Thank you Ray for your generous introduction.

Chers amis, invités et membres de la communauté de l’ABC.

On my acclamation as now President of the Canadian Bar Association, I am deeply honored to serve as the first female in-house counsel, the first racialized lawyer and the first Black person since this venerable association was founded in 1896, that is over 100 years ago.

I am firmly rooted on the shoulders of greats – Black lawyers throughout Canada who have endured a thousand cuts both in their personal and professional lives – their strength, dignity, perseverance and steadfastness in the face of injustice and unfairness – their victories large and small, enable me to be standing resolutely before you today.

I am grateful for the opportunity to represent and serve the CBA, as your President.  Looking at the slate of Past-Presidents, I have huge shoes to fill. Thanks to each one of you who has supported, guided, and placed faith in me.

Professionally, and, yes personally, this is a gratifying moment – and I hope it is for other first-generation lawyers in Canada. I am saddened, that neither one of my parents is able to join me today to share this special moment.

C’est un moment gratifiant, du point de vue professionnel, et d’ailleurs aussi du point de vue personnel. J’espère que c’est également le cas pour d’autres juristes de première génération au Canada. Je suis triste que ni l’un, ni l’autre de mes parents, n’ait pu venir se joindre à moi pour partager ce moment, si important.

In 2012, at age 62 my Mom was officially diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s disease, not long after I graduated from law school at the University of Ottawa and was called to the Bar in Ontario. I am so proud of my Dad – for being our rock and caring for my Mom through thick and thin.

Thanks to my parents for always believing in me, for allowing me the complete freedom to choose my career path and for their steadfast passion and belief in the transformative power of education and books. 

To my brothers Syd and Greg; and my uncle Garfield, thank you so much for joining me today. Your presence adds a deep personal meaning. 

To outgoing President Ray Adlington, thank you for encouraging me to stay the course from the beginning – there were too many moments to count when I was more than ready to throw in the towel. Thank you, erstwhile President Kerry Simmons, for generously sharing your knowledge and expertise, to the Canadian Corporate Counsel Association (CCCA), and to the past CCCA Chair, Nick Slonosky, for your mentorship. If anything goes wrong during my presidency you can blame the CCCA mentorship program and Nick – Nick is the one who encouraged me to run for the Ontario Board position. Thank you to my employer. Thank you to all my mentors and supporters – especially those who came from a distance to be here today – you know who you are.

As many of you know, my personal focus as Vice-President this year has been on improving communications with members, creating and strengthening our relationships between the Board and the Branches and reaching out to our peers who have not always felt welcome in our CBA community of lawyers – through the first-ever Leading Change: Racialized Lawyer Leadership conference held in Toronto and to hopefully be held in other Canadian cities in coming years.

As Volunteer-in-Chief my personal priority will be on sparking intergenerational dialogue between young lawyers and senior leaders in the legal profession. To that end, the CBA will be launching an eight to ten-part podcast series. I have asked CBA National Young Lawyers to take the lead on organizing a national young lawyer conference for their peers across Canada, which will be held in spring 2020. More details will follow.

In recent years, significant strides have been made with respect to mental health issues by several CBA Presidents, Branch Presidents, the Chair of CBA Wellness, Cheryl Canning and her team of dedicated members. But more needs to be done. As someone who has dealt with my Mom’s Alzheimer’s disease, and gone through major health challenges myself, when I reflect, attending a CBA Wellness Forum as a young lawyer was very impactful – I became more educated and took away tools to take care of myself both physical and mentally. Along with current health research provided by leading psychiatrist and health practitioners, I learned that sometimes it is okay to put yourself first. Being a healthy lawyer is not a trend. BEING A HEALTHY LAWYER MUST BE A PRIORITY – on an individual level, on a Firm level – whether it is large or small.  It is critical that when one of the members of our legal community stumbles or falls, we extend a hand to lift them up. In doing so, we lift us all up.

On accepting my new role, the first words that I remember were not words of congratulations, rather the exact phrase was: “this should have gone to someone that deserves it”.  Of course, I was angry and hurt – wounded that someone would to try to mar such a significant moment and personal achievement in my professional career; and maybe mar is too gentle a word and in fact, more salient would be, I was dealt a mental laceration.

