2008

Susan Ursel speaks at Chief Justice of Ontario's Eleventh Colloquium on the Legal Profession
Susan Ursel was a speaker at the Chief Justice of Ontario's Eleventh Colloquium on the Legal Profession: Professionalism and Serving Communities, held at the University of Windsor on October 24, 2008. She spoke on the Panel on Marginalized Communities: Moving Forward by Learning From Our Past, delivering a paper entitled "Some Notes on the Experience of Working with the Gay and Lesbian Communities of Ontario".

Susan Ursel has multiple speaking engagements July-October 2008
Susan Ursel spoke on the Supreme Court of Canada decision in Honda v. Keays on a Lancaster House audio program in July, 2008, and again as a panel member at the Human Resources Professionals Association Annual Law Conferences well as the Law Society of Upper Canada's Annual Employment Law Summit both in October 2008.

Susan Ursel presents series of workshops at Wellspring
Throughout the Fall 2008, Susan Ursel presented a series of workshops to staff and clients at Wellspring, which is a network of cancer support centres, on the issues of long term disability insurance, return to work and accommodation of illness in the workplace. She will be presenting again in the Winter 2009.

Susan Ursel presents workshop on Intersectionality and Discrimination
Susan Ursel presented a workshop on Intersectionality and Discrimination for the annual Ontario Bar Association Constitutional Law Conference on September 26, 2008.

Susan Ursel co-presents seminar on Accommodating Mental Illness in the Workplace
Susan Ursel, Karl Dean and Dr. Nina Josefowitz presented a seminar on Accommodating Mental Illness in the Workplace, for the OSSTF Annual Summer Leadership Conference in August 2008.

Susan Ursel co-counsel for the Women's Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF) at the Supreme Court of Canada
Susan Ursel was co-counsel with Kim Bernhardt for the Women's Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF) at the Supreme Court of Canada in February, 2008 at the hearing of the Honda v. Keays appeal. This appeal dealt with the issues of the interrelationship of civil litigation and human rights law among other issues. Katie Rowen of Green & Chercover assisted on the file. LEAF was an intervenor in the case. The decision in June 2008 was widely reviewed and discussed among the legal and broader communities.

Susan Ursel, keynote speaker at the OSSTF, District 12 Status of Women Annual Awards Dinner
Susan Ursel was the keynote speaker at the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation, District 12 Status of Women Annual Awards Dinner on May 1, 2008. She spoke on the importance of the Falconer Report, as well as the ability, power and responsibility we each have to bring about change in our lives and in our communities.

Andrea Wobick returns from Tanzania
Andrea Wobick returned to the firm from Tanzania in April 2008 after a six month sabbatical. During that time Andrea worked for the Tanzania Legal and Human Rights Centre and co-authored a report on the state of human rights and legal issues in Tanzania for 2007. The report is relied upon by international entities including the United Nations for an assessment of the country’s progress in achieving international and stated domestic targets on upholding human rights. She also worked with the lawyers in the Centre’s legal aid clinics to improve legal drafting and advocacy skills. Andrea’s project with the Centre was run and funded by the Canadian Bar Association and the Canadian International Development Agency.