June Callwood Program in Aboriginal Law Fellowship
Aboriginal Legal Services of Toronto
Callwood Fellow Dwight Montgomery (centre) with ALST staff members Shylo Summers (left) and Mandy Eason (right). |
Thanks to the June Callwood fellowship, I am spending my summer working at the Aboriginal Legal Services of Toronto. This organization assists Aboriginal people living in Toronto with tenant protection, human rights, police complaints, Coroners' Inquests, Indian Act matters, and test-case litigation, among other things. ALST is a dynamic environment, with many wonderful people working there. I feel that I've learned a lot by just being immersed in their company.
My time has been divided between two projects. First, I'm doing policy research to keep staff updated on upcoming legislation at the provincial and federal levels. New legislation, especially concerning criminal law, affects our clientele and everyone at ALST needs to be kept abreast of potential changes in order to effectively serve our clients. Also, ALST occasionally presents reports to legislative committees with the hope of influencing the final version of the bill. ALST wrote reports on several of the bills that I am researching and I was lucky enough to be able to attend Queen's Park when one of these bills was being passed.
Otherwise, I am also assisting the Tenant Rights worker. It is with this project that I can actually meet with clients and help them directly. I've negotiated settlements with landlords, and attended meetings with tenants and hearings at the Landlord and Tenant Board. This has been an excellent opportunity to develop hands-on experience with people who have real and pressing problems.
This summer has been a great experience. I have been able to hone my research skills, but I've also been able to meet and deal with real clients. This has opened my eyes to the real problems that urban aboriginal people face, but the dedicated people in the office and my experience working here have encouraged me to continue in this rewarding area of law.
