The following remarks were given by ACTL President-Elect Sandra Forbes at the Advocates’ Society Dinner on June 18, 2026
Thank you, Cynthia, for the very kind introduction.
Recognizing that I am the only thing between you and partying with the dolphins, I will be brief.
Fellow advocates, members of the judiciary and friends – I am truly humbled to address you this evening. Thinking back to past End of Term dinner speakers reminds me of that Sesame Street game – “Which one of these things is not like the other”. In case it is not obvious to you, I am not a Supreme Court Justice, a political leader, an ambassador, famous journalist, actor or comedian – in fact, my spouse, Stephen, assures me that I am not even funny – nor do I have an overwhelming urge to explain to you the intricacies of the rules governing leave to appeal applications to the Supreme Court of Canada.
I am, frankly, one of you – speaking advocate to advocate.
It is a gross understatement to say that the last year and a half has been difficult – and that is so for many reasons, not the least being the Blue Jays’ heart-breaking loss in Game 7 of the World Series – although that is up there.
For the first time, at least in my lifetime, the foundational pillars of our society – which we clearly took for granted and never thought we would need to defend – were visibly shaken.
Personal attacks on Judges, and other attacks on judicial independence and the rule of law, have been constant.
The minority and equality rights that we fought so hard to achieve and to protect are being relentlessly chipped away at.
We have seen a frightening and historic increase in antisemitic behaviour, to levels never seen before, at least in my lifetime.
Having international organizations, such as NATO or the UN, no longer seems so comforting, as we watch aggressors invade, attack and kill with no respect for sovereignty, the law or basic humanity.
The rules-based order that has governed for so long is gone and I don’t see it coming back anytime soon.
It has also been a difficult year for this Society.
Let me preface this by stressing that, when the Advocates Society speaks, people listen. And that is because regardless of the members’ different backgrounds, race, religion, gender, politics and area of law, the Society speaks with one strong voice on shared common values like the importance of the rule of law. This gives the Society immense credibility. I witnessed this throughout my year as President. Ask anyone in the Society’s leadership, they will confirm this. This is an awesome power, one not to be underestimated or ever taken for granted.
But last year, members of this Society found themselves with fundamental differences of opinion on very important issues, differences of opinion that were real and very strongly felt. And that disagreement caused a fracture and strained the collegiality that is a core strength of the Society.
As I reflected on this, I wondered if a failure to effectively communicate played a role. Instead of really listening to each other, acknowledging our differences of opinion, and having a constructive dialogue about them, we perhaps retreated to our respective sandboxes, erected walls, and hunkered down into divided camps. This surely had a negative effect on the power and efficacy of this Society’s voice.
In the aftermath, two things became apparent to me.
First, the importance of never forgetting that it is our differences that make us stronger; that give us the power of an influential voice.
Here, I am going to channel Elmo, my favourite Sesame Street character and one who is wise beyond his red, fuzzy, monster years. Paraphrasing something he said – our differences, on their own, are single strands of thin, bendable wire, but bound together create a strong shield that allows us to protect our shared values.
Second, advocates don’t have the luxury in today’s world to let our differences divide us. We are the last men and women standing who can truly defend against the attacks on the rule of law. Our judges can’t do it. We need to protect their independence. Our politicians have not been consistent in doing so. Our journalists are severely resource strained and faced with the reality of the internet where what is actually true is anyone’s guess and where any extreme view can find support.
Those who seek to dismantle the rule of law for their own personal benefit or political objectives know that we advocates are the last line of defence, so divided is exactly how they want us to be because, very simply, divided, we are a lesser threat to their attempts to dismantle the restrictions that the rule of law rightly places on them. We cannot let them succeed.
Something our Prime Minister said at Davos this year resonated with me on this point. He said – we can no longer just rely on the strength of our values but also need to rely on the value of our strength. And our strength as advocates comes from standing united on the importance of the rule of law, despite our differences.
And, let’s not kid ourselves. We are at war. We have been faced with such a deluge of attacks on the rule of law that I worry that we have stopped being surprised or alarmed. That is dangerous. We cannot become comfortably numb. We have to be relentless in our defence.
And we cannot take any comfort in thinking that this is just a south of the border problem, because it is clearly not.
