McKercher LLP Lecture Series Presents: Ena Chadha, LLB, LLM

Alumni Career Events Conferences and Workshops General Guest Speakers

The Inclusion and Dignity Fallacy: 25 Years of Disability Advocacy After Eldridge

Ena Chadha is an experienced human rights lawyer, investigator, educator and mediator, called to the Ontario Bar in 1994. A proud member of the South Asian community of Brampton, she has dedicated her career to working in the areas of equality rights and conflict resolution.

From July 2020 to August 2021, Ena served as Chief Commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) leading the OHRC during a transition period and the unprecedented challenges of the COVID19 pandemic. Prior to her appointment as Chief Commissioner, Ena served as co-reviewer of the systemic racism review of the Peel District School Board and Chair of the Board of Directors of the Human Rights Legal Support Centre (2018-2020 and present) and Vice-Chair with the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (2007-2015), where she rendered several noteworthy decisions.

Previously, Ena was Director of Litigation with ARCH: Disability Law Centre (1999-2007). She has appeared before various tribunals, trial and appellate courts, including prominent constitutional challenges at the Supreme Court of Canada, advancing Charter rights in the areas of workers compensation, immigration law and government services.

From 1994-1999, Ena practiced privately in the areas of human rights, employment law and refugee law and also served as external counsel to the OHRC. She has a Journalism degree from Ryerson, and received her LL.B. from University of Saskatchewan. She obtained her LL.M. degree from Osgoode in 2008, studying critical disability theory.

Ena holds certificates in Advance Alternate Dispute Resolution (Negotiations & Mediations); Intensive Trial Advocacy; and Mental Health Law. Ena has spoken widely on gender, race, disability and harassment. She has taught Administrative law at Osgoode Hall Law School and teaches Negotiations and Power & Politics as a sessional lecturer with the Schulich School of Business. Ena has spoken and published extensively on equality rights, including a co-authored a chapter on Women with Disabilities in Oxford University Press authoritative textbook The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

With in-depth knowledge of human rights processes and systemic discrimination, Ena’s private practice has included conducting impartial investigations into complex allegations of racism, disability failure to accommodate, religious discrimination, sexual harassment and bullying in employment and academic environments. Ena served as a senior consultant on the team that evaluated George Brown College’s initiatives in the areas of Indigenous Truth and Reconciliation and Anti-Racism and Diversity.

During her tenure as Chief Commissioner of the OHRC, Ena advanced the transformative agreement with the Peel Regional Police to commit to a Human Rights Project focused on eradicating systemic racism in policing. She initiated and led the OHRC’s campaign to ensure the post-secondary education sectors deliver on human rights compliance and eliminate systemic disparities. In addition to her commitment to access to justice, as a recent survivor, Ena participates in various charitable initiatives to promote education and research about triple negative breast cancer, is a Board member of DAWN Canada and has resumed the role of Chair of the Human Rights Legal Support Centre.

This event is free and open to the public please register to receive the link to participate virtually.

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Event Details

When:
Time:
12:00 PM - 01:00 PM CST
Location:
Online via Zoom

Contact

Claire Underhill