FACL Ontario’s 14th Annual Conference and Mixer – Volunteers

 Thank you to all volunteers for all the hours they put into organizing this virtual conference and mixer!

If you would like to become a FACL Ontario volunteer, please send us an email! See our various Committees pages above to learn more.

 

Conference Co-Chairs

Gerald Chan and Eva Chan 

 

Sponsorship

Gerald Chan, Justin P’ng, Ryan Chan, Timothy Law, Samantha Lo, Mitchell Lui, Vivian Sy, Jessica Zhang

 

Conference Organizing Committee

Gerald Chan, Eva Chan, Melissa Chan, Peter Choe, Janice Kim, Leonard Kim, Justin P’ng, Mary Phan, Alycia Shaw, David Spence, Brendan Wong, Jessica Zhang

 

Osgoode Hall Law School’s Asian Law Students Association’s Panel Programming

Gabby Aquino, Janet Song, Tiffany Dang, Annie Hu

 

Queen’s Asian Law Students’ Association’s Panel Programming

Li Zhu, Fiona Lee, Allison Choi, Sohrab Naderi, Mercy Liu

 

University of Toronto Faculty of Law Asia Law Society’s Panel Programming

Annecy Pang, Rebecca Xie, Andrew Gong

 

Continuing Professional Development

David Spence, Ronald Trac, Maneesha Gupta

 

Virtual Platform Committee

Mabel Lai, Ronald Trac, Eva Chan, Ryan Chan, Timothy Law, Samantha Lo, Janice Kim, David Spence

 

Virtual Platform Event Managers

Sean Tee, Elaine Cheng, Sophie Fu, Sue Li, Teresa Li, Dominique Pangilinan

 

Virtual Platform Rehearsal Team 

Gerald Chan, Eva Chan, Melissa Chan, Camille Chen, YoonHyun Cho, Natalie Chow, Maneesha Gupta, Mary Hong, Jonathan Hou, Jane Huang, Janice Kim, Leonard Kim, Mabel Lai, Emily Lam, Fiona Lee, Jessica Li, Jonathan Liu, Samantha Lo, Annecy Pang, David Spence, Jennifer Sun, Ronald Trac, Brendan Wong, Angela Xie, Jessica Zhang

 

Facilitation Team

Camille Chen, YoonHyun Cho, Natalie Chow, Jonathan Hou, Jane Huang, Jessica Li, Annecy Pang, Jennifer Sun, Angela Xie, Jessica Zhang

 

Conference Slides

Christina Liao 

 

Website

Mary Phan, Ryan Chan, Mekhala Chaubal

 

Speaker Bios

Ryan Chan, Christina Liao

 

Registration

Mary Phan

 

Communications and Social Media

Mary Phan, Mekhala Chaubal, Jennifer Ho, Timothy Law, Eva Chan

 

Awards and Scholarships Committee

Peter Choe, Leonard Kim, Daniel Wong, Maneesha Gupta

 

Student Outreach

Jessica Zhang, Justin P’ng, Timothy Law, Ryan Chan, Samantha Lo, Mitchell Lui, and Vivian Sy

Thank you to all of our volunteers!

 

The Socially Distanced Network: Building Relationships in the COVID Era

Date: Friday, January 8

Time: 1:30PM PT / 4:30PM ET (1 hour)

Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0rd-yuqDsuHdMgsXJvMDk-lu_lt-HEHb4x


FACL BC and FACL Ontario are coming together for the first time to host a joint event!  With the current pandemic and social distance measures, legal professionals may find it difficult to establish and strengthen relationships within the community.

 

This workshop will address how to build relationships and network in this new reality by featuring a speaker from both chapters, followed by an optional breakout session. Participants will be able to practice their newly acquired networking skills with FACL members across the country.  

 

 

 

Learn more about the organizations

 

FACL BC: http://faclbc.ca

FACL On: http://facl.ca/

 

FACL Statement on the Law Society of Ontario Treasurer Election

The Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers, Ontario (“FACL Ontario”) was pleased to see that in a recent tweet, the Law Society of Ontario (“LSO”) wrote that it supports and stands in solidarity with its diversity partners and stakeholders. We have been a longtime diversity partner and stakeholder, and have provided input to the LSO on various issues of equity, diversity and inclusion. In doing so, we have sought to go beyond words and to translate our deep belief in the need for a more equitable society–including a more equitable legal profession and administration of justice–into concrete actions. Without systemic change, words are merely empty promises. 

While we were encouraged to see the LSO’s recent reaffirmation of its commitment to its diversity partners, we hope that the LSO’s commitment will go beyond words. One of the most immediate ways of demonstrating this is to elect a Treasurer with a demonstrated track record of being an active ally on equity issues: Teresa Donnelly.

The Treasurer has a vital role to play within the LSO with respect to equity and diversity issues, including appointing members to the Equity and Indigenous Affairs Committee and deciding what issues are heard before Convocation and when. Accordingly, the upcoming Treasurer’s election is an opportunity for the LSO to do more than just talk about change. It is an opportunity for the LSO to maintain public confidence by actively committing to equity, diversity and inclusion. Now more than ever, we need our public institutions to not only acknowledge that systemic racism exists but to fight it.  We need our public institutions to go beyond words. The confidence of the public demands no less.

Call for Nominations for Full Member Directors

FACL Ontario is calling for nominations for Full Member Directors!

Persons interested in serving for a two-year term as a Full Member Director should send a resume/CV and a Statement of Interest (maximum 500 words) to facl.ontario@facl.ca by 11:59pm on Sunday, June 14, 2020.

A “Full Member” means an individual who self-identifies as Asian Canadian and is a lawyer in good standing with a Law Society in Canada, a judge of a court in Canada or a full-time member of the faculty of a law school in Canada and who, in each case, supports the objects of the Corporation 

Each Director shall:

1.1.1                    be, at the date of election of the Member and thereafter remain throughout the term of office, a Full Member (or Student Member as applicable) of the Corporation who is qualified by the terms of this Section 3.5 to hold office;

1.1.2                    be at least eighteen (18) years of age, with power under law to enter into Contracts;

1.1.3                    not be an undischarged bankrupt or a mentally incompetent person;

1.1.4                    have been, at the date of the election, a Member for a minimum of twelve (12) months;

1.1.5                    not have, within the five (5) years immediately preceding the date of the election and through the term of the office:

1.1.5.1              been found guilty of professional misconduct by a Society;

1.1.5.2              been found guilty of, or convicted of, any criminal offence under a statute in Canada; and

1.1.6                    not be, as of the date of the election and thereafter throughout the term of office, the subject of a notice of referral by a Law Society.

All nominations are expected to abide by the FACL Ontario By-laws.
 
FACL Ontario Bylaws

 

FACL Ontario Statement of Solidarity

Dear FACL Members,
 
During these uncertain and difficult times, now more than ever, we need to show solidarity among our colleagues. The Black Lives Matter movement has shown us how important it is for our communities to come together and support one another.
 
FACL Ontario unequivocally denounces anti-Black racism, and supports our friends and colleagues from the Canadian Association of Black Lawyers and the Black community. We encourage our members to do the same. Even a simple gesture such as reaching out and checking in with your colleagues can show your support. 
 
You can also show your support through financial contributions to organizations like the Black Legal Action Centre , a Toronto clinic that provides legal aid to low and no income Black Ontarians. Their work is invaluable and crucial, especially now. 
 
Our own work at FACL Ontario would not be possible without the help of our allies and fellow equity-seeking groups. We hope you consider showing your support in any way possible. In solidarity, 

The FACL Ontario Board of Directors

 

FACL Ontario Concerned About the Potential Exclusion of Equity Groups

The Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers, Ontario (FACL Ontario) is deeply concerned about the motion being brought on February 27, 2020 by two Law Society of Ontario (“LSO”) Benchers to exclude equity partners from consulting with the LSO’s Equity and Indigenous Affairs Committee (the “EIAC”). This is directly contrary to the mandate of EIAC, which requires EIAC to consult with Indigenous, Francophone and other equality-seeking communities in the development of policies to promote diversity and inclusion in the legal profession (See the Committee’s mandate at By-law 3.)

