FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Nov. 25, 2009

OTTAWA – Kim Pate of Ottawa, Executive Director of the Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies, is the recipient of the CBA’s 2009 Touchstone Award, recognizing her outstanding achievements in promoting equality in the legal community in Canada.

“A committed and effective social justice advocate, Kim Pate has dedicated her life to advancing the human rights, civil liberties and equality of criminalized women and Aboriginal women,” says Beth Bilson, Chair of the CBA’s Equity Committee.

Described as “an agent of change, and a believer in rights, Kim Pate stands up for women’s rights and the rights of people who may not have a voice. Not only has she devoted countless hours to responding to the needs and concerns of individual women and groups of women in prison, Kim Pate has also been instrumental in building coalitions across the country with other equality-seeking women's groups and progressive organizations.

She has brought her insight and experience to bear on the importance of tackling systemic social problems through coalition work. In this capacity, she has worked with feminist legal scholars, lawyers, sociologists, and front-line transition house and rape crisis centre workers, to name only a few of the communities and individuals with which she engages daily.

Kim Pate graduated from Dalhousie Law School in 1984 with honours in the Clinical Law Program. Since 1992 she has been the Executive Director of the Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies, a volunteer organization devoted to supporting and advocating with and on behalf of marginalized, victimized, criminalized and institutionalized women and girls.

Prior to her work with the Elizabeth Fry Society she did research and developed programs and services for youth in care of the state, as well as criminalized and imprisoned youth and men, while working with The John Howard Society in Calgary and the John Howard Society of Canada. Her work and efforts have consistently recognized and respected the contributions of women who have experienced marginalization, discrimination and oppression and she seeks to credit and empower these women.

The Touchstone Award celebrates the accomplishments of an individual or an organization that has excelled in promoting equality in the legal profession, the judiciary, or the legal community in Canada. The award recognizes significant national initiatives to advance equality and/or contribution relating to race, disability, sexual orientation or other diversity issues in the community.

The 2009 CBA Touchstone Award will be presented to Kim Pate at the CBA Awards Ceremony on Friday, Nov. 27, 2009, at the King Edward Hotel in Toronto, Sovereign Room. The event is open to accredited media. Please contact Hannah Bernstein for accreditation.

The Canadian Bar Association is dedicated to supporting the rule of law, and improvement in the law and the administration of justice. Some 37,000 lawyers, law teachers, and law students from across Canada are members.