At Torys, we know that as part of the legal profession, we have a unique responsibility to the community. Our lawyers and staff are dedicated to serving the public interest, making positive change in our society and fostering community development however we can—from participating in community initiatives to maintaining a robust pro bono program.
Here are just a few of the community organizations we are proud to support.
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Adopt a Family |
Air Canada Foundation |
Bikes for Tykes |
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Bust a Move Calgary, Alberta Cancer Foundation |
Calgary Food Bank |
Calgary Women's Shelter |
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Camp Oochigeas |
Food Bank of New York City |
Fort York Food Bank |
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Give a Day |
Juvenile Diabetes |
Movember |
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National Eating Disorders Association |
North York General Hospital |
Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital |
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Progressive Alternatives Society of Calgary |
Ronald McDonald House |
SickKids Foundation |
| Teen Legal Helpline | Touching Tiny Lives | United Way |
| YWCA Toronto - Women of Distinction Awards | Sinai Health Foundation | Lawyers Feed the Hungry |
| Special Olympics | Hockey Helps the Homeless | Big Brothers Big Sisters of Toronto |
We provide pro bono legal services to a diverse breadth of organizations. Torys is proud to have worked with the following associations, among others:
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MaRs Discover District's Soial Venture Connection (SVX) |
Right to Play |
LAWS (Laws Action Within Schools) |
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Canadian Civil Liberties Association |
Human Rights First |
Special Olympics Ontario |
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CARFAC (Canadians Artists' Representation/le Front des artistes canadiens) Ontario |
Free the Children |
Public International Law and Policy Group (PILPG) |
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International Senior Lawyers Project |
National Music Centre |
MS Society of Canada |
We are grateful for our long history of pro bono advocacy on behalf of the LGBT community.
Our longstanding commitment to provide representation to the LGBT community reaches as far back as 1995, when we represented the Canadian AIDS Society and the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario in R. v. Carmen M., in which the Ontario Court of Appeal found portions of the Criminal Code relating to the age for consent to be unconstitutional. In 1999, we supported the Canadian Lesbian & Gay Archives in a human rights complaint against a printer who refused to provide printing services to the archives. A more recent case, in 2004, involved our representation of the Foundation for Equal Families as an intervener before the Supreme Court of Canada in reference to the legality of the federal government’s proposed Civil Marriage Act, which defined marriage in gender-neutral terms and permitted same-sex marriage.
Through our practice we are constantly aiming to protect and advance the rights of the LGBT community.
Pro Bono Committee
In these videos, Cornell Wright and Andrew Gray express how community plays an integral part to their personal and professional lives.
Cornell explains how giving back to the community is an important part of Torys’ culture, and he describes his own involvement with the LAWS program and the Canadian Merit Scholarship Foundation.
Andrew praises the culture at Torys, where there are shared common values and respect for the individual. He describes the importance of mentoring and of community work, including work he is personally involved with in his own neighborhood.
