As part of reconciliation, Law Society of Manitoba names members to it Indigenous advisory committee

The Law Society of Manitoba has announced its new Indigenous Advisory Committee members to help create a plan of action to deal with discrimination, marginalization, and cultural appropriation of the province’s Indigenous legal community.

“The Law Society wanted to do this in a way that best respected how the Indigenous community preferred to deal with these issues,” says Jessica Saunders, a lawyer at Cochrane Saxberg and vice-chair of the new committee. She says that having a committee that comprises both Indigenous and non-Indigenous lawyers and members of the broader Indigenous community would help accomplish those goals.

The committee emerged from a decision by the LSM’s benchers last October to create a group that could deal with issues related to reconciliation and the concerns of the Indigenous community. Former federal Senator Murray Sinclair, who has also been a Provincial Court and Court of Queen’s Bench judge in Manitoba, was appointed last December as the chair of the committee.

The last few months have been spent "finding the best and most appropriate people to sit on the committee, “says LSM president Grant Driedger.

Saunders says that when she first became involved, society staff had shared previous efforts to engage with the Indigenous bar on approaching the topic of Indigenous cultural competency training among the larger legal community in Manitoba. “There was some discomfort there,” she says, “but in that discomfort, you can find those opportunities to make changes.”

The feeling was that if there was to be appropriate cultural competency training for the Manitoba bar, the Indigenous community, both legal and broader, was a part of the process. “The law society knew that it wanted to do it in a way that best respected how the Indigenous community preferred to do that.”

Driedger adds that the law society “recognizes the imperative of reconciliation for the legal profession and the justice system,” and that this requires work “which must be carried out in collaboration with Indigenous peoples.”

He noted that the LSM’s intention in setting up the committee is to respond to the recommendation in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s final report that the Federation of Law Societies of Canada ensure that lawyers receive “appropriate cultural competency training.”

This training should include “the history and legacy of residential schools, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Treaties and Aboriginal rights, Indigenous law, and Aboriginal–Crown relations.” The TRC report says that to do this will “require skills-based training in intercultural competency, conflict resolution, human rights, and anti-racism.”

Saunders adds that the LSM and committee chair Sinclair want to be clear that the comimittee's role should go beyond ensuring that cultural competency training is offered and made mandatory.

“There was a feeling that lawyers are not learning enough about Indigenous laws, they’re not receiving a full account of the history of treaties, of residential schools, and the impact of all of this on Indigenous communities even to this,” she says.

“If everyone from the lawyers representing companies in disputes with Indigenous people to the judges that are hearing these matters had a better understanding of Indigenous peoples and our laws and customs, there would better outcomes.” Saunders adds that while other law societies in Canada are also dealing with the issue of Indigenous cultural competency training, the LSM’s will take a made-in Manitoba approach.

Driedger and Saunders say that having Sinclair, who served as co-chair of the Aboriginal Justice Inquiry of Manitoba and as chief commissioner of Canada’s Indian Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission, adds tremendous stature to the committee’s work. The other members are valued for their understanding and commitment to Indigenous culture and rights.

“I can’t think of few others you’d rather have than Murray Sinclair as head of this committee,” Driedger says. “He is very much respected,” he says, both within the Indigenous community and outside of it.

The complete list of committee members include:

The Honourable Murray Sinclair: An Anishinaabe and member of the Peguis First Nation, Sinclair graduated from law school in 1979 and has been involved with the justice system in Manitoba for over 40 years. He was a lawyer representing Indigenous clients, an Adjunct Professor of Law at Robson Hall, an Associate Chief Judge of Manitoba’s Provincial Court, and a Justice of the Court of Queen’s Bench.

Sinclair was the first Indigenous Judge appointed in Manitoba and Canada’s second. He served as Co-Chair of the Aboriginal Justice Inquiry of Manitoba and as Chief Commissioner of Canada’s Indian Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Sinclair retired from the Bench and was appointed to the Senate in 2016. After retiring from the Senate earlier this year, he returned to law and mentoring young lawyers at Cochrane Saxberg LLP.

