58 S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 8 w w w . c a n a d i a n l a w y e r m a g . c o m
I
n July 2017, I stood on my sister's balcony. I looked out and over the bal-
cony. I then asked her if it would be OK if I could call her for safety. I had
images of me jumping over the 23
rd
-floor balcony. I felt guilty putting my fam-
ily through what I was experiencing; they have been here before. At the time,
I was under a good character investigation by the Law Society of Ontario.
Applicants to the LSO must be of good character and they indicate such by fill-
ing out a form. The form asks questions about past convictions or findings of guilt,
among other things. The applicant must answer yes or no. Positive answers require
supporting or relevant documentations. While I asked for clarification, nobody
could provide answers to my simple question: What are supporting or relevant
documentations? The LSO does not provide any
information about what these are.
At the time, I also attached a letter detailing
my history of surviving gender-based violence
and exploitation to now becoming an expert on
these issues. I thought the letter was sufficient;
it was not.
In June 2017, I received a call from an investi-
gator, nearly six months after I applied.
The investigator described the letter she was
sending and told me to not "stress." She said the
LSO requires more information. She outlined
that I would also need to meet with her in person at some point.
I was unable to follow her advice to not "stress" after seeing nearly 20 disclosure
requests. At the time, I was in the process of moving to Toronto to begin my articles,
completing the lawyer licensing examinations and overcoming grief after the recent
passing of my father in February 2017.
The first time I tried to commit suicide, I was a young person. After my first
attempt, I ended up in the intensive care unit. I was in my early twenties in my final
attempt. In the past, I did not have the appropriate supports. When I read the LSO's
letter, I felt this way again because I felt guilt and sadness for simply surviving as a
young Indigenous woman. I also witnessed the LSO laud its equity, diversity and
inclusion initiatives, including its statement of principles, which requires all mem-
bers to acknowledge their obligation to promote equality, diversity and inclusion. As
the debate raged about whether the statement of principles was "compelled speech,"
I was advised that it was best that I wait until I was called to the bar before I wrote
about my experiences.
The investigator received my reply to the LSO's June 2017 request in January
2018. This was after a nearly three-month delay for one document disclosure (these
delays were not caused by me or my lawyers).
B A C K P A G E
THE TRAUMA OF
PROVING MY GOOD
CHARACTER
By Naomi Sayers
It was not until February 2018 that I could
find some time to meet with the investigator as
I was working on major projects as part of my
articles. I asked my lawyers, Ian Smith and Amy
Ohler, if they could be present because I was
scared to return to a time in my life filled with
violence and exploitation. Having just turned
31 in October 2017, I thought I could leave that
part of my life behind.
The purpose of the good character require-
ment is to protect the public, maintain high
ethical standards and to maintain public confi-
dence, among other things. One must be hon-
est and forthright, regardless of the required
disclosures. These disclosures required me
to highlight two exploitative situations, one
when I was 18 years old and another when I
was in my early twenties. Both situations also
involved police. During one instance, I tried
to kill myself while in police custody. When
the police brought me to the hospital, the
doctor recommended I stay at the hospital for
further care but agreed to my release back to
the police if I was placed on suicide watch and
followed up with a psychiatrist. For the first set
of charges, I received an absolute discharge. In
the second, the charges were
withdrawn.
When I met with the inves-
tigator, some of the questions
related to suicide and drug/
alcohol counselling. I have
never been to such counselling;
rather, I have been to counsel-
ling to address the trauma I
have experienced throughout
my life. Ironically, I also had to
return to counselling because
of the investigation. I requested a copy of the
recording made during this interview with the
LSO investigator to ensure I accurately captured
what was discussed, but the LSO would not
release the recording.
Before meeting the investigator, I sat at a
board room table at my lawyers' office. We
talked about my first letter, the process and the
questions the investigator might ask. I recall Ian
asking about why I wrote my first letter. He stat-
ed, "It makes you seem worse than you actually
are." I paused for a second, to think about my
response, and I replied, "Because it is the truth."
The truth is, and from my perspective, the LSO
needs to do better.
Naomi Sayers is an Indigenous feminist and law-
yer who is currently working in the energy sector.
"While I asked for
clarification, nobody
could provide answers
to my simple question:
What are supporting
or relevant
documentations?"
O P I N I O N
@kwetoday