Canadian Lawyer

w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m A U G U S T 2 0 1 7 35 F ernando Garcia had humble beginnings as an immigrant from Latin America grow- ing up in the Jane and Finch area of Toronto. Apart from his career as a general counsel, he is a strong advocate for diversity and inclusiveness. In 2016, he was a speaker at March On Bay Street and has been recognized numerous times: He won a Lexpert Zenith Award for Diversity and Inclusion, was listed on the GC Powerlist: Canada by The Legal 500 and was nominated as a career visionary finalist by the Toronto Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Most recently, he was also a finalist for the Environmental, Social and Governance Award at the Cana- dian General Counsel Awards. Garcia is also a frequent speaker and contributor to discussions relating to legal tech and the future of law, including speaking at conferences and writing articles on the topics. General counsel, government affairs and corporate secretary, Nissan Canada Mississauga what voters had to say: "Incredible lawyer, committed to diversity and inclusiveness." "You are an inspiration to the younger generations. Your continuous work for diversity and inclusiveness is exactly what we need in this chaotic world." "First class!" what voters had to say: "She is an angel for the work she does!" "A true inspiration to those fighting for the rights of children in Canada and abroad." "She is a wonderful person and deserves recognition and praise for the hard work she does each day." Fernando Garcia O ver the past few years, Monique St. Germain has advanced the understand- ing of the public and the courts of the lifelong impact child sexual abuse materials have on its victims. Last year, St. Germain worked with her col- leagues to create and launch an international online survey for the (now adult) survivors of child sexual abuse that was recorded. Full analysis is still ongoing, but the preliminary results were released in January. Recog- nizing that the victims were not being given the opportunity to be heard in the court process, she is now working with lawyers in Canada and the United States to ensure victims are able to file victim impact statements. She is also spearheading the centre's efforts to file community impact statements in cases where individual impact statements are not possible. St. Germain also provides key legal support for numerous other initia- tives of the centre intended to help survivors in Canada and worldwide, such as Project Arachnid, an innovative tool to reduce the public avail- ability of child sexual abuse material online. General counsel, Canadian Centre for Child Protection Winnipeg Monique St. Germain IN-HOUSE COUNSEL

• Cover