Speakers: Standing Up for the Jewish Community: Three Years of Legal Action
Moderator: Richard Marceau, Senior Vice-President, Strategic Initiatives and General Counsel, Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs
A lawyer and member of the Barreau du Québec and the Law Society of Ontario, Richard is a graduate of Université Laval’s Faculty of Law, Western University’s Faculty of Law and France’s École nationale d’administration. He was elected to the House of Commons in 1997 and twice re-elected before joining CIJA.
Richard is the author of Juif, une histoire québécoise and its English-language adaptation, A Quebec Jew: From Bloc Québécois MP to Jewish Activist, which received the Helen and Stan Vine Canadian Jewish Book Award in 2012. With Rabbi Adam Scheier, he also compiled and edited the Canadian Haggadah Canadienne.
Richard received the Canadian Jewish Congress’ Saul Hayes Human Rights Award in 2004, the Republic of Poland’s Silver Cross of Merit in 2013, and the King Charles III Coronation Medal in 2025. His writing has appeared in La Presse, Le Devoir, The Globe and Mail, The Toronto Star, National Post, The Ottawa Citizen, The Times of Israel, The Jerusalem Post and other publications. He has appeared on Radio-Canada, CBC, CTV, Global and other media outlets.
Speakers
Bruce Elman, Co-Chair, CIJA Legal Task Force
Bruce Elman is Co-Chair of CIJA’s Legal Task Force and Professor of Law Emeritus at the University of Windsor, where he served as Dean of Law from 2000 to 2011. He served two terms as Chair of the Law Commission of Ontario’s Board of Governors. In 2018, the Law Society of Ontario bestowed an Honorary Doctor of Laws on Bruce in recognition of his contributions to the legal profession and the cause of justice.
Before joining the University of Windsor, Bruce was the Belzberg Professor of Constitutional Law and Chair of the Centre for Constitutional Studies at the University of Alberta. He has held visiting appointments at the University of Toronto, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Niigata University in Japan and Stanford Law School.
Bruce’s leadership within the Jewish community has included serving as President of Congregation Beth Shalom, President of the Jewish Federation of Edmonton and Chair of the UJA Campaign. In Windsor, he was Vice-President of Ritual at Shaar Hashamayim Synagogue. As Co-Chair of the LTF, he promotes its work through community outreach, speaking with synagogues and community organizations about the assistance it provides and how community members can access its services.
Mark Freiman, Co-Chair, CIJA Legal Task Force
Mark Freiman is Co-Chair of CIJA’s Legal Task Force and a Toronto lawyer and arbitrator recognized as one of Canada’s leading counsel in fields ranging from commercial litigation and defamation to administrative law, Indigenous rights and Human Rights, an area in which his expertise is recognized nationally and internationally. He has appeared in leading cases before all levels of court, including the Supreme Court of Canada, as well as in domestic and international arbitrations.
Mark served as Ontario’s Deputy Attorney General and Deputy Minister responsible for Native Affairs from 2000 to 2004. He later acted as Lead Commission Counsel to the Air India Public Inquiry and in significant proceedings involving hate speech and freedom of expression. He was also an Adjunct Professor of Law at Osgoode Hall Law School, where he taught administrative law and legal ethics. In 2020, he was appointed a Member of the Order of Ontario.
Mark was President of Canadian Jewish Congress from 2008 to 2011. As part of his work with the LTF, he was co-counsel in the successful Rawlinson judicial review, which confirmed that the Toronto District School Board had acted outside its legal authority when it disbanded a school advisory council.
David Rosenfeld, Partner, Koskie Minsky LLP
David Rosenfeld has been volunteering with the CIJA Legal Task Force’s Campus Team since October 7, 2023, and is lead counsel in two LTF-supported cases involving Toronto Metropolitan University. In Szweras v. Toronto Metropolitan University, David represents a Jewish student who alleges that TMU failed to apply and enforce its policies in response to antisemitic and other harassing conduct following October 7. He is also lead counsel in Schwartz v. Toronto Metropolitan University, involving the alleged doxxing of a Jewish student and TMU’s response. Through these cases, David is helping the LTF pursue institutional accountability and stronger protections for Jewish students on Canadian campuses.
David is a Partner in Koskie Minsky LLP’s Class Action Department and an accomplished litigator whose practice focuses on complex disputes affecting large numbers of people. He has extensive experience in employment, pensions, regulatory negligence, Charter rights, institutional abuse, securities misrepresentation and environmental litigation.
David has represented employees seeking to enforce workplace rights, pensioners protecting their benefits, individuals challenging unfair government treatment, persons with disabilities seeking recourse for institutional harm, and First Nations applicants affected by alleged improper government action. He also represents labour and pension clients in complex employment, organizational and pension-related disputes.
Jamie Spotswood, Partner, Clyde & Co Canada LLP
Jamie Spotswood is one of the leaders of the CIJA Legal Task Force’s K-12 Team, helping guide its response to antisemitism in schools. He is also lead counsel in the LTF-supported civil proceeding involving the Peel District School Board, which seeks institutional accountability and stronger protections for Jewish students.
Jamie is a Partner at Clyde & Co Canada LLP and an experienced commercial litigator and trusted counsel who leads complex cases through trial, appeal, arbitration and negotiated resolution. His practice encompasses complex business disputes, projects and construction litigation, professional liability claims, fraud recovery and defence, insurance coverage disputes, and employment matters. He advises clients across a wide range of sectors, including commercial real estate, construction and infrastructure, professional services, healthcare, transportation and natural resources.
Jamie is recognized in Best Lawyers in Canada for commercial litigation, construction law, professional malpractice law and insurance law; in The Legal 500 as a recommended lawyer in construction law; and in Lexpert for directors and officers liability litigation and professional liability. He serves on Clyde & Co’s global Arbitration Executive and Clyde & Co’s North American Construction Group Executive teams and is actively involved in the firm’s student and professional development programs and various pro bono initiatives.