| Fay’s
practice covers many aspects of constitutional law, human rights,
labour and administrative law, focusing primarily on appellate
and constitutional litigation and written advocacy. Fay acts
as counsel in appellate, judicial review and constitutional
litigation, particularly in the areas of Charter/constitutional
law, administrative law, and human rights, and also represents
clients in the areas of pay equity, employment equity, human
rights and education law.
Fay is also the firm’s
Director of Research and Opinions. She has extensive experience
preparing factums and written submissions to all levels of court,
to administrative tribunals and to legislative committees, task
forces and policy makers. She provides innovative research,
legal analysis, policy analysis and strategic advice to clients,
to the firm’s lawyers and to in-house counsel.
Fay has appeared
before the Supreme Court of Canada and Ontario Court of Appeal
as counsel or co-counsel on numerous occasions. Most recently,
she appeared as co-counsel before the Supreme Court of Canada
representing UFCW on issues of freedom of association and the
right to collective bargaining (2006); representing the Canadian
Labour Congress in Charter appeal dealing with pay equity for
Newfoundland workers (2004) and in an administrative law appeal
in the protracted Bell Canada pay equity litigation (2003);
and representing the Canadian Association of Community Living
and Council of Canadians with Disabilities in Auton, a Charter
challenge dealing with equality rights for persons with disabilities
and government funding in relation to autism (2004). Fay has
also appeared before the Ontario Court of Appeal, including
as lead counsel for UFCW in a Charter challenge to the Retail
Business Holidays Act (2005) and representing the Women’s
Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF) in Falkiner, challenging
the “spouse in the house” rule regarding eligibility
for social assistance. Fay also recently represented UFCW in
three constitutional challenges on behalf of agricultural workers
and migrant agricultural workers relating to rights to occupational
health and safety, collective bargaining and treatment under
the Employment Insurance Act.
Fay brings to the
practice her commitment to equality issues. She has been a member
of LEAF’s National Legal Committee and in 2003-2004 organized
two national conferences and a national community consultation
on equality rights under the Charter. She is a long-time member
of the National Association of Women and the Law (NAWL) and
a former member of NAWL’s National Steering Committee.
She has participated on committees for the Alliance for Employment
Equity and other progressive organizations helping to develop
strategies and legal arguments in Charter litigation. She is
a long-time member of the federal Pay Equity Network and the
Ontario Equal Pay Coalition.
Fay has
published numerous articles on equality rights, human rights
and discrimination in the workplace. She co-edited a book on
equality rights under the Charter – Making Equality Rights
Real – that was published by Irwin Law in 2006. She is
a frequent guest lecturer at Osgoode Hall Law School and the
University of Toronto Faculty of Law and is a frequent speaker
at national legal and women’s conferences.
After articling with
the firm in 1993-1994, Fay spent a year as a law clerk to Mr.
Justice Cory of the Supreme Court of Canada. She returned to
the firm in 1996. |
