Caryma Sa'd

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Caryma Sa'd
Born
Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
EducationUniversity of Ottawa
OccupationLawyer
Known forLandlord and tenant legal work, Cannabis law, documenting anti-lockdown protests
Websitehttps://www.sadvocacy.com/

Caryma Sa'd is a Canadian lawyer, activist, and cartoonist who is primarily known for representing tenants in Toronto housing litigation, and for documenting events at anti-COVID-19-lockdown protests in Canada.[1] She is executive director of Canada's branch of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML).

Early life[]

Sa'd was born in 1980 to an Indian mother and a Palestinian father, and grew up in Mississauga, Ontario.[1] She studied law at University of Ottawa.[2]

Career[]

Legal work[]

After articling in a Bay Street law firm, and working for Lenczner Slaght Royce Smith Griffin LLP, Sa'd launched her own practice that specializes in criminal, housing, and cannabis law in 2017.[1][3][4][5] She serves on the board of directors of Legal Line,[1] and in 2019 ran to be on the board of directors at the Law Society of Ontario.[6][7][8]

In 2019, Sa'd represented tenants displaced by a fatal fire from 235 Gosford Boulevard apartment block in Toronto. She organized an open letter to Toronto Mayor John Tory, requesting him to block reoccupation of the building until air quality issues were addressed.[9][10]

Also in 2019, Sa'd described Ontario's lottery system of providing retail cannabis licenses as "unfair" because it excluded potential licensees based on luck, not experience or relevant skills.[11] In 2021, she campaigned for the rights of small cannabis businesses, and criticized Facebook and Instagram for blocking their posts despite the legality of selling cannabis in Canada.[12]

In 2021, Sa'd represented tenants who rented illegal apartments from Toronto landlord Brad J. Lamb, pushing for financial compensation for those evicted,[13][14] and persuaded a judge to give more time to two tenants whose rent was delayed due to hardship caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.[15]

As a cartoonist and comedian[]

Sa'd has published cartoons that are critical of corporations, public figures, and politicians including:

  • Toronto Mayor John Tory;
  • Julian Fantino, the police commissioner and politicians who opened a medical cannabis business after previously comparing cannabis weed with legalizing murder;
  • Raf Souccar, a police officer who switched from prosecuting cannabis cases to being involved in a cannabis business;
  • law firm Gowling WLG; and
  • Doug Ford.[1]

Sa'd co-founded 420 Cannabis Court, an outdoor comedy venue.[1]

Activism[]

Throughout 2021, Sa'd documented and published footage of anti-vaccination and COVID-19 anti-lockdown protests in Toronto.[16][17][18] In 2022, she spent weeks in Ottawa working as a citizen journalist, documenting the Canada convoy protest before live tweeting the bail hearings of Pat King and Tamara Lich.[19]

She is Executive Director for Canada's branch of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML).[1][20]

Family life[]

Sa'd's father died of COVID-19 in March 2021.[19]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Leck, Sebastian (2021-03-30). "How this young lawyer works to tackle Toronto's eviction crisis". Canada's National Observer. Archived from the original on 2021-03-30. Retrieved 2021-11-04.
  2. ^ Gibson, Victoria (2017-07-25). "Lawyer seeks out accused in hostage-taking". The Toronto Star. ISSN 0319-0781. Retrieved 2021-11-04.
  3. ^ Macnab, Aiden (19 Nov 2020). "Legal clinics across Ontario decry access-to-justice barriers at Landlord and Tenant Board Hearings". Law Times News. Archived from the original on 2020-11-19. Retrieved 2021-11-04.
  4. ^ Cain, Patrick (2021-03-10). "Fewer than 400 people pardoned under new system for erasing old weed convictions". CTV News. Archived from the original on 2021-03-10. Retrieved 2021-11-04.
  5. ^ Laidlaw, Katherine (2019-09-04). "These lawyers fight for the disenfranchised and still manage to pay the rent". Precedent. Archived from the original on 2020-10-27. Retrieved 2022-01-08.
  6. ^ Carruthers, Dale (16 April 2019). "Law society bencher candidates include cannabis specialist". London Free Press. Retrieved 2021-11-04.
  7. ^ Amanda, Joerome (February 25, 2019). "Diversity needed some bencher candidates say, as debate over statement of principles continues". The Lawyers Daily. Archived from the original on 2020-10-20. Retrieved 2021-11-04.
  8. ^ "Canadian Hispanic Bar Association | The CHBA endorses Caryma Sa'd for Bencher!". Canadian Hispanic Bar Association. Archived from the original on 2020-09-25. Retrieved 2022-01-02.
  9. ^ Sasitharan, Kirthana (Dec 28, 2019). "These Gosford fire residents aren't satisfied with air quality, safety measures of building". CBC.
  10. ^ "Tenants demand answers from landlord in wake of fatal North York fire". CBC. Dec 7, 2019.
  11. ^ Somos, Christy (2019-07-29). "Illegal dispensaries stay open because Ontario's lottery system 'unfair': cannabis lawyer". CTVNews. Archived from the original on 2019-07-29. Retrieved 2021-11-04.
  12. ^ Evans, Pete (Feb 3, 2021). "Canadian cannabis stocks pop on U.S. legalization push and GameStop-style short squeeze". CBC.
  13. ^ McKeen, Alex (2021-03-15). "'I never want to displace anyone.' Landlord offers reimbursement for tenants evacuated from illegal apartments". The Toronