Qajaq Robinson is a human rights lawyer and workplace investigator, specializing in the investigation of discrimination, harassment, and sexual harassment complaints in a variety of community and institutional settings. Licenced to practice law in Nunavut and Ontario, Qajaq specializes in restorative justice, administrative law, and creative forms of alternative dispute resolution.

 

Born in Iqaluit and raised in Igloolik, Qajaq is a strong Northern advocate, who is fluent in Inuktitut and English. She is a graduate of the Akitsiraq Law Program – a partnership between the University of Victoria and Nunavut Arctic College. Qajaq articled at Maliiganik Tukisiiniakvik, clerked with judges of the Nunavut Court of Justice under then-Chief Justice Madame Justice Beverley Browne, and then became a Crown prosecutor working with the circuit court in Nunavut for four years.

 

Prior to joining Ethical Associates, Qajaq was as a Commissioner with the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMWIG), where, along with her fellow Commissioners, she was tasked with investigating and reporting on the systemic causes of all forms of violence experienced by Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people. The methodology of the National Inquiry was designed jointly by the Commissioners with the guidance of Elders, Indigenous Knowledge Keepers, family members and survivors and employed an administrative law and restorative justice lens. Moreover, the investigative process was designed to be culturally safe and trauma-informed.

 

During her time at the National Inquiry, Qajaq interviewed hundreds of families and survivors, reviewed thousands of documents, and co-developed the National Inquiry’s findings, Calls for Justice and final report. Qajaq was also assigned by her fellow Commissioners to oversee the forensic audit of over a hundred police files, and to evaluate distinctions-based engagement and guided dialogues with Inuit families, survivors, Elders, Knowledge Keepers, and grassroots organisations. 

 

Prior to her appointment on the MMIWG Inquiry, Qajaq worked as legal counsel at the Specific Claims Tribunal, travelling to First Nations communities across Canada. She was previously an Associate with Borden Ladner Gervais LLP in Ottawa, where she worked on Team North, a multi-disciplinary team of 70 lawyers who performed a variety of work throughout the northern parts of the provinces and in the territories.

 

She also serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Tungasuvvingat Inuit, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to providing cultural and wellness programs to Inuit in Ottawa, as well as the Nunavut Independent Television Network, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and reclamation of Inuit culture and language through TV and film.

 

Qajaq approaches her work with integrity and care, and makes every effort to ensure a transparent and fair process for all participants. She has worked on a wide range of issues involving workplace fairness, resolution of deep conflict, and climate assessments, and works from a trauma-informed perspective.