Prosecuting Sexual Assault: Should you hear it all?



A timely public debate this Thursday at the University of Toronto

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This June the federal government introduced Bill C-51 "to help make the criminal justice system more compassionate towards complainants in sexual assault matters." The Bill would change the rules of evidence only in cases of sexual assault. Proponents hail the effort as boosting support for sex assault victims. Opponents fear the legislation will unbalance the power of the Crown and deny proper legal protections for those accused of this serious crime.

A livestreaming of this event will be available at the youtube channel www.youtube.com/EqualityCanadaTV

Join us for a robust dialogue and debate about how to convict sexual assault perpetrators while protecting the accused but innocent, featuring

André Marin, Former Assistant Crown Attorney, Director of the Police civilian oversight Special Investigations Unit, Ontario Ombudsman.

Joseph Neuberger, renowned criminal defence trial lawyer in sexual assault and domestic violence cases, lead counsel for the Ontario government in the Cornwall Public Inquiry into historical allegations of sexual assault

Diana Davison, civil rights activist and co-founder of The Lighthouse Project

Moderated by Lorne Honickman, Longtime television and radio broadcaster and civil litigator



This event is hosted by the University of Toronto Men's Issues Awareness Society. It is sponsored by the Canadian Association for Equality.





André Marin

André Marin practised law at the highest levels, was the Ombudsman for the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 2005 to 2015. He was Ombudsman for the Canadian Forces from 1998 to 2005. Mr. Marin holds a law degree from the University of Ottawa. He was named to the Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers b Canadian Lawyer magazine (2013 and 2014) and Top 50 Most Influential Torontonians by Toronto Life Magazine (2013). He is currently teaching at the University of Ottawa Law School and is a freelance columnist for a column entitled "The Ombudsman" that publishes in Postmedia news.

Joseph Neuberger

Joseph Neuberger has extensive trial experience in the areas of sexual and domestic assault cases. Mr. Neuberger was retained by the Provincial Government to act as lead counsel on their behalf in the Cornwall Public Inquiry into historical allegations of sexual abuse in the community. He served as President of the Toronto Lawyers Association and is past Editor-in-Chief of the Toronto Law Journal. He is Chair and Instructor for Trying a Sexual Assault Case, an annual program put on by the Advocate Society and Criminal Lawyers Association to instruct lawyers who practice in the area of criminal law on the intricacies of cross-examination of witnesses, handling of unique issues and argument before a jury in sexual assault cases.

Diana Davison

Diana Davison is a civil rights activist and co-founder of The Lighthouse Project, a non-profit which advocates for the falsely accused and wrongfully convicted. Diana has been challenging ongoing changes to sexual assault legislation which would undermine the rights of the accused. She feels that current proposed legislation will undermine the ability of an innocent person to prove his or her innocence in a proper court of law.

Lorne Honickman (moderator)



Lorne Honickman is a civil litigator, a designated expert in defamation law and a long-time television and radio broadcaster