Take a deep dive into issues that matter the most. Conversations with the President is a CBA podcast in which legal experts discuss priorities with the CBA President. These long-form discussions are a great complement to the advocacy work of the Association. A meeting of great minds you won’t want to miss!
Latest Episodes
Meet Bradley Regehr, CBA President 2020
Conversations with the President | The President's Take on TRC's Calls to Action
November 2020
We are chatting with Brad Regehr, the new Canadian Bar Association President and the first Indigenous person to take on the role. We’re talking about reconciliation, Covid-19 and even his amateur theatre career.
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Put Your Best Into Everything You Do
Conversations with the President
July 2022
Justice Mahmud Jamal of the Supreme Court of Canada in conversation with CBA President Stephen Rotstein. An inspiring conversation about role models, volunteerism, mental health in the legal profession, almost giving up in law school, and Elton John.
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Meet Raymond Adlington, 2018 CBA President
Conversations with the President | Raising the Bar on Inclusion
November 2018
Meet Ray Adlington, the CBA president. In this podcast, we discuss his vision for the Association, his history battling depression and why he's become a champion of inclusivity and diversity in the profession.
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Meet Vivene Salmon, CBA President 2019
Conversations with the President | The State of the Profession
November 2019
We are chatting with Vivene Salmon, the new Canadian Bar Association President and the first person of colour to take on the roll. We discuss her own podcast series, Conversations with the President.
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After the Crash
Conversations with the President | The State of the Profession
December 2019
Vivene meets Jordan Furlong and Omar Ha-Redeye to look at how the legal profession is changing due to societal, economic and technology forces and what this means for lawyers in Canada.
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ESG and Positive Change for ALL in the 21st Century
Conversations with the President
June 2022
CBA President Stephen Rotstein in conversation with Marc-André Blanchard, Head of CDPQ Global and Global Head of Sustainability. How to find solutions when confronted with the ever-changing realities of the 21st Century world we live in, from climate change to the hybrid model.
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Prof. Martin Blais
Conversations with the President
May 2023
Entretien du président avec Martin Blais, professeur titulaire au département de sexologie de l’Université du Québec à Montréal. Ils discutent de l’homophobie et de la transphobie et du rôle qu’a joué la loi dans leur émergence.
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Conversation on Call-To-Action 11 - Adequate Education Funding
Conversations with the President | The President's Take on TRC's Calls to Action
December 2020
For his first episode as host of Conversations with the President, Brad talks with Alyssa Bird, Evans Family Law, and Robin Sutherland, Director of Indigenous Relations at Lakehead’s Bora Laskin Faculty of Law, about the The Truth and Reconciliation’s eleventh call to action.
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Conversations on Call to Action 27 - Cultural Competency Training
Conversations with the President | The President's Take on TRC's Calls to Action
January 2021
Brad Regehr discusses Call to Action number 27's aim at making sure practising lawyers receive cultural competency training, with Jennifer David and Michael McDonald, Q.C.
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Economic Reconciliation with Geordie Hungerford
Conversations with the President
June 2022
CBA President Stephen Rotstein and First Nations Financial Management Board CEO Geordie Hungerford discuss Economic Reconciliation. An inspiring conversation about turning things around and growing together.
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School Days
Conversations with the President | The State of the Profession
January 2020
Are there are too many law schools producing too many grads for too few articling positions and jobs once they’ve passed the bar? Why add a new law school in Canada? Ronit Dinovitzer and Anver Saloojee answer.
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Conversations with LGBTQ2S+ Lawyers
Conversations with the President | Raising the Bar on Inclusion
February 2019
In this episode, Ray will be talking with two LGBTQ2S+ lawyers about their experience within the Canadian legal system, Preston Parsons and Nicole Nussbaum.
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Conversations on Calls to action 34-40 - Indigenous people in the justice system
Conversations with the President | The President's Take on TRC's Calls to Action
February 2021
President Brad Regehr discusses Calls to Action 34 and 40 with Harold R. Johnson and Stacey Soldier. They speak on the problem of over-incarceration of Indigenous peoples and how the system failed them.
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Conversations on Calls to Action 28 - Going to school
Conversations with the President | The President's Take on TRC's Calls to Action
March 2021
President Brad Regehr meets with Dr. Val Napoleon and Sigma Daum Shanks to discuss Call to Action 28, which calls on law schools to require students to take a course in Aboriginal people and the law.
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Best of Stephen Rotstein & Guests on Mental Health
Conversations with the President
May 2022
Conversations with the President Mental Health Week Special: Highlights from Stephen Rotstein’s conversations with Justice Michele Hollins, Kendra Goertzen and Caitlin Urquhart.
