Awards & Past Recipients

The Honourable Harry S. LaForme is Anishinabe of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. He was born and raised on the reserve where some of his family still reside. Justice LaForme graduated from Osgoode Hall Law School and articled with Osler, Hoskin and Harcourt. He was called to the bar in 1979, and in private practice litigated matters involving the Constitution and Charter across Canada and represented Canadian Aboriginal interests internationally. In 1994 he was appointed to the Superior Court of Justice in Ontario and was – at that time – one of only 3 indigenous judges ever appointed to this level of trial court in Canada. In 2004, he was appointed to the Ontario Court of Appeal and is the first indigenous person to be appointed to any appellate court in the history of Canada – he retired from the judiciary in 2018. Justice LaForme has been honoured with numerous awards including the gift of Eagle Feathers symbolizing the virtues of honesty, integrity, and respect. He has published numerous articles on issues related to indigenous law and justice, and frequently speaks on these topics as well as criminal, civil and human rights law. He is currently Senior Counsel at OKT LLP.
The FACL Ontario LaForme Scholarship was established to honour Justice Harry S. LaForme.
The Scholarship is awarded based on law student vision, academics, financial need, and a personal statement.