Course Chairs
Halie Kwanxwa'logwa Bruce — Cedar and Sage Law Corporation, Cultus Lake
Jamala C. MacRae — Crown Counsel, Ministry of the Attorney General, Port Coquitlam
About the Course Chairs
Halie Kwanxwa'logwa Bruce is a Kwakwaka'wakw, Tlingit, and Scottish/Canadian mother, wife, lawyer, mediator, sometimes soccer coach, and Sixties Scoop Survivor. She was called to the BC bar in 2008. Her practice areas include Aboriginal law, family law, child welfare, and Indigenous laws and governance. Halie also devoted part of her practice to Indigenous restorative justice initiatives, including writing s. 718.2(e) Reports for Indigenous people at bail, sentencing, and appeal courts in BC.
Before entering the legal profession, Halie served as the executive director of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs. As the joint policy council coordinator, she advocated for Aboriginal Title and Rights and Treaty Rights, including the Rights of Indigenous peoples generally and Indigenous children specifically. She has extensive experience in administration, management, staff, and employment issues, and has worked with Indigenous communities from across BC, Canada and internationally, to explore traditional mechanisms for resolving various land, resource, social policy, and internal community disputes.
In 2014, Halie co-founded the law firm Cedar and Sage Law, with a focus on Indigenous laws, Alternative and Traditional Indigenous Dispute Resolution mechanisms, and peacemaking protocols. She has extensive training in mediation and alternative dispute resolution through CLEBC, the Justice Institute of BC, and the Social Justice Mediation Institute.
She has taught, coached, and facilitated courses on Gladue Principles and Reports, Indigenous Child Welfare, and Indigenous and Trauma-Informed practices. She has been a frequent speaker, panelist, and co-chair on various Indigenous issues at CLEBC, including on s. 718.2(e) reports, Access to Justice for Children, Indigenous Child Welfare, and Anti-racism and Diversity issues in the legal profession.
She is a former board member of the Sixties Scoop Healing Foundation, and the BC First Nations Justice Council, and served two terms as a part-time member of the Parole Board of Canada.
Halie currently devotes part of her practice to facilitating workshops on Intercultural competency, Safety and Indigenous-Informed interviewing, processes, and best practices for Administrative Tribunals in Canada.
Jamala MacRae works as a Crown counsel and has been with the BC Prosecution Service since 2005. She has worked in a number of Crown offices in the lower mainland and is currently one of the Administrative Crowns in the Port Coquitlam office. She has dealt with files at the provincial and Supreme Court level.
Planning Committee
Nadia Khan Farinelli — Crown Counsel, Deputy Director for Legal Resources, Learning and Development, BC Prosecution Service, Vancouver
Leah B.M. Fontaine, KC — Crown Counsel, Ministry of Attorney General, Duncan
Jessica Lawn — Deputy Chief Federal Prosecutor, BC Region, Public Prosecution Service of Canada, Vancouver
Gloria M. Ng — Platform Litigation, Port Moody
Condesa Strain — Virtual Indigenous Justice Centre Lawyer, BC First Nations Justice Council, Vancouver
Kevin B. Westell — Pender Litigation, Vancouver