Philippe Dufresne of the Canadian Human Rights Commission will deliver this year’s keynote address at the annual Jean-Gabriel Castel Conference on International Law & International Organizations at the Glendon campus.
Dufresne's bilingual talk, “From a Medical Model to the Model of Rights: The Impact of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Canadian Law”, will take place Tuesday, March 8, at 7:30pm in Glendon’s BMO Conference Centre, Glendon Hall.
Right: Philippe Dufresne
As director and senior counsel of the Canadian Human Rights Commission's Litigation Services Division, Dufresne is responsible for the commission's representation before courts and administrative tribunals in precedent-setting cases raising issues of human rights law. He has represented the commission before the Supreme Court of Canada on several occasions, including in cases dealing with the duty to accommodate, parliamentary privilege, and the independence and impartiality of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal.
He has also appeared before the Senate Subcommittee on Human Rights on the issue of employment equity. From 2003 to 2004, he was a legal officer responsible for international criminal tribunals with the United Nations, Human Rights & Humanitarian Law Division of the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Dufresne is a part-time professor at the University of Ottawa where he teaches human rights law and appellate advocacy. He is currently writing a book on human rights law in Canada.
The conference is open to everyone, but seating is limited. To RSVP, e-mail events@glendon.yorku.ca or call 416-487-6727.