RavenLaw was proud to support the Annual Ottawa Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund (“LEAF”) Persons Day Breakfast. This year’s breakfast focused on the Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women in Canada.

LEAF is a charitable non-profit organization that works to advance the equality rights of women and girls in Canada. The annual fundraising breakfast commemorates the Persons Case – the October 18, 1929 decision of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council that ruled that women were to be considered persons under the law and should be eligible to sit in the Canadian Senate. Proceeds from the Persons Day breakfast contribute to LEAF’s litigation efforts, and help to sustain our equality education programs such as LEAF at Work, the Only Yes Means Yes Campaign, and the Reproductive Justice Campaign.

On October 12, 2016, Morgan Rowe spoke to University of Ottawa students as part of the “Introduction to the Study of Law” class. She presented on issues related to the life of an employment contract, from formation to termination, as well as workers’ rights during employment.

On June 16, 2016, Wassim Garzouzi spoke as part of Lancaster House’s audio conference on Stopping Sexual Harassers Cold: Optimal practices for complaint procedures, investigations, and survivor support. The program addressed how to identify sexual harassment, best practices for investigating complaints, and internal procedures and outside resources that can help fractured workplaces. The audio conference also covered the factors that arbitrators and human rights tribunals consider when assessing damage awards for harassment.

On July 21, 2016, James Cameron spoke to Ottawa Parkinson Canada to provide an information session on applying for LTD benefits and the legal and appeal processes available for challenging decision denying benefits.

On August 18, 2016, David Yazbeck moderated an audio conference for Lancaster House dealing with issues related to autism in the workplace, including how to counter stereotypes regarding autism spectrum disorders and how to accommodate individuals with autism spectrum disorders in their employment.

More information about the audio conference is available here.

David Yazbeck recently spoke with the Canadian Bar Association’s National magazine regarding reform of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal.

In his interview, David recommended an end to the federal system’s current two-step screening process for dealing with human rights complaints and the creation of a direct access model, like the one used in Ontario. He also commented on the importance of appointing members to the Tribunal who have expertise in and sensitivity to human rights matters.

RavenLaw is pleased to congratulate University of Ottawa student Nick Continelli on being awarded the 2015-2016 Raven, Cameron, Ballantyne & Yazbeck Prize in Human Rights Law. The prize is awarded to the student who achieves the highest standing in the Human Rights Law in Canada course in the Common Law section. We congratulate Nick for this significant achievement!

By: James Cameron and Morgan Rowe

“You look fine!” “It’s all in your head.” For individuals with invisible disabilities, comments like these are a fundamental reality. As Pain Awareness Month draws to a close and we look ahead to the beginning of Mental Illness Awareness Week on October 2, it is important to take time to recognize the specific societal and attitudinal barriers that individuals with invisible disabilities experience in everyday life.

The term “invisible disabilities” refers to symptoms and functional limitations which are not always obvious to an observer. Many of our clients, for instance, have post-concussion syndrome, fibromyalgia, depression, chronic pain, bi-polar disorder, etc., none of which may be apparent from the outside.

While Canadian society is improving at recognizing and accommodating “visible” disabilities, people with invisible disabilities still often experience added difficulties due to the invisible nature of their symptoms. This can lead to problems in the workplace and with LTD insurers.

As the Ontario Human Rights Commission has recognized, for example, individuals with certain kinds of invisible disabilities, particularly mental health and addiction issues, continue to experience significant levels of stigmatization and social exclusion, despite the fact that almost one in five Canadian adults will experience these conditions at some point in their lives. In addition, people with psychosocial disabilities are more likely to have low incomes than people without psychosocial disabilities.

As we take time next week to recognize the struggles for inclusion which still face individuals with mental health issues and work to build more general awareness regarding the experiences of individuals living with invisible disabilities, I want to highlight the recent Ottawa Citizen article regarding a local artist, May Mutter, with post-concussion syndrome herself, who is making the invisible spectacularly visible through body art. Her project, called A Caged Mind, uses body painting to provide visual interpretations of what a concussion is. Her moving video and fantastic art can both be viewed here.

[This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice, which cannot be given without consideration of your individual circumstances.]