Monday August 21, 2017 – Law Times

STEPS TAKEN TO INCREASE DIVERSITY

Ontario recently announced the Judicial Appointments Advisory Committee will be taking steps to increase diversity in the judiciary, including recruiting more judges from indigenous communities.

“Trust in the justice system requires a judiciary that reflects the community,” says Renu Mandhane, chief commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Commission.

The JAAC is bringing in the OHRC to strengthen member training and education in the hopes of addressing any systemic barriers — such as unconscious bias — that may exist in the recruitment process. Mandhane says the commission will consult with the JAAC to “ensure that they are able to effectively recruit a diversity of new judges.”

Changes have been made to the judicial application form to give applicants the options to self-identify as belonging to a racialized community, an ethnic or cultural group, as having a disability, as indigenous and as LGBTQ2+.