Bio

Jackie practices in the areas of Labour, Constitutional, Public Law and Indigenous Rights. She has litigated at all levels of court in Ontario, the Federal Courts and the Supreme Court of Canada. She has also appeared before many administrative tribunals.

With an extensive background in writing policy, Jackie has written many policy submissions aimed at government, inquiries and public advocacy. She was also a researcher and writer for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s final report. One of her academic articles was cited by the Supreme Court in Fleming v. Ontario, 2019 SCC 45.

Jackie has over 18 years of experience in public interest litigation, including test cases aimed at challenging systemic discrimination in access to government benefits, police misconduct and colonialism. She has acted for Indigenous families and nations at inquests and inquiries, including the Ipperwash Inquiry and the Inquiry into Pediatric Forensic Pathology in Ontario.

Most recently, Jackie was the lead lawyer for CUPE’s school board sector in Ontario, where she developed specialized knowledge of labour relations in education, litigated central agreement arbitrations and provided day-to-day advice on critical issues connected to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jackie taught a Masters level course on constitutional law in Osgoode Hall’s Canadian Common Law LLM program for five years. She is also a graduate of Osgoode Hall, finishing in the top 1% of her class. She frequently delivers trainings, speeches and workshops to lawyers, students and community groups on topics such as law and poverty, public interest litigation and social movement lawyering.

Jackie has a lengthy track record of social justice advocacy and workers’ rights organizing, including with Fight for $15 & Fairness and the Migrant Rights Network. She sits on the Board for the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change and is a trustee for the Groundswell Community Justice Trust Fund.

Notable Cases

Best Lawyers Award Badge

Education

  • Call to the Ontario Bar, 2003
  • Osgoode Hall Law School, LLB, 2002
  • York University, M.A., 1998

  • McMaster University, Hon. B.A., 1996

Memberships

  • Canadian Association of Labour Lawyers
  • Canadian Bar Association
  • Law Union of Ontario
  • Ontario Bar Association

Accolades

  • United Food and Commercial Workers & Agricultural Workers Alliance Award – Community Category (2014): Received award for work on litigation that ensured access to Employment Insurance parental benefits for 102 Seasonal Agricultural Workers. 

Best Lawyers Award Badge

Best Lawyers Award Badge 

Related News

News/12 July 2024

Grassy Narrows Seeks Declaration that Ontario’s Mining Act Is Unconstitutional

Mining Act allows for mining staking with no consultation from affected Indigenous nations

News/6 June 2024

Grassy Narrows First Nation files lawsuit provincial and federal government for mercury contamination

Lawsuit argues Crown violated Grassy Narrows’ Treaty rights by failing to protect against and remedy the effects of mercury and other industrial contamination

News/6 February 2024

New Partner Announcement

Cavalluzzo LLP is very pleased to announce that Jackie Esmonde and Balraj Dosanjh have joined our partnership.

Related Events

Event/Sep 29, 2024

Jackie Esmonde panelist at Palestine Film Festival

Panel about Suppression of Palestinian Expression

Jackie Esmonde speaks as a panelist during the Palestine Film Festival 2024, titled Panel: Suppression of Palestinian Expression
Event/Nov 28, 2022

Jackie Esmonde interviewed for Socioeconomic Rights and the Charter Podcast

On November 28th, Jackie Esmonde is interviewed for the Socioeconomic Rights and Charter Podcast. She will discuss her experience litigating cases abo...
Event/Jun 24, 2022: 8:54 AM

Jackie Esmonde Participates in Panel on Mandatory Vaccinations at 2022 CALL Conference

Panel offers an overview of the legal issues raised by mandatory vaccination policies

Jackie Esmonde participates in a panel on mandatory vaccination policies, constitutional issues and Case Law at the 2022 CALL Conference. This panel o...
Event/Jun 24, 2022

Danielle Bisnar and Jackie Esmonde participate in CALL Conference Injunction Workshop

Workshop provides lessons from Labour, Indigenous Land Defense, and COVID Protests/Community Defense perspectives

Danielle Bisnar and Jackie Esmonde participate in a workshop on injunctions at the 2022 CALL Conference. This session looks at injunctions for and aga...

Related Blogs

Blog/17 July 2024

Parliament’s Federal “Anti-Scab” Bill: A Step Forward for Organized Labour

A Summary of Bill C-58

On May 27, 2024, the House of Commons passed Bill C-58, a bill banning federally regulated employers from using replacement workers during strikes/loc...
Blog/5 July 2024

Key Takeaways from the UofT Occupy for Palestine Injunction

University of Toronto (Governing Council) v. Doe et al, 2024 ONSC 3755

On July 2, 2024, the University of Toronto obtained an injunction against a pro-Palestinian protest encampment taking place on its Front Campus. Thoug...
Blog/25 January 2024

Employment Equity Act Task Force Report

In late 2023 the federal Employment Equity Act Task Force released a report titled A Transformative Framework to Achieve and Sustain Employment Equity...
Blog/14 July 2022

Supreme Court to Hear Two Appeals About Indigenous Law-Making Powers

Cases like these highlight the need for courts to address tensions between Indigenous law and Canadian law

Two cases which have been granted leave to the Supreme Court of Canada address the relationship between Canada’s settler law and Indigenous laws and i...