Indigenous Human Rights: Recent Episodes
Pro Bono Students Canada
The Indigenous Human Rights podcast is produced by Pro Bono Students Canada's Indigenous Human Rights Program. We're a group of law students shining a light on the experiences of Indigenous people at human rights tribunals across Canada. Listen and learn what it's really like to fight for your rights in the colonial legal system. Our podcast is sponsored by Thomson Reuters, PBSC's National Research Partner.
A new episode from the Indigenous Human Rights Podcast! Our hosts, Daniel Jolic and Brianna Brumen, talk to lawyer Jamie McGinnis from the Human Rights Legal Support Centre, who represented the Nakogees at the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario in their fight for justice against the North Bay Transit Service. We examine the discrimination that the Nakogees endured while attempting to access a public transit bus, and the strength it took for them to speak out against this discrimination. We also highlight the work they undertook with Ms. McGinnis and the Human Rights Legal Support Centre to hold North Bay Transit accountable.
Discussed: Indigenous Human Rights, Government Discrimination, Discrimination on Transit, Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, Human Rights Legal Support Centre, Successful Human Rights Claims
Music: Ross Bugden, CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org//licenses/by/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
A new episode from the Indigenous Human Rights Podcast! Our hosts, Daniel Jolic and Brianna Brumen, talk to Jennifer Hawn and Andrew Camman, the lawyers who represented Billy Kenney at the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal in his quest for justice. Ms. Hawn and Mr. Camman outline the discrimination Mr. Kenney faced while teaching at the Thames Valley District School Board, and how he was inadequately supported by his employer after he reported that discrimination. We also discuss their experience representing Mr. Kenney at the tribunal’s hearing, and their success not only in securing monetary damages for their client but also in ensuring systemic change at the school board. We also examine the steps folks can take if they are experiencing discrimination from their employer.
Discussed: Indigenous Human Rights, Workplace Discrimination, Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, Successful Human Rights Claims
Music: Ross Bugden, CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org//licenses/by/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Our first episode from the latest season of the Indigenous Human Rights Podcast! Our hosts, Daniel Jolic and Brianna Brumen, talk to Jen Danch, a human rights lawyer at Swadron Associates. Ms. Danch previously served at the Ontario Human Rights Commission advancing its advocacy on racial profiling, barriers to employment for refugees and the Right to Read Inquiry. In this episode, Ms. Danch discusses the role that the Ontario and Canadian Human Rights Tribunals, the Ontario Human Rights Commission, and the Human Rights Legal Support Centre play in addressing discrimination. She explains how people who have faced discrimination can bring forward their grievances to the tribunal system. She also explains what supports are available from the Human Rights Legal Support Centre for Indigenous folks.
To access some of the resources that Ms. Danch referenced in the episode, please visit https://hrlsc.on.ca/indigenous-services/.
Discussed: Indigenous Human Rights, Discrimination, Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, Canadian Human Rights Tribunal, Ontario Human Rights Commission, Human Rights Legal Support Centre
Music: Ross Bugden, CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org//licenses/by/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
An episode from the back catalogue! We talk with Dr. Cindy Blackstock, a member of the Gitxsan First Nation, the Executive Director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society, and a professor at McGill University’s School of Social Work. She will spotlight the CHRT decision First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada et al. v. Attorney General of Canada (for the Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada), where First Nations children and families received $23.34 billion in settlement funds for the denial of equal family and child services. Dr. Blackstock discusses her experience working on this case alongside the children that were impacted, the access to justice issues that arose, the systematic discrimination that laid the groundwork for this decision, and the future of Indigenous child welfare.
Discussed: Indigenous child welfare, systemic discrimination, access to justice, human rights
Music: Ross Bugden, CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org//licenses/by/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
An episode from the back catalogue! We talk to Dr. Sheryl Lightfoot, a citizen of the Lake Superior Band of Ojibwe (enrolled at the Keweenaw Bay Community), a professor at the University of British Columbia, and one of the world’s leading experts in global Indigenous politics, serving as the North American member on the United Nations Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Dr. Lightfoot discusses the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and its implementation in Canada. Dr. Lightfoot explains what UNDRIP is, how Canada is implementing this international instrument, and how UNDRIP interacts with the human rights tribunal system in Canada.
