Neena Gupta Brings Wealth of Experience to Ontario Law Commission

Neena Gupta, Artsci '84, Law '87, is a member of the newly formed Law Commission of Ontario's Board of Governors.

In the summer of 2007, Neena Gupta, Artsci '84, Law '87, was appointed to the Board of Governors of the newly formed Law Commission of Ontario. A partner and practising lawyer at Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP and a passionate advocate for equity issues and human rights, she was honoured to serve on the Commission, which will investigate a broad range of law reform issues in Ontario.

As a Board member, Gupta works with her colleagues to set priorities, as well as review and critique the research submitted to the Commission. "The idea is to look at the administration of justice, including access to justice issues, and say ‘how can we make it better for all Ontarians?'" said Gupta.

In December 2007, the Commission released its mandate. "The Commission will be focusing on areas as diverse as the division of pensions upon a family breakdown, to developing a coherent approach to laws that impact on an elderly population," said Gupta.

Gupta was previously a chair of the Ontario Bar Association's equity group and was very active with the Law Society of Upper Canada's equity advisory group. She has also volunteered for a number of charity groups devoted to helping new immigrants find opportunities in Canada.

In the mid-1990s, Gupta returned to Queen's Law as a sessional instructor to teach Human Rights, where she was impressed with the high level of intelligence and life experience her students brought to the classroom. "It was a phenomenal experience coming back [to Queen's]," she said. "The calibre of students I taught was a real privilege."

The Commission is the second of its kind in the past two decades. Established by Ontario Attorney General Michael Bryant, it is a joint venture of several provincial entities, namely the Law Foundation of Ontario, the Ministry of the Attorney General, all six of the province's law schools, and the Law Society of Upper Canada. This framework insulates the Commission from the government's budgetary constraints, which ultimately led to the dismantling of the province's previous Commission.

September 15, 2007 marked the official launch date for the new Law Commission of Ontario. It consists of an Executive Director - Patricia Hughes, formerly of Bennett Jones LLP - who is responsible for overseeing the Commission's day-to-day management. She in turn reports to the Board of Governors, which in addition to Gupta includes a number of other esteemed volunteers from the legal community, including Dean Patrick Monahan of Osgoode Hall Law School, former Supreme Court justice Frank Iacobucci, Deputy Attorney General of Ontario Murray Segal, and several others. Professor Erik Knutsen of Queen's Law is a member of the Commission's Research Advisory Board, which advises the Board of Governors on research projects and multi-disciplinary project teams.

"All of our projects are fabulous," said Gupta. "So it's a question of choosing which project we want to do first."