THE IBA SUPPORTS ETIENNE ESQUEGA AND CATHERINE RHINELANDER OF THE GOOD GOVERNANCE COALITION FOR LSO BENCHER
OTTAWA, ONT – The Indigenous Bar Association in Canada (the “IBA”) wishes to express its full support for IBA members Etienne Esquega and Catherine Rhinelander who are running as part of the Good Governance Coalition for the Law Society of Ontario (the “LSO”) upcoming bencher elections.
The IBA is committed to advancing justice for Indigenous peoples and strongly supports increasing diversity and inclusion in the legal profession as part of this overall goal. As a self-regulating profession, ensuring that those elected to the position of bencher are also committed to equity, diversity, inclusion and ending all forms of discrimination in the legal profession, is incredibly important. The Good Governance Coalition, which includes Mr. Esquega and Ms. Rhinelander as well as 43 other candidates, are united on the importance of working to create an equitable, diverse, and inclusive legal profession and one that “value[s] diversity over division.”1
In the last few years there has been an increase in hate, discrimination, and push-back against even minimal steps to increase cultural competency, acknowledge the dark truths of the Canadian legal system’s and Canada’s past, and working towards a better—more inclusive and just—future. With the 2023 bencher elections, lawyers in Ontario have the opportunity to show that truth and reconciliation is more than just words; it is action.
The LSO bencher elections are being held from April 19-28, 2023. The IBA unequivocally endorses and encourages all IBA members and allies to vote for Mr. Esquega and Ms. Rhinelander, as two Indigenous lawyers who are dedicated to increasing diversity, inclusion, and advancing reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in the legal profession.
Mr. Esquega was born and raised in Thunder Bay. He is a member of the Biinjitiwaabik Zaaging Anishinaabek (Rocky Bay First Nation) and is a long-standing IBA member. He graduated from Osgoode Hall Law School and was called to the Bar of Ontario in 2005. Etienne has been in private practice since his call to the bar and has had the privilege of being exposed to many areas of civil litigation and general counsel files earlier on in his career. Among his many accomplishments, from 2016-2019 he was a member and co-chair of the Indigenous Advisory Group of the LSO, has been bencher with the LSO since 2019, and is a member of the Ontario Civil Rules Committee (appointee of Chief Justice G.B. Morawetz of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice).
Ms. Rhinelander is a member of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation and long-standing IBA member. Catherine was awarded an LL.B. from Dalhousie University and she joined the Ministry of the Attorney General as an Assistant Crown Attorney in 2007, prior to which she worked as criminal defence counsel for 14 years. In 2016, Catherine was seconded to the joint inquiry team representing Ontario at the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG). Throughout the years, she has volunteered with many Indigenous organizations, including being the co-chair of the Indigenous Advisory Group of the LSO and the secretary for the Ontario Crown Attorney’s Association Committee of Diversity and Inclusion.
For more information on the LSO 2023 bencher elections, please visit: https://lso.ca/about- lso/2023-bencher-election
For more information about the Good Governance Coalition and full list of candidates, please visit: https://www.goodgovernancecoalition.ca/team
The IBA is a national non-profit association comprised of Indigenous lawyers (practicing and non- practicing), legal academics and scholars, articling clerks and law students, including graduate and post-graduate law students. Our mandate is to promote the advancement of legal and social justice for Indigenous Peoples in Canada and the reform of laws and policies affecting Indigenous Peoples.