />
young adults and children<br />
are being asked<br />
about their professional<br />
ambitions and what<br />
goals they have for the<br />
future. While some<br />
know exactly what those<br />
are, most children don’t.<br />
I was one of those children<br />
who really didn’t<br />
know what profession I<br />
wanted to pursue or what I had in mind for the future.<br />
In fact, when I was child, my grandmother used<br />
to always ask me, “what do you want to be when you<br />
get older” I would always look at her with a blank<br />
expression and tell her I wasn’t sure.<br />
Now that I’m a teenager, I have a lot of choices and<br />
opportunities open to me. One day I simply asked<br />
myself: “what am I good at What will bring me happiness<br />
How can I help people in society” I had a<br />
few choices in mind, but one stood out the most—I<br />
realized that I want to be a lawyer.<br />
A lawyer, also known as an attorney or counsel, is an<br />
individual who studies and practices the law. When<br />
I think of lawyers, people who can fight against unlawful<br />
actions and act as the voice of reason come<br />
to mind. As well, I believe they are people who have<br />
authority and the ability to make meaningful decisions<br />
regarding the law. I also see it as being a persuasive<br />
role that also entails preparing important<br />
documents like contracts and speaking in front of a<br />
judge on behalf of clients.<br />
I want to become a lawyer who specializes in family<br />
law. I am interested in this area because it would allow<br />
me to play a positive role when families have relationship<br />
problems. For instance, I would have the<br />
authority to help with child custody, child support,<br />
and child protection issues. I also find criminal law<br />
interesting. In that area, lawyers can work for the<br />
government as a prosecutor or represent accused<br />
people as a defence lawyer.<br />
Many people ask why a tall, African-Canadian high<br />
school student would want to be a lawyer. Ever<br />
since I was young, I have been very observant and<br />
outspoken. When I really wanted something, I was<br />
determined and persistent enough to achieve it. As I<br />
got older, I realized that I no longer wanted material<br />
things and decided to instead focus my eagerness<br />
and determination on much more. I set standards<br />
and established goals and priorities. After all, Michelangelo<br />
once said, “the greatest danger for most<br />
of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it,<br />
but that it is too low and we reach it.”<br />
I know law is the best choice for me. I think the pursuit<br />
of rights and equality is important to our society.<br />
It would be a blessing to become a part of the<br />
legal community and know that I could help make<br />
society safe.<br />
BIOGRAPHY: Chantelle, age 15, is a grade ten student in Toronto. She is the winner of the high school essay contest run by the<br />
2013-2014 BLSA Canada national executive. Congratulations Chantelle!<br />
FEBRUARY 2015 | BLSA CANADA 7
TRAIL BLAZERS<br />
By Andrew Kaikai<br />
The days of following<br />
a standard, traditional<br />
path to law school<br />
are quickly becoming<br />
a thing of the past. I<br />
took a long and winding<br />
road to law school.<br />
It included a stop at the<br />
University of Waterloo<br />
to collect an engineering<br />
undergraduate degree<br />
and a quick jaunt<br />
as an assistant food scientist. In reflecting on both<br />
my journey to law school and the course I’ve charted<br />
since being admitted, I think that following a less<br />
travelled road to get to law school, and staying on it<br />
when you enter, is a wise and empowering choice. It<br />
takes a great deal of sacrifice and dedication, which<br />
requires that you stay true to yourself.<br />
As I sat in a cramped room writing the LSAT, I realized<br />
that no one looked like me and probably few<br />
shared my prior educational or professional experiences.<br />
It occurred to me that this could hinder my<br />
success in pursuing law school and a legal career.<br />
There remain deeply rooted notions about what law<br />
students and lawyers should look like and the ideal<br />
backgrounds they should have. These troubling<br />
thoughts, simmering in the back of my mind, gave<br />
me pause and almost served as a deterrent to pursuing<br />
a legal education.<br />
Fortunately, this has not proven to be the roadblock<br />
that I expected. Still, the idea lingers and it often<br />
pushes people who may be uniquely suited for law<br />
school away. It carries with it the danger of homogenizing<br />
demographic and experiential characteristics<br />
among law students and legal professionals.<br />
Nevertheless, after entering law school there was<br />
some pressure to conform, to mould myself into a<br />
supposed ideal of how a lawyer should act and what<br />
a lawyer should do. This can be overwhelming. It<br />
becomes even more important to stay true to yourself,<br />
even if you have a willingness to try new things.<br />
For me, delving into academic and legal research,<br />
working with a professor in a field in which I had<br />
no experience, and focusing on self-improvement<br />
and professional development during the summer<br />
served me better than any other experiences I could<br />
have had.<br />
During my journey in law school, I have found that a<br />
non-traditional route can often be an asset. As well,<br />
having the courage to pursue your dream regardless<br />
of how incongruous it may seem at first glance can<br />
often be a source of empowerment—it certainly has<br />
been for me. Being an engineer and a person of colour<br />
has been a source of strength and pride to me<br />
during the travails of law school, in addition to informing<br />
how I view the legal system and the legal<br />
profession. In my view, the legal system and profession<br />
should reflect the world it serves and embrace<br />
the many diverse paths we have taken to enter law<br />
schools and the legal field.<br />
BIOGRAPHY: Andrew Kaikai is a third year law student at the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law. He is a research assistant for<br />
Professor Joseph Magnet. In his spare time, he writes poetry and short stories, and dabbles in landscape photography and photojournalism.<br />
He is still searching for the perfect photograph.<br />
8<br />
BLSA CANADA | FEBRUARY 2015
LAW SCHOOL THROUGH MY LENS<br />
By Samantha Clarke<br />
When I received my acceptance<br />
letter, my mother<br />
and I did a happy dance<br />
in the living room of our<br />
Toronto home. My dream<br />
came true—I was going<br />
to law school! I started<br />
my photography business<br />
about two years earlier,<br />
so naturally, I packed<br />
my things along with my<br />
camera without thinking<br />
twice. I was determined. I<br />
moved from Toronto to Ottawa to begin my journey.<br />
The choice was not a surprise to the ones closest to me.<br />
They believed I could do it all. Before law, I managed extra-curricular<br />
activities while studying since elementary<br />
school. To them this was not new. After all, I got a full<br />
scholarship in the United States and played volleyball<br />
during my undergrad studies. I still managed to graduate<br />
with honors. I pursued my multiple passions after graduation<br />
while I worked in Georgia before moving back to<br />
Ontario to begin my graduate studies. That was when I<br />
started taking my photography more seriously.<br />
The decision to be a photographer throughout law school<br />
was one that I knew in my heart was right, but it was not<br />
an easy path. My art is my most treasured creation and<br />
a significant source of pride. Although I loved my law<br />
school experience, for the most part, it did not provide<br />
me with the same satisfaction. I found that the more I put<br />
into my studies the less I got in return and the emptier<br />
I felt. Instead, I decided to strike a balance and studied<br />
through my first, second, and third year of law school<br />
