N.S. news: Recommendations to battle systemic discrimination [Video]

After more than three years, a Nova Scotia lawyer has made 21 recommendations to combat systemic discrimination within the legal profession.

Douglas Ruck released “Systemic Discrimination in Nova Scotia’s Legal Community” on Tuesday. The Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society retained Ruck in May 2021 to conduct an external review of their regulatory policies to identify any areas of systemic discrimination.

In a news release, the Society noted it released a statement against anti-Black racism following the murder of George Floyd in 2020, which “drew negative reactions from equity deserving communities” across the province.

“It became clear that the Society needed to go much further to address the real, centuries-long, and still prevalent racism faced by African Nova Scotians,” the release says. “By doing that, the legal community can address the wider issue of systemic discrimination in the practice of law and access to justice.”

After he was retained, Ruck said he aimed to finish the review in eight-to-10 months. Ruck …