Cara Wilkie

Cara litigates in courts and administrative tribunals, with a focus on human rights, employment, health, and civil litigation. She has appeared before the Superior Court of Justice, the Ontario Court of Appeal, the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, the Health Services Appeal and Review Board, the Social Benefits Tribunal, and the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board. Cara leads the firm's out-of-country and consulting practices. She has conducted consulting projects for the Council of Canadians with Disabilities, the Canadian Human Rights Commission, the Accessibility Directorate of Ontario, and Disability Rights Promotion International. She also serves as the director of our student program.

Cara has served on the Board of COTA Health, an organization providing mental health and community supports throughout Toronto, since 2004. She is currently the Past Chair; as Chair, Cara led the Board of Directors through major organizational change.

As an articling student with ARCH, a legal aid clinic concentrated on the rights of persons with disabilities under the law, Cara focused on the areas of violence, taxation and immigration. She worked on a case before the Supreme Court of Canada involving the immigration rights of persons with disabilities. She also analyzed and presented before public hearings on the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (2005).

Cara is currently completing her Masters of Law at Osgoode Hall's part-time program in administrative law where she focuses on equality in the practices of tribunals, including the procedural fairness accorded to people with disabilities. During law school at Osgoode Hall, Cara advocated on behalf of survivors of domestic violence and recipients of social assistance at Parkdale Community Legal Services. She went on exchange to the University of Helsinki where she studied international law and European human rights systems.

Cara completed her Bachelors degree in political science at the University of Winnipeg.

Recent publications

"Failing to Achieve Equality: Disability Rights in Australia, Canada, and the United States" (2005), Journal of Law and Social Policy, 20, p.1-34 [co-authored with Brendon D. Pooran] Text | PDF

"Accommodation for Environmental Sensitivities: Legal Perspective" (2007), Canadian Human Rights Commission [co-authored with David Baker], in PDF or HTML

"Human Rights Issues in National Security: An Inventory of Agency Considerations" (2008), Canadian Human Rights Commission [co-authored with Nicole Chrolavicius, David Baker & Faisal Bhabha] in HTML or PDF

“Accessibility Standards for Customer Service, Ontario Regulation 429/07” (2008), Accessibility Directorate of Ontario. PDF | HTML

“Compliance Manual: Accessibility Standards for Customer Service, Ontario Regulation 429/07” (2008), PDF | HTML

"Accessibility Standards Legislation: A Strategic Options Paper" (2010), Barrier-Free Manitoba [co-authored with David Baker] Word | PDF

"Accessibility Standards Legislation: Centralized or Dispersed Approaches" (2010), Barrier-Free Manitoba [co-authored with David Baker] Word | PDF

Fact sheets (various), Council of Canadians with Disabilities, HTML versions available on CCD website: Covarrubias v. Canada | Canada v. Colaco | Lee v. Canada | Hilewitz v. Canada | Disability & Immigration Law in the United States of America | Disability & Immigration Law in Australia | Disability & Immigration Law in the United Kingdom