Kathy Laird is a human rights lawyer and has been a vice-chair and member of several Ontario tribunals including the Pay Equity Tribunal, the Human Rights Board of Inquiry (now the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario) and the Child and Family Services Review Board. She has served as Counsel to the Chair of the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario and as a Senior Policy Advisor at the Ontario Human Rights Commission. She was the founding Executive Director of the Human Rights Legal Support Centre from 2008 to 2017.

 

Kathy worked for many years in Ontario’s legal clinic system, litigating before administrative tribunals and the courts. In 2016, she received the Law Society Medal for her work in promoting access to justice. 

 

In recognition of her work in Ontario's tribunal system, Kathy received the medal of the Society of Ontario Adjudicators and Regulators for outstanding contribution to administrative justice in Ontario. 

 

In 2017, Kathy was retained by the Chair of the Immigration and Refugee Board to conduct an independent qualitative audit of immigration detention hearings across the country to determine if appropriate standards of procedural and substantive fairness were being met. Her report was released in April 2018. 

 

Kathy currently sits as a member of the Nominations Committee for the City of Toronto and in that capacity, participates in the selection of members for Toronto’s adjudicative tribunals.

 

She also provides extensive feedback and guidance on investigations to human rights practitioners as Review Counsel with Ethical Associates Inc.