May 17th, 2021 from 1:00 to 3:00pm ET

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Speaker Biographies

Monette Maillet, Executive Director and General Counsel - Office of the Correctional Investigator

Ms Monette Maillet is the Executive Director and General Counsel at the Office of the Correctional Investigator.

Ms Maillet received her B.A. in Criminology from the University of New Brunswick in 1987, and her Bachelor of Laws degree from Dalhousie University in 1990. She was called to the Alberta Bar in 1991. In 2001 Ms Maillet joined the Canadian Human Rights Commission as a litigator and thereafter held a variety of positions such as Director of Legal Services, Director General (DG) of Policy, Research and International, DG of the Complaints Services branch, and Deputy Executive Director and Senior General Counsel. She has appeared numerous times as a witness before committees of Parliament and of the Senate on various human rights issues. Prior to joining the CHRC, Ms Maillet practiced law in Alberta for over 10 years as a civil litigator.

Senator Kim Pate

Kim Pate was appointed to the Senate of Canada on November 10, 2016. First and foremost, the mother of Michael and Madison, she is also a nationally renowned advocate who has spent the last 40 years working in and around the legal and penal systems of Canada, with and on behalf of some of the most marginalized, victimized, criminalized and institutionalized — particularly imprisoned youth, men and women.

Senator Pate graduated from Dalhousie Law School in 1984 with honours in the Clinical Law Programme. She was the Executive Director of the Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies (CAEFS) from January 1992 until her appointment to the Senate in November 2016. She has developed and taught Prison Law, Human Rights and Social Justice and Defending Battered Women on Trial courses at the Faculties of Law at the University of Ottawa, Dalhousie University and the University of Saskatchewan. She also occupied the Sallows Chair in Human Rights at the University of Saskatchewan College of Law in 2014 and 2015.

Kim Pate is widely credited as the driving force behind the Inquiry into Certain Events at the Prison for Women in Kingston, headed by Justice Louise Arbour. During the Inquiry, she supported women as they aired their experiences and was a critical resource and witness in the Inquiry itself.

Senator Pate is a member of the Order of Canada, a recipient of the Governor General’s Award in Commemoration of the Persons Case, the Canadian Bar Association’s Bertha Wilson Touchstone Award, and six honourary doctorates (Law Society of Upper Canada, University of Ottawa, Carleton University, St. Thomas University, Wilfred Laurier University, and Nipissing University).

Dr. Ivan Zinger, Office of the Correctional Investigator

Dr. Ivan Zinger received his degree in Common Law from the University of Ottawa in 1992, and completed his articles of clerkship at the Federal Court of Canada. In 1999, he obtained his Ph.D. at Carleton University (Ottawa) in Psychology of Criminal Conduct. He is an Adjunct Professor with the Law Department at Carleton University.

Dr. Zinger joined the Public Service of Canada in 1996.  He held a variety of senior managerial, policy and research positions in public safety-related federal departments and agencies. In 2004, he joined his current employer, the Office of the Correctional Investigator (Federal Prison Ombudsman), and in 2009 he became the Executive Director and General Counsel. As of January 1, 2017, Dr. Zinger was appointed as Correctional Investigator of Canada pursuant to section 161 of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act.

Over the years, Dr. Zinger has developed expertise in domestic and international human rights law in prison settings. His academic publications are significant and include articles on a variety of subjects, including prison oversight, ethics, dangerous offenders, correctional treatment, the diagnosis of psychopathy, conditional release, penal segregation and the impact of tough on crime measures on corrections. 

Dr. Zinger is the recipient of the 2014 APEX Partnership Award for “making communities safer by building strong and effective partnerships across the country and abroad, contributing to the development of more effective correctional practices in Canada.”  This prestigious award is one of six presented annually by the Association of Professional Executives in the Public Service of Canada (APEX).

Tom Cardoso, Crime and Justice Reporter, Globe and Mail

Tom Cardoso is an investigative reporter with The Globe and Mail. Tom has been with The Globe for seven years, and has previously reported extensively on gun violence and white collar crime. In October, 2020 he published Bias Behind Bars, a ground-breaking, years-in-the-making investigation on racial bias in Canada’s prisons. Using data obtained through an Access to Information request, Tom conducted a statistical analysis of  50,000 Correctional Service Canada inmates’ risk assessment scores, and has since interviewed close to 100 inmates, academics, lawyers, politicians and correctional experts. The Globe and Mail’s investigation into prison risk scores is ongoing.

Patricia Whyte, Indigenous Peer Support Worker, Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies

Patricia Whyte is a Peer Support Worker through the Elizabeth Fry Society, which means she is a mentor and peer support for women in their GATE program. 

Patricia spent 4 years in Federal Prison and took her release at Holly House. She is passionate about acknowledging the truth about life in prison as well as social justice in general, and through the Elizabeth Fry Society she's been able to turn that passion into a career. 