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Conversations with Racialized Lawyers
Conversations with the President | Raising the Bar on Inclusion
March 2019
In this episode, Ray meets Charlene Theodore, 2nd Vice-President of the Ontario Bar Association, who is the first black woman to occupy this position. He also meets with David A Curry, Crown Attorney in Digby, Nova Scotia, to discuss his experience as a black and Mi’kmaq lawyer.
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Conversations with Women Lawyers: Part 1 with Anne McLellan
Conversations with the President | Raising the Bar on Inclusion
April 2019
In this episode, Ray will be talking with Anne McLellan, counsel with Bennett Jones in Edmonton, who has risen to the top of Canada’s federal political spectrum and lives to tell the tale.
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CBA Pro Bono Initiatives: Ukraine – Afghanistan
Conversations with the President
April 2022
Stephen Rotstein speaks to CBA Pro Bono Initiatives Coordinator Bjorna Shkurti about how CBA Lawyers are helping refugees from Ukraine and Afghanistan, and about her own remarkable journey from war-torn Albania to the Alberta Bar.
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Conversations on Calls to action 42, 50, 51, 62 Recognition of Aboriginal justice systems
Conversations with the President | The President's Take on TRC's Calls to Action
April 2021
President Brad Regehr discusses the recognition of Aboriginal justice systems with John Borrows and Naiomi Metallic.
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Overcoming addiction with Kendra Goertzen
Conversations with the President
March 2022
CBA President, Stephen Rotstein, has a heartfelt conversation with Kendra Goertzen, the inaugural recipient of the Grant Davis Collegiality and Wellbeing Award, granted by the Manitoba branch of the CBA.
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Conversations on Calls to Action 43, 44, 45, 46 and 92 - UNDRIP as a reconciliation framework
Conversations with the President | The President's Take on TRC's Calls to Action
May 2021
President Brad Regehr discusses the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples with Aimée Craft and Brenda Gunn.
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Conversations on Call to Action 57 - Aboriginal-Crown relations
Conversations with the President | The President's Take on TRC's Calls to Action
July 2021
President Brad Regehr speaks with Maggie Wente and David Nahwegahbow on Call to Action number 57 which calls for governments at all levels to educate civil servants on the history of Aboriginal peoples in Canada, Indigenous law and Aboriginal-Crown relations.
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Conversation with a lawyer living with a disability
Conversations with the President | Raising the Bar on Inclusion
June 2019
Ray meets with Lorin McDonald, a lawyer from Toronto who was born with profound hearing loss in both ears. They discuss her journey through law school, the Accessible Canada Act (passed on May 29) and more!
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Building Communities with Tom Ullyett
Conversations with the President
February 2022
CBA President, Stephen Rotstein, meets with Tom Ullyett, chair of the Employment Standards Board, a member of the Yukon University’s Board of Governors and co-chair of the Yukon branch Public Sector’s Lawyer’s section. He’s recognized for being a community builder who’s helped support a generation of Yukon public sector lawyers.
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Conversation with a diversity and inclusion leader
Conversations with the President | Raising the Bar on Inclusion
August 2019
Ray meets with Sacha de Klerk, Head of Diversity and Inclusion, Canada, Norton Rose Fulbright. They talk inclusion initiatives, promoting diversity and the need for substantive data.
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Beyond the CTAs
Conversations with the President | The President's Take on TRC's Calls to Action
August 2021
For his final episode as host of Conversations with the President, CBA President Brad Regehr speaks with Cindy Blackstock and Dr Pamela Palmater to discuss the next steps beyond the Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action.
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Best of Conversations with the President 2018
Conversations with the President | Raising the Bar on Inclusion
August 2019
Last episode of Conversations with the President: Raising the Bar on Inclusion. Ray shares some of his favourite moments from this past year.
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Leading lasting changes in international athletics
Conversations with the President
December 2021
CBA President, Stephen Rotstein, speaks with James Bunting, founding partner of Tyr LLP. They talk about his atypical career path, his work in gender equity and sports regulations, and his various volunteer roles.
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Helping Canada’s vulnerable communities
Conversations with the President
November 2021
CBA President, Stephen Rotstein, hosts his first episode with guest Wei William Tao. They talk about volunteering, his community involvement and his work in the immigration law area.
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Meet Stephen Rotstein, CBA President 2021
Conversations with the President
November 2021
Stephen Rotstein, CBA President for the year 2021-2022, meets with The Every Lawyer host Marlisse Silver-Sweeney. They discuss his priority for the year and his upcoming podcast Conversations with the President.
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