Ombudsman nominated as one of Canada’s most influential lawyers

(TORONTO, June 2, 2017) – Ontario Ombudsman Paul Dubé is among the nominees for Canadian Lawyer magazine’s Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers in Canada.
Online voting for the Top 25 is open until June 12, and results will be announced in August.

Cast your vote here (voting closes June 12, 2017).

The Top 25 Most Influential Layers 2016

The list recognizes lawyers “who have played a significant role in the legal profession and Canadian and international society in the last year to year and a half,” says the magazine. “It’s about people who have power and influence the laws, justice system and legal profession in Canada and abroad today.”

Mr. Dubé, who began his five-year term as Ombudsman on April 1, 2016, was recognized for the significant work he and his office have accomplished in the past year, notes the website for the competition:

“I took the reins only a year ago, but he has hit the ground running, with some hard-hitting reports, including police responses to people in crisis and issues with solitary confinement in prisons,” it says.

The Ombudsman’s latest report, Out of Oversight, Out of Mind, recommended reforms to segregation of inmates in Ontario jails. Last summer, he also recommended changes to how police are trained to de-escalate conflict situations (report: A Matter of Life and Death), and improvements to services for adults with developmental disabilities who are in crisis (report: Nowhere to Turn).

The government has pledged to address all 114 of his recommendations to date.

In addition to these and other systemic investigations, Mr. Dubé has overseen the expansion of his mandate, which has effectively doubled, to include all Ontario municipalities, universities and school boards, in addition to provincial government bodies. He has focused promoting positive change, fairness and accountability by building constructive relationships with stakeholders and the public.

Canadian Lawyer will choose the top five lawyers in five categories, through a combination of online votes and internal judging. Mr. Dubé is one of 25 lawyers listed in the “government/non-profits/associations” category. Among others in related fields on the list are former federal corrections ombudsman Howard Sapers (recently appointed to review Ontario’s correctional system) and Chief Ontario Human Rights Commissioner Renu Mandhane, both of whom Mr. Dubé consulted in connection with his work on solitary confinement; and Justice Michael Tulloch, whose recent review of police oversight in Ontario recommended the Ombudsman’s mandate be expanded to include all police oversight bodies.
 

For more information, contact:
Linda Williamson, Director of Communications
416-586-3426, lwilliamson@ombudsman.on.ca