April 29th, 2021 from 1:00 to 3:00pm ET

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Speaker Biographies

David Antonyshyn, Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions

In November 2018, David Antonyshyn became one of the two Deputy Directors of Public Prosecutions with the Public Prosecution Service of Canada (PPSC), which is responsible to prosecute cases under federal jurisdiction across Canada and to provide legal advice and assistance to law enforcement.

He previously served for 28 years in the Canadian Armed Forces, the last 20 of which in a number of positions within the Office of the Judge Advocate General (JAG), the legal adviser to the Canadian Armed Forces and the Department of National Defence in matters of military law. Prior to retiring from the Forces with the rank of colonel, he was the Deputy JAG leading the legal division assisting the JAG in superintending the administration of military justice in Canada and ensuring its responsible development within the broader Canadian justice system. Over the years, his practice has included administrative law, criminal law (both as defence counsel and prosecutor), and operational law (Canadian and international law governing the conduct of military operations, in Canada or abroad). He notably served on deployed missions in Bosnia, Afghanistan and Lebanon, and participated on a number of Canadian delegations during international negotiations along with Global Affairs Canada.

David holds a Master of Laws degree (LL.M.) from the Faculty of Law at the University of Ottawa, where he focused on issues of international human rights law, the law of armed conflict/international humanitarian law, and international criminal law. A 1995 graduate from the Université de Montréal Law School, he was admitted to the Québec Bar in 1996 after having articled as a prosecutor in criminal and penal law.

He has been a frequent speaker and instructor to a number of courses in Canada and abroad, including at the International Institute of Humanitarian Law in San Remo, Université Laval summer school, University of Ottawa, the Royal Military School of Belgium, and with the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Swiss armed forces.

Judge Gerald Morin, Saskatchewan Provincial Court Judge, Northwest Territories and Yukon Territorial Court Judge

The Honourable Judge Gerald Morin was born and raised in Cumberland House, SK and is a member of the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation. He attended Charlebois School up to grade 10, and because there was no high school at home, he left and completed his high school at the L.P. Miller High School in Nipawin, SK, in 1971. Morin attained his Certificate in Social Work from the University of Regina in 1978. He has worked as a probation officer in Northern Saskatchewan, and a professor at the University of Manitoba, where he taught Community Development. In 1987, he returned to the University of Saskatchewan for his Law Degree. He has practiced law in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan at the Pandila-Morin Law Office, and appeared in all levels of court including the Supreme Court of Canada. Judge Morin received a Queen’s Counsel designation in 1999—the first Indigenous person to receive a Q.C. designation in the history of Saskatchewan. Judge Morin was appointed to the Provincial Court of Saskatchewan on January 24, 2001, and retired in 2019.

Kathleen Roussel, Director of Public Prosecutions, and Deputy Attorney General of Canada Public Prosecution Service of Canada

Kathleen Roussel was appointed Director of Public Prosecutions on June 21, 2017, after serving as Deputy Director of the Public Prosecution Service of Canada from April 2013. Previously, Kathleen had been serving as Senior General Counsel and Executive Director of the Environment Legal Services Unit at the Department of Justice (Canada), a position she held since 2008. From 2001 to 2005, she was the Senior Counsel and Director of the Canadian Firearms Centre Legal Services.

Before joining the public service, Ms. Roussel worked as a criminal defence lawyer. She has been a member of the Law Society of Ontario since 1994 and graduated from the University of Ottawa Law School in 1992, having previously obtained an Honours Religion degree from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario.

Mr. Rob Dhanu, co-founding partner, Dhanu Dhaliwal Law Group

Rob Dhanu is a former Crown prosecutor for the Department of Justice where he primarily dealt with drug, firearm and organized crime matters as well as being involved in the Yukon flying squad. He left the Department of Justice to commence a solo defence practice which evolved into the establishment of Dhanu Dhaliwal Law Group. Rob has practiced at all levels of court in British Columbia as well as Alberta and Yukon. Rob is actively involved in criminal justice issues in the South Asian community and has taught and presented to members of the bar, RCMP, Justice Institute and Canadian Senate.

April 9th, 2021 from 1:00 to 3:00pm ET

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Speaker Biographies

Julianne C. Dunbar, Senior General Counsel & Director General - Military Police Complaints Commission

Ms. Julianne Dunbar is the Senior General Counsel and Director General of the Military Police Complaints Commission of Canada (MPCC). She has been a member of the MPCC’s legal team since 2001, first as Legal Counsel, then as Senior Counsel in 2006, and General Counsel in July 2007.