Jessica Saunders: A member of the Opaskwayak Cree Nation, Saunders grew up hunting, fishing, berry picking and spending weekends at her grandfather’s trapline. Jessica’s grandmother is a survivor of residential schools, and her mother is a survivor of the Sixties Scoop. She was called to the bar in 2011 and specialized in Indigenous and child protection litigation, representing Indigenous nations, organizations and child and family services agencies through all levels of litigation from settlement discussions to trials and appeals. Recently, she has shifted the focus of her practice to assisting Indigenous nations in the revitalization and codification of Indigenous laws to form the foundation of laws to be enacted further to An Act Respecting First Nation, Inuit and Metis children youth and families (C-92).

Saunders was appointed to the Law Society of Manitoba’s Equity Committee in 2016 and held that position until being appointed to the Law Society of Manitoba’s Complaints Investigation Committee in 2018. She was the Chair of the Public Interest Law Centre Advisory Committee from 2018 – 2020 and is currently the Chair of the Law Society of Manitoba’s Equity Committee and Vice-Chair of the Complaints Investigation Committee. Saunders was appointed as a Law Society Bencher in 2018 and was re-appointed in 2020.

E.J. Fontaine and Eva Wilson-Fontaine:  A member of Sagkeeng First Nation, Fontaine co-founded Anishinabek Consultants with his wife Eva Wilson-Fontaine, a member of Peguis First Nation. That business has since evolved into AMIK™ Inc. and ANISH Corporation. These entities provide services in a culturally relevant manner to families affected by Canada’s Indian residential school system, assisting Indigenous people within the workforce and matching employers with qualified Indigenous professionals. The two have delivered Indigenous cultural awareness training to some of the largest corporations in Canada.

Desiree Dorion: A graduate of the law school at the University of Manitoba, Dorion spent over a decade of her career working almost exclusively in litigation but now offers alternatives to families facing separation and divorce. She, along with her business partner, opened Parkland Collaborative Legal Options in September 2020. Desiree completed her arbitration course through the Alternative Dispute Resolution Institute of Canada and now offers arbitration services along with collaborative family law services. She is a member of Opaskawayak Cree Nation. She is also an accomplished singer/songwriter and JUNO Nominee.

Vincent Sinclair: Currently serving as elected Bencher for the North Region of the LSM, Sinclair is also a member of the Complaints Investigation Committee, Chair of the Equity Committee, President’s Special Committee on Regulating Legal Entities, and was appointed to the Manitoba Law Foundation. He is also a member of the Indigenous Prosecution Service Resource Council.

Born and raised in Northern Manitoba, Sinclair received his call to the Bar in June of 2010. He articled with and continues to work at the Manitoba Prosecutions’ office in The Pas. Before becoming a lawyer, Sinclair worked for the Opaskwayak Cree Nation for 12 years.

Frankie Snider: A Metis from the Red River Settlement located near Selkirk, Snider began her career as a mental health clinician, then moved on to policy analysis and then leadership roles as the Director of Aboriginal Health with the Province of Manitoba and Director of Indigenous Health Workforce Development and Vice President of Community Services with Macdonald Youth Services. Later she served as the Director of Indigenous Relations with Manitoba Justice and is now Executive Director, Youth Justice.

Ken Mandzuik: A estates litigation lawyer at Tradition Law LLP, Mandzuik was called to the bar in 1997 and has practiced litigation in Winnipeg since then. He represented one of the signatories to the Northern Flood Agreement and appeared before the NFA Arbitrator. Mandzuik also spent about five years exclusively representing survivors of Residential Schools. He is finishing his first year as an elected bencher, where he sat on the Equity Committee, the President’s Special Committee on Regulating Legal Entities, and the Discipline Committee.

Elissa Neville: A lawyer and partner at Rachlis Neville LLP, Neville’s practice focusses on conducting independent workplace and institutional investigations. She has previously practiced law with the Aboriginal law group at Manitoba Civil Legal Services. Neville also worked at Manitoba Hydro for more than 13 years and spent time as the director responsible for corporate Indigenous and community relations. She has been a member of the Law Society of Manitoba’s Equity Committee since 2016, an alternate Chair of the Criminal Code Review Board of Manitoba since 2015 and has served on boards of various community non-profit organizations.