The Indigenous Human Rights Program

Project Type: Client Assistance, Public Legal Education

Fields of Law: Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit, Métis), Human Rights, Housing, Employment

Positions Available: 2-4

About the Indigenous Human Rights Program

The Indigenous Human Rights Program is a pilot program and a partnership between PBSC and the Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres.

The Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres represents the collective interests of 29 Friendship Centres in cities and towns across Ontario. Friendship Centres are places for community members and Indigenous people living in urban spaces to gather, connect with one another and receive culturally based services. Friendship Centres improve the lives of urban Indigenous people by supporting self-determined activities which encourage equal access to, and participation in, Canadian society while respecting Indigenous cultural distinctiveness.

Pro Bono Students Canada is on a mission to provide free legal support to people and communities facing barriers to justice. To do this, it engages 1700+ law students annually to provide free legal information and services in partnership with community organizations and supervising lawyers. Our organization’s values are dignity, equity and humility.

Project Details

The Indigenous Human Rights Program is a pilot program and a partnership between PBSC and the OFIFC. The program was initially funded by the American College of Trial Lawyers’ Emil Gumpert Award. Planning for the pilot began in January 2020. The program is guided by an Advisory Council comprising Elders, individuals, and representatives from our four project partners the Canadian Human Rights Commission, the Ontario Human Rights Commission, the Human Rights Legal Support Centre, and McCarthy Tétrault.

FALL

Training:

The OFIFC will train all volunteer law students and volunteer lawyers in cultural competency. The Canadian and Ontario Human Rights Commissions and the Human Rights Legal Support Centre will train volunteer law students in human rights. The tentative student training dates are below. Training is mandatory for all volunteer law students.

Cultural Competency Training, October 2 (4:00-7:00pm) and 3 (9:30am-12:30pm): approximately 3 hours per day, by video conference. Student volunteers from all four Chapters will participate in the same session. Students will also conduct an independent reflection exercise on their own time prior to October 2. Volunteer lawyers will be trained in cultural competency in a different session, separate from the students.

Human Rights Training, week of November 9 (times and dates TBD): two sessions, approximately 3 hours each, by video conference. Student volunteers from all four Chapters will participate in the same session.

Virtual Clinic Training, late fall 2020 or early 2021: late in the fall semester or early January 2021, students will be trained on how to volunteer at the virtual clinic (including processes, software, file management). These dates will be confirmed later in the fall semester.

Public Legal Education:

Law students will develop public legal education throughout fall 2020. They will launch, deliver and/or distribute the end product in the winter 2021 term.

Students will develop PLE materials such as virtual presentations, brochures, posters, and/or social media posts for the OFIFC/participating Friendship Centres. Details TBD based on discussions with the OFIFC and the Friendship Centre. The PLE will be developed during the fall term and distributed/presented/delivered during the winter term. A Lawyer will supervise this work and approve final products.

Podcast: the Program Manager has begun developing a podcast that will focus on the experiences of Indigenous people at human rights tribunals across Canada. Some or all of the four Chapters will participate in producing the podcast. Episodes will be released in the fall and winter terms.

WINTER

Virtual Human Rights Clinics

We will launch two free virtual human rights legal clinics in January 2021. One clinic will be housed at Odawa Native Friendship Centre and staffed by PBSC law students from the University of Ottawa and a roster of Supervising Lawyers. The other clinic will be housed at Toronto Council Fire Native Cultural Centre and staffed by PBSC law students from the University of Toronto and Osgoode and a roster of Supervising Lawyers. The schedule for the clinics (i.e. the dates and times they will run) is TBD. At the clinics, self-identifying Indigenous people will receive 1 hour of summary legal advice and a referral (if possible) from a volunteer lawyer.

Due to the pandemic, these services will launch virtually. They will transition to in-person at the Friendship Centres when public health directives change and all involved agree.

Public Legal Education

Work producing and releasing podcast episodes will continue in winter 2021. Also in winter 2021, and once approved by Supervising Lawyers, the Toronto volunteers and the Ottawa volunteers will each present/deliver/distribute the PLE materials they developed during the fall term. It is possible that volunteers may not finish developing PLE during the fall term and continue to do this in the winter term.

Who can apply?

First-year students are eligible to apply.

Deadlines & Application Procedures:

Submit a CV and Statement of Interest by the following deadline: September 11, 2020 at 11:59 p.m. Send to: probonostudents.utoronto@gmail.com.

The Statement of Interest should be no longer than one page single-spaced. It should briefly:

1. Outline why you wish to volunteer for the Indigenous Human Rights Program;

2. Outline your interest or experience in human rights, access to justice, and/or Indigenous legal issues (we welcome and value all forms of experience, including lived, professional, volunteer, academic, etc.);

3. Explain what PBSC’s values of dignity, equity and humility mean to you, and what they should mean for the Indigenous Human Rights Program.

Some students will be selected for a "Tea & Talk" with PBSc and the OFIFC. This is a short virtual interview between September 14-16, 2020.