while operating a busy photography business.<br />
My hope for anyone entering law school is that you do not<br />
stop doing whatever it is that you love. I believe that law<br />
school can lead to a meaningful career, but I challenge<br />
those that choose the all or nothing approach. When I<br />
made my decision to continue as a photographer, I did<br />
not know that I was going to become more successful<br />
than ever before. I have had the honor of being published<br />
in international publications like EBONY and Munaluchi.<br />
I also had no way of knowing that I would have the opportunity<br />
to travel frequently to the United States and<br />
twice to the Caribbean to photograph the most beautiful<br />
weddings I have ever seen.<br />
Along the way, I have met incredible people that have all<br />
touched my life in some way. I have even had the opportunity<br />
to merge my art with law through working with<br />
various organizations. I hope this short piece inspires<br />
others to use their creative gifts instead of stifling them. I<br />
believe that law school is another opportunity to find out<br />
what makes you unique in a sea of sameness.<br />
BIOGRAPHY: Samantha Clarke graduated from the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law in 2014. She is also an international photographer<br />
based in Toronto. Her passions include contemporary portraits and destination weddings. She is interested in litigation<br />
and access to justice issues. Her photography can be viewed at www.samanthaclarke.net.<br />
FEBRUARY 2015 | BLSA CANADA 9
COMMENT ÉTUDIER TOUT EN TROUVANT SA PLACE À LA FACULTÉ DE DROIT<br />
Rédigé par Cemone Morlese<br />
La Faculté de droit de l’Université<br />
d’Ottawa offre un<br />
milieu d’études juridiques<br />
unique, car elle est composée<br />
de trois sections différentes :<br />
le droit civil ainsi que les programmes<br />
de common law<br />
en anglais et en français. Je<br />
suis une étudiante bilingue<br />
de troisième année du programme<br />
français de common<br />
law, et j’ai réussi à me faire<br />
une place dans chaque section de droit en participant<br />
activement à la vie étudiante autant sur le campus qu’à<br />
l’extérieur de la Faculté.<br />
À première vue, avoir à interagir avec des étudiants<br />
d’autres programmes semble être une tâche plutôt<br />
simple. Le fait d’avoir trois programmes de droit sous<br />
un même toit crée un environnement favorable aux<br />
échanges réguliers entre étudiants. Cependant, puisque<br />
ces mêmes étudiants ne sont pas forcément dans les<br />
mêmes cours, il devient alors difficile de tisser des liens<br />
amicaux.<br />
Pendant la semaine d’accueil, il y a eu plusieurs occasions<br />
de faire du réseautage. Les étudiants de première année<br />
partageaient ainsi leur enthousiasme à l’idée d’entamer<br />
leurs études en droit. Puisque le programme français<br />
de common law regroupe peu d’étudiants, il a été relativement<br />
facile pour nous d’apprendre à nous connaître,<br />
d’autant plus que nous allions tous suivre les mêmes<br />
cours tout au long de l’année. En revanche, les étudiants<br />
d’autres programmes dont j’avais fait la connaissance au<br />
début du semestre se sont tranquillement transformés<br />
en souvenirs lointains. En peu de temps, j’ai été submergée<br />
par les lectures, les cours magistraux, les visites à la<br />
bibliothèque et les groupes d’études qui, ensemble, ont<br />
constitué le fondement de ma première année. Il me fallait<br />
créer des liens enrichissants avec mes camarades de<br />
classe tout en approfondissant mes connaissances juridiques.<br />
J’ai alors pris l’initiative d’être plus active au sein<br />
de la vie étudiante.<br />
Lors de ma première année, j’ai joué dans une équipe de<br />
soccer de ma Faculté et j’ai été membre du comité exécutif<br />
de l’Association des étudiants Noirs en droit de l’Université<br />
d’Ottawa (AÉND Ottawa). Aussi, j’ai assisté aux<br />
événements organisés par des étudiants en droit d’autres<br />
associations étudiantes. Ces expériences ont été très gratifiantes,<br />
car j’ai eu la chance de rencontrer des étudiants<br />
en droit avec qui j’avais des points communs qui sont dès<br />
lors devenus mes amis. L’année dernière, j’ai continué à<br />
participer de façon active à la vie étudiante et au sein de<br />
ma communauté en siégeant sur les comités exécutifs de<br />
l’association étudiante de la Faculté et de l’AÉND Ottawa,<br />
en jouant au soccer deux fois par semaine et en effectuant<br />
du travail à titre de bénévole pour des organismes<br />
non gouvernementaux. Ces engagements m’ont permis<br />
de laisser mon empreinte sur le campus et ailleurs, tout<br />
en créant et maintenant des liens importants.<br />
Cela dit, pallier aux écarts entre les trois sections de droit<br />
peut s’avérer une tâche complexe. Certains de mes camarades<br />
unilingues du programme français ont éprouvé<br />
des difficultés à s’adapter en raison des frontières<br />
linguistiques qui nous séparent. Bien que je sois née<br />
à Toronto, j’ai appris le français à l’école. J’ai donc pu<br />
surmonter cette difficulté assez aisément. Toutefois, je<br />
pense que la meilleure façon de relever ce défi est de faire<br />
ce que j’ai fait : il faut être impliqué dans sa communauté.<br />
La bonne gestion du temps est aussi une autre qualité à<br />
développer. Le temps investi dans les activités sociales<br />
ou associatives est du temps d’étude qui ne peut être<br />
rattrapé. Néanmoins, ce sont particulièrement ces moments<br />
qui font de l’École de droit une expérience enrichissante.<br />
Ainsi, je consacre un peu de temps à tout. À<br />
mon avis, les cours magistraux ne sont qu’une partie de<br />
la vie étudiante à la Faculté de droit. Il est tout aussi important<br />
de tisser des liens avec ses camarades de classe,<br />
discuter avec les professeurs et maintenir une vie sociale<br />
en dehors du campus pour avoir du succès dans sa vie<br />
académique et personnelle.<br />
BIOGRAPHY: Cemone est une étudiante bilingue en troisième année du programme français de common law. Elle est membre de<br />
plusieurs associations étudiantes de sa Faculté, elle joue au soccer et travaille à temps partiel. Cette année, Cemone siège sur le<br />
comité exécutif de l’AÉND Canada en tant que vice-présidente de la région centrale. À son avis, même si la tâche n’est pas toujours<br />
facile, il est très important de faire l’équilibre entre les études et le plaisir.<br />
10<br />
BLSA CANADA | FEBRUARY 2015
L<strong>ET</strong>’S DO THIS:<br />
SOME TIPS FOR G<strong>ET</strong>TING FARTHER BY WORKING TOG<strong>ET</strong>HER<br />
By Kenji Tokawa<br />
Without question, collaboration—or<br />
simply a<br />
willingness to draw inspiration<br />
from the efforts of<br />
other minority groups—<br />
is important. I have seen<br />
the African-American<br />
freedom schools model<br />
empower Toronto’s Asian<br />
youth activism, and the<br />
disability rights movement<br />
give language to<br />
trans activists advocating<br />
for control over medical decisions about their bodies.<br />
As the grandson of Japanese-Canadian internees, among<br />
many things, I owe it to my grandmother to advocate<br />
against all racial profiling and the dispossession of Indigenous<br />
nations of their lands and political agency.<br />
The effect of collaboration is that we get farther when we<br />
learn from each other and work together. This translates<br />
from community building to social justice law reform<br />
and advocacy. To help foster collaboration among legal<br />
professionals, here are tips that I’ve been given and am<br />
taking with me as I enter the profession:<br />
1. Know where you are going. Without a goal or vision<br />
of the changes you want to see in your community,<br />
the exercise of identifying potential collaborators<br />
is difficult. While the path to achieving that<br />
may not be clear, a solid end goal that drives the<br />
work you’re doing provides a basis around which<br />
others can see a cause worthy of their time, effort<br />
and other resources they’re willing to contribute.<br />
