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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 13, 2002

LONDON - The Honourable Ruth Krindle, a retired Queen's Bench judge from Manitoba, is the recipient of the Canadian Bar Association's Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Conference (SOGIC) 2002 Hero Award.

"Former Justice Krindle has helped to blaze a trail for gay men and lesbians in Manitoba," says Michael Law, of Winnipeg, co-chair of SOGIC. "Many regard her as a role model for our communities."

Former Justice Krindle was called to the Bar of Manitoba in 1968 and since that time has had a career of "firsts." She was the first female Crown prosecutor in Manitoba, appointed in 1971. In 1975, she became the first female chair of the Manitoba Labour Relations Board. In 1980, she was the first federally appointed female judge in Manitoba when she was selected for the Winnipeg County Court.

She was appointed the Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench in 1984, where she remained until her retirement in 2002. She has been an active member of Manitoba's lesbian and gay community and until her retirement, and could be properly characterized as the only "out" lesbian judge in the province.

In 1969, shortly after the decriminalization of homosexuality, she was counsel for the first gay club to open in Winnipeg. She has served as a director of Sum Quod Sum Inc., which surveyed the medical and housing needs of seniors in Manitoba's gay and lesbian community. She was also outspoken in her support of the Gay and Lesbian Lawyers Association, which subsequently became the Gay/Lesbian Issues Section of the Manitoba Bar Association.

The SOGIC Hero Award recognizes contributions made in the cause of equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered and two-spirited people. The Award is presented at the Touchstone Reception, held as part of the Canadian Bar Association Annual Conference in London on Tuesday, Aug. 13 at 4:30 p.m. in the Windsor Club, second floor, London Hilton. The event is open to accredited journalists who have registered with the CBA Media Centre.

The Canadian Bar Association represents the legal profession on a national and international level. It is dedicated to improvement in the law and the administration of justice. Some 37,000 lawyers, notaries, law teachers and law students from across Canada are members.

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CONTACT: Hannah Bernstein, Aug.9-14, CBA Media Centre, London Convention
Centre, Boardroom IV, Main Floor, (519) 661-6337.