New job

I have news to share, on August 10th, 2020, I started a new position as an Associate at JFK Law Corporation. I’m working remotely from Prince Rupert where I live and work but will be based out of both Victoria and Vancouver’s offices.

It was a long-time dream to work in Aboriginal law. I’m happy to announce that my dream became a reality. I first dreamt of working in Aboriginal law when I was taking courses in my first year of undergrad, as I took many courses that were taught by lawyers, with a strong emphasis on how Aboriginal people interacted with Canadian law, the constitution, and policies. A good reminder to never lose sight of your dreams.

My first-ever law firm profile is up and you can view it here.

APTN National Interview

In late December, Justice Church, of the British Columbia Supreme Court in Coastal GasLink Pipeline Ltd. v. Huson 2019 BCSC 2264, granted an interlocutory injunction in favour of the plaintiffs, Coastal GasLink, against the defendants, members of the Dark House belonging to the Wet'suwe'ten Nation, restraining the defendants from blockading the Morice West Forest Service Road at the Morice River Bridge and preventing access to the area to the west of the Bridge Blockade, which is accessible by vehicle using the Morice West FSR.

In early January, APTN National news asked me to comment on the Indigenous law aspect of the decision, which the defendants had argued with respect to Wet’suwet’en law. For my APTN National interview with Jamie Pashagumskum: find it here.

The legal context regarding the Wet'suwe'ten Nation has changed a lot since January, as there were national and international protests as a result of this decision. In early March, the Minister of Aboriginal Relations and citizens of the Wet’suwet’ten Nation met and came to a tentative deal regarding this issue. The contents of the agreement are not known at this time.

This issue was widely covered by APTN and there is a lot of information available online: here.

Everyone's Canada

I was recently asked to share my story for the newly formed non-profit called Everyone’s Canada, which is based in Edmonton, Alberta. This organization is highlighting individuals from across Canada with the aim of challenging the narratives about belonging in Canada. I was not quite sure what I wanted to write about after being asked, but after watching an episode of “This is Us” on television, I felt inspired to write about what I knew— my own experience, my family and how they inspire me.

Here’s my post below:

“What does it mean to be a Ts’msyen and Dene citizen. These are questions that my supervisor Dr. Val Napoleon has tasked me with, when thinking critically about the countless ways in which it means to be a Canadian citizen or how Canadian law is enacted. But what does it mean for Indigenous law to be practiced? There are certain rights, responsibilities, and obligations that I have as a Ts’msyen citizen, that is part of the Ts’msyen legal system. I am part of the Ts’msyen nation on my mothers side of the family. I am also Dene with Métis ancestry from my father’s side of the family.

Within the last generations of my family, there was a move from the North to the South. My grandmother moved from the small Ts’msyen community of Lax Kw’alaams to Prince Rupert in Northern British Columbia. She then moved to Vancouver along with my mother and most her family in the 1960s. My late father was from a small Dene community along the East Arm of Great Slave Lake in the Northwest Territories called Łutselk’e. Much of my father’s side of the family continue to live in Yellowknife. But after my father left residential school he ended up in Vancouver, which is where he met my mom. I was born and raised in Vancouver until I finished law school. I moved to Toronto to article at Aboriginal Legal Services, and later worked as a human rights lawyer. I was not the first person to go to law school in my family. My aunty Valerie Conrad went to the University of Victoria and graduated with her law degree. I have so many aunties that inspire and support me to be a critically engaged person and continue to ask these difficult questions.

If there’s one thing I know for sure, it’s that I come from a long line of very strong, resilient, and brilliant woman. They have passed down teachings from their mothers and instilled in me a strong sense of dignity and pride in what it means to be both Ts’msyen and Dene. To me, this is part of what it means to be a Ts’msyen and Dene citizen.” — Christina, Victoria/Songhees, Esquimalt and WSÁNEĆ peoples territory

'Postable' YouTube Video

In July of 2019, I was asked to be interviewed on the issue of reconciliation and election issues for a new PostMedia YouTube channel called ‘Postable’. I didn’t think I would be able to be interviewed, as I was not in Toronto where the interviewer was located. However, I was accommodated by being interviewed by Google Chat and FaceTime. It was somewhat difficult to be interviewed, as I had frequent connection issues. The finished video turned out well and offers a range of Indigenous people’s experiences and political issues.

The YouTube video is called “The Lost Children: A Canadian Cover-Up”. Manuela Vega interviewed myself along with Lee Maracle, Tara Williamson, Eddy Robinson, Tavia Christina, and Michael Ethrington were interviewed as well. A small but eloquent, strong, and smart sample of some of Indigenous folks and their experiences.

