Canadian Lawyer

24 A U G U S T 2 0 1 7 w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m C hrista Big Canoe has worked at Aboriginal Legal Services for years representing indigenous people as legal advocacy director, but she is currently on a two-year leave after being named senior counsel for the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls National Inquiry in January. She also represented six of seven families of indigenous students whose deaths were the subject of a coroner's inquest in Thunder Bay, Ont. The Seven Youth Inquest resulted in 145 recommendations for the federal and provincial govern- ments. The recommendations, delivered in June 2016, are directed at improving accountability, safety and education outcomes for Nishnawbe Aski Nation youth. Most recently, she successfully represented the plaintiff in the Indian Act sex discrimination case Gehl v. Canada (Attorney General). After years of fighting to gain Lynn Gehl Indian status, Big Canoe was successful in April after Ontario's top court's decision came down. The act is currently being amended to remove sex-based discrimination. F ormer minister of public safety, health and justice in the Liberal governments of Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin and also a former law professor at the University of Alberta, Anne McLellan most recently was appointed chair- woman of the Task Force on the Legalization and Regulation of Cannabis, the panel that submitted recommendations to the federal government on the design of a new system to legalize, strictly regulate and restrict access to cannabis. A host of new legislation, announced in April, relied heavily on the recommendations of the federal task force McLellan led. Since her work with the task force ended in December 2016, McLellan has been speaking at industry-sponsored events across Canada on her role in the legislation as well as commenting on the issue regularly in the media. CHANGEMAKERS Senior counsel, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls National Inquiry Toronto Senior advisor, Bennett Jones LLP Edmonton Christa Big Canoe what voters had to say: "Very passionate about her profession and fights for what's right." "Great lawyer who will do what is right and tell the truth." what voters had to say: "She is truly fearless." "The most ethical professional I know." "I've never seen a better consensus builder." Anne McLellan

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