Advancing justice

For our eighth episode of “Advancing justice,” we will examine the relationships between human rights, racism, and the criminal justice system from the perspective of Indigenous people. Joining Maytree president Elizabeth McIsaac for this discussion is Laura Arndt. Laura Arndt can speak to these issues from many perspectives. Laura is a Mohawk woman. She is a daughter, niece, and granddaughter of Indian Residential School survivors. Laura is the former Director of Strategic Development at the Office of the Ontario Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth and is currently completing her PhD in Cultural Studies at Queen’s University. Laura is the Chair of Indigenous Studies at Centennial College but has taken a secondment from that role to be the Chief Operating Officer of the Survivor’s Secretariat which is investigating the unmarked graves associated with the Mohawk Institute Indian Residential School near Brantford Ontario. You can find the transcript of the conversation at https://maytree.com/maytree-podcasts/advancing-justice-podcast/. You can read her contribution to the Advancing justice series, Indigenous Peoples and the Injustice of Justice,” at https://maytree.com/publications/indigenous-peoples/. For other contributions to the series and links to resources, visit the Maytree website at https://maytree.com/what-we-focus-on/advancing-justice/.

For our seventh episode of “Advancing justice,” we’re discussing the issue of anti-Black racism in the criminal justice system in Canada and the role of municipalities in confronting anti-Black racism. Joining Maytree president Elizabeth McIsaac for this discussion is Anthony Morgan. Anthony is a human-rights lawyer and the manager of the City of Toronto’s Confronting Anti-Black Racism unit. Anthony has appeared at various levels of court, including the Supreme Court of Canada. He has also appeared before two United Nations human rights committees in Geneva, Switzerland. Anthony graduated from McGill University’s Faculty of Law, where he earned degrees in both civil law and common law. He’s also a graduate from the University of Toronto and is currently completing a Masters of Studies in International Human Rights Law at the University of Oxford. You can find the transcript of the conversation at https://maytree.com/maytree-podcasts/advancing-justice-podcast/. For other contributions to the series and links to resources, visit the Maytree website at https://maytree.com/what-we-focus-on/advancing-justice/.

Joining Maytree president Elizabeth McIsaac to discuss community alternatives to policing is Akwatu Khenti. He's an Assistant Professor with the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. Akwatu is also a member of the editorial board of the "Advancing justice" series. He has over 25 years of experience in government and community settings. Akwatu formerly served as Assistant Deputy Minister for Ontario’s Anti-Racism Directorate, Cabinet Office, and Director of Transformative Global Health at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. You can find the transcript of the conversation at https://maytree.com/maytree-podcasts/advancing-justice-podcast/. For other contributions to the series and links to resources, visit the Maytree website at maytree.com/what-we-focus-on/advancing-justice/.

For our fifth episode of “Advancing justice,” we’re discussing the issue of the lack of diversity in the criminal justice system. Joining Maytree president Elizabeth McIsaac for this discussion are three individuals from the Lincoln Alexander School of Law in Toronto. Harsimran Sidhu is a second-year student. She received her BA in political science from McMaster University. Joining Harsimran is Kaylee Rich. Kaylee is also a second-year student. She received her BA in psychology from the University of Ottawa. Also on the podcast is Dr. Tanya (Toni) De Mello. She is the Assistant Dean for Student Programming, Development and Equity. She has over 20 years of experience working in the post-secondary sector in governance, student affairs, and in human rights. She has experience creating curricula and advising on curriculum reform that embeds, equity, diversity, and inclusion in courses. You can find the transcript of the conversation at https://maytree.com/maytree-podcasts/advancing-justice-podcast/. For other contributions to the series and links to resources, visit the Maytree website at https://maytree.com/what-we-focus-on/advancing-justice/.

For our fourth episode of “Advancing justice,” Maytree president Elizabeth McIsaac speaks to Tyrone, a 25-year-old man who grew up and still lives in Scarborough. In the conversation, Tyrone talks about how his interactions with the criminal justice system began at the age of 13 when he was illegally stopped by the police in the community. And then again, at age 15, when he was charged, arrested, and held in remand because the police mistook him for another Black youth. Now, as a young man, he's looking to share his story and give back to his community. You can find the transcript of the conversation at https://maytree.com/maytree-podcasts/advancing-justice-podcast/. For other contributions to the series and links to resources, visit the Maytree website at maytree.com/what-we-focus-on/advancing-justice/.

