Join the John Howard Society of Ontario (JHSO), the Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres (OFIFC), and the Black Legal Action Centre (BLAC) for a webinar on the distinct experiences of Black and Indigenous People in the criminal justice system.
The presentation will explore findings from the Uneven Scales research report, released in March 2025, examining the systemic challenges that have led to the overrepresentation of Black and Indigenous individuals in Canada’s criminal justice system. In the session, we will review key insights from the report, discuss its policy recommendations aimed at addressing inequities and intersecting barriers, and showcase the new training modules for community service providers developed in response to the research.
Presenters: Aileen Simon, Hayden Moore, and Demar Kemar Hewitt
Aileen is the Education & Strategic Initiatives Coordinator at the John Howard Society of Ontario. She works to translate JHSO’s research and policy work into engaging and interactive educational materials, tools and content. Since joining JHSO, she has built an innovative civil legal training program aimed at frontline staff who serve justice-involved clients at social services agencies in Ontario. She has also played an active role in JHSO’s educational offerings, trainings and public legal education content.
Hayden is a senior policy advisor at the Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres. She lives and works in Toronto.
Demar is the Executive Director and General Counsel at Black Legal Action Centre (BLAC). BLAC focuses on combating anti-black racism in Ontario. Demar is admitted to practice at the Bars in Ontario, Alberta, and Jamaica. Until his appointment at BLAC, Demar represented the interest of Black families and community organizations at Coroner’s Inquests and argued systemic anti-Black racism cases at the Human Rights Tribunal and appellate Courts. As the General Counsel at BLAC, Demar focuses on systemic racism issues, attacking practices and policies that have a disproportionate adverse effect on Black people.
Presented on June 18, 2025.