2. Know where you’ve been. Knowing your history<br />
really counts. You may discover something<br />
in your community’s past that can help benefit<br />
the work of your potential collaborators. When<br />
mine arrived in Canada over a century ago, things<br />
we ought not to take for granted, such as human<br />
rights and constitutional safeguards, did not exist.<br />
Despite this, they made a go if it, which could<br />
be a lesson for others. You also may discover<br />
points of tension in your community’s past with<br />
groups with which you aim to collaborate. Particularly<br />
in instances where minority groups<br />
were once pitted against each other during periods<br />
of social strain, sometimes, unearthing<br />
shared histories can foster mutual respect and<br />
present opportunities to move forward together.<br />
3. Know where they’ve been and where they are<br />
going. We must endeavour to understand those<br />
with whom we seek to collaborate. Having an<br />
idea of what we can learn from each other breeds<br />
a respect that should permeate our relations<br />
if collaboration is to be strong and successful.<br />
4. Spread the love. Make a sincere effort to<br />
spread the news of your collaborators’ work,<br />
goals, history, and achievements to the rest<br />
of your community—do your part to familiarize<br />
people outside of your team with the<br />
efforts of other groups’ social justice work.<br />
5. Respect their direction. Allow those you collaborate<br />
with to take the lead when contributing<br />
to a project that is specifically meant to<br />
achieve their community’s goals. Recognize that<br />
they have a better sense of what’s best for them,<br />
just as you have a sense of what’s best for you.<br />
6. Work. If you are going to collaborate, commit.<br />
BIOGRAPHY: Kenji Tokawa is a former coordinator of Toronto’s various queer, trans and Asian youth community development<br />
initiatives and the Nikkei heritage mapping project. Kenji summered as the Niagara Crown’s Aboriginal Law summer student. He is<br />
finishing his final year at the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law.<br />
FEBRUARY 2015 | BLSA CANADA 11
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12<br />
BLSA CANADA | FEBRUARY 2015<br />
Black Law Students Association of Canada Sponsorship Ad.indd 1<br />
11/6/2014 4:00:04 PM
REFLECTIONS FROM THE CANADIAN NORTH: LAW STUDENTS IN THE TERRITORIES<br />
RÉFLEXIONS DU NORD CANADIEN : DES ÉTUDIANTS EN DROIT VIVANT AUX TERRITOIRES<br />
Feature article by | Article de fond rédigé par : Iman Amin<br />
Photo Essay by | Photoreportage exécuté par : Keeley Phillips<br />
FEBRUARY 2015 | BLSA CANADA 13
BREAKING THE SILENCE, TOG<strong>ET</strong>HER IN SOLIDARITY<br />
By Iman Amin<br />
When I was presented<br />
with an opportunity to<br />
travel to Nunavut on a<br />
summer internship I<br />
realized only later what<br />
a true gift it was. This<br />
short journey of two<br />
thousand kilometers<br />
(straight north) has<br />
taught me invaluable<br />
lessons. It has allowed<br />
me to reflect on my relationship<br />
to, and displacement<br />
from, my traditional lands. It has allowed<br />
me to reflect on my biases, and my stereotypes. It<br />
has taught me lessons that I will forever cherish, and<br />
I hope only to honour the<br />
experience by sharing it<br />
widely, but respectfully.<br />
“We must begin to stand together and<br />
support our distinct yet mutual goals for<br />
equality and cultural integrity. We must<br />
begin to support one another as allies.”<br />
It is truly unfortunate that<br />
so little is known about<br />
Nunavut. The territory is<br />
one-fifth the size of Canada, the beneficiary to the<br />
largest land claim agreement in Canadian history,<br />
and the subject of a deep, culturally rich history that<br />
most of us know nothing about.<br />
How is it that we know so little about a territory<br />
that makes up twenty percent of the entire country<br />
How is it that we know so little about a people who<br />
have lived on these lands since time immemorial<br />
Why are our history books and education curriculums<br />
largely silent on its culture and its history<br />
Perhaps it is because silencing a people, by silencing<br />
their history, has proven to be an effective tool<br />
of colonialism. Indeed, it is a tool that has been used<br />
to hide history, culture, beauty, wisdom and oppression<br />
for many centuries, both in Canada and around<br />
the world. This is because silencing has a remarkable<br />
ability to create and maintain a social culture<br />
that is defined by white privilege, male superiority,<br />
and European benevolence. And so, herein lies our<br />
connection— the silencing effect of colonialism.<br />
Black communities must begin to recognize the impact<br />
that colonialism and silencing has had on their<br />
own struggle for racial equality and cultural integrity.<br />
You see, for African and Caribbean communities,<br />
silence is often manifested in the complete absence<br />
of black histories in the education system, and the<br />
complete disregard for the anti-black racism that is<br />
embedded in Canadian law and policy. This has, as a<br />
consequence, bred self-hatred, violence and poverty<br />
in our own communities in much the same way that<br />
it has in Indigenous communities.<br />
For this reason, my message<br />
today is we, as racialized<br />
peoples, must begin to recognize<br />
colonialism as the source<br />
of our mutual oppression.<br />
My experience in Nunavut has re-affirmed my solidarity<br />
with Indigenous peoples. We must begin to<br />
stand together and support our distinct yet mutual<br />
goals for equality and cultural integrity. We must begin<br />
to support one another as allies. We must begin<br />
to battle colonialism and the oppression—and racism—that<br />
it breeds, together. We must begin to see<br />
each other as distant relatives.<br />
My Nunavut experience came in the form of a summer<br />
internship with a legal aid office in Rankin Inlet;<br />
a small community of about 3500 people. The<br />
community, like all communities in Nunavut, is only<br />
accessible by plane—there are no highways or major<br />
roads within, or leading to, the territory. Commu-<br />
BIOGRAPHY: Iman Amin is an Oromo sister from the east African region of Ethiopia. Her areas of interests have been exclusively<br />
focused on legal aid and human rights law, and she has worked with Legal Aid plans across Canada including in Alberta, Ontario<br />
and Nunavut. In the summer of 2013 she was honoured with a National Social Justice Fellowship to complete a four-month internship<br />
at the Legal Services Board of Nunavut, and shares her experience and reflections of the Arctic tundra in this article. She<br />
graduated from the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law in 2014 and returned to the north to complete her articles.<br />
14<br />
BLSA CANADA | FEBRUARY 2015
nities are therefore remote and quite isolated. This<br />
poses significant challenges to accessing resources<br />
and vital services including healthcare, food, housing,<br />
and basic toiletries. For example, a bag of cherries<br />
in Rankin Inlet can cost $26.00; laundry detergent<br />
about $32.00; and toilet paper up to $19.99!<br />
There are also no hospitals in Nunavut. Residents<br />
must fly to a major city (usually Edmonton, Winnipeg,<br />
or Ottawa) to access medical services that are<br />
not available at the local health centre. Rent for a<br />
two-bedroom condo is almost $3000, and the waiting<br />
list for affordable housing is over three years<br />
long. The rate of homelessness, criminalization, unemployment<br />
and illness is staggering—all this in a<br />
nation that is apparently “developed.”<br />
How is it that we can allow entire communities—<br />
within our own borders—to live without affordable<br />
access to food, shelter or health care The situation<br />
is shameful, yet persists in large part because it is<br />
hidden from public scrutiny.<br />