Discussed: UNDRIP Implementation, International Indigenous law, human rights, tribunals
Music: Ross Bugden, CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org//licenses/by/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
In our third episode of Season 2, we talk to lawyer Alanna Tom about her experience representing Mr. C, an Indigenous man, at the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal. Mr. C filed his human rights complaint late but Ms. Tom was able to convince the tribunal to accept it. We talk to Ms. Tom about how she convinced the tribunal to accept the late filled complaint, limitations period at human rights tribunals across the country, the importance of meaningful access to justice, and why lawyers should cite research reports in their submissions!
Discussed: human rights, limitations periods, discrimination, access to justice.
Music: Ross Bugden, CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
In this episode, hosts Fallon and Flint announce that they are graduating from law school and moving on from the podcast. Fallon and Flint reflect on what they have learned from our guests over the past two years, and they share how they hope the human rights legal system will change in the future. Thank you Fallon and Flint! Through a pandemic and the demands of law school, you helped to shine a light on so many important stories. To all of our listeners: we'll be introducing you to our new hosts soon, so stay tuned!
Correction: In this episode, we mention Deborah Campbell's case against the "Vancouver RCMP". Her case was actually against the Vancouver Police Board.
Discussed: discrimination, human rights, legal systems.
Music: Ross Bugden, CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Welcome to Season 2! We talk to Dr. Bruce Miller, a sociocultural anthropologist who has testified as an expert witness in some of the most important Indigenous human rights cases in Canada. Dr. Miller tells us what an expert witness is, what he learned while testifying in Gladys Radek and Deborah Campbell's human rights cases, and he shares some seriously scathing critiques of the colonial human rights system. You can learn more from Dr. Miller in his upcoming book: "Witness to the Human Rights Tribunals: How the System Fails Indigenous Peoples".
Discussed: expert witnesses, human rights system, discrimination, racism, how the human rights system should change.
Music: Ross Bugden, CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
To round out our first year as podcasters, we talk to Cree and Métis lawyers Mandy Wesley and Amanda Driscoll about their experiences representing Garry McKay, an Oji-Cree man who was arrested by a Toronto Police officer who said he thought that Mr. McKay had a stolen bicycle. Mr. McKay knew he had been racially profiled, so he filed a complaint with the help of his legal team at Aboriginal Legal Services (ALS). In 2011, he won his case. A decade later, we talk to Mandy and Amanda about what happened to Mr. McKay and what still needs to change, and they tell us that us young folx give them hope!
Discussed: racial profiling, white supremacy, human rights, policing, nice bikes.
Music: Ross Bugden, CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
In our third episode, we speak with Gladys Radek, a long-time advocate for Indigenous women and girls. In 2001, Gladys was grabbing a coffee at a mall when a security guard demanded to know where she was going. Gladys filed a complaint with the BC Human Rights Tribunal and the Tribunal agreed that Gladys' treatment was part of a larger pattern of systemic discrimination at the mall. In our far-reaching conversation, we talk to Gladys about standing up for human rights. "If you see racism happening, don't let it happen."
Discussed: women and girls, systemic discrimination, human rights, racism, residential schools, foster care system, genocide, cultural pride.
Music: Ross Bugden, CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
In our second episode, we talk to Crystal Smith, a member of the Tsimshian and Haisla Nations and a mother, artist, activist, and teacher. She tells us about the time her landlord tried to evict her for smudging in her apartment with her children, and the long road she travelled to fight for her family's cultural rights. Crystal won her case at the BC Human Rights Tribunal in 2020, paving the way for a better future for her kids and many others.
Discussed: children and youth, smudging, human rights, discrimination, cultural rights, colonial legal system, Indigenous laws.
Music: Ross Bugden, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
In our first-ever episode, we talk to Cree and Métis-Cree lawyers Amber Prince and Myrna McCallum about their experiences representing Deborah Campbell, an Indigenous mother who took the Vancouver Police to the BC Human Rights Tribunal. In 2019, she won her case, and we've all got a lot to learn from it.
Discussed: acts of resistance, trauma-informed practice, cultural humility, Indigenous lawyers representing Indigenous people.
Music: Ross Bugden, CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.