I share this story with you because it is evident, significant work remains to be done on diversity, inclusion and belonging.

I know who I am and I have an inkling of understanding of the struggles of my slave ancestors; who were never permanently felled and conquered by their daily struggles, by the chains of slavery, and by the lengthy and complicated history of colonization whose legacy continues in our country today in our legal, political and social systems, institutions, and associations.

The CBA is leading change for diversity, inclusion and belonging.

The Truth and Reconciliation Task Force Report recommendations are being implemented.  In December, we will hold the Senior Racialized Lawyer Leadership Summit. Thanks to Julia Shin-Doi, a well-known and respected lawyer in the Canadian legal community, for volunteering to lead it. She will be supported by a roster of legal influencers. 

While we continue to face challenges concerning member satisfaction and retention, the CBA is making progress, which is attributed to the hard work of our volunteers throughout the country; they ensure that their peers understand the value of a CBA membership. The CBA is not an abstract entity; the CBA is you. So, I invite you too to take up the mantra and: “Make CBA Cool Again”.

In the fall, the CBA continues the work of the Governance and Equality Committee in preparation for the mandated governance review. This work will be led by our new Vice-President, Brad Regehr and will be coordinated through a governance task force comprised of senior volunteers and representatives of the management team.

Members like you value our advocacy work. This year, we intervened in the trilogy of Supreme Court of Canada appeals looking at the standard of review in administrative decisions. We await the court’s decision on our application to intervene in the BC and Nova Scotia appeals on judicial compensation. And we will seek to intervene in Single Mothers’ Alliance et al v. BC, an important legal aid test case.

Les membres comme vous apprécient grandement nos travaux de représentation. Cette année, nous sommes intervenus dans la trilogie de pourvois portant sur la norme de contrôle judicaire des décisions administratives qui ont été tranchés par la Cour suprême du Canada. Nous attendons la décision de la Cour concernant notre demande d’intervention dans les appels de la Colombie-Britannique et de la Nouvelle- Écosse portant sur la rémunération des juges. Nous cherchons en outre à obtenir le statut d’intervenant dans l’affaire Single Mothers’ Alliance et al v. BC, une importante cause type en matière d’aide juridique.  

I am excited about the CBA’s #LegalAidMatters campaign, launched in anticipation of the up-coming federal election. The aim of the strategy is to increase public awareness of the importance of access to justice, and to encourage political parties to commit dedicated federal legal aid funding. I encourage all of you to make legal aid an election issue.

In all of my presentations to Ontario Council this year, I have highlighted for our members the government’s progress in hiring more judges to all levels of our courts. The CBA must be at the forefront of law and policy reform; promote fair justice systems and uphold the rule of law.  The CBA is respected throughout Canada, and around the world.  It must not shy away from using the collective voice of our membership, both at home and abroad, to lead change.

Coming full circle, we are the CBA. All of us deserve to feel welcome and to belong. We are all capable of being stewards of the CBA and leading change. We all deserve it. The work of the CBA cannot move forward without the hard work of the staff and the volunteers. Thank you for your commitment and allowing the CBA to be an important part of your professional life.

I am honoured to join the ranks of CBA presidents as its first Black president. To be given this opportunity and responsibility to lead the CBA is both daunting and amazing.

As I stand before you today, there are challenges in this role that can never be foreseen. I know with your support we can walk the journey together; together we can pass the baton of a stronger CBA to a future generation of volunteers and leaders.

Je sais qu’avec votre soutien, nous pouvons cheminer ensemble et qu’ensemble nous pouvons confier une ABC encore plus solide à une prochaine génération de bénévoles et de dirigeants.

Thank you for celebrating my achievement, but first and foremost let us celebrate the CBA for being an institutional change agent – for leading change.

I leave you with the words of the writer, actress and poet Maya Angelou:

Out of the huts of history’s shame

I rise

Je renais...

Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear

I rise

Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,

I am the dream and the hope of the slave.

I rise

Je renais

I rise