Despite these challenges, however, Nunavut is easily<br />
one of the most beautiful and unique places in the<br />
entire world, particularly during “the season of the<br />
midnight sun” (i.e. the summer) when the sun does<br />
not set. Yes, you read that right. There is no night<br />
in an arctic summer. And in the winter there is very<br />
little light. Instead, when the sun goes down the<br />
Northern Lights come out, and there are simply no<br />
words to describe that kind of beauty. I had the opportunity<br />
to see the Northern Lights during my last<br />
week, and the experience was truly moving. A beautiful<br />
display of red, blue, green and yellow lights that<br />
in the absence of high-rise buildings and loud traffic<br />
can make you feel as if you are literally being showered<br />
in lights.<br />
Everything about the north can also teach us how<br />
to live together better. Inuit peoples, particularly in<br />
Nunavut, have an unwavering and powerful sense<br />
of national pride. The word “Nunavut” itself means<br />
“our land,” and the Inuit right to sovereignty and<br />
self-determination—over its own land—is not a debatable<br />
one. There is also a deep love for the land. It<br />
is a source of practical, spiritual, and cultural wisdom<br />
and survival. Finally, and perhaps most importantly,<br />
there is a beautiful sense of community in the<br />
north. You know your neighbor. Imagine that! And if<br />
your neighbor needs it, you help your neighbor, and<br />
vice versa.<br />
In Inuit culture I saw a deep sense of loyalty, integrity,<br />
responsibility and accountability—to each other,<br />
and to the land. We can learn from this. We must<br />
learn from this.<br />
I want to end with a plea to you: legal professionals<br />
and law students, current and future (particularly<br />
my racialized colleagues) I ask you to reflect on colonialism<br />
and the effect it has had on you, and on your<br />
distant relatives. I ask you to reflect on the impact it<br />
has had on your ancestral heritage and your cultural<br />
preservation. I ask you to reflect on your settler<br />
privilege. I ask you to reflect on the irony in demanding<br />
racial equality from a state that our Indigenous<br />
brothers and sisters show us every day is inherently<br />
racist. I ask you to reflect on your solidarity to peoples<br />
who are engaged in a similar battle for respect<br />
and cultural integrity. Because, I ask you, if we are<br />
not supporting each other, what are we fighting for<br />
FEBRUARY 2015 | BLSA CANADA 15
A CANADIAN (LAW STUDENT) ABROAD: AN INTERNSHIP EXPERIENCE<br />
By Keeley Phillips<br />
BIOGRAPHY: Keeley Phillips is Cree from Barren Lands First Nation, Manitoba. She is from Winnipeg, Manitoba and studies at<br />
Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie University. In summer 2013, she interned at the Council of Yukon First Nations in Whithorse,<br />
Yukon through Canadian Lawyers Abroad (CLA-ACE). She received training from the Canadian Human Rights Commission’s National<br />
Aboriginal Initiative on the repeal of section 67 of the Canadian Human Rights Act. She captured the following images during<br />
her time in the north.<br />
16<br />
BLSA CANADA | FEBRUARY 2015
FEBRUARY 2015 | BLSA CANADA 17
18<br />
BLSA CANADA | FEBRUARY 2015
WHERE ARE THE LEADERS<br />
By Ida Ngueng Feze<br />
It is said in Africa that<br />
“it takes a village to<br />
raise one child” but<br />
where are the leaders<br />
of today Where are<br />
the brothers and sisters<br />
that were entrusted<br />
with the responsibility<br />
and privilege of raising<br />
and looking after the<br />
younger ones Where<br />
are the hearts of those<br />
who gained the sacred knowledge of a system that<br />
continues to feed upon the weak and the innocent<br />
What roads have they taken in this modern jungle of<br />
education They have gone to law school!<br />
Maybe they overstand that social sciences, environmental<br />
studies, health, history, economics, sex, politics<br />
and religion are all reflected in the laws and their<br />
implementation. Maybe they searched and learned<br />
that at some point, the story of the world was rewritten<br />
as history. Maybe it is because they know that a<br />
system that tries to impair reality is doomed to fail,<br />
that 9/10th of the people on this planet cannot be<br />
taught to act or call themselves visible minorities.<br />
Maybe they overstand that going to law school is not<br />
an end but a means to be used to ensure that this<br />
current system is replaced with effective justice for<br />
all everywhere. It may be the fact that natives in the<br />
Americas and Australia continue to be deprived of<br />
the fundamental basic right to self-governance over<br />
their lands. It may be the blatant lack of appreciation<br />
for differences and the wealth of various cultures<br />
that make humanity.<br />
Those who dwelt with these paradigms and left<br />
with such a foundation may overstand that surviving<br />
the challenges of first year law school selection<br />
and competition depends on assisting and helping<br />
each other. The role of a professor is only to present<br />
a possibility of what the law is and how it can<br />
be interpreted. The student bears the responsibility<br />
of reflecting on these concepts, their interpretations<br />
and applications. They will strive to gain the additional<br />
knowledge required to fully grasp the broader<br />
context of law, and the duties that come with being a<br />
lawyer, a policymaker, a jurist, or a legal researcher.<br />
Soon enough, they’ll navigate their way in and out<br />
of the system understanding its aim and overstanding<br />
its upcoming transformation. Throughout their<br />
journey, they will reach out to friends, family and<br />
even strangers every time they are able or called to<br />
assist and care.<br />
Many have left and will leave to get degrees, but only<br />
a few will come back as leaders, having overstood<br />
that their achievements rest with the many people<br />
they were privileged to serve and assist throughout<br />
their journey. They will be our elders and leaders<br />
against the current status quo Just-Ice but strive towards<br />
real and effective Justice.<br />
As for the others, we will keep asking where are you<br />
and when will you come back<br />
BIOGRAPHY: Ms. Ngueng Feze is a Cameroonian lawyer admitted to practice in New York. She currently works as an academic associate<br />
at McGill University’s Centre for Genomics and Policy. She is the Founder of the BLSA Chapter at the University of Montreal,<br />
a BLSA Canada alumna and sits on the Quebec Bar working group “For a more inclusive legal profession.” She considers law to be<br />
one of many important tools needed to bring justice to all. She can be reached at ida.nguengfeze@mcgill.ca.<br />
FEBRUARY 2015 | BLSA CANADA 19
A CASE FOR CRIMINAL LAW<br />
By Danardo Jones<br />
I went to law school<br />
because I disliked<br />
the way lawyers and<br />
the police treated me<br />
and members of my<br />
community. Well that’s<br />
not entirely true, but it<br />
was a big motivator.<br />
When I was a child my<br />
mother and uncle told<br />
me that one day I would<br />
become a lawyer. This was long before any of us<br />
knew what a lawyer was or did. My first contact with<br />
a lawyer came with my first charge. Unfortunately<br />
for my poor mother, this was her first contact with a<br />
lawyer as well.<br />
For me, contact with the criminal justice system<br />
meant street credibility. Over the years I would<br />
retain different lawyers, but one thing remained<br />
constant: they seemingly were unconcerned about<br />
my circumstances. In fact, one lawyer once told me<br />
that he didn’t care if I had to sell a pound of crack to<br />
pay his fee. I never trusted any of my lawyers, but<br />
there was an understanding that if I paid their fee, I<br />
might have a chance of staying out of jail.<br />
Lawyers are not the only occasionally questionable<br />
actors in the criminal justice system. The police<br />
