Here, with best wishes, are your latest LEAF-Lines.

 

From Trailblazers to unprecedented success at gaining intervener status, this issue brings news of success at LEAF National and LEAF Branches across Canada. 

 

 

 

Warmest Regards from Edmonton,

Jennifer Tomaszewski

Chair LEAF National Board of Directors

After spending the day with these young people, LEAF and OJEN know the future of professional women is very bright! We have received fabulous feedback from the lawyers, community members and partner organizations who took part in the day, and were thrilled to be part of this event.

   
The scores of young high school women who participated in Trailblazers Toronto 2010 learned a great deal about equality rights and women in the legal profession.

A special thanks to OJEN for making the

day possible!

 

 

LEAF Trailblazers Windsor                                                

  

The first annual Trailblazers: Meeting Women in Law day in Windsor was very well received by the Windsor community. Twenty high school girls attended the LEAF Windsor Persons Day Lunch and participated in a day of workshops, touring the law school and meeting women who work in the law.  One hundred percent of the girls who completed the evaluation said they "now know more about women's accomplishments in law", and "found the sessions informative and educational".

For 95% of the girls who completed the evaluation, Trailblazers exposed them to new areas of law.  Several girls indicated that the women on the discussion panel were interesting but "also gave insight into the challenges they have had to overcome".  Some commented that they enjoyed the opportunity they were given to talk about their opinions.

Thanks to LEAF Windsor and OJEN - Ontario Justice Education Network who worked so hard to make the day such a success!

 

In the weeks immediately ahead, our work to achieve substantive equality for women and girls in Canada through legal advocacy, research and education, will be continued through the on-going leadership of our Director of Litigation, Joanna Birenbaum, and Interim Executive Director, Pauline Raven.  Pauline is a former member of LEAF's National Board.  She brings to LEAF many years of experience as an executive director and is recognized for exemplary work in organizational development, fundraising and financial management.  Pauline is working alongside other staff members to ensure LEAF's equality litigation, our Youth Commission and our community outreach and educational programs will continue.  During the course of 2010, LEAF will have made six appearances before the Supreme Court of Canada and provincial appellate courts and 2011 promises to be equally busy.

 

A search for a new LEAF National Executive Director is now underway.  When she joins us, our new Executive Director will find a strong donor base, dedicated staff, committed volunteers, a supportive board of directors and a national network of branches (St. John's, Charlottetown, Halifax, Ottawa, Sudbury, Toronto, Windsor, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Calgary and Edmonton),  and a strong affiliate (West Coast LEAF in British Columbia) with which to collaborate.  We truly have an amazing group of women collaborating to produce remarkable work that benefits all women and girls in Canada.

 

Tremendous thanks are owed to each member of the LEAF family for our many successes. On behalf of all directors, I wish everyone a wonderful holiday season and look forward to the 2011 LEAF Year with eager anticipation of what we will accomplish together.

 

Warm regards,

Jennifer Tomaszewski,

Chair, National Board of Directors

Ontario History and Social Science Teachers Association (OHASSTA) invited LEAF to be a guest speaker and workshop presenter on November 5^th and 6^th. Niki Popper, LEAF Education Coordinator, delivered an informational professional development workshop on social justice and equality rights issues.  Many of the 375 Teachers who attended the conference received information on LEAF Education programs and resources.

Conference guest (left) with Niki Popper (right)

Niki also gave a workshop at the Ontario Family Studies Home Economics Educations Association (OFSHEEA) on November 6^th. LEAF's resources and materials were well received by the 260 teachers who took part in this professional development event.

 

Comments made by the teachers at the conference workshops indicated LEAF had:  provided an interesting venue for professional development; for increasing knowledge; and, for learning about ways to expose students to a wider range of justice issues.  Most of the teachers reported that the session was "extremely relevant", and that it "greatly increased [their] capacity to teach students".  Half of the workshop participants noted that the session "should be longer", so they could "have more time for activities".

 

 

Over 700 people crowded into the downtown Toronto Sheraton for an early morning breakfast October 29 to celebrate not only Persons Day, but LEAF's 25^th Anniversary Year too.  

Barbara Budd, former co-host of CBC Radio's "As It Happens", welcomed everyone.   Along with Toronto lawyer and LEAF founder Beth Symes they talked about LEAF's beginnings and its many successes over the past 25 years. 

