Pursuing Justice: Panel and Discussion

Join us after services for a panel discussion featuring community members and lawyers Darrel Pink, Josh Judah, and Emma Halpern, each speaking on their own work, Access to Justice, and current major justice issues locally. The panel discussion and Q&A will be moderated by Yolana Wassersug.
About the panelists:

Emma Halpern serves as Equity Officer at the NS Barristers’ Society, a role which enables her on a daily basis to promote justice and overturn discrimination, in addition to her remarkable work with Access to Justice.  Emma is a tireless advocate of marginalized groups in our society, such as the economically disadvantaged, homeless youth, women suffering domestic abuse, incarcerated women through her work with the Elizabeth Fry Society, the LGBTQ+ community, and First Nations groups and has introduced NS schools to restorative justice, an initiative she spearheaded which has since spread across the province. Emma’s commitment to justice extends also into her personal life, where she has welcomed into her family an at-risk homeless youth.

Josh Judah is the senior solicitor with the Halifax Regional Municipality. In addition to his impressive prosecution work for HRM, Josh has worked extensively to empower local youth to realize their potential, serving as the Citadel High and Halifax Grammar schools debate coach.  Josh also meaningfully supports adult learning and opportunity for advancement in his role as chair of the Halifax Community Learning Network, which promotes literacy through pairing volunteer teachers with adult learners of diverse backgrounds for free tutoring.  Josh also volunteers at the Halifax Refugee Clinic, where he advocates for people from all over the world who are seeking to escape persecution. Josh sees this as a Jewish imperative—in his words, “I can’t open doors for Jews in 1934, but I can be here for refugees today.”

After serving for nearly three decades as Executive Director for the NS Barristers’ Society, Darrel Pink is retiring this year. This would be an excellent opportunity for the community to honor him for his outstanding work and professional accomplishments. Darrel is also the President of the Canadian Legal Information Institute and serves on a number of non-profit community organization boards, including Children’s Aid Society of Halifax, Canadian Jewish Congress, and Volunteer Canada. He also represents a bridge between the Halifax community and the Yarmouth community of his youth, which we absorbed.