Ms. Andrea Walker

Andrea Walker made history as the first woman director of a ministry legal branch in the Ontario Public Service, serving as Director of the Legal Branch at the Ministry of Community and Social Services from 1988 to 2001. This extensive interview chronicles her three-decade career beginning in 1972, including her education at University of Victoria and Osgoode Hall Law School, articles at Henry & Brown, and subsequent work in government legal services during periods of significant legal and social reform.

Walker provides detailed insights into the evolution of legal services within government, including the merger of legal branches with the Ministry of the Attorney General in the early 1980s, ongoing tensions between civil and constitutional lawyers and seconded legal services, and complex funding arrangements between client ministries and the AG. Her work encompassed major policy initiatives including child welfare reform, welfare reform legislation, and children’s law reform, working closely with deputy ministers like Peter Barnes, Sandy Lang, and Susan Herbert, and notable figures such as George Thomson and various Attorneys General.

The interview offers valuable perspectives on the challenges facing government lawyers, including professional isolation, salary disparities, the need for management training, and the delicate balance between providing legal advice and supporting government policy objectives. Walker’s experience spans multiple governments and provides insight into how political changes affected legal service delivery, the relationship between legal branches and client ministries, and the professionalization of government legal work through organizations like ALOC.

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