In 2017, Ms. Dunbar was appointed as the MPCC’s Senior General Counsel and Director General. She has overall management responsibilities of the MPCC, which includes Operations and Corporate Services. In this capacity, Ms. Dunbar oversees the planning, implementation and delivery of the core business programs, framework, directives, guidelines and services for the MPCC. She oversees conduct complaint reviews/investigations, interference investigations and public interest investigations and hearings, as well as has overall management responsibility for Corporate Services and the provision of Human Resources, Information Technology, Finance, Strategic Planning and Administrative Services and Strategic Communications.

As Senior General Counsel and Director General, Ms. Dunbar ensures quality control over all MPCC decisions for conduct and interference complaints as well as public interest hearings. Ms. Dunbar practices administrative, criminal, military and police ethics law.

Before joining the MPCC, Ms. Dunbar served as Legal Counsel as a Civilian Member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in the capacity of Internal Affairs prosecutor. Her professional legal career began as a criminal defence lawyer in the Law Office of Addelman and Mannarino of Ottawa.

Ms. Dunbar completed her university studies at the University of Ottawa, graduating with a Baccalaureate of Social Sciences with a concentration in Criminology (magna cum laude), as well as a Baccalaureate of Laws (magna cum laude). She articled with the Ottawa criminal defence firm of Addelman, Edelson & Meagher and was called to the Ontario Bar in 1997.

Ms. Dunbar also served as a member of the executive of the National Military Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association for four years. Ms. Dunbar currently serves on the Community Advisory Board of the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre, the Board of Directors for Crime Prevention Ottawa and the Board of Directors for the International Commission of Jurists.

Chief Peter Sloly, Ottawa Police Service

Peter Sloly was sworn in as the Chief of the Ottawa Police Service on October 28, 2019.

Formerly, Chief Sloly was a partner at Deloitte, where he was the national "Security & Justice" leader and a trusted and respected strategic advisor to private and public sector executives, helping them to increase organizational efficiency as well as to improve public safety, service, trust and value.

Prior to joining Deloitte, Chief Sloly was a 27-year veteran member of the Toronto Police Service who attained the rank of Deputy Chief of Police.  He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and served two tours of duty in the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in Kosovo.  He has received many awards including: Officer of the Order of Merit “Police Forces” Medal, the United Nations Peacekeeping medal, the Canadian Peacekeeping Medal, the Police Exemplary Service Medal and the Queen’s Jubilee Medal. 

Chief Sloly has a Masters of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology.  In the 1980s, he played professional soccer and was a member of the Canadian Men's National Soccer Team.  He is married with two children. 

Professor Akwasi Owusu-Bempah, Professor, University of Toronto

Akwasi Owusu-Bempah BA (Carleton) MA, PhD (Toronto) is an assistant professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Toronto and a Senior Fellow at Massey College. He holds Affiliate Scientist status at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and serves as Director of Research for the Campaign for Cannabis Amnesty.  Prof. Owusu-Bempah’s work examines the intersections of race, crime and criminal justice, with a particular focus in the area of policing.  His research has recently been published in The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, Race and Justice, and Theoretical Criminology. Prof. Owusu-Bempah began his academic career in the United States at Indiana University, Bloomington. Prior to becoming a professor, he held positions with Canada’s National Judicial Institute, the Public Health Agency of Canada, and the Ontario Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services. Prof. Owusu-Bempah is frequently sought out to provide commentary and advice to police agencies, government bodies, community organizations, and media outlets on matters relating to policing, justice and social inequality.

Sunil Gurmukh, Counsel, Ontario Human Rights Commission & Adjunct Research Professor, Faculty of Law, Western University 

Sunil Gurmukh is a lawyer at the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC).  Prior to joining the OHRC in 2011, he worked at the African Canadian Legal Clinic as a Staff Lawyer and articled at Hicks Morley Hamilton Stewart Storie LLP. He has worked on significant human rights cases at the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario and all levels of court, including the Supreme Court of Canada.   He has a B.Comm. from Queen's University (2005) and an LL.B. from Western University (2008).  He has been recognized for his human rights work as a winner of the 2016 Precedent Setter Award and 2017 Hennessy V.S.O.P. Privilège Award and member of Bay Street Bull’s 2017 Power 50 Guide.  He was recently named as one of country's top 25 most influential lawyers by Canadian Lawyer Magazine.