Benchers are elected to serve the public interest. As the Supreme Court of Canada has explained, this includes the pursuit of a more inclusive and diverse bar (Law Society of British Columbia v Trinity Western University). This goal cannot be achieved if Convocation shuts out the voices of racialized lawyers. EIAC’s very purpose demands the participation of equity groups like FACL Ontario in its work.

We are additionally concerned that this motion to shut out EIAC’s equity partners was brought on short notice, without giving equity groups an opportunity to contribute to the discussion or voice their opposition. It is imperative that the LSO carefully consider the views of its equity partners before making any changes to the current process. We accordingly urge Convocation to reject this motion.

FACL Ontario – Statement Against Prejudice Based on the Novel Coronavirus​

The Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers, Ontario (FACL Ontario) is concerned about a recent wave of reported incidents involving discrimination against Asian-Canadians in relation to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus. These incidents have ranged from misinformed fearmongering to malicious online attacks and public expressions of bigotry. Their common denominator is the conflation of the origins of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus with ethnically Chinese people and people of Asian descent more broadly. This kind of reaction has no factual or scientific basis and is rooted in prejudice. 

FACL Ontario condemns this behaviour and expresses its support for the Asian-Canadian community and those who have been targeted.  

These incidents are unfortunately reminiscent of the discrimination faced by Asian-Canadians during the 2003 SARS outbreak. A 2004 report, “Yellow Peril Revisited: The Impact of SARS on Chinese and Southeast Asian Communities”, examined the impact of the SARS outbreak on Asian-Canadians, and found pervasive discrimination, harassment, and marginalization in workplaces and public settings. People avoided restaurants and businesses in the Chinese community and shunned individuals with Asian backgrounds. It is critical that we remember these experiences and ensure that they do not continue.

Insensitive language has also increasingly proliferated in discussions of the Novel Coronavirus. As only one example, articles from news organizations, such as The Globe and Mail, have repeatedly referred to the Novel Coronavirus as the “Wuhan virus” or “Wuhan coronavirus”. This is not based on any practice or guidance by public health authorities, and only encourages the stigmatization of Wuhan residents and people from China more generally. Promoting this branding also contributes to the racialization of diseases such as the Novel Coronavirus and fans the flames of racial stereotyping. 

FACL Ontario calls on journalists, news organizations and other public sources of information to exercise greater responsibility and cultural sensitivity in reporting on the Novel Coronavirus. 

FACL Ontario also calls on political leaders at all levels of government to be proactive in combatting misperceptions and discrimination during this time. As the situation continues to develop, FACL Ontario will continue to engage with its members, relevant stakeholders, and decision-makers to ensure that we are all vigilant in addressing prejudice against people of Asian descent.

Resources:

For information on the 2019 Novel Coronavirus and how to prepare for it, we encourage relying on the official guidance of public health agencies including Toronto Public Health, Public Health Ontario, and the Public Health Agency of Canada. 

For those who have experienced discrimination and want to understand their legal options, please contact the Human Rights Legal Support Centre or the Chinese and Southeast Asian Legal Clinic. 

Ascend Canada Event – Forging the Path to Partnership

Ascent Canada is hosting a panel discussion focused on demystifying what it takes to make partnership, and perspectives on how to break through the “bamboo ceiling”. 

The event will be held on Friday, 18 October 2019, from 8:00am to 10:30am, on the 40th floor, 100 Adelaide Street West. Further details and tickets may be found at the Ascend Canada event website.

CBA Senior Racialized Lawyers Summit

Join us in Toronto on Thursday, December 5, 2019, 11:30 am to 2:15 pm at the Ontario Bar Association as leading Senior Racialized Lawyers and Experts gather to discuss leadership success and challenges, and develop an action plan to continue to support the racialized bar. Some of the topics to be covered include:

  •  Overcoming Challenges as a Racialized Lawyer
    •    Senior Racialized Lawyers as Leaders 
    •    Keys to Success in Law and Leadership
    •    Getting to the Next Career Destination
    •    Call to Action

This program is open to Racialized Lawyers who have been called to Bar for at least 10 years.

Space is limited so don’t wait and book now! Register at: https://www.cbapd.org/details_en.aspx?id=NA_NA19LPM02a