Since 2005, SABA Toronto has worked to help its members transcend barriers that visible minority lawyers once thought impossible to overcome. We continue to advocate for equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) within the profession.
It is in this spirit and tradition that SABA Toronto lends its full support to the candidates running as part of the Good Governance Coalition (GGC or the Coalition) in the upcoming 2023 Law Society of Ontario bencher election. See below the list of GGC Candidates and a primer on voting in the election.
SABA’s commitment to EDI includes a deep appreciation for the vibrancy of the communities we work in, which include equity-seeking groups that continue to face systemic barriers in society. It involves making a concerted effort to ensure our profession reflects the diversity of the communities we work in and the clients we work with. Most importantly, it means continuously evaluating our profession and those responsible for steering it in the right direction in the name of public interest, demanding the highest standards of professionalism, competence, and leadership.
Lawyers and paralegals across Ontario will vote in April to elect benchers who will govern the Law Society of Ontario. SABA strongly endorses the GGC. The Coalition’s candidates bring incredible depth, experience, and leadership, and include among them past presidents and directors of virtually every major legal association in Ontario. Its candidates understand the importance of EDI in our profession and they themselves reflect its broad diversity. Among its candidates are SABA members Jennifer Gold, Shalini Konanur, Neha Chugh, and Isfahan Merali.
It is essential that our regulating body be run by experienced and representative leadership that values diversity over division. Anything less would not be in the public interest. Events over the past four years at Convocation are deeply troubling to SABA Toronto and continued turmoil may place self-regulation at risk. The privilege of self-regulation has already been lost in Britain and Australia. Closer to home, it is at risk in British Columbia. We must protect it here.
While SABA Toronto has endorsed individual candidates in past bencher elections, it is critical that the Coalition prevails over candidates and a group that denied the Law Society’s findings of systemic racism in the profession and campaigned on the singular promise of repealing the Statement of Principles. SABA Toronto endorses the entire Coalition and urges its members to vote for all 40 of its candidates to ensure a better regulatory body and a more equitable legal profession.
The 2023 bencher election will take place from April 19-28, 2023. SABA Toronto encourages all of its members to review the policy positions of the Coalition’s candidates to ensure you have the information necessary to cast your vote in favour of a more progressive future for the Law Society of Ontario: https://www.goodgovernancecoalition.ca/
About SABA Toronto
The South Asian Bar Association of Toronto is Canada’s largest equity-seeking bar organization, dedicated to promoting the objectives of South Asian members of the legal profession. SABA represents South Asian legal professionals and ensures that their interests are recognized, respected and voiced with the Law Society of Ontario and various levels of provincial and federal government. SABA aims to unite its over 1000 members, deliver programming for professional growth and advancement, promote access to justice and give back to South Asian communities. Its membership is dynamic, ever-expanding and includes legal professionals from large and small law firms, sole practitioners, government agencies and departments, nonprofit organizations, and corporations. Members of the judiciary, academics and law students also form an integral part of SABA Toronto.
