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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 22, 2000

HALIFAX - The Canadian Bar Association has honoured Professor Kathleen Mahoney, of the University of Calgary Faculty of Law, with the 2000 Bertha Wilson Touchstone Award.

"Kathleen has led the way in Canada in developing educational programs to sensitize judges and other members of the legal profession to the need to eradicate conscious and unconscious biases toward women, members of racial minorities and other groups suffering discrimination," says CBA President Eugene Meehan, Q.C. of Ottawa.

Prof. Mahoney has been asked to participate in international judicial education projects across the globe, including South Africa, Australia and Asia. The high demand for her expertise on issues of gender and race sensitivity is a clear indication of her sensitivity and understanding of equality and social diversity issues across societies and cultures.

In 1986, Prof. Mahoney organized the first national conference on equality and judicial decision-making. She co-edited the papers from that conference in the form of the first Canadian book on the subject -- Equality and Judicial Neutrality. Prof. Mahoney is currently the Chair of the International Center for Human Rights and Democratic Development, a non-governmental organization with an international mandate to promote, advocate and defend democratic and human rights set out in the International Bill of Human Rights.

She is described as a truly admirable model for all lawyers, giving generously of her time, pro bono, to ensure that equality issues and perspectives are given a voice.

The Touchstone Award celebrates the accomplishments of a woman who has excelled in promoting equality in the legal profession, the judiciary, or the legal community in Canada. The award recognizes significant national initiative to advance equality and/or contribution relating to race, disability, sexual orientation or other diversity issues in the community.

The Award is presented at the Touchstone Reception held as part of the Canadian Bar Association Annual Conference in Halifax on Tuesday, Aug. 22 at 4:30 in the Highland Lounge, World Trade & Convention Centre. 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 36,000 lawyers, notaries, law teachers and law students from across Canada are members.