Mr. Alan Borovoy

This oral history interview with Alan Borovoy, longtime General Counsel of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA), provides a comprehensive account of his influential career in civil liberties advocacy. Borovoy traces his path from early experiences with anti-Semitism in 1940s Toronto, through law school at University of Toronto under Bora Laskin, to articling with David Lewis at Jolliffe, Lewis & Osler, a prominent labour law firm.

Borovoy’s career began with the Jewish Labour Committee for Human Rights (1959-1968), where he organized groundbreaking campaigns against racial discrimination in housing, employment, and public accommodations. His innovative tactics included setting up test cases with Black and white applicants, generating media attention, and building coalitions that successfully pressured Premier Leslie Frost to expand Ontario’s human rights legislation.

As CCLA General Counsel from 1968 onwards, Borovoy transformed the organization from a small group with limited impact into Canada’s leading civil liberties watchdog. He pioneered the use of intervener status in Supreme Court cases, beginning with the first Morgantaler case in 1973. The interview covers major civil liberties battles including opposition to the War Measures Act (1970), challenges to anti-hate speech laws in the Keegstra and Zundel cases, advocacy for police accountability, opposition to religious instruction in public schools, and reform of wiretapping legislation. Despite philosophical reservations about judicial power, Borovoy effectively used the Charter of Rights and Freedoms to advance civil liberties causes while maintaining his belief in parliamentary supremacy and support for the notwithstanding clause.

This description was written by AI and may contain some inaccuracies.