When US President Donald Trump began threatening to make Canada the country’s 51st state, Canadians reacted with anger, outrage and a renewed sense of patriotism.

But as one Indigenous organization is pointing out in a blog post, Trump’s annexation rhetoric is drawing parallels to our own shared history of the colonization of Indigenous peoples, and the present-day impacts we are still experiencing in Canada.

Lyson Rivest, a consultant, trainer and speaker with Indigenous Corporate Training Incorporated, encourages us to reflect with empathy on the similarities between how we may feel about Trump’s threats and the experiences of Indigenous peoples, whose lands and homes were taken away from them.

She also provides advice on how lawyers can more effectively and respectfully work with Indigenous peoples and communities by looking at emerging challenges through a lens of empathy instead of fear.

Speaker biography

Lyson Rivest is a consultant, trainer and speaker with Indigenous Corporate Training Incorporated. Prior to joining ICT, she spent over a decade working in the federal public service, specifically within Crown-Indigenous Relations.

During her public service career, Lyson represented Canada at negotiation tables for specific claims aiming to address past historical breaches of treaty promises or other obligations towards First Nations. She also participated in the negotiation of future-looking agreements, including modern treaties and self-government agreements.

In her most recent role in the public service, Lyson served as the Manager of a team responsible for educating public servants about modern treaties and self-government agreements across departments. During this time, her team designed a core training program in Indigenous awareness, which has been attended by over 10,000 federal employees in under two years.

Lyson holds a Bachelor in International Development and Globalization and is fluent in French and English.

Resources

• See this interactive BC Treaty map to see First Nations that are participating in, or have completed treaties through, the BC treaty negotiations process.
• In British Columbia, the Nisg̱a’a Final Agreement is the province's first modern treaty.
• Visit the Indigenous Corporate Training Inc's website to see more resources
• Len Pierre Consulting also offers free resources for the public

Divorce and separation can be one of life’s most stressful events, especially for families with children. It not only has legal implications, but can impact the physical, mental and financial health of those involved. For this episode of LawCast BC, we invited family lawyer and Bencher Tanya Chamberlain and Dr. Ramneek Dosanjh, both members of the Health Justice Alliance, to speak about the intersection of law and health during separation and how parents can help their children navigate this stressful life change.

The Health Justice Alliance was formed in 2022 as a partnership between physicians and lawyers who serve BC families experiencing high conflict separation and divorce. Through this alliance, physicians and lawyers come together to learn from each other, work together to help patients and clients going through high conflict separation and divorce, and to take action to address the public health issue of the immediate, long-term and intergenerational impacts of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs).

In April, the FamiliesChange.ca website was relaunched with new resources to help parents support their children’s well-being through a separation or divorce. We encourage lawyers to share these resources with clients, colleagues, friends or anyone going through a separation or divorce to help them navigate this significant change and stressful transition.

FamiliesChange.ca website was developed by the Justice Education Society of British Columbia with support from the Department of Justice Canada and the BC Ministry of Justice. Resources were developed by the Health and Justice Alliance, along with the Shared Care Committee, the Law Society of BC, Justice Education Society of BC and other partners.

Speaker biographies

Dr. Ramneek Dosanjh is a family physician, hospitalist and child and youth mental health advocate. She is currently the President of the Federation of Medical Women of Canada and has been a participant at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women for the last two years. She was instrumental in the recent healthcare reform in British Columbia and on the negotiating team for the creation of BC's new payment model. She is an active member of the Indigenous Specific Anti Racism Committee. Dr. Dosanjh has been involved with the Health Justice Alliance since its inception, facilitating its first dialogue between physicians and lawyers in 2022. She is passionate about social justice, equity and fiercely dedicated to the reform of antiquated systems.

She has previously served in executive leadership roles such as President of Doctors of BC and BC Family Doctors. She was also a member of Doctors of BC’s Representative Assembly, Digital Health Collaborative and BC coroner's toxic drug supply steering committee. She previously served as a board member for her Division of Family Practice and on the Child Health BC board for four years. She has been involved in her hospital, health authority, UBC, and the Medical Council of Canada. Dr. Dosanjh was the physician lead for Child/Youth Mental Health Substance Use Collaborative in White Rock/South Surrey and has been a consultant with the White Rock South Surrey Child youth mental health Triage consulting team since its creation. She was also appointed to the Transform the Family Justice System Collaborative Strategy Committee.

Tanya Chamberlain is a family law lawyer who was called to the bar in BC in 1995. Tanya’s family law practice is focused on consensual dispute resolution. She is a collaborative lawyer, family law mediator, arbitrator and parenting coordinator, and prepares Hear the Child Reports. In 2021, Tanya was elected as a Bencher of the Law Society and is currently the Chair of the Access to Justice Advisory Committee and a member of the Discipline Committee and the Eq

In this episode of LawCast BC, we are pleased to introduce you to the Law Society’s new Chief Executive Officer/Executive Director Gigi Chen-Kuo. We invite you to get to know Chen-Kuo as she shares insights into her experience in leadership roles and what she believes to be qualities of an effective leader. As a CEO who is passionate about empowering others, she shares her perspective on cultivating a healthy workplace, the importance of equity, diversity and inclusion and advice for anyone who is just starting their careers.

Gigi Chen-Kuo was appointed Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of the Law Society in 2025 and is responsible for the overall strategy, key priorities and operation of the organization. Called to the Bar in 1991, Gigi worked in private practice before becoming in-house counsel for BC Transit and TransLink. At TransLink, she served in various leadership roles including General Counsel & Corporate Secretary, General Counsel & Executive Vice-President, Corporate Services, Interim Chief Executive Officer, and Chief Operating Officer. Her experience in the complex and dynamic public transportation environment is proof of her strong track record in serving the public interest and managing change.

Gigi has extensive experience in governance and serves on the boards of Coast Capital Savings Credit Union, the British Columbia Automobile Association, Transportation Investment Corporation and Union Gospel Mission. She is also member of the Allard School of Law Dean’s Advisory Council at the University of British Columbia. In 2022, Gigi was nominated for a YWCA Women of Distinction Award in the Business & the Professions category and was a shortlisted nominee for the Women’s Infrastructure Network’s Outstanding Leader Award.