PBSC Summer Letters 2004

Seven of our JD students write to us below about their summer experiences with Pro Bono Students Canada (PBSC). The PBSC program runs throughout the year, and pairs law students with public interest organizations across Canada. Students can also apply for PBSC summer fellowships, funded by the Donner Canadian Foundation. These fellowships enable students to work at organizations in the community, where they have an opportunity to explore non-traditional legal careers while contributing to the public interest.

John Norquay John Norquay Refugee Law Office of Legal Aid Ontario "My summer at the Refugee Law Office of Legal Aid Ontario has virtually cemented my intention to work in refugee and immigration law. My clients had tremendously varying backgrounds -- from those fleeing outright war, to those escaping from situations of domestic violence or state-sponsored homophobia. This variety really brought to light for me the current realities of refugee protection and the forces that motivate individuals to leave their countries of origin." Read more >>

Graeme Norton Canadian Civil Liberties Association "The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) is a non-profit, non-government, law-reform organization dealing with issues of fundamental civil liberties and human rights that affect individuals all across Canada ... My work with CCLA allowed me to participate in a wide variety of advocacy activities, and I feel that the work that I did over the summer served an important societal purpose. The staff at the CCLA was tremendous to work with. I was always given interesting work and felt that my input and opinions were truly valued in all office meetings and discussions." Read more >> Graeme Norton

Emily Griffith Emily Griffith Community Justice Initiatives "I've had an amazing experience with CJI over the summer. Simply meeting so many people absolutely dedicated to transforming the way we think about crime and justice in Canada has been such a learning experience for me. One of the projects I worked on involved researching and writing training manuals and resources for CJI volunteers who wanted to work in the victim-offender mediation program." Read more >>

Mike Pacholok Justice for Children and Youth "This summer, I had the pleasure of working at Justice for Children and Youth (JFCY), a specialty legal aid clinic that only represents youth under 18 in various matters. These matters include but are not limited to youth criminal justice, education law and public legal education about the rights of children. One of my main projects while working at JFCY was to create new public legal education material in the area of education law." Read more >> Mike Pacholok

Patrick Houssais Patrick Houssais Ontario Human Rights Commission "I spent an intense and fascinating summer working at the Ontario Human Rights Commission thanks to the Donner Fellowship Program. I was involved with most aspects of the Commission's work, from case reviews to observing at tribunal. But the experience that had the biggest impact on me was my involvement with the Race Policy Project, an effort to produce a Commission policy on racial discrimination." Read more >>

Jennifer King Sierra Legal Defense Fund "As I have often repeated to Sierra staff, my family, my friends, and PBSC, working at Sierra Legal Defense Fund is my dream summer job. In fact, I came to law school with the express desire to work for Sierra Legal in the future. The PBSC fellowship gave me the opportunity to work with Sierra early in my legal career and to gain contacts, experience and, most importantly, inspiration to continue in my chosen path as a public interest lawyer." Read more >> Jennifer King

Clara Matheson Clara Matheson Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation "At my Pro Bono placement this summer at the Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation (CERA), I provided one-on-one assistance to people facing discrimination in their search for housing or in their current place of residence. This involved mediating with landlords to convince them to change their discriminatory policies, and helping my clients file human rights complaints with the Ontario Human Rights Commission ... I felt that I learned more about human rights and housing this summer working at CERA than I ever could have in a classroom." Read more >