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MATAS LAW SOCIETY MEMBERSHIP

At this momentous time for the Jewish legal community in Canada, we appreciate your commitment to contribute to fighting antisemitism and standing up for human rights. 

We hope you will take full advantage of the exclusive opportunities for Matas Law Society members:

  • Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
  • Access to unique networking opportunities with prominent lawyers and activists
  • Automatic B’nai Brith lodge membership
  • Opportunities to improve the state of human rights in Canada by getting involved with some of the major cases that B’nai Brith is involved with on the national stage

MATAS LAW SOCIETY MEMBERSHIP

At this momentous time for the Jewish legal community in Canada, we appreciate your commitment to contribute to fighting antisemitism and standing up for human rights. 

We hope you will take full advantage of the exclusive opportunities for Matas Law Society members:

  • Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
  • Access to unique networking opportunities with prominent lawyers and activists
  • Automatic B’nai Brith lodge membership
  • Opportunities to improve the state of human rights in Canada by getting involved with some of the major cases that B’nai Brith is involved with on the national stage

The Current Committees

Deschênes Commission Committee: Advocating for the release of Holocaust records

In 1985, Jules Deschênes, Chief Justice of the Superior Court of Quebec, having been appointed by Prime Minister Mulroney, completed his inves-tigation of Canada’s complicity of accepting Nazi war criminals and Nazi collaborators after the Second World War. Only the first of two reports and a narrative of the events written by Historian Alti Rodal (the Rodal Report) was released to the public. The first report led to the identification of 26 Nazi war criminals/collaborators that legal action was taken against with mixed results. The second report, which was never released, identi-fied 121 persons of interest. Parts of the Rodal report have been released. You can read copy of it by clicking here.

Canadians deserve to know the truth, and victims of the Holocaust deserve to have the complete story of their suffering told. Canada is an outlier regarding releasing its Holocaust records.

The Deschene Commission Committee members have been meeting with government officials and M.P.’s lobbying on behalf of the Matas Law Society to release all Holocaust records.

David Matas, David Rosenfeld, Michael Wenig, Rachel Silber

Add a link to the policy paper here

Interested in joining the committee?

AGUNOT Committee: Proposal to Law Society of Ontario amendment to professional code of conduct.

Arising out of a Matas Law Society webinar on the law of divorced or widowed Orthodox Jewish woman, several Matas Law Society family lawyers got to together to discuss an amendment to the Law Society of Ontario’s Code of Professional Conduct that would mirror the Family Law Reform Act’s prohibition against refusing a GET.

Law Society staff reviewed the proposal and made helpful suggestions on how to improve it. The Committee decided to wait until the start of a new Convocation before re-addressing the proposal with the Law Society.

Steve Benmore

Add More Names

Add link to the proposal

Interested in joining the committee?

Foreign Influence Transparency Registry in Canada (FITR)

The FITR committee was convened in response to the Government of Canada’s request for public consultation on how Canada can better protect itself from and stop foreign interference in Canada’s domestic and foreign policy.

Committee Chair: Sarah Teich

For Sarah’s paper to the Senate Committee click here

Interested in joining the committee?

THE MATAS LAW SOCIETY IS CANADA WIDE

MLS in Edmonton

MLS in Winnipeg

MLS in Montreal

MLS in Toronto

MLS in Ottawa

MLS in Vancouver

Testimonials

"Joining the society gives you the tools you need to assist clients and to participate in legal actions and campaigns to fight antisemitism in Canada."

– Howard Levitt

"We need a group of strong, smart committed lawyers to help fight this fight and keep our community safe."

– Sarah Teich

"Most Jewish lawyers are not aware of the tools available to combat antisemitism. MLS has a crucial role in informing and educating Jewish lawyers in the mechanisms, the tools and the means of getting the word across."

– Michael Bergman

"MLS gives us the opportunity to bring senior, midterm and junior lawyers together for the same joint cause, and to do right by the Canadian society, the legal society and the Jewish society."

– Steven Benmor

MATAS LAW SOCIETY MEMBERSHIP

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