City of Toronto: Access, Equity and Human Rights Awards 2008 winners

Yvette Nolan

Yvette Nolan (Algonquin) is a playwright, dramaturg, and director. Yvette has helped to develop the Aboriginal community voice through her own work as a playwright, as well as by encouraging, promoting and producing Aboriginal playwrights and performers.

Yvette has been active in eliminating hate, racism and homophobia through plays developed for and presented at conferences. After performances, she will often lead discussions on the issues. She has supported and encouraged young Aboriginal people in theatre through the Young Voices Program, which gives young playwrights an opportunity to develop and workshop their plays with professional actors. She regularly represents Aboriginal artists and interests on various panels, committees, and agencies in Toronto and across the country.

Yvette has also worked to build ties worldwide with other indigenous communities by showcasing Canadian Aboriginal theatre to the world, and by importing other indigenous cultural theatre to Canada.

In 1996, she was the Aboriginal Writer in Residence at Brandon University, where she wrote the first draft of Annie Mae's Movement. She was the President of the Playwrights Union of Canada from 1998- 2001, and of Playwrights Canada Press from 2003-2005. She is currently the Artistic Director of Native Earth Performing Arts, and the past President of the Indigenous Performing Arts Alliance. Last season, she was one of the National Arts Centre's Playwrights-In-Residence.

In addition to her work in the cultural industries, she is a member of the City of Toronto's Aboriginal Affairs Committee and is actively involved in many community initiatives.

Métis Artists' Collective
The Métis Artists' Collective (MAC) is a non-profit group of Aboriginal musicians, writers, filmmakers, dancers, and visual and media artists. By staging events in Toronto, they have raised awareness of their culture and nurtured emerging talent along the way.

For the past five years, MAC has presented the annual Métis Arts Festival, a celebration of Métis artistic talent and Aboriginal culture. The festival showcases both traditional and contemporary Aboriginal art forms and initiatives, such as Métis fiddling and jigging, First Nation drumming, Inuit throat singing, genealogical and historical presentations, visual arts, new digital media, multi-media, film, television, and performance arts. It even offers youth an opportunity to learn about Aboriginal culture with a wide variety of kid-friendly games and activities held on Kids' Day.


Bernard Leroux President	Virginia Barter Director

Karen Drake Board Member	Krista Delbaere Founding Director

Driven entirely by the efforts of volunteers, the Métis Artists' Collective has been working tirelessly to increase knowledge and awareness of Métis heritage and traditions. At their founding meeting in 2003, it was agreed that the inspiration for the Collective's vision would be drawn from Louis Riel's stirring prophecy:

Out from Under - Ryerson University and Royal Ontario Museum
In December of 2006, faculty members of the School of Disability Studies at Ryerson University launched a seminar that focused on the history of disability issues in Canada. Rather than preparing a chronology of events and people, they decided to examine a social history, one that emerges from personal experience.

An enthusiastic collective of students, alumni, activists and scholars was formed in response to an open call. Each participant started with a singular object that represented a particular era or moment in Canadian disability history. Objects included a shovel, a watch, a flag, a storage trunk, an IQ testing kit and a baby's bassinette.


Kathryn Church Associate Professor Ryerson University	Melanie Panitch Director School of Disability Studies Ryerson University	Catherine Frazee Professor of Distinction Ryerson University

Marie Bountrogianni President & Executive Director ROM Governors Royal Ontario Museum	Cheryl Blackman Director Visitor Experience Royal Ontario Museum	Christine Karcza ROM Trustee Royal Ontario Museum

The exhibit was presented at the Abilities Arts Festival in Toronto in October, 2007. Representatives from the Royal Ontario Museum recognized in this exhibit a bold and unique approach to the claiming of public history and pursued a collaboration with Ryerson's School of Disability Studies. Together, this team of scholars and activists made history when Out from Under: Disability, History and Things to Remember showcased at the ROM from April through July 2008.

Centre for Independent Living in Toronto (CILT)

Nancy Barry
Peer Support/Volunteer Coordinator, Centre for Independent Living in Toronto

Centre for Independent Living in Toronto (CILT) operates on the philosophy of the Independent Living movement which was developed in response to traditional models of providing rehabilitation services. CILT's aim is to develop and implement dignified social services that empower individuals rather than create dependencies. They encourage people with disabilities to take control of their own lives by exercising their right to examine options, make choices, take risks and even make mistakes.