dominated my fears. There was one simple<br />
understanding in the streets: cops hate blacks,<br />
and vice-versa. That pretty much summed up race<br />
relations from the perspective of an over-charged<br />
and racially profiled black man. I never questioned<br />
this reality. I just did my best to avoid the cops—even<br />
in situations when I was doing nothing illegal. I had<br />
learned the hard way that wearing black skin was<br />
illegal. I was arrested and detained so many times,<br />
and for so many reasons that I have lost count. Many<br />
of those arrests never amounted to a charge—they<br />
served however as a reminder, it would seem, that I<br />
was being watched.<br />
The above is not an indictment of all criminal lawyers<br />
or police officers. Rather, it is a description of what<br />
many black men live with each and every day. I am<br />
often implored by friends, colleagues and family<br />
members to practice criminal law. They assume<br />
that I would make a good criminal lawyer because<br />
I was once dubbed a criminal. But is that what the<br />
criminal justice system requires for reform An<br />
influx of reformed racialized criminals<br />
I have a unique appreciation of the frustrations that<br />
many young black men face when they are in conflict<br />
with the criminal justice system. Many of my friends<br />
and some of my family members are still caught up<br />
in this system. And the police pump new blood, in<br />
the form of young black men, into the system daily.<br />
As a result, I would have enough work to keep me<br />
busy for a long time.<br />
My problem is that I am morally conflicted about<br />
profiting from this onslaught. Call me naive, but<br />
I will not directly or indirectly send a young black<br />
man to sell a pound of crack to pay my fees.<br />
BIOGRAPHY: Danardo Jones is a 2013 call who graduated from the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law (English Common Law).<br />
He summered and articled at a multi-service law firm in downtown Toronto.<br />
20<br />
BLSA CANADA | FEBRUARY 2015
L’INTÉGRATION AU CANADA:<br />
ALLER AU-DELÀ DES ENJEUX LINGUISTIQUES DANS L’INTÉRÊT COMMUN<br />
Rédigé par Melissa Jean-Baptiste<br />
Je suis fière de mes<br />
origines haïtiennes qui<br />
m’ont permises de communiquer<br />
en français et<br />
de comprendre le créole<br />
dès ma naissance. Je suis<br />
née à Montréal, mais lorsque<br />
j’avais quatre ans,<br />
ma famille et moi avons<br />
déménagé à Toronto.<br />
Cela dit, pour maintenir<br />
mon niveau de français,<br />
mes parents m’ont inscrit dans une école francophone<br />
pendant mes études primaires et secondaires.<br />
À l’époque, je ne comprenais pas l’importance de<br />
continuer à parler français en dehors des salles de<br />
cours. Je commençais à communiquer de plus en<br />
plus en anglais que ce soit avec mes amis ou à la maison.<br />
Vers la fin de mon adolescence, j’avais adopté<br />
un accent anglophone en parlant français, un accent<br />
que je croyais être imperceptible, jusqu’à ce que je<br />
retourne à Montréal afin de poursuivre mes études<br />
universitaires en anglais.<br />
Mon retour à Montréal a été pour moi un immense<br />
choc culturel qui ne m’a pas du tout plu. Que ce<br />
soit dans les restaurants, dans la rue ou dans les<br />
magasins, tout le monde m’adressait la parole en<br />
anglais, même si j’avais entamé la conversation en<br />
français. Alors que l’on pensait me rendre service en<br />
me répondant en anglais, je me sentais insultée de<br />
cet « accommodement » malavisé. Ce type de réaction<br />
m’a tellement bouleversé, que je ne me sentais<br />
plus à l’aise de communiquer en français, et j’avais<br />
atteint le point où j’étais prête à renier mes origines<br />
francophones complètement.<br />
Après mes études universitaires à Montréal, je suis<br />
retournée travailler à Toronto dans un milieu juridique<br />
où j’ai été embauchée en partie du fait que<br />
j’étais bilingue. Cette expérience a été une merveilleuse<br />
opportunité pour moi. En effet, mes tâches<br />
consistaient à faciliter les démarches juridiques<br />
pour les francophones vivant à Toronto. Les clients<br />
étaient tous très satisfaits de mon travail et ont réellement<br />
apprécié mes habiletés à leur communiquer<br />
dans les deux langues.<br />
J’ai choisi de poursuivre mes études à l’Université<br />
d’Ottawa et de compléter le programme national<br />
dans le but de devenir une avocate qui pourra rendre<br />
des services de qualité supérieure, tant en anglais<br />
qu’en français, dans les deux systèmes juridiques du<br />
Canada. Une fois de plus, mon parcours au sein de<br />
la Faculté a connu des hauts et des bas. Il existe une<br />
frontière linguistique frappante entre les étudiants<br />
francophones et anglophones en droit, que ce soit<br />
dans la section de droit civil ou celle de common law.<br />
À maintes reprises, j’ai eu à justifier mon appartenance<br />
à la communauté québécoise, franco-ontarienne<br />
ou anglophone. Je me suis souvent présentée<br />
comme une anglophone parce que c’était habituellement<br />
la partie de mon identité la plus facile à défendre<br />
devant les autres. Cela dit, ce n’était pas tout à<br />
fait vrai. Je tire mes origines d’un peu partout et j’aimerais<br />
être identifiée ainsi.<br />
Je suis contre toute forme de discrimination, dont la<br />
discrimination linguistique. Les différences linguistiques<br />
devraient êtres acceptées à bras ouverts et<br />
non devenir une source de division. Je crois que les<br />
minorités visibles doivent se soutenir les unes les<br />
autres pour atteindre les objectifs de nos communautés<br />
respectives, car l’union fait la force.<br />
BIOGRAPHIE: Melissa est une étudiante du programme national de l’Université d’Ottawa terminant actuellement ses études en<br />
common law. Diplômée de l’Université McGill, elle a complété son baccalauréat en science politique. Cette année, elle est la viceprésidente<br />
des affaires externes de l’AÉND Canada.<br />
FEBRUARY 2015 | BLSA CANADA 21
A BLACK CANADIAN FEMALE HERO:<br />
JUDGE CORRINE SPARKS<br />
By Sandra Aigbinode<br />
Judge Corrine Sparks is<br />
a black woman whose<br />
accomplishments have<br />
earned her several<br />
“firsts” in a historically<br />
homogenous,<br />
male-dominated field.<br />
In 1987, she became the<br />
first black woman appointed<br />
as a judge, not<br />
only in Nova Scotia, but<br />
also in all of Canada.<br />
I was first introduced to Judge Sparks in my Foundations<br />
of Canadian Law class. She illustrated her<br />
bravery in her 1994 ruling in the landmark R v R (S<br />
D) decision. As a Nova Scotia Family Court Judge,<br />
she took judicial notice of racism among police officers<br />
and acquitted a black youth accused of assaulting<br />
a police officer and resisting arrest. Drawing<br />
from her experiences, Judge Sparks made general<br />
comments about strained relations between police<br />
officers and non-white groups and the tendency<br />
of the police to overreact when dealing with these<br />
groups.<br />
Her ruling was met with severe backlash, as her<br />
remarks were perceived as biased. Her decision to<br />
acquit was overturned by the Nova Scotia Supreme<br />
Court; the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal upheld this<br />
decision. When the issue was brought before the<br />
Supreme Court of Canada, the Court restored the<br />
acquittal by a 6 – 3 majority. The Supreme Court<br />
found that a reasonable person would not think<br />
that Judge Sparks was biased. Judge Sparks simply<br />
used her experience and understanding of the<br />
social context to contextualize the case before her.<br />
This landmark decision ushered in contextualized<br />
judging, and the notion that race matters.<br />
This trial, which originally began as a trial against<br />
a youth, quickly morphed into a case against a<br />
judge. Judge Sparks refused to be silent, and spoke<br />
out against the prevailing racism of the time. Her<br />
victory extends beyond this case to the fight against<br />
racism in Canada, and into the highest reaches of<br />
