"...I was at some point working in [a medium sized city in] Alberta. There was a (white) legal assistant in the office [who has a relative] who was often in Youth Court. Once the legal assistant had to go to the local detachment of the RCMP [because of her relative]. When she came to the office, she told us what she saw at the RCMP she said she saw on the wall of fame of the police, pictures of people wanted by the RCMP and they are all foreigners. I asked her how she knew these people are foreigners, was it written on their face that they are foreigners. She told me that from their names, she figured out that they are foreigners. I asked her if she encounters someone whose name is Lee Teng Hui (this was actually the name of a President of Taiwan in the 90s who died recently), will she say that this person is a foreigner although he, his parents and grandparents were born and raised in Canada. Likewise if she encounters somebody whose name is McDonald, will she say that this person is a real Canadian although he may be fresh off the boat from Ireland or Britain..."

"...Appearing before certain Justices can be quite challenging. Even more where the opposing counsel is a senior lawyer or of a Caucasian descent. While this is not always the case for some Justices, for some, this automatically means the other counsel is smarter, will make a better argument and in fact will likely proffer a more meaningful resolution. As a result, the opposing side does not need to make much effort. Hence, you are treated with bias before you open your mouth. You are shut down before your submissions are complete. If you have a thicker accent, some Justices pretend to hear what you have said, and then make a ruling totally unexpected. I have heard counsel on the other side of certain matters tell me, 'wow, I was not expecting that', or 'that is way better than what we anticipated' or 'we did not even ask for that'. In most cases, your colleagues can tell that you have been dealt a different card as a result of your origin. This can be embarrassing, and it may take a toll on your self-confidence if you are already struggling to find yourself in a place that seems to want to beat you down at every opportunity..."