J. Nichole Noel, a spoken word artist and singer, inspired with a presentation called "Let Not Our Voices Go Unheard".   Guest speaker Deena Ladd, coordinator of the Workers' Action Centre serving immigrant and migrant workers, particularly low wage earning women in downtown Toronto, provided stories of the women's challenges and successes along with suggestions for action.

Rhonda Roffey, executive director of Women's Habitat Etobicoke, closed the event with a fundraising appeal and a big thank you to all the volunteers and sponsors.

        

LEAF Toronto would like to give special thanks to Presenting Sponsor Toronto Dominion Financial Group; Advocate Sponsor C. A. Delaney Capital; and Patron Sponsors the Ontario English Catholic Teachers' Association, Koskie Minsky LLP, the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario, the Ontario Public Service Employees Union, the Bank of Montreal Financial Group, The Honourable Margaret Norrie McCain and Senator Nancy Ruth.  Finally, Trip Sponsor Transat Holidays gave the breakfast attendees a possibility of a holiday treat as well.

As part of this year's Persons Day celebrations, the Ontario Justice Education Network, the University of Toronto Faculty of Law and LEAF National held an event for young women interested in the law.  "Trailblazers: Meeting Women in Law" was a day-long educational opportunity for 100 high schools students from across Ontario.

Thanks to Blakes, Cassels & Graydon LLP, Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP, Sack Goldblatt Mitchell LLP, Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP, Miller Thomson LLP, Stikeman Elliot LLP, Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, Goodmans, Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP, the Law Society of Upper Canada and the Court of Appeal for Ontario for their support and participation.

      

    Dr. Marilou                     Jennifer                Patricia Paradis

    McPhedran                Tomaszewski                 

 

In addition to the presentation by Dr. McPhedran, Jennifer Tomaszewski, Chair of the LEAF National Board and a LEAF Edmonton member, gave an update on recent National activities.  The LEAF Lifetime Recognition award was presented by Marie Gordon to Patricia Paradis who has been a member since 1990. From 1995-1999, she was national Chair of LEAF and chaired the Strategic Planning Committee for five years.  This year she has been the Chair of LEAF's National 25th anniversary committee.

 

Patricia also served as legal counsel for LEAF in the Alberta Human Rights Tribunal's Aryan Nations Inquiry in 1991.  Most recently, she contributed to a submission by LEAF to a Parliamentary committee reviewing s.13, the hate speech provision of the Canadian Human Rights Act. At the local level she has served as Chair of the LEAF Edmonton Board, Chair of the Education Committee and Chair of the Persons Day Breakfast, and Strategic Planning Committee for five years.

 

Overlooking the 'Arm' of Halifax harbour, guests enjoyed a locally sourced breakfast. 

  

Our emcee, Kim Brooks, Dean of the Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University, and former Chair of LEAF, spoke about the extensive work of the National Law Program Committee.

 
Local lawyer Naiomi Metallic, of Burchells LLP, and a member of the LEAF National Law Program Committee, delivered a fantastic speech about the top five Aboriginal Law Issues in Canada, managing to explain a disturbing reality while inspiring us all. 

 

We look forward to seeing everyone at our 2011 Persons Day Breakfast.

 

On October 21, LEAF Sudbury celebrated Persons Day with the premiere of Laura Sky's documentary "Recovering Love".  This powerful film about addictions highlights the challenges women with addictions face daily; their courage and the factors that underlie women's addictions. The film is one of transformational journeys for not only the women featured, but their children and support networks. Parts of the documentary were filmed in Sudbury and featured a local recovery centre.  Additionally, a former LEAF Sudbury committee member, Diane Massicotte, was the executive producer.

Laura Sky with participants and their children at the film premiere

The evening was both poignant and personal with many of the film's participants in attendance.  After a LEAF update by the Sudbury committee, Laura Sky, director of the film introduced 'Recovering Love' to a full house.  Laura is an acclaimed documentary filmmaker, and holds a honourary degree from Laurentian University. She is also a recipient of the Toronto YWCA Woman of Distinction Award. Immediately following the film there was a reception where LEAF supporters were able to mingle with Laura as well as the women in the film.

