This past October 26th, the Hispanic and Latin American community and its friends got together in the landmark building Osgoode Hall, in downtown Toronto, for the Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration (HHD) organized by the Law Society of Upper Canada (LSUC) and the Canadian Hispanic Bar Association (CHBA).The evening brought a panel discussion focused on how legal professionals can best serve the needs of Latin American and Hispanic clients, and how Latin American and Hispanic legal professionals and others can use diversity to deliver services to clients.The CHBA’s President, Veronica Marson introduced the Keynote speaker Pedro Jaime Torres-Diaz, immediate past President of the Hispanic National Bar Association (U.S.), delivered an empowering speech. Before joining the panel “Legal Professionals as Leaders for Diversity: Tackling Service Delivery” he invited the Community in Canada, to champion the next generations of Hispanic and Latin American talents, in the legal sector and across professions and trades.He then joined the panel, a group of business and legal Hispanic and Latin American thought leaders in Ontario. Nissan Canada’s General Counsel Fernando Garcia, Vice President of the Toronto Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Monica Linares, and Certified Specialist in Citizenship and Immigration Law Andres Pelenur, who together with Torres-Diaz and the panel chair CHBA’s director Wendy Lopez, deliver a clear message to the audience: promote diversity and inclusion, and embrace your role shaping the future of the Hispanic and Latin American community in Canada.Ritmos y Danzas del Peru, a non-for-profit organization that promotes dances and folklore from Peru, wrapped-up the evening with their graceful Northern Marinera Dance, which the audience enjoyed in the traditional territory of the Haudenosaunee, the Métis, and most recently, the territory of the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation.The CHBA would like to thank all of our volunteers, sponsors and organizations who made donations namely, Telelatino/Univision Canada, MacLeod Law Firm, Singer Kwinter, Baro Toronto and Corona Canada. The CHBA is already planning the 2018 HHD. We look forward to seeing you next October!