For our third episode of “Advancing justice,” we’re pleased to welcome Sabreena Delhon. Sabreena is the Executive Director of the Samara Centre for Democracy. She is an experienced public sector leader with a proven track record of directing multi-stakeholder research and outreach initiatives across justice, academic, and non-profit sectors. Prior to joining Samara, Sabreena was the principal of Signal Strategies and held senior roles at the Law Society of Ontario. She is a Fellow at Simon Fraser University’s Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue and Visiting Fellow at Massey College. In our conversation, Sabreena talks about why this is a crucial time to advocate for major overhauls to key components of the justice system. Advocates must seize this opportunity to call for justice policies that are responsive to the public's lived experience and to press for investment in justice reform. Yet, as she writes in her contribution to the series, the majority of mainstream efforts aiming to improve access to justice across Canada are stagnating because the organizations behind them suffer from an entrenched diversity problem. You can find the transcript of the conversation at https://maytree.com/maytree-podcasts/advancing-justice-podcast/. For other contributions to the series and links to resources, visit the Maytree website at maytree.com/what-we-focus-on/advancing-justice/.

For our second episode of “Advancing justice,” we’re pleased to welcome Dr. Mai Phan. Mai is a data expert who is passionate about data equity, social justice, equity, and human rights. She has more than 20 years of experience teaching, researching, developing, and leading initiatives to address systemic barriers and promote inclusive practices and policies in public sector organizations. Mai is currently supporting the Toronto Police Service's Race and Identity-Based Data Collection Strategy, an anti-racism data initiative. Previously, she was a senior research and policy advisor at the Anti-Racism Directorate at the province of Ontario, where she led the development of the Ontario Anti-Racism Data Standards and provided strategic advice to public sector organizations regulated to collect race-based data under the Anti-Racism Act. In our conversation, Mai talks about the importance of collecting race-based data to address systemic issues in the criminal justice system and what we need to consider before we collect and use race-based data to inform the work to achieve public safety and justice. You can find the transcript of the conversation at https://maytree.com/maytree-podcasts/advancing-justice-podcast/. For other contributions to the series and links to resources, visit the Maytree website at maytree.com/what-we-focus-on/advancing-justice/.

To begin our series on human rights, poverty, racism, and the criminal justice system in Canada, we're pleased to welcome Professor Akwasi Owusu-Bempah. Akwasi is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Toronto and a Senior Fellow at Massey College. He holds Affiliate Scientist status at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, and serves as Director of Research for the Campaign for Cannabis Amnesty. Akwasi’s work examines the intersections of race, crime, and criminal justice with a particular focus on the area of policing. In this podcast, Akwasi explores the historical roots of racism in the criminal justice system. In particular, he talks about how racism and colonialism have contributed to the social and economic inequalities and discrimination experienced by Indigenous, Black, and racialized communities in Canada, and in turn shaped their interactions with the criminal justice system. Please note that in the following conversation, Akwasi uses the term “our” when referring to Indigenous and Black communities. This use is not intended to indicate possession. Rather, the term should be understood within the context of community membership. You find an edited transcript of the conversation, other contributions to the series, and links to resources on the Maytree website at maytree.com/what-we-focus-on/advancing-justice/.

Welcome to “Advancing justice,” a podcast about human rights, poverty, racism, and the criminal justice system. It is produced by Maytree, a Toronto-based organization exploring solutions to poverty in Canada using a human rights-based approach. This podcast is part of a series that explores the relationship between human rights, poverty, racism, and the criminal justice system. In each episode, we talk with researchers and practitioners to deepen our understanding of the issues and explore the historical roots of present-day realities, the challenges associated with the lack of race-based data, issues specific to Indigenous communities, lack of access to justice, as well as potential solutions and promising practices. Find full transcripts of the conversations, other contributions to the series, and links to resources on the Maytree website at maytree.com/what-we-focus-on/advancing-justice/.