our justice system.<br />
Judge Sparks has paved the way for all women, but<br />
particularly women of colour like myself, in the<br />
legal profession. Her bravery has earned her numerous<br />
awards, including the Elizabeth Fry Society’s<br />
Rebel With a Cause Award, and the Canadian<br />
Bar Association’s Touchstone Award for promoting<br />
equality in the legal profession.<br />
Many years have passed since the R v R (S D) decision.<br />
This leads one to consider how far our courts<br />
have come in the fight for substantive equality.<br />
While this case shed light on the relevance of race<br />
and contextualized judging, this ruling was only<br />
the tip of the iceberg. It is crucial to remember<br />
the precedent set by this case: race matters. Let’s<br />
bring race back to the conversation at every level of<br />
our judicial system—from arrest, to judging, to sentencing.<br />
The pursuit of racial equality in the legal<br />
system continues.<br />
BIOGRAPHY: Sandra Aigbinode is a McGill University Faculty of Law graduate. She was the National Chair on the 2013-2014<br />
BLSA Canada executive team.<br />
22<br />
BLSA CANADA | FEBRUARY 2015
BLSA CANADA 2014-2015 TRIBUTE<br />
HOMMAGE DE L’AÉND CANADA 2014-2015<br />
The Black Law Students’ Association of Canada is<br />
proud to honour the late Leonard A. Braithwaite<br />
(1923-2012), the first black Canadian to be elected<br />
to the Ontario Legislature. He completed his law<br />
degree at Osgoode Hall in 1958 and later began a<br />
political career. His achievements are numerous,<br />
including his membership in the Order of Canada<br />
and becoming the first black lawyer to be elected<br />
bencher of the Governing Council of the Law Society<br />
of Upper Canada. Throughout his career, he advocated<br />
for positive social and political change. In particular,<br />
he fought for gender equality and the rights of<br />
minorities.<br />
BLSA Canada honours Mr. Braithwaite for being a<br />
trailblazer and revolutionary figure in Canadian<br />
Black History.<br />
L’Association des étudiants noirs en droit du Canada<br />
est fière de rendre hommage au défunt Leonard<br />
A. Braithwaite (1923-2012), le premier Canadien<br />
noir élu à la législature ontarienne. Il a obtenu son<br />
baccalauréat de l’École de droit Osgoode en 1958<br />
pour ensuite entamer une carrière dans le domaine<br />
de la politique. M. Braithwaite a accompli de nombreux<br />
exploits. En effet, il a été membre de l’Ordre<br />
du Canada et a été le premier avocat noir à être élu<br />
à titre de conseiller par le lieutenant-gouverneur et<br />
le Barreau du Haut-Canada. Au cours de sa carrière,<br />
c’est avec ferveur qu’il a cherché à apporter des<br />
changements sociaux et politiques positifs. À cet<br />
effet, il a lutté pour l’équité entre les sexes et les<br />
droits des minorités.<br />
L’AÉND Canada rend hommage à M. Braithwaite<br />
pour avoir été un pionnier et une figure révolutionnaire<br />
dans l’histoire des noirs au Canada.<br />
FEBRUARY 2015 | BLSA CANADA 23
BLSA CANADA NATIONAL EXECUTIVE 2014-2015<br />
LE COMITÉ EXÉCUTIF NATIONAL 2014-2015 DE L’AÉND CANADA<br />
MOSES GASHIRABAKE<br />
President | Président<br />
McGill University<br />
Faculty of Law, Class of 2016<br />
NATALIA PEART<br />
VP Communications<br />
University of Ottawa<br />
Faculty of Law, Class of 2015<br />
JASMINE HUDSON<br />
VP Atlantic<br />
VP région atlantique<br />
Dalhousie University<br />
Faculty of Law, Class of 2015<br />
JONATHAN CHAN<br />
National Chair<br />
Président du Comité Exécutif<br />
University of Toronto<br />
Faculty of Law, Class of 2014<br />
BRIAN LYNCH<br />
VP Finance<br />
University of Toronto<br />
Faculty of Law, Class of 2016<br />
AM<strong>AND</strong>A WURAH<br />
Secretary | Secrétaire<br />
McGill University<br />
Faculty of Law, Class of 2017<br />
KAREN KERNISANT<br />
Francophone representative<br />
Représentante francophone<br />
University of Ottawa<br />
Faculty of Law, Class of 2015<br />
CEMONE MORLESE<br />
VP Central and Moot Chair<br />
VP région central et présidente<br />
du concours de plaidoirie<br />
University of Ottawa<br />
Faculty of Law, Class of 2015<br />
STÉPHANIE D. JULES<br />
VP Quebec and Conference Chair<br />
VP Québec et presidente de la<br />
conférence<br />
McGill University<br />
Faculty of Law, Class of 2016<br />
MELISSA JEAN-BAPTISTE<br />
VP External<br />
VP aux affaires externes<br />
University of Ottawa<br />
Faculty of Law, Class of 2014 and<br />
2015<br />
CHRISTIEN LEVIEN<br />
National articling representative<br />
Représentant des stagiaires<br />
University of Ottawa<br />
Faculty of Law, Class of 2014<br />
24<br />
BLSA CANADA | FEBRUARY 2015
CONFERENCE PROGRAM<br />
Unity and Diversity: Collaborating to Further Justice<br />
BLSA Canada’s 24th Annual<br />
National Conference<br />
February 19-22, 2015<br />
Montréal, Quebec<br />
PROGRAMME DE LA CONFÉRENCE<br />
Unité et Diversité : Collaborer pour promouvoir la justice<br />
24e Conférence<br />
Annuelle de l’AÉNDC<br />
19-22 février 2015<br />
Montréal, Québec<br />
The Allard School of Law offers an inspiring<br />
environment that combines rigorous professional legal<br />
training with an awareness of the role of law in society.<br />
Visit law.ubc.ca for more information on programs of study.<br />
P<strong>ET</strong>ER A. ALLARD SCHOOL OF LAW<br />
Allard Hall 1822 East Mall · Vancouver BC · Canada · v6t 1z1 admissions@law.ubc.ca<br />
FEBRUARY 2015 | BLSA CANADA 25
CONFERENCE SCHEDULE<br />
TIME LOCATION ACTIVITY<br />
THURSDAY - BUSINESS CASUAL<br />
3:00 PM - 6:00 PM FOYER WELCOME <strong>AND</strong> REGISTRATION!<br />
REGISTRATION STARTS AT 3:00 PM<br />
7:00 PM Printemps Opening words from the executive<br />
Get to know Montreal: Sherbrooke street is to Montreal what 5 th<br />
avenue is to New York!<br />
FRIDAY - BUSINESS FORMAL<br />
7:00 AM - 9:00 AM FOYER REGISTRATION/BREAKFAST<br />
9:00 AM - 10:20 AM Saison A-B Opening Ceremony: Keynote address from Justice Juanita<br />
Westmoreland-Traoré and Professo Dr. Charmaine Nelson. Musical<br />
rendition by violinist Andrew Forde.<br />
10:30 AM - 12:00 PM Saison A-B Diversity in the Legal Sphere:<br />
How Can We Better Unite<br />
Key members of the Quebec Bar and the Law Society of Upper<br />
Canada will discuss concrete actions for a more diverse profession!<br />
12:00 PM - 12:30 PM FOYER LUNCHEON<br />
12:30 PM - 1:40 PM Saison A-B Recruitment and Lawyering Skills:<br />
How to develop a greater awareness of your career objectives and<br />
how to successfully impress future employers.<br />
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM Saison A-B Collaborating to Further Justice:<br />
The Latin American Law Students’ Association (LALSA), the South<br />
Asian Law Students’ Association (SALSA) and the Indigenous Law<br />
Students Association (ISLA) come together to discuss how we can<br />
better unite in striving for increased diversity!<br />
3:00 PM - 3:30 PM FOYER COFFEE BREAK<br />
3:30 PM - 4:30 PM Saison A-B The Relationship Between Race and Law In Canada:<br />
Lawyers, a social activist, and a graduate in anti-discrimination law<br />
come together to discuss collective responsibility.<br />
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM La Galerie Networking Reception:<br />
Spotlight Social featuring flutist Jef Kearns!<br />
SATURDAY - BUSINESS FORMAL<br />
Youth Acitivity:<br />
Icebreakers and games workshop about the law, hypothetical<br />
scenarios, and discussion facilitated by law students!<br />
7:30 AM - 9:00 AM FOYER REGISTRATION/BREAKFAST<br />
CONCURRENT SESSIONS<br />
9:00 AM - 10:00 AM Saison A Environmental Justice:<br />
Energy and natural resources<br />
Saison B<br />
Entertainment Law:<br />
This practice area covers media of all types and stretches over<br />
various legal fields<br />
26<br />
BLSA CANADA | FEBRUARY 2015<br />
Été<br />
Getting Into Law School:<br />
Specifically for high school, CÉGEP and undergraduate students.<br />
Current law students and admission officials will answer your<br />
questions and guide you through the application process.
CONFERENCE SCHEDULE CONT’D<br />
TIME LOCATION ACTIVITY<br />
10:00 AM - 10:15 AM FOYER COFFEE BREAK<br />
CONCURRENT SESSIONS<br />
10:15 AM - 11:15 AM Saison A Mediation and Arbitration:<br />
“An ounce of mediation is worth a pound of arbitration and a ton<br />
of litigation!”<br />
Saison B<br />
Alternative Legal Careers:<br />
Finding, embracing and folowing your true passion!<br />
11:20 AM - 11:50 AM SAISON A-B LUNCHTIME KEYNOTE ADDRESS:<br />
Arlene Huggins, president of the Canadian Association of Black<br />
Lawyers, will be sharing her thoughts on the necessity of<br />
Collaborating to Further Justice<br />
CONCURRENT SESSIONS<br />
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM Saison A Business/Corporate Law:<br />
Working on Bay Street<br />
Saison B<br />
Été<br />
Aboriginal Law:<br />
The legal traditions of Aboriginal peoples and the particular issues<br />
the indigenous community faces.<br />
Workshop: Securing an Articling Clerkship Position<br />
Articling and clerkin students will be sharing personal advice and<br />
tips.<br />
1:00 PM - 1:15 PM FOYER COFFEE BREAK<br />
CONCURRENT SESSIONS<br />
1:15 PM - 2:15 PM Saison A Civil Litigation:<br />
“ A lean compromise is better than a fat lawsuit.”<br />
Saison B<br />
Été<br />
Workshop: How to Start a Business<br />
Business lawyers, entrepreneur experts come together to share tips<br />
and advice on start-ups.<br />
BLSACares Workshop: Make a Difference!<br />
Community activism demystified with young activists and<br />
community members.<br />
2:15 PM - 4:00 PM Saison A-B Justice Julius Alexander Isaac Diversity Moot Competition<br />
(Sponsored by Koskie Minsy LLP)<br />
4:00 PM - 5:45 PM Saison A-B BLSA Canada Annual General Meeting and Elections<br />
6:30 PM - 7:15 PM Foyer Cocktail Reception<br />
7:15 PM - 1:00 AM Saison A-B BLSA Canada 2015 Black Tie Gala:<br />
Presentations, entertainment, dinner and dance!<br />
SUNDAY<br />
10:00 AM - 12:00 PM FOYER BREAKFAST/CHECK OUT<br />
11:00 AM - 1:00 PM Welcoming the new executives!<br />
FEBRUARY 2015 | BLSA CANADA 27
HORAIRE DE LA CONFÉRENCE<br />
HEURE LOCATION ACTIVITÉ<br />
JEUDI - TENUE DÉCONTRACTÉE<br />
15 h 00 - 18 h 00 FOYER INSCRIPTION<br />
ENREGISTREMENT À LA RÉCEPTION DE L’HÔTEL<br />
19 h 00 Printemps Réception d’accueil :<br />
Mot de bienvenue du comité exécutif<br />
Visite de Montréal :<br />
La rue Sherbrooke est à Montréal ce que la 5e avenue est à New York!<br />
VENDREDI - TENUE FORMELLE<br />
7 h 00 - 9 h 00 FOYER INSCRIPTION / DÉJEUNER<br />
9 h 00 - 10 h 20 Saison A-B Cérémonie d’ouverture : Discours d’ouverture de Madame la juge<br />
Juanita Westmoreland-Traoré suivie du Professeur Dr. Charmaine<br />
Nelson. Interprétation musicale par le violoniste Andrew Forde.<br />
10 h 30 - 12 h 00 Saison A-B Diversité dans la sphère juridique : comment être plus unis Des<br />
membres notoires du Barreau du Québec et du Barreau du Haut-<br />
Canada discuteront de méthodes concrètes pour améliorer la<br />
représentation de la diversité au sein de la profession!<br />
12 h 00 - 12 h 30 FOYER DÎNER<br />
12 h 30 - 13 h 40 Saison A-B Recrutement et habiletés légales : Comment bien définir nos<br />
objectifs de carrières et impressionner d’éventuels employeurs.<br />
14 h 00 - 15 h 00 Saison A-B Collaborer pour promouvoir la justice : L’Association des étudiants<br />
latino-américains en droit, l’Association des étudiants de l’Asie du<br />
Sud en droit et l’Association des étudiants Aborigènes en droit se<br />
réuniront pour discuter de la manière dont nous pouvons mieux<br />
nous unir dans la lutte pour une plus grande diversité!<br />
15 h 00- 15 h 30 FOYER PAUSE-CAFÉ<br />
15 h 30 - 16 h 30 Saison A-B La dynamique entre la race et le droit au Canada : Des avocats, un<br />
activiste socialement engagé ainsi qu’une diplômée en droit de l’antidiscrimination<br />
discuteront de responsabilité collective.<br />
17 h 00 - 19 h 00 La Galerie Réception et réseautage : Soirée de divertissement mettant en<br />
vedette le flutiste Jef Kearns.<br />
SAMEDI - TENUE FORMELLE<br />
Activité pour les jeunes : Jeux brise-glaces, ateliers juridiques,<br />
scénarios hypothétiques et discussions animées par des étudiants en<br />
droit!<br />
7 h 30 - 9 h 00 FOYER INSCRIPTION / DÉJEUNER<br />
SÉANCES SIMULTANÉES<br />
9 h 00 - 10 h 00 Saison A Justice environnementale : Énergie et ressources naturelles<br />
Saison B<br />
Droit du divertissement : Un domaine qui couvre tous les types de<br />
médias et qui s’étend sur plusieurs domaines juridiques.<br />
28<br />
BLSA CANADA | FEBRUARY 2015<br />
Été<br />
Entamer des études de droit : Tout spécialement pour les étudiants<br />
du secondaire, du cégep et de l’université. Des étudiants en droit et<br />
experts de l’admission en droit te guideront à travers le processus<br />
d’application!
HORAIRE DE LA CONFÉRENCE<br />
HEURE LOCATION ACTIVITÉ<br />
10 h 00 - 10 h 15 FOYER PAUSE-CAFÉ<br />
SÉANCES SIMULTANÉES<br />
10 h 15 - 11 h 15 Saison A Médiation et arbitrage : Une once de médiation équivaut à une livre<br />
d’arbitrage et une tonne de litiges!<br />
Saison B<br />
Choix de carrières alternatives : Trouver, embrasser et vivre sa<br />
véritable passion!<br />
11 h 20 - 11 h 50 SAISON A-B LUNCH <strong>ET</strong> CONFÉRENCIÈRE INVITÉE -<br />
Arleen Huggins, Présidente de l’Association Canadienne des Avo<br />
cats Noirs, expliquera en quoi la collaboration est nécessaire<br />
pour l’avancement de la justice.<br />
SÉANCES SIMULTANÉES<br />
12 h 00 - 13 h 00 Saison A Droit des affaires : Travailler dans une grande firme<br />
Saison B<br />
Été<br />
Droit autochtone : Les traditions juridiques des Autochtones et les<br />
difficultés particulières auxquelles la communauté indigène fait face.<br />
Atelier : Trouver un poste de cléricature ou à titre de stagiaire dans<br />
un tribunal—Des étudiants partagerons des conseils sur la course<br />
aux stages et les stages à la Cour!<br />
13 h 00 - 13 h 15 FOYER PAUSE-CAFÉ<br />
SÉANCES SIMULTANÉES<br />
13 h 15 - 14 h 15 Saison A Litige civil – Un compromis vaut mieux qu’une poursuite judiciaire<br />
sans fin!<br />
Saison B<br />
Été<br />
Atelier : Comment démarrer sa propre entreprise Des avocats en<br />
droit des affaires et des experts entrepreneuriaux partageront des<br />
conseils sur la formation d’une jeune entreprise!<br />
Atelier BLSACares : Faites une différence ! L’activisme démystifié<br />
par de jeunes activistes vv`et des membres de la communauté!<br />
14 h 15 - 16 h 00 Saison A-B Finale de la compétition de plaidoirie sur la diversité :<br />
Justice Julius Alexander Isaac (Sponsorisé par Koskie Minsky LLP)<br />
16 h 00 - 17 h 45 Saison A-B Assemblée générale de l’AÉND Canada!<br />
18 h 30 - 19 h 15 Foyer Réception<br />
19 h 15 - 1 h 00 Saison A-B Gala 2015 de l’AÉND Canada :<br />
Présentations, animations, souper et danse!<br />
DIMANCHE<br />
10 h 00 0 12 h 00 FOYER DÉJEUNER <strong>ET</strong> DÉPART<br />
11 h 00 - 13 h 00 Bienvenue aux nouveaux exécutifs!<br />
FEBRUARY 2015 | BLSA CANADA 29
THANKS TO OUR DISTINGUISHED SPEAKERS <strong>AND</strong> JUDGES<br />
MERCI À NOS CONFÉRENCIERS <strong>ET</strong> JUGES DISTINGUÉS<br />
Keynote Speakers | Discours officiels<br />
The Hon. Justice Westmoreland-Traoré, Court of<br />
Québec<br />
The Hon. Justice Daniel Dortélus, Court of Québec<br />
Arleen Huggins, Koskie Minsky LLP; President of the<br />
Canadian Association of Black Lawyers<br />
Dr. Charmaine Nelson, Department of Art History &<br />
Communication Studies (McGill University)<br />
Justice Julius Alexander Isaac Diversity Moot Judges<br />
Plaidoirie sur la diversité de l’Honorable Julius<br />
Isaac Alexander<br />
The Hon. Justice Irving W. André, Superior Court of<br />
Justice, Central West Region<br />
The Hon. Justice Guylene Beaugé, Superior Court of<br />
Québec<br />
The Hon. Justice Micheline A. Rawlins, Ontario Court<br />
of Justice<br />
Béatrice Vizkelety, Director of the Legal Department<br />
and Secretary of the Commission des droits de la personne<br />
et des droits de la jeunesse du Québec; Visiting Fellow at<br />
the McGill Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism<br />
Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient | Prix d’Excellence<br />
pour contribution exceptionnelle<br />
Me Tamara Thermitus – Department of Justice Canada<br />
(Quebec Regional Office)<br />
Panelists | Conférenciers<br />
Me Lu Chan Khuong, Barreau du Québec<br />
Me Fanie Pelletier, Barreau du Québec<br />
Me Christianne Vounang, Barreau du Québec<br />
Treasurer Minor, Law Society of Upper Canada<br />
Janet Leiper, Law Society of Upper Canada<br />
Ekua Quansah, Law Society of Upper Canada<br />
Christopher J. Fowles, Torys LLP<br />
Larry Markowitz, Redpath Holdings<br />
Jill Hugessen, Force 10 Coaching<br />
Jocelyn Formsma, Indigenous Law Students’<br />
Association<br />
David Persaud, South Asian Law Students‘ Association;<br />
Student-at-law, Borden Ladner Gervais LLP<br />
Mario Torres, Latin American Law Students’<br />
Association<br />
Anthony N. Morgan, African Canadian Legal Clinic<br />
Fo Niemi, Center for Research-Action on Race Relations<br />
Melayna Williams, University of Toronto, Law in Action<br />
Within Schools<br />
Radha Curpen, Bennett Jones LLP<br />
Chidinma B. Thompson, Ph.D, Borden Ladner Gervais<br />
LLP<br />
Me Stephane Moraille, Sole Practitioner<br />
Miro Oballa, Taylor Klein Oballa LLP<br />
Gillian Nycum, Acting Assistant Dean, Admissions and<br />
Recruitment (McGill University Faculty of Law)<br />
Nicole Bernier, Academic Advisor (University of<br />
Ottawa Faculty of Law, Civil Law Section)<br />
Rohan Bansie, Nelligan O’Brien Payne LLP<br />
Suhuyini Abudulai, Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP<br />
Professor Adelle Blackett, McGill University Faculty of<br />
Law<br />
The Hon. Marlene Jennings, PC, LLB, former Member<br />
of Parliament<br />
Jean-François Gascon, Vice Président, SNC Lavalin<br />
Konata T. Lake, Torys LLP<br />
Kadiatou Sow, Fasken Martineau DuMoulin S.E.N.C.R.L.,<br />
s.r.l. <br />
Me Johanne McNeil, Johanne McNeil Avocate<br />
Alexsa McKenzie, Global Shaper: World Economic Forum<br />
Jonathan Chan, Student-at-law, Goodmans LLP<br />
Marvin Coleby, BLSA Canada National President, 2013-<br />
2014<br />
Carle Evans, Student-at-law, Borden Ladner Gervais LLP<br />
Jalana Lewis, Ontario Human Rights Legal Support<br />
Centre<br />
Me Ponora Ang, Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP<br />
Me Meïssa N’Garane, Lapointe Rosenstein Marchand<br />
Melançon, S.E.N.C.R.L.<br />
Me Pierre-Jude Thermidor, Holmested & Associés<br />
S.E.N.C.R.L<br />
Alexander Kalil, Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurship,<br />
Desautels Faculty of Management (McGill University)<br />
Me Robert La Rosa, Lavery, de Billy LLP<br />
Me Andrei Molchynsky, Norton Rose Fullbright Canada<br />
S.E.N.C.R.L., s.r.l.<br />
30<br />
BLSA CANADA | FEBRUARY 2015
THANKS TO OUR GENEROUS SPONSORS<br />
NATIONAL SPONSOR<br />
JUSTICE JULIUS ALEX<strong>AND</strong>ER ISAAC <strong>DIVERSITY</strong> MOOT SPONSOR<br />
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