Canadian Lawyer

22 J U L Y 2 0 1 6 w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m hen lawyer Dustin Milligan looks back at his childhood, the first word that comes to mind is idyllic. Tyne Valley, population 222, is a quaint village tucked into rural northwest Prince Edward Island. A town of annual oyster festivals, white wood frame houses, and green farmers' fields. But it's also not a place where you find much diversity — the kind of diversity that Milligan writes about in his series of books designed to teach children about the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. "I think in many ways my childhood was very idyllic. It was the Anne of Green Gables setting of these small towns," Milligan recalls. "But there wasn't a lot of diversity growing up." Milligan, who is gay, wishes that books like his were around when he was young; books that could have sparked classroom conversations about the importance of respecting differences between people. "I think if I had been taught when I was in Grade 1, or 2, or 3 about these concepts — or even later than that if necessary, but during elementary years — I had sat around in a classroom and a teacher could have engaged in a dialogue about the diversity of human relationships and the importance of treating other people with respect . . . I think I would have really held on to a conversa- tion like that as well and it would have been really empowering. "I wish it had happened and I am hoping it does in this new generation." Milligan, 31, has worked with the impact litigation unit in South Africa, which is similar to Canada's court challenges pro- gram; in insurance law and litigation in Toronto with Matthews Abogado LLP; and is now a media lawyer for the CBC. But the concept for a series of books to help children learn about the Charter of Rights was first born when Milligan was in law school. Milligan's father, Keith Milligan, was a provincial MLA, cabi- net minister, and served briefly as premier of P.E.I. in 1996. His mother Deborah is active in environmental and human rights causes. Initially, Milligan set out to study history and political science at the University of Ottawa, but it was while working as a Senate page as Canada's Parliament was debating the country's first law to allow same-sex couples to marry that Milligan's inter- est was piqued not only by law but by Charter rights. At McGill University's law school, Milligan joined the Human Rights Working Group, which went around to Montreal schools teaching kids about the Charter. "When we were looking for resources to do so, we realized that there was a real lack of materi- als available. So, after my first year of studies, I took it upon myself to try and come up with some material. So I started this project, which was trying to adapt the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in child-friendly terms. I went home after the first year of studies C R O S S E X A M I N E D ELIZABETH THOMPSON Starting young Dustin Milligan's series of books brings Dustin Milligan's series of books brings the Charter to Canadian kids. the Charter to Canadian kids. By Elizabeth Thompson W

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