CILT is the founding partner and has driven the Gateways to Cancer Screening project, which sought to explore the experiences and needs of women with mobility disabilities who require breast, cervical and colorectal cancer screening. Other project partners include the Canadian Cancer Society, Mount Sinai, Faculty of Nursing at the University of Toronto, St. Michael's and Springtide Resources.

Gateways to Cancer Screening was explicitly designed to be user-driven. The project brought together women with experience in disability rights activism, community work, clinical practice and women's health research. At small focus groups, led by fellow wheelchair-users, participants were encouraged to share their experiences of cancer screening. Recommendations for positive change flowed from the discussions.

The ultimate goal of the project is to ensure that the recommendations will reach the healthcare professionals and organizations that offer cancer screening:

Deena Ladd

Deena Ladd has been working to improve the working conditions for immigrants, racialized communities and low-wage earners for almost 20 years. These workers are often women who are the most marginalised and vulnerable. She has been successful in establishing new initiatives, partnerships and linkages to shine a light on exploitation and discrimination.

She was an organizer with the International Ladies Garment Workers Union (now known as UNITE HERE) for seven years. She worked with garment workers, homebased workers, social service, retail and manufacturing workers to organize to improve conditions and take leadership in the union. Deena has developed and taught courses, workshops and training sessions for rank and file unionized women, young workers and workers of colour for trade unions and federations.

Deena is the co-ordinator of a worker's centre called The Workers' Action Centre. The Workers' Action Centre works with low-waged immigrant workers, women, racialized communities and low wageworkers in precarious jobs that face discrimination, violations of rights, with little or no benefits.

Deena currently serves on the Metcalf Foundation Community Program Advisory Committee addressing issues of poverty and community organizing. . Other organizations with whom she has worked with include the Maquila Solidarity Network, the Council of Agencies Serving South Asians, Desh Pardesh, Toronto Coalition Against Racism, and HomeNet (International Network of Home Based Worker Organizations).

Heather McGregor

In all her activities, Heather acts as an advocate on behalf of women and girls, and helps give voice to those who are unable to have access to mainstream institutions. She is active in outreach to diverse communities and mentors young women and staff to achieve their potential.

As the Chief Executive Officer at YWCA Toronto for the past 14 years, Heather has overseen a budget of $22million, a staff of 300 and over 45 programs which provide housing, employment, and group support for women and girls. She has developed and strengthened the women's advocacy voice for the YWCA and has significantly increased the amount of affordable and supportive housing for women in Toronto. She has previously worked at St. Stephen's Community House, St. Christopher House, and University Settlement and is committed to the development of the social service sector.

Heather has also taken a volunteer leadership role in many community organizations. She has served on the Board of Directors of the Social Planning Council, her son's and daughter's daycares and Homes First. She has served with the United Way and the Laidlaw Foundation. For seven years she has also been a Board Member at St. Michael's Hospital.

Heather took leadership in the Anglican Church at a time when women did not do so. She was the first woman Warden in her parish of St. Mary Magdalene, served as the Secretary of the Advisory Board, and is currently the Chair of the Advisory Board, the Deputy Rector's Warden and represents the parish on the Parkdale Deanery Council.

Heather has also been a specialized foster parent for the Metro Children's Aid Society and has taught high school in rural Saskatchewan.

Anna Willats

For almost a quarter century, Anna has been a community activist on the social justice scene. From anti-poverty demonstrations to LGBT2S cultural events, to police accountability issues, her work in the queer community has improved the lives of all Toronto residents.

Anna Willats was Pride Toronto's 2008 Honoured Dyke and has been out and proud since 1982. She is the mother of two wonderful young people. Her activism in Toronto started with Lesbians Against the Right and at demonstrations organized by the Right To Privacy Committee in 1982. She had the great privilege of working with and learning from an amazing group of feminist women at the Toronto Rape Crisis Centre from 1982 to the present, where she honed her counselling, advocacy, and organizing skills. She's a professor in the Assaulted Women's and Children's Counsellor/Advocate Program at George Brown College.

As a result of the settlement between the Toronto Police Services Board and the Toronto Women's Bathhouse Committee (after the infamous 2000 raid on the "Pussy Palace"), she conducted a consultation with the queer and trans communities on their relationship with Toronto Police, which led to several recommendations. She has worked with the Parkdale Activity Recreation Centre on an award winning program to improve access for people with disabilities. Anna is also a member of the Mayworks Festival of Working People and the Arts, the Toronto Police Accountability Coalition, and the Toronto Rape Crisis Centre/Multicultural Women Against Rape.

