Please send general inquiries to mail@ccla.org

A. Alan Borovoy

As General Counsel of CCLA, Alan has made presentations to public inquiries and given testimony before parliamentary committees on issues such as mandatory drug-testing in the workplace, wiretapping, and police race-relations. His community organizing activities have included delegations to the federal and provincial governments on issues of capital punishment, religious education in the public schools, the War Measures Act, campus speech codes, and national security and intelligence.

In addition to his work as General Counsel, Alan was a fortnightly columnist for the Toronto Star from 1992-1996. Other media work has included appearances on many public affairs programs, and on open-line television and radio programs. He is published widely across Canada, and is the author of The New Anti-Liberals, Uncivil Obedience: The Tactics and Tales of a Democratic Agitator and When Freedoms Collide: The Case for Our Civil Liberties, which was nominated for the Governor General's Award in 1988. He has also given lectures and public addresses to students, human rights organizations, and policing agencies in Canada and abroad.

Alan has been a visiting professor at the faculties of law at Dalhousie University and the University of Windsor, and a part-time lecturer at the University of Toronto Faculty of Social Work and York University's political science department.

Alan received his B.A. from the University of Toronto in 1953, and his LL.B. from the University of Toronto in 1956. He was admitted to the Ontario Bar in 1958. He has also received four Honourary Doctor of Laws Degrees, the Law Society Medal from the Law Society of Upper Canada in 1989, an Award of Merit from the City of Toronto in 1982, and was inscribed in the Honour Roll of the aboriginal people of Treaty Number 3 in 1991. He was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1982.

• A Toronto Star Profile on Alan Borovoy, CCLA General Counsel - Part 1
  
• A Toronto Star Profile on Alan Borovoy, CCLA General Counsel - Part 2

Donna Gilmour
Donna has been the administrative assistant at CCLA since April, 1990. As the only administrative assistant in the office, Donna works with all the staff members at CCLA.

email address: admin@ccla.org

Noa Mendelsohn Aviv

Director, Freedom of Expression Project

Noa Mendelsohn Aviv joined the Canadian Civil Liberties Association in 2002. Since 2005 she has served as the Director of CCLA’s Freedom of Expression Project, working with CCLA staff, volunteers, the Board and external counsel around issues of free speech, freedom of the press, freedom of religion, and equality. Noa has been involved in numerous CCLA interventions in the Supreme Court of Canada, provincial courts, and human rights tribunals. She has also spoken out frequently in the media, as well as making oral and written submissions to legislative committees and municipal councils. In addition, Noa is an integral member of CCLET’s public education project, engaging students at schools and faculties of education in discussions on the challenges of civil liberties.

Before joining the CCLA, Noa volunteered and worked at the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, and was involved in some leading civil rights cases. Concurrent with her graduate legal studies, she spent several years as a lawyer in a small firm. Her practice areas included litigation, labour, commercial, and corporate law. Noa has also served as Acting Administrative Director of Hebrew University’s Center for Human Rights, and as Field Coordinator for a large research project on eating disorders in women.

Noa earned her law degree (LL.B.) and Masters of Law (LL.M.) from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Israel, where she focused on equality, civil rights, and certain interdisciplinary studies. She was called to the Israeli Bar in May 1998. She received her B.A. (with Distinction) in sociology from York University in Toronto. In her free time, Noa enjoys reading, hiking in leafy spots, and spending time on beaches with her family. She is thrilled to have two small children who are already strong and vocal advocates for their rights (phew!).

email address: mendelsohnaviv@ccla.org

Danielle S. McLaughlin

Director of Education and Administration

Canadian Civil Liberties Association and Education Trust

Having spent her youth involved with social activism, Danielle joined the Canadian Civil Liberties Association and Education Trust in 1988. Since that time, in addition to her work as Director of Administration for the national organization, Danielle has developed the CCLET programmes “Teaching Civil Liberties” and “Civil Liberties in the Schools.” Her article, “Cultivating Habits of Democracy: Asking the Hard Questions,” appeared in the Winter 2004-05 edition of Education Canada.

From discussions with young children on “What is fair?” to heated debates with university, education, and law students on such issues as equality rights, freedom of expression and anti-hate laws, Danielle enjoys challenging people to think about the conflicting values we live with in our democratic system.

As well as providing seminars and workshops on civil liberties and fundamental values to school groups and classrooms from grade 2 through university, Danielle has designed and organized conferences for high school students. These conferences have included such speakers as Alan Borovoy, June Callwood, David Cronenberg and Susan Eng.

Since 1996, CCLET’s “Teaching Civil Liberties” programme has been supported by a grant from the Law Foundation of Ontario. Pre-service student teachers at the faculties of education at Brock, Lakehead, Laurentian, Nipissing, OISE/Toronto, Ottawa, Queen’s, Western, Windsor and York universities have participated in workshops and seminars dealing with the controversial issues they are likely to face once they are in the classroom.

Between 1997 and 2001, in addition to her educational and administrative duties, Danielle represented the Canadian Civil Liberties Association on the Toronto Police Services Board sub-committee on Race Relations.

email address: education@ccla.org

Graeme Norton

Graeme Norton joined the Canadian Civil Liberties Association in June 2007 as the Director of CCLA’s Public Safety Project. His work with CCLA involves providing the Association with legal opinions and research, coordinating interventions in court cases, preparing submissions to legislative committees and other public forums, and mentoring articling students and volunteers.

Prior to joining CCLA, Graeme completed his articles and then practiced law with a boutique labour and employment law firm in Toronto. He graduated from the Faculty of Law at the University of Toronto in 2005, and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and a Master of Arts degree in International Relations, both also from U of T.

While attending law school, Graeme was a volunteer caseworker and Co-director of the student program at the Centre for Spanish Speaking Peoples legal clinic, was a Pro Bono Students Canada volunteer, and spent a summer at CCLA as a Donner Civic Leadership fund fellow.

Graeme currently sits on the Board of Directors of Community Outreach Programs in Addictions (COPA), a harm reduction organization assisting older adults living with addiction. He originally hails from Vancouver, B.C. and enjoys travel, SCUBA diving, and playing soccer and hockey in his spare time.