The CBA’s Women Lawyers Forum is pleased to announce that Daphne E. Dumont, C.M., QC, is this year’s recipient of the Cecilia I. Johnstone Award. The 2019 award will be presented during the Cecilia Johnstone Award Luncheon on Oct. 19, the second day of this fall’s Leadership Conference for Professional Women.
Dumont was one of the first women lawyers in P.E.I. She was the first female president of the PEI CBA and national CBA president in 2000-01. She was also a member of the original Touchstones Report Committee that examined discrimination against women and minorities in the legal profession. Many CBA members had a chance to hear her speak in Toronto last October at the joint WLF/OBA event celebrating the 25 year anniversary of the Touchstones report that examined discrimination against women and others in the legal profession.
One of Dumont’s nominators stated:
“I believe that the most important thing for the selection committee to know about Daphne Dumont is that she has devoted her entire legal career, which now stands at over 40 years, promoting equality, promoting and supporting the advancement of women in law and in society, promoting access to justice and often doing so without appropriate financial recompense.”
The Cecilia I. Johnstone Award was established in 2007 to recognize women who have achieved professional excellence in their field and influenced other women to pursue legal careers, supported other women in career advancement or opened doors for women lawyers in a variety of job settings that historically were closed to them. It is named after Madam Justice Cecilia I. Johnstone, herself a former CBA president, who was a tireless champion women in the legal profession. Topping it all off, Dumont and Madam Justice Johnstone were colleagues and friends.
Read our interview with Daphne Dumont