Watch the video here:

CBC Ideas interview aired - Five Freedoms: Freedom from Oppression

The CBC Ideas panel interview with host Paul Kennedy along with the other panelists, lawyer Eloge Butera, and Ontario MPP Bhutila Karpoche, aired here on April 9th, 2019.

It was funny because I didn’t realize that this interview had aired until someone I was emailing told me that they had heard me on national radio a few weeks after the fact. This interview aired during a very busy period in my life, as I was finishing up my legal methodology course at the University of Victoria and I was busily trying to finish a number of papers due for my class.

I told my friend about this interview that I generally prefer not to watch or listen to any interviews of myself after the fact. My friend asked me— how I could improve in the future? I didn’t know the answer because I had not listened to the interview. I had already lived the experience of the interview, so why did I need to listen to it is what I said.

My friend had convinced me to listen to the interview and so a few days later, I was at home and finally got up the nerve to listen to this podcast. I lit some candles, turned on the fairy lights, and got under the covers to listen to the podcast from start to finish. I was really happy with the way that the producers had artfully crafted this panel interview into a cohesive work of art.

Even though I did this interview almost eight months prior, I could still feel the excitement and nervousness that I felt on that day. But one thing that was quite different from that day was that I no longer remembered the many thoughts that were whirling around my head. I just could focus on what was being said, which in my mind was a blessing. I guess now in the future, I’ll put more consideration into listening to my interviews after they happen.

CBC: Daybreak North Interview

On February 15th, 2019, I was interviewed for CBC’s Daybreak North by Carolina de Ryk about my legal research as a junior scholar, involvement with the Yellowhead Institute as a Research Fellow, the importance of the Yellowhead Institute, and our event in Prince Rupert during the 60th All Native Basketball Tournament, which was held that same day.

If you haven’t yet heard of the Yellowhead Institute, it’s an Indigenous-led think tank based out of Ryerson University. They publish policy briefs and reports on Indigenous issues from across Canada. When the Yellowhead Institute launched in September, I became part of their inaugural group of Research Fellows. I will be publishing with them in the near future.

Listen to my interview here to learn more about it! I was interviewed at 1:49 minutes into the taping.

CBC Ideas: Freedom from Oppression

On July 28th, 2018, I participated in a live taping of a panel discussion with host Paul Kennedy of CBC Ideas on the topic of Freedom from Oppression at Stratford Festival in Stratford, Ontario. The panel consisted of myself and two highly esteemed individuals, Bhutila Karpoche, Ontario NDP MPP, and Eloge Butera, a lawyer and former Rwandan refugee. It was a real pleasure to be able to participate in this highly evocative panel and learn more about Bhutila and Eloge’s experiences as well.

I’ve decided to share it on my blog.

Oppression takes many forms. It can be political as well as cultural, there's the weight of inherited oppression, and there's the question of how oppression shapes who we are, both individually and collectively.

Portraits on the Wall: The Swearing in Ceremony of Chief Justice Wagner of the Supreme Court of Canada

When I recall myself as a young Indigenous child growing up in East Vancouver, I would not have thought that one day I would attend the swearing-in ceremony of the new Chief Justice at the Supreme Court of Canada in Ottawa.  That wasn’t in the realm of possibility for me. I cared more about watching shows like Sabrina the Teenage Witch and playing outside with my friends. How different was I to the many Indigenous youth growing up today in Canada?

This past Monday, Chief Justice Wagner was appointed to the Supreme Court. For the first time in history, a Chief Justice invited the Indigenous Bar Association to the swearing-in ceremony at the Supreme Court.  Chief Justice Wagner’s invitation was most appreciated.  When I entered the building, it became glaringly apparent that as an anglophone I’ve prized English over French. I was unable to understand the French security guard’s simple directions about where to put my bag. Over the course of the morning, this happened again and again as I listened to many speeches oscillating between English and French.

For most of my life in Canada, I have I never felt the imperative to learn or speak French. I have traveled to places where French is the primary language and I usually get by in English, but I always felt like I was missing out on the conversation. In Canada’s highest court it was keenly apparent that Canada’s two official languages are equally weighed. Unfortunately, growing up in British Columbia, we began learning French only in grade six, and even then, it wasn’t treated equally. 

