Nathalie Des Rosiers
General Counsel
Nathalie has been General Counsel of Canadian Civil Liberties Association and Executive Director of the Canadian Civil Liberties Education Trust since July 1, 2009. She was previously Acting Vice President – Governance of the University of Ottawa. She was Dean of the Civil Law Section of the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Law from 2004 to 2008. She obtained an LL.B. from Université de Montréal in 1981, an LL.M. from Harvard University in 1984, and an honorary doctorate from the Law Society of Upper Canada in 2004. She became a member of the Québec Bar in 1982 and of the Law Society of Upper Canada in 1987.
Nathalie was president of the Law Commission of Canada from 2000 to 2004. From 1987 to 2000, she was a member of the University of Western Ontario’s Faculty of Law. She served as law clerk to Supreme Court of Canada Justice Julien Chouinard from 1982 to 1983 and then worked in private practice until 1987.
She is the past President of the Canadian Federation of Social Sciences and Humanities, Canadian Council of Law Deans, of the Association des juristes d’expression française de l’Ontario (AJEFO), and the Canadian Association of Law Teachers. She was a member of the Environmental Appeal Board from 1988 to 2000 and a member of the Ontario Law Reform Commission from 1993 to 1996. She received the Médaille de l’Université Paris X in 2007, the Association of Professional Executives of the Public Service of Canada (APEX) Partnership Award in 2004, the Medal of the Law Society of Upper Canada in 1999, and the Order of Merit from AJEFO in 2000.
Nathalie has authored numerous articles. For a complete list of publications please visit http://www.droitcivil.uottawa.ca/index.php?option=com_contact&task=view&contact_id=3&Itemid=117&lang=en.
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Nathalie Des Rosiers est avocate générale et directrice exécutive de l’Association canadienne des libertés civiles depuis juillet 2009. Auparavant, elle était vice-présidente – gouvernance à l’Université d’Ottawa. Elle a été la doyenne de la Faculté de droit, section de droit civil de l’Université d’Ottawa de 2004 à 2008, présidente de la Commission du droit du Canada de 2000 à 2004. Elle détient une licence en droit de l’Université de Montréal et une maîtrise en droit de Harvard University. Elle est membre des Barreaux du Haut Canada et du Québec.
Abby Deshman
Acting Project Director
Abby Deshman joined the CCLA in July 2008 as the Law Foundation of Ontario’s Pro-Bono Articling Fellow and has stayed on as a Project Director. She graduated from the University of Toronto Law School with an Hons JD in 2008, and prior to that received her BSc (with high distinction) in Zoology and English from U of T in 2003. She is currently involved in all aspects of CCLA’s advocacy and educational programs, including the organization’s litigation, legislative advocacy, policy work, and civil liberties workshops for high school and university students.
Abby has always been very active in the areas of social justice and human rights. Prior to joining the CCLA she worked with numerous local and international non-governmental organizations, including the United Nations High Council for Refugees in Kenya and Human Rights Watch’s Terrorism/Counterterrorism division in New York. During law school, she spent a term representing family, immigration and criminal law clients at Downtown Legal Services, the University of Toronto’s poverty law clinic. She was also a case worker in the law school’s International Human Rights Clinic, where she worked primarily on international human rights and counterterrorism issues, including the Clinic’s intervention before the Supreme Court of Canada in the Khadr case.
Her previous work has also taken her to Nicaragua, Bangladesh, Belize and Peru. Although she loves Toronto, she is concerned about the lack of sun available during Canadian winters, and is therefore constantly on the lookout for inexpensive flights to combat incipient vitamin D deficiencies.
email address: adeshman@ccla.org
Graeme Norton
Director, Public Safety Project
Graeme Norton joined the Canadian Civil Liberties Association in June 2007 as the Director of CCLA’s Public Safety Project. His work with CCLA involves providing the Association with legal opinions and research, coordinating interventions in court cases, preparing submissions to legislative committees and other public bodies.