Christa Big Canoe, Legal Advocacy Director, Aboriginal Legal Services

Christa Big Canoe is a First Nation woman, mother and lawyer. She comes from Georgina Island First Nation, an Anishinabek community. Christa has been a Deputy Clerk of the Court and an Administrative Justice of the Peace in and for the Northwest Territories. Her first legal practice experience was with the First Nation law firm Nahwegahbow, Corbiere in Rama. Christa was Policy Counsel for Legal Aid Ontario and the lead on the organization's province-wide Aboriginal Justice Strategy prior to becoming Aboriginal Legal Services Legal Director. Christa has returned to her position at Aboriginal Legal Services after a two and a half year leave of absence so that she could be senior and then Lead Counsel for the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. Christa has been before all levels of court, including the Supreme Court of Canada, providing Aboriginal perspective and representation on issues that most impact Aboriginal people in Canadian law. As the Legal Advocacy Director, Christa has also made submissions before Parliamentary and Senate Standing Committees regarding over representationand criminalization of Aboriginal people.Christa is legal counsel to a number of families engaged in the Ontario Coroner’s process and death investigations. Her dedication in advocating on the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women (MMIW) is unwavering. She is known as a passionate advocate for First Nation children and women's rights.

Knia Singh, Principal Lawyer of Ma'at Legal Services, Toronto

Knia Singh was born in Toronto to Indo-Guyanese and Afro-Bermudian parents. He earned his Juris Doctor Law Degree from Osgoode Hall Law School in 2016 after being accepted at the age of 37. Knia was the recipient of the Dean's Gold Key Award and Student Honours Award. Knia co-founded the Osgoode Society Against Institutional Injustice (OSAII), which was instrumental in challenging carding and arbitrary detention across police services in Ontario which led to the creation of O.Reg 58/16.

Knia's law firm MA’AT Legal Services was contracted to provide legal support to students across the GTA that are facing suspension or expulsion in 2017. In addition, Knia was part of PACER, The External Implementation Steering Committee for the Black Youth Action Plan in 2018, ran for federal, provincial and municipal politics with the most recent run in 2018 for Mayor of Toronto.

Currently Knia is part of PACER 2.0 and Co-Chair of the Know Your Rights Committee, is the Principal Lawyer at MA’AT Legal which provides placements for the Ryerson LLP Program, Paralegal and Co-op placements.

Knia received the community service award from the Jamaican Canadian Association in 2016 and was named the Toronto Star person to watch for 2014. Knia also competed at the Hague in the International Criminal Court Moot competition in 2015 and operated a Hip Hop recording studio for over 20 years mentoring youth.

Knia has ran for political office municipally, provincially and federally, most notably running for Mayor in the 2018 Municipal election. Knia was also the first Canadian born Chair of CARIBANA™ from 2013-2016. Knia Singh has a passion for world history, cultures and languages, and strives to promote equality throughout society. Knia presents at various Universities on race relations and notably presented at a United Nations conference at Osgoode Hall in 2017. Knia remains a resource for the LAWS program out of U of T and has his own radio show on Newstalk 1010AM Sundays from 4-5PM.

La commission internationale de juristes - Canada organisera bientôt un concours de rédaction pour les étudiants en droit ! Plus de détails seront disponibles. À bientôt!

We are proud to announce that we have collaborated in the hosting of “Canada in Global Affairs”, an international conference on pressing global policy issues, to be held March 29-30 in Ottawa. The exciting program will interest policy-makers, decision-makers, academics and students, as well as representatives of civil society and the business and legal community who want to better understand major emerging international issues.

In a world of increasing insecurity and uncertainty, borders are being challenged by health issues and communicable diseases, environmental and climate changes, international capital flows and free trade agreements, crime and cybercrime, migration and refugees, and terrorism. Our ever more interdependent world demands effective governance.

The conference will bring together leading national and international experts in security and state fragility, global community and just society, and reform of global institutions. They will share with us their perspectives on current and future challenges, and possible solutions for Canada.

The exciting program features highly distinguished international affairs leaders, including:

• The Honourable Louise Arbour, C.C., G.O.Q., Counsel, Borden, Ladner Gervais LLP; Chair, President’s International Advisory Board of the University of Ottawa
• Lloyd Axworthy, former Minister of Foreign Affairs and current Chancellor, St. Paul’s University College, former President of the University of Winnipeg
• Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO
• Adama Dieng, United Nations Under-Secretary-General; Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide
• The Honourable Stéphane Dion, P.C., M.P. Minister of Foreign Affairs
• Huguette Labelle, C.C., Emeritus Governor, University of Ottawa; member, President’s International Advisory Board of the University of Ottawa; former Deputy Minister, Canadian International Development Agency
• Abiodun Williams, President, The Hague Institute for Global Justice
• The Honourable Kevin Rudd, Former Prime Minister of Australia
• James Steinberg, Dean of the Maxwell School of Public Policy and former Deputy Secretary of State of the United States of America and member of the President’s International Advisory Board

All registrations include a dinner at the Chateau Laurier with a talk by The Right Honourable Paul Martin, former Prime Minister of Canada.

Register online today! http://www.continue.uottawa.ca/program_EN.cfm?catID=24&groupID=49&courseID=963

To view the full program, visit: http://www.continue.uottawa.ca/uploads/File/Conference_Program_Final1.pdf