 

LEAF Sudbury celebrated the documentary, the work of their local recovery centre, and the courage of the women featured in 'Recovering Love' by purchasing copies of this transformational documentary for distribution to the Greater Sudbury Public Libraries.

 

Pictured right is Kaija Mailloux (LEAF

Committee member) presenting

the Greater Public Library with copies

of the documentary.

 

 

On November 8, 2010, LEAF made oral arguments in the Supreme Court of Canada on the issue of consent in sexual assault.  The case, R. v. J.A., raised the issue of whether a woman can consent in advance, to sexual activity when she is unconscious.

The facts of the case involved a 22-year-old woman who was in a common-law relationship with a man who had been convicted twice before of abusing her.  The complainant reported that the accused had strangled her into unconsciousness and then bound and anally penetrated her with a dildo.  The accused's defence was that the complainant had consented in advance to the strangulation and anal penetration.  The accused's lawyer argued that adult couples should be left alone to have "spicy sex" if they so choose, and argued that making "advance consent" illegal would criminalize men who sexually touch their sleeping partner.

LEAF's intervention focused the Court's attention on the current meaning of consent in Canadian law - that consent, by definition, means that a woman can say "no" at any time.  LEAF argued that a change in the concept of consent to include "advance consent", would mean that a woman's earlier "yes" would continue, even after she becomes unconscious, extremely intoxicated, or otherwise unable to say "no".  

LEAF further argued that such a change in the legal definition of consent would be dangerous and regressive, especially for extremely vulnerable women such as women with disabilities and aboriginal women, as well as those who have been drugged, or who have become intoxicated.  In addition, LEAF submitted to the Court that the recognition of "advance consent" will effectively revive the marital rape exemption, which assumed that wives and intimate partners have given ongoing consent to sex, as a result of the nature of these types of relationships. 

LEAF urged the Court to maintain the existing law of consent, which requires a man to ensure his partner is consenting to sex.  LEAF argued that "advance consent" would effectively re-introduce the discredited notion of "implied" consent into Canadian law and would gut Parliament's carefully legislated definition of consent in the Criminal Code, which was drafted to protect women and to ensure that consent to sex is always voluntary, active and ongoing.

Susan Chapman and Elizabeth Sheehy represented LEAF at the hearing.

 

Eighteen law schools and over 40 students across the country are participating this term.  Two more law schools, Laval and University of New Brunswick, are scheduled to join the project in January.  Training materials were sent to students in late October, and two conference calls were conducted in early November to explain the project and its expectations to the students.

 

The concept of substantive equality, the goals of the ERC, and LEAF's role in winning and sustaining women's equality were explained and discussed with students by Tamar Witelson, LEAF's staff lawyer. Students are now monitoring local and national news, as well as the internet, for equality related cases and legislation.

 

The ERC works like this... Students are asked to submit an equality-related news article or website link once a week for the first month, as possible posts on the ERC website.  This logues ideas of cases and legislative initiatives that students can write about as updates, summaries and comments on the ERC.

 

By November's end, the project had gotten off to a strong start.  Student submissions are providing news articles, links, and events, and new posts are being made on the ERC daily.  In addition, six substantive writing pieces have been assigned.  Topics include a report on polygamy by the Conseil du Statut de la Femme du Québec; Bill C-49 on human smuggling; the Saskatchewan Marriage Reference; a Charter challenge to electoral rules; and human rights limits on hate speech.

 

The goal of our founding mothers, 25-years ago, was to ensure that equality rights guaranteed under the Canadian Constitution's newly enacted Section 15 were indeed honoured by the courts.  LEAF, side by side with its allies, has actively, and successfully, pursued that goal every year since 1985.  Our anniversary year has brought unparalleled success to LEAF's efforts.  The work is not over.  We can't stop now!

 

Giving monthly is the most effective way to ensure LEAF's sustainability and the struggle for women's equality across the country.  

 

Please give generously by visiting our website and donating on-line.  If you prefer another route for your donation, please call LEAF at 1-416-595-7191 or 1-888-824-5323 and ask to speak with Via Kurlinas. 

 

For donations received before December 31, a 2010 tax receipt will be issued.  Give yourself a tax break as a gift this Holiday Season.