The Attorney General of Canada, Sean Fraser, expressed his fear in an address to the Canadian Bar Association in February of this year. He said:
“The real scare that I feel is that some future government, empowered by an erosion of our rights and institutions today, will seek to govern for their private interests, will change the rules so they don’t need to cater to the interests of a broad swath of the public, but instead will focus on a narrow slice of the electorate to help them to retain power so they can serve the narrow interests of a particular group who will keep them elected.”
Scary stuff. Is this a real risk in Canada? I certainly hope not but the reality is that the challenges we face in Canada are very real. Let me mention just a few examples.
First, we have seen politicians disrespect the judiciary and threaten judicial independence by (i) making personal attacks on judges, (ii) making statements, which if followed, would threaten a judge’s safety, (iii) demanding apologies from a judge for findings she made in a criminal trial based on the facts and law before her (which findings, by the way, were not appealed), and (iv) demanding more power in the appointment of our judges or expressly a desire to direct judges so they act consistently with the views of politicians.
Second, we have witnessed the increased use of the notwithstanding clause, which was intended to be, and until recently was, used rarely.
Can I just say that it is unfathomable to me that any government in this country would ever think that it is acceptable to, for example, ban a Jewish lawyer who wears a kippa or a Muslim woman who wears a hijab, from representing their client in court. That is not my Canada. As Justice Abella once said in a speech that she gave, a constitution is there to give rights; not take them away.
Third, we have seen at least one province significantly restrict the application of Freedom of Information legislation, reducing government transparency and shielding government conduct from public review. That is dangerous stuff.
So, yes, we are at war, but I am hugely optimistic. Why?
Because it was advocates, like the members of this Society, who argued for and defended the fundamental rights and protections that we enjoy today and it will be advocates who will make sure that they are not taken away.
This Society has the platform and the ability to rise to the occasion and wage war on the attacks on the rule of law. It has a long history of acting when it matters.
For example, it was members of this Society who lobbied for the end of capital punishment.
It was this Society that wrote a paper on judicial independence and responded to the inappropriate comments that politicians have recently made about our judges.
It was members of this Society who appeared in cases before the Supreme Court of Canada advocating for the fundamental rights that we enjoy today, from the rights of criminal accused to MAID to same-sex marriage to true equality rights in countless areas, and the list goes on.
All of us advocates need to be saying, channeling John Fogerty here, “put me in coach, I am ready to play” – ready to hit that home run and resoundingly beat those who challenge the relevance and application of the rule of law.
I am about to embark on a year as President of the American College of Trial Lawyers. The Fellows include both Americans and Canadians, but are overwhelming American. Like the Society, the College’s mandate is focused on protection of judicial independence and the rule of law. Collegiality is also very important for the College which is composed of American Fellows who are Democrats and Republicans. And the College has made various statements and given interviews over the past few years speaking out, in a non-partisan way, against the attacks that the Trump administration has lodged against the rule of law.
Not every Fellow agrees with these statements. Some say the College is straying from its mandate and being political.
But the reality is that everything these days seems political. And the reality is that protecting the rule of law is not political, it is constitutional. And silence is not an option. Silence is a risk. It is a risk to the survival of democracy in both the US and Canada.
I will end with two things.
First, in my travels to date around the US, which have been numerous, in every US city I have visited, I have had at least one Fellow of the College come up to me, unprompted, to apologize – to apologize for how Canada has been treated, especially in light of the long-standing relationship and history between our two countries. They have specifically asked me to convey this message to my colleagues in Canada, and so I pass this onto you to show that the messages sent by the Trump administration are not shared by many of our fellow advocates in the US, who stand with us in defending the rule of law.
Second, in my role as President of the College, I will be so proud to show how Canadian advocates, like the members of this Society, have responded to the call to battle, mounted their horses, and defended the rule of law.
This year will be my chance and my honour to reinforce that this world needs a lot more of Canada, our beautiful, welcoming, diverse, and truly democratic country whose success is grounded on our embracement of our differences as our strengths, and an immovable respect of the rule of law,
As our Prime Minister said in his Davos speech, Canada may be a middle power, but it is not powerless. It has the capacity to build a new order that embodies our values, and I would add, values like judicial independence and the rule of law.
I look forward to fighting the fight to build that new order alongside each and every one of you.
Thank you.