Know Your Legal Rights

 

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Press Release
Sunday, September 14, 2008

The Canadian Somali Congress recently organized a legal conference for the community in Toronto titled “Know your legal rights.”  The conference was held at the Bollywood Masala Restaurant in Etobicoke North.   The Canadian Somali Congress organized this conference because there was a need in the Canadian Somali community to be given a good introduction to legal issues, various aspects of the Canadian criminal justice system, human rights and obligations under Canadian law.   The Canadian Somali community is one of the poorest ethno-cultural groups in Canada and it is facing a rising crime rate.   A substantial number of youth are dealing with various aspects of the Canadian criminal justice system including being incarcerated, serving a sentence in the community or dealing with courts on a regular basis.  
 

The forum was set up in a manner that allowed the invited panelists to speak effectively to a medium-sized audience on their area of interest in the law.   In addition to this, the audience was given a lot of time and opportunity to ask theoretical questions on the law as well as seeking clarification from the assembled legal experts regarding specific personal interactions that they may have had with the Canadian legal system.   The “Know your legal rights” conference was moderated by Canadian Somali Congress National President Ahmed Hussen and Mark Persaud, former Federal Prosecutor, Department of Justice and Honourary Patron of the Canadian Somali Congress.   Mr. Persaud is also the CEO of the Canadian International Peace project which sponsored the event.  
 
The first panelist to speak was the Honourable Mr. Justice Todd Archibald, Justice in the Superior Court of Ontario.   The Honourable Mr. Justice Todd Archibald, B.A. (Hons), LL.B., LL.M. was appointed to the Superior Court of Justice in Ontario in 1999. He is a member of the adjunct faculty at Osgoode Hall Law School where he teaches Advanced Evidence and Advanced Trial Advocacy. Before his appointment, he was a partner at Borden Ladner Gervais LLP where he practised civil and criminal litigation. He has written numerous articles on civil, criminal and environmental law matters.   He covered the topics of:
 
1. Overview of judicial system and courts
2. General dealings with Police officers
3.Traffic Stops
 
The Second panelist to speak was Richard Litkowski who is a defence lawyer.   He obtained his LLB (Osgoode 1989), was called to the bar in 1991 after serving  his  articles  as  a  clerk  to  Chief  Justice  Antonio  Lamer in 1989-1990.  He presently practices criminal law in a chambers setting at both the trial and appellate levels.  He has previously been associated in the practice of criminal law with Ruby & Edwardh and Gold & Fuerst.  He has also contributed  to various publications and continuing legal education panels, is a co-author of the sixth edition of Sentencing, was an instructor at the Bar Admission Course in Criminal Procedure and Advocacy from 1993-2005, has been  a  review  Counsel  and Lecturer at the Downtown Legal Services, (the student run legal aid clinic at the University of Toronto Law School) from 1996-2006,  taught Evidence at Osgoode Hall Law School with Justice Todd Ducharme in the fall of 2006, and  appears  regularly  before the Court of Appeal for Ontario as a Duty Counsel for Inmate Appeals in Toronto and Kingston.   Richard talked about the issue of traffic stops.   He also covered the topics of:
 
4. Entrance into Dwellings
5. Search and Seizure
6. Detention and bail
7. Plea bargains
 
At the end of the event the participants thanked the panelists for taking time from their busy schedule to contribute their legal expertise to the Canadian Somali community.   The assembled community members also thanked the Canadian Somali Congress for organizing this crucial event and urged them to replicate and expand this important initiative.

For further information contact:
 
Ahmed Hussen
National President
Canadian Somali Congress
 
Tel: 613-523-2656
       613-608-5542 (cell)
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.canadiansomalicongress.com
 
The Canadian Somali Congress is a non-partisan non-governmental Canadian organization dedicated to addressing issues of importance to Canadians of Somali heritage. The Congress works collaboratively with governmental, non-governmental organizations and individuals to facilitate the integration of Canadians of Somali heritage and to promote Canadian values.