Cheryl Milne

Cheryl Milne was called to the Ontario Bar in 1987 and completed an MSW at the University of Toronto in 1991. Prior to coming to the Centre, Ms. Milne was a legal advocate for children with the legal clinic Justice for Children and Youth. There she led the clinic’s Charter litigation including the challenge to the corporal punishment defence in the Criminal Code [ Canadian Foundation for Children, Youth and the Law v. Canada (2004)], the striking down of the reverse onus sections of the Youth Criminal Justice Act for adult sentencing [ R. v. D.B. (2008)], and an intervention involving the right of a capable adolescent to consent to her own medical treatment ( A.C. v. Manitoba Child and Family Services (2009)]. More recently she has represented the Asper Centre at the Supreme Court of Canada in Attorney General of B.C. v Council of Canadians with Disabilities, Attorney General of Ontario v G.,and Barton v HMQ among others. She is a past Chair of the Ontario Bar Association, Constitutional, Civil Liberties and Human Rights Section and the CBA National Constitutional and Human Rights law Section executive.  She is on the executive of Child and Youth Law Section of the CBA and serves on the Steering Committee of the National Association of Women and the Law (NAWL). She teaches a Constitutional Advocacy clinic and Children, Youth and the Law at the Faculty of Law, University of Toronto. She was awarded the Ontario Law Society Medal in 2019 in recognition of her contributions to legal education and advocacy for children’s rights.

Contact: cheryl.milne@utoronto.ca