Among its many programs, the University of Toronto Chapter of Pro Bono Students Canada (PBSC) administers the Donner Civic Leadership Fellowships and Fellowships in Aboriginal Law.  These Fellowships give students the opportunity to do public interest work full-time during the summers.

In the following reports, the Donner and Aboriginal Law Fellows describe their experiences during the summer of 2009. 

Karenna Williams
Sour Springs Longhouse and the Haudenosaunee Standing Committee on Burials and Burial Regulations

"My main focus this summer has been the repatriation of sacred false face masks from the Denver Museum of Natural History, the Denver Art Museum, and the Canadian Museum of Civilization.  In order to make a viable and effective claim for the return of the masks, I have been researching the use of the masks and their provenance, that is, how the institutions came to acquire them."

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PBSC intern Karenna Williams
PBSC intern Kate BjerringKate Bjerring
Family Legal Health Program, Sick Kids Hospital

"Thanks to the presence of the Family Legal Health Program program at Sick Kids, patients and their families can now access a free service that uses legal remedies to improve children's health outcomes.  Through my summer working for the program, I have had the opportunity to meet people in desperate circumstances, and to see how their lives can be improved by the intervention of a legal advocate."

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Cara Valiquette
S.M. Hare Law Office

"Working with sole practitioner Susan Hare, my work included creating a written and slideshow presentation on the Duty to Report under the Child and Family Services Act to be presented to Ontario Works employees in Wikwemikong First Nation. This work is part of a series of First Nations community legal clinics that are delivered by Susan Hare through Legal Aid Ontario."

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PBSC intern Cara Valiquette
PBSC inter Brendan McCutcheonBrendan McCutcheon
Ontario Federation of Labour

"My project this summer deals with occupational health and safety-based reprisals. Section 50 of Ontario's Occupational Health and Safety Act prohibits employers from taking disciplinary action when workers have sought the enforcement of the Act.   At the heart of my project is an analysis of how section 50 works differently for various sectors of Ontario's workforce." 

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Kara Hardin
B'nai Brith Canada

"As a 2009 Donner Fellow, I have had the pleasure of working with B'nai Brith Canada's advocacy branch, the League for Human Rights. The opportunity to work at the forefront of such a lively, dynamic and contributory human rights organization was invaluable. It has shaped not only my understanding of the legal system and law generally, but also of the various opportunities there are for people practicing law to make a difference in the world."

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PBSC intern Kara Hardin
Kara Hardin (far left, in white) at "St. Louis 2009: Looking Back, Moving Forward," a conference sponsored by the Federal Government and her PBSC host, B'nai Brith Canada.