George Elliott Clarke

George Elliott Clarke is a longstanding community worker and mentor in the indigenous African-Canadian community. A poet and author, he was born in Windsor, Nova Scotia, near the Black Loyalist community of Three Mile Plains, a seventh-generation Canadian of African-American and Mi'Kmaq Amerindian heritage.

A graduate of the University of Waterloo, Dalhousie University and Queen's University, he is now the inaugural E.J. Pratt Professor of Canadian Literature at the University of Toronto. An Assistant Professor of English and Canadian Studies at Duke University, North Carolina (1994-1999), Clarke also served at the Seagram's Visiting Chair in Canadian Studies at McGill University (1998-1999), as a Noted Scholar at the University of British Columbia (2002) and as a Visiting Scholar at Mount Allison University (2005). He has also worked as an editor, social worker, parliamentary aide and newspaper columnist.

While his academic credentials and writing accomplishments are impeccable, he has never forgotten his beginnings as a social worker in Halifax.

He continues to be recognized in Toronto for his significant community service to improve race relations with marginalized communities and new immigrants. His outspoken support for efforts to Stop the Violence, and public forum debates have made all Canadians aware of Canada's diverse heritage and multicultural contributions.

His many honours include the Portia White Prize for Artistic Achievement (1988), Governor-General's Award for Poetry (2001), the National Magazine Gold Medal for Poetry (2001), the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Achievement Award (2004), the Trudeau Fellow Prize (2005), and the Order of Nova Scotia. In 2008, he was named an Officer of the Order of Canada.

Avvy Go
Avvy Go

Avvy Go is the Clinic Director of Metro Toronto Chinese & Southeast Asian Legal Clinic. Since her call to the Bar in 1991, she has worked exclusively in the legal clinic system, serving the legal needs of low income individuals and families, the majority of who are non-English speaking immigrants and refugees.

She received her B.A. in economics and management studies from the University of Waterloo, LL.B. from the University of Toronto, and LL.M. from Osgoode Hall Law School.

Avvy was the Recipient of 2002 President's Award of the Women's Law Association of Ontario. Between 2001 and 2003, she was a bencher of the Law Society of Upper Canada. Re-elected in November, 2006, she is currently a bencher, the Vice-Chair of the Access to Justice Committee and a member of the Equity and Aboriginal Issues Committee of the Law Society. Since 2005, she has been a part time adjudicator of the Health Professions Appeal and Review Board. Over the years she has lectured on immigration, human rights, and employment law. She has also published articles dealing with redress and reparations, constitutional litigation, and other legal and policy issues affecting immigrants and racialized communities.

Apart from her legal practice, Avvy spends much time doing community organizing and advocacy work. She has served as Vice-Chair of the Court Challenges Program of Canada, President of the Chinese Canadian National Council (Toronto Chapter) and board member of the Urban Alliance on Race Relations. In 2007, she co-founded the Colour of Poverty Campaign - a campaign to address the increasing racialization of poverty in Ontario.

Carl E. James

Carl James has been teaching in the in the Faculty of Education, as well as in the graduate program in Sociology and Social Work at York University since 1993. He is the founding Director of the Centre for Education & Community and was formerly the Affirmative Action Officer at York University. Carl has a PhD in sociology and is a visiting lecturer in the Teacher Training Department at Uppsala University, Sweden. On campus at York University, he is a tireless advocate of anti-racism and has been involved in many initiatives aimed at making schools more responsive to racial minorities.

During the 1980s Carl worked in the low income communities of Regent Park and Jamestown, which launched much of his activities in race relations. From this work came the book Making It: Black Youth Racism and career aspiration in a big city; and the follow-up video, Making it. His writings about race, racialization and identity capture the 'lived experiences' of people as they encounter racism and racialization in their daily lives. From these experiences, he has developed much theoretical knowledge. In his analysis, he has the rare capacity to appreciate various types of oppressions and to view them as mutually influential and interrelated.

In addition to an extensive list of published books, articles, research reports and book reviews, Carl has contributed to countless conferences and symposia across North, Central and South America, Europe and Australia. Beyond this, he continues to share his knowledge and experience with groups at the high school and postsecondary education level.


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