Prior to joining CCLA, Graeme articled and practiced law with a Toronto-based labour law firm. He graduated from the Faculty of Law at the University of Toronto in 2005, and holds Bachelor and Master of Arts degrees in Political Science, both also from U of T.
email address: gnorton@ccla.org
Noa Mendelsohn Aviv
Director, Freedom of Expression Project
Noa Mendelsohn Aviv joined the Canadian Civil Liberties Association in 2002. Since 2005 she has served as the Director of CCLA’s Freedom of Expression Project, working with CCLA staff, volunteers, the Board and external counsel around issues of free speech, freedom of the press, freedom of religion, and equality. Noa has been involved in numerous CCLA interventions in the Supreme Court of Canada, provincial courts, and human rights tribunals. She has also spoken out frequently in the media, as well as making oral and written submissions to legislative committees and municipal councils. In addition, Noa is an integral member of CCLET’s public education project, engaging students at schools and faculties of education in discussions on the challenges of civil liberties.
Before joining the CCLA, Noa volunteered and worked at the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, and was involved in some leading civil rights cases. Concurrent with her graduate legal studies, she spent several years as a lawyer in a small firm. Her practice areas included litigation, labour, commercial, and corporate law. Noa has also served as Acting Administrative Director of Hebrew University’s Center for Human Rights, and as Field Coordinator for a large research project on eating disorders in women.
Noa earned her law degree (LL.B.) and Masters of Law (LL.M.) from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Israel, where she focused on equality, civil rights, and certain interdisciplinary studies. She was called to the Israeli Bar in May 1998. She received her B.A. (with Distinction) in sociology from York University in Toronto. In her free time, Noa enjoys reading, hiking in leafy spots, and spending time on beaches with her family. She is thrilled to have two small children who are already strong and vocal advocates for their rights (phew!).
email address: mendelsohnaviv@ccla.org
Danielle S. McLaughlin
Director of Education and Administration
Canadian Civil Liberties Association and Education Trust
Having spent her youth involved with social activism, Danielle joined the Canadian Civil Liberties Association and Education Trust in 1988. Since that time, in addition to her work as Director of Administration for the national organization, Danielle has developed the CCLET programmes “Teaching Civil Liberties” and “Civil Liberties in the Schools.” Her article, “Cultivating Habits of Democracy: Asking the Hard Questions,” appeared in the Winter 2004-05 edition of Education Canada.
From discussions with young children on “What is fair?” to heated debates with university, education, and law students on such issues as equality rights, freedom of expression and anti-hate laws, Danielle enjoys challenging people to think about the conflicting values we live with in our democratic system.
As well as providing seminars and workshops on civil liberties and fundamental values to school groups and classrooms from grade 2 through university, Danielle has designed and organized conferences for high school students. These conferences have included such speakers as Alan Borovoy, June Callwood, David Cronenberg and Susan Eng.
Since 1996, CCLET’s “Teaching Civil Liberties” programme has been supported by a grant from the Law Foundation of Ontario. Pre-service student teachers at the faculties of education at Brock, Lakehead, Laurentian, Nipissing, OISE/Toronto, Ottawa, Queen’s, Western, Windsor and York universities have participated in workshops and seminars dealing with the controversial issues they are likely to face once they are in the classroom.
Between 1997 and 2001, in addition to her educational and administrative duties, Danielle represented the Canadian Civil Liberties Association on the Toronto Police Services Board sub-committee on Race Relations.
email address: education@ccla.org
Christian Pearce
Articling Fellow
Christian Pearce joined CCLA as the organization’s 2009-10 articling fellow under a grant from the Law Foundation of Ontario. Christian graduated from the University of British Columbia’s Faculty of Law in 2007, and earned an honours degree in political science from Wilfrid Laurier University. Prior to joining CCLA, Christian was Senior Editor of Pound, an award-winning hip-hop magazine distributed across North America, which dealt with issues including freedom of expression and police accountability. His work with Pound culminated in Christian’s authorship of Enter the Babylon System, a book about gun culture and violence published by Random House Canada in 2007. The book was nominated for a number of major publishing prizes, including the Governor-General’s Award and the Donner Book Prize for best book on Canadian public policy. In his spare time, Christian enjoys coaching youth in the Albany Basketball Association, playing tennis and chess, and academic discussions with AAB on the treadmill at the JCC.
email address: cpearce@ccla.org
Caitlin Smith
Coordinator, Fundraising & Membership
Caitlin joined CCLA in May 2008. She is responsible for membership, donations, special events, major gifts, and all other aspects of fundraising at CCLA.
Prior to joining CCLA, Caitlin worked at PEN Canada, the free expression organization. She looked after membership, special events, and administration. She is a member of the Toronto chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals.
Caitlin has also worked as a journalist, and in the publishing industry as a sales and marketing manager. She hails from Montreal. Her passions include The New Yorker, scrabble, cooking and fiction.
email address: csmith@ccla.org
Donna Gilmour
Administrative Assistant
Donna has been the administrative assistant at CCLA since April, 1990. As the only administrative assistant in the office, Donna works with all the staff members at CCLA.
email address: mail@ccla.org
Johanna Grönberg
Administrative Assistant
Johanna started out at the CCLA as a co-op student in 2005 and continues to work in the office as an administrative assistant. She currently attends the University of Toronto completing her double major in Political Science and Equity Studies.
email address: administration@ccla.org
April Julian
Education Coordinator
April Julian joined the Canadian Civil Liberties Association and Education Trust in September 2009. As an Education Coordinator, April conducts civil liberties workshops and seminars in schools and faculties of education throughout Ontario, where she engages students in discussions about rights, civil liberties, and controversies related to democratic societies. In addition to her speaking engagements, April supports various initiatives to extend the outreach of CCLET education programmes and projects.
Prior to joining CCLET, April worked at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology, where she helped build an online learning tool that teaches about the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. April is an Ontario Certified Teacher, and holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Toronto.
email address: ajulian@ccla.org
A. Alan Borovoy
General Counsel, Emeritus
Alan Borovoy was General Counsel of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association from May, 1968 until June, 2009. Prior to coming to CCLA, Alan worked with other human rights and civil liberties organizations such as the National Committee for Human Rights of the Canadian Labour Congress, the Ontario Labour Committee for Human Rights, and the Toronto & District Labour Committee for Human Rights.
As General Counsel of CCLA, Alan made presentations to public inquiries and gave testimony before parliamentary committees on issues such as mandatory drug-testing in the workplace, wiretapping, and police race-relations. His community organizing activities included delegations to the federal and provincial governments on issues of capital punishment, religious education in the public schools, the War Measures Act, campus speech codes, and national security and intelligence.
In addition to his work as General Counsel, Alan was a fortnightly columnist for the Toronto Star from 1992-1996. Other media work included appearances on many public affairs programs, and on open-line television and radio programs. He is published widely across Canada, and is the author of The New Anti-Liberals, Uncivil Obedience: The Tactics and Tales of a Democratic Agitator and When Freedoms Collide: The Case for Our Civil Liberties, which was nominated for the Governor General’s Award in 1988. He has also given lectures and public addresses to students, human rights organizations, and policing agencies in Canada and abroad.
Alan has been a visiting professor at the faculties of law at Dalhousie University and the University of Windsor, and a part-time lecturer at the University of Toronto Faculty of Social Work and York University’s political science department.
Alan received his B.A. from the University of Toronto in 1953, and his LL.B. from the University of Toronto in 1956. He was admitted to the Ontario Bar in 1958. He has also received four Honourary Doctor of Laws Degrees, the Law Society Medal from the Law Society of Upper Canada in 1989, an Award of Merit from the City of Toronto in 1982, and was inscribed in the Honour Roll of the aboriginal people of Treaty Number 3 in 1991. He was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1982.
Interns, 2009-2010
Joshua Chan
Joshua Chan joined CCLA this year as one of the organization’s summer interns and stayed on through the school year. Originally from Vancouver, Joshua recently completed his first year at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Law and will be graduating in 2011. Joshua previously received his BA in Linguistics from Queen’s University in 2008. He is also resident CCLA photographer, and gets all the credit for making CCLA staff look good on the webpage.