This past year, Justice Martin was named as a new jurist on the Supreme Court of Canada. The Indigenous Bar Association wrote that in the history of the Court, there has never been an Indigenous jurist. This was a missed opportunity. During my day at the Supreme Court, I was acutely aware of this absence. Even though Jody Wilson Raybould, the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, is an Indigenous woman, there remains a poor representation of Indigenous or diverse peoples. 

As an Indigenous person, I identify as being from diverse backgrounds. I am a part of a long line of Tsimshian and Dene Indigenous ancestors born on these lands for generations, some of who were also French- and Michif-speaking Métis people. Prior to meeting Chief Justice Wagner, I looked at the portraits of former Chief Justices hanging on the walls. These portraits depicted mostly men – with the exception of former Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin – a similarity in common with most law societies and courts across the county. When will this change? 

My visit to the Supreme Court reminded me that one way this judicial representation can change is for more Indigenous lawyers to learn French so that they can are qualified for judicial appointments under the current system. In 2015, the Trudeau government implemented a bilingual requirement for all Supreme Court judges. While it isn’t written into the Supreme Court Act that jurists at the highest court be bilingual, this policy is part of a cultural mosaic that has been foundational to Canada’s Constitution and policies regarding bilingualism. But does it need to be this way? Are there more ways of being inclusive of Indigenous peoples in the justice system?

My ancestors spoke our Tsimshian Sm’alygax, Dene Chipewyan, and Michif languages. Unfortunately, I cannot speak my Indigenous languages – with the exception of a few words –  because of the imposition of colonial and assimilationist policies and dispossession from our traditional territories. When I travel in Canada, I try to learn of some of the protocols, laws, cultures and languages of the Indigenous peoples of the territories I am visiting. This is a small but important gesture to enact when we are guests on other people’s lands. It is important to include Indigenous representation and local Indigenous juries, language, leadership, and legal traditions into our Canadian courts, city chambers, legislatures, Parliament, and the Senate.

Inviting the Indigenous Bar Association was one important step that the Supreme Court of Canada has taken to build a better relationship with the Indigenous bar. Yet, much more is required to foster relationships through the court system and to honour its Aboriginal and treaty rights with Indigenous peoples.  I hope that in the following years, we will also see a painting of an Indigenous Chief Justice also adorning the walls of Canada’s highest court.

Protesting against Islamaphobia Toronto

On February 17th, 2017 I was at work in downtown Toronto when I heard yelling coming from Dundas street. When I looked out the window to see who was making this noise, I was told that there was an anti-Muslim rally at the Masjid mosque. 

I quickly got my jacket and a sign from a Muslim friend that was made for the #MuslimBan protests. These protests were only two weeks before at the American consulate a few blocks away on University Avenue. 

In the past few weeks there has been an onslaught of attacks against Muslim people. We’ve seen this with the ban of Muslim people from seven Middle Eastern countries from entering the US, the attack on the Quebec Mosque resulting in six Muslim men’s deaths, and with this recent anti-Muslim protest that happened in Toronto. Having witnessed these events transpire in the news directly affects my Muslim friends, but it also affects us all.

In these past few weeks I’ve often thought of human rights lawyer, Alan Borovoy’s famous quote “the freedom of no one is safe unless the freedom of everyone is safe”. I don’t see myself as being safe unless my Muslim friends are also safe and able to freely practice their faith without fear. I’m not Muslim, but I want to live in a world where my Muslim friends are able to walk down the street and feel safe that they aren’t going to be targeted because they may be wearing a hijab. 

When I heard that there was an anti-Muslim protest happening my heart hardened and I couldn’t sit idly by and let this happen. I had to stand up against this vitriolic hate. I then took the sign and went downstairs to the mosque where the protestors were at, but they had already left. Only within a few minutes, this religiously targeted protest had dissipated.

I was left standing on the street with a poster that read “Peace Muslim. Humbled by the heart of the majority”. In my brief time standing on the corner, a few people came to thank me for showing my solidarity with Muslims. I was touched by a random stranger who thanked me. In that moment, I felt a love and a kinship and intrinsically knew that there’s a strong love for our community of Toronto.

In the past few weeks, we’ve seen the incredible amount of love from ordinary citizens who have taken to the streets, courts, airports, and mosques to shout our solidarity with each other for our inalienable human rights. As demonstrated, there’s an imperative need to continue to raise our voices, be present, and stand up for our rights to be free, equal, and inclusive of all people regardless of faith, race, or ethnic origin.

Let’s keep at it because we need to keep our hope alive, without it, we’ve given up and we can’t let that happen.