For Immediate Release
August 13, 2007
CALGARY - Vancouver lawyer Margaret Ostrowski, Q.C., has won the Canadian Bar Association's (CBA) 2007 CBA Touchstone Award for her accomplishments in promoting equality in the Canadian legal profession.
Ostrowski, a member of the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Board, received the award in recognition of her efforts in supporting equality and opportunities for women lawyers in British Columbia.
"Margaret's work, both for the CBA and the Law Society of B.C., shows her tireless commitment to equality," said J. Parker MacCarthy, Q.C., President of the CBA. "Her work in creating opportunities and removing barriers for women in the legal profession is both an achievement to be celebrated and a reminder that there is still more work to be done."
Ostrowski's leadership role at the CBA's provincial level and with the Law Society of B.C. allowed her to focus on women's issues within the legal profession. She served as a provincial Executive Officer from 1997-1999, Treasurer in 1998-1999, Vice-President in 1999-2000, and B.C. Branch President in 2000-2001.
During that time, she created the CBA Women Bar Leaders Working Group, which led to the establishment of a Women's Advisory Council, and eventually a Women Lawyers Forum. The Women Lawyers Forum now includes over 200 provincial members, and has served as a template for the creation of similar groups, both at the national level and in a number of other provinces. Ostrowski also organized successful events dealing with cross-cultural communication in the courtroom and creating success for women in the law. As well, she initiated the Member Dispute Resolution Service, aimed at increasing the level of professionalism and collegiality among lawyers in B.C.
As a bencher with the Law Society of B.C., Ostrowski was appointed to the society's Equity and Diversity Committee, and was instrumental in the formation of the Women in the Legal Profession Task Force. The task force has accomplished a number of equality-related reforms, including the development of model policies on flexible work arrangements, workplace harassment, hiring practices guidelines, and a model pregnancy and parental leave policy, among others.
Ostrowski received a bachelor of science in psychology from the University of Toronto in 1971, her masters in social psychology from the University of Western Ontario in 1973, and her bachelor of laws from the University of British Columbia in 1979. She was called to the B.C. bar in 1980, and appointed Queen's Counsel in 2000.
The Touchstone Award celebrates the accomplishments of an individual who has excelled in promoting equality in the legal profession, the judiciary or the legal community in Canada. The award recognizes significant national initiatives to advance equality and/or contribution relating to race, disability, sexual orientation or other diversity issues in the community.
The Standing Committee on Equity will present the award at the Touchstone Reception, held as part of the Canadian Legal Conference in Calgary, on Tuesday, Aug. 14 at 4:30 p.m. MDT in the Glen 201 room of the Telus Convention Centre. The event is open to accredited journalists who have registered with the CBA Media Centre.
The Canadian Bar Association is dedicated to improvement in the law and the administration of justice. Some 37,000 lawyers, law teachers, and law students from across Canada are members.
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CONTACT: Hannah Bernstein, Canadian Bar Association, Aug. 10-14,Telus Convention Centre, Glen 208 Room, 403-218-7856; E-mail: hannahb@cba.org.
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