CLA launches Toronto Pilot of Dare to Dream
On October 11th, we had a very successful launch of the Toronto pilot of our Dare to Dream Program to inspire and mentor Aboriginal youth and help them to reach their potential – student-by-student.
Participating Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal law students and lawyers attended our training session at the Law Society of Upper Canada. These volunteer lawyers and students will be working with students at the First Nations School of Toronto and the Mnjikaning Kendaaswin Elementary School in the Chippewas of Rama First Nation. They will be providing the students with support and mentorship, and introducing them to law and law-related careers. Equally important, Dare to Dream will increase the legal community’s knowledge and awareness about Aboriginal culture and history and promote the importance of diversity in the legal profession.
The training session started with a smudge ceremony led by Grandmother Dorothy Peters. Grandmother Dorothy spoke about the Seven Grandfather Teachings - Wisdom, Love, Respect, Bravery, Honesty, Humility and Truth. She emphasized that these traditional Anishinaabe teachings provide a framework for the “good way of life”.
Tamara Moore, Director of Dare to Dream, outlined how Canadian Lawyers Abroad has incorporated the Seven Grandfather Teachings into our mentoring and outreach program. For example, Humility teaches that we can all learn from others. In our program, Humility is put into practice – not only do lawyers mentor and teach Aboriginal youth, but participating lawyers and law students learn from the students.
Justice Harry LaForme from the Ontario Court of Appeal spoke passionately about the importance of Dare to Dream. He emphasized that the legal community has an important role to play in reaching out to Aboriginal youth and providing them with positive role models. He noted that there is an urgent need for positive opportunities for Aboriginal youth given the reality that in Canada, they are more likely to end up in jail than graduate from high school.
Justice LaForme speaking to lawyers and law students about the importance of Dare to Dream.
We also had great presentations by experts in the field. Sarah McCoubrey, Executive Director of the Ontario Justice Education Network (OJEN), spoke about how OJEN has learned to effectively engage Aboriginal youth in their presentation of their justice education materials, such as mock trials and sentencing circles. Christa Big Canoe, Legal Advocacy Director at Aboriginal Legal Services of Toronto, spoke about her experiences working with Aboriginal youth generally, as well as working wtih those involved in the criminal justice system.
The training concluded with comments by LSUC Treasurer Thomas Conway. He emphasized that Dare to Dream supports the Law Society’s mandate to regulate the legal profession in the public interest and to promote diversity in the profession.
We would like to thank the LSUC Equity Initiatives Department for supporting and hosting our training. We would also like to thank all of our sponsors, including our gold sponsor, GE Capital, our silver sponsors, McMillan LLP and TransCanada Corporation, and our other sponsors including Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP, the RBC Foundation and Norton Rose LLP.
You can see a few other pictures from the training below and on Flickr here.
Justice LaForme with McMillan LLP lawyers, Stephanie Robinson and Jason Annibale.
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