CJHR Attends Ruby Sachs Symposium on Global 2SLGBTQI+ Legal Advocacy
The Canadian Journal of Human Rights (CJHR) was honoured to sponsor and participate in the Ruby Sachs Symposium on Global 2SLGBTQI+ Legal Advocacy, held October 5–7, 2025, at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. Co-sponsors included the University of Manitoba, Faculty of Law, the Manitoba Law Foundation, and the LGBT Purge Fund. The Symposium was led and organized by Dr. Shayna Plaut, the Museum’s Director of Research and Exhibition Development. Former Ontario premier Bob Rae delivered the keynote address.
Named in honour of two remarkable members of the Canadian legal community—Clayton Charles Ruby, CM (1942–2022) and The Honourable Harriet Sachs, former Justice of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice—the Symposium brought together advocates, scholars, and community leaders dedicated to advancing global 2SLGBTQI+ rights.
Sachs giving opening remarks at the Sunday reception. The symposium was a living tribute to two amazing lawyers, Justice Harriet Sachs and her partner the late Clayton Ruby.
Clayton Ruby’s prolific career in constitutional, criminal, and civil rights law spanned more than five decades, marked by his unwavering commitment to ensuring that marginalized Canadians received fair and equal access to justice. In 1992, he successfully challenged the discriminatory policies targeting 2SLGBTQI+ members of the Canadian military. Justice Sachs, his partner in life and in principle, served with distinction on the Ontario Superior Court and has long been admired for her integrity, discipline, and dedication to equality.
Dr. Donn Short, Editor-in-Chief; William Ho, Editor, CJHR
Dr. Donn Short, Editor-in-Chief of the CJHR, delivered opening remarks on behalf of the Journal, announcing its intention to publish a special volume of collected papers arising from the Symposium. Editor William Ho representing the CJHR, attended the conference to liaise with panel participants and respond to publication inquiries. On the evening of October 5, Dean Dr. Richard Jochelson, Associate Dean Dr. Donn Short, and Alexander Kraus, Senior Editor of the CJHR, attended the opening reception.
This writer was privileged to attend the final day of the Symposium and hear Elder Albert McLeod, a trailblazer in 2S HIV education, and Judge Kael McKenzie, Canada’s first openly transgender judge, who spoke about the importance of legal protections for 2SLGBTQI+ communities. The plenary speaker, Dr. Lynne Gouliquer, reflected on the ethical and methodological challenges of conducting research with vulnerable populations—issues at the heart of human rights scholarship.
Renowned diplomat, former Ontario Premier, and Canada’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Bob Rae delivered the keynote address on October 5 at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR) about Canada’s LGBT Purge and using the law to strengthen rights.
Standing in the Museum’s Dangerous Time: Canada’s LGBT Purge exhibit, attendees could not help but feel the profound contrast between Canada’s commitment to inclusion and the troubling rhetoric emerging elsewhere. A recent U.S. executive order on “Military Excellence and Readiness” declared that adopting a gender identity inconsistent with one’s sex “conflicts with a soldier’s commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle.” The dissonance between those words and the spirit of the Symposium—grounded in honour, selflessness, and humility of a different kind—was striking.
The Ruby Sachs Symposium reaffirmed the essential role of law, research, and collective action in securing equality for all. It also celebrated the continuing legacy of those whose courage has shaped Canada’s human rights landscape.
Researchers interested in contributing to this ongoing dialogue are invited to submit papers for the special issue of the Canadian Journal of Human Rights by January 15, 2026, at research@humanrights.ca.