How do we achieve a justice system that provides equal and fair representation without discrimination, especially for Black people and people of colour? Some might say that one way to get to a just society is through diverse and dedicated lawyers working at their best.
In this episode, we hear from Charlene Theodore, in-house counsel at the Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association, and the Ontario Bar Association’s first Black president (and first “pandemic” president too!). Charlene candidly discusses her experiences as a Black female lawyer in Canada and sheds light on her forward thinking initiatives “Work that Works” and “Not Another Decade,” aimed at reimagining workplaces from an equity and diversity framework.
Joyce Echaquan. Eishia Hudson. Regis Korchinski-Paquet. With so many traumatic and high profile incidents involving Indigenous peoples occurring across Canada, now more than ever, all eyes are on the legal community to pick up the mantle to address these injustices. However, the reality is that there exists a certain degree of disconnect between what's going on in the legal community and what is happening to Indigenous peoples and other communities of visible minority. So, how do we reconcile this?
On this week’s episode of Diversonomics, we hear from Brad Regehr, the first Indigenous lawyer to hold the office of President of the Canadian Bar Association (CBA). A member of the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation in Saskatchewan, Brad is extremely passionate and unapologetic when it comes to Indigenous rights and moving the needle forward on anti-racism in the legal community. Tune in as he discusses his role with the CBA and his plans to advance the work of the Association’s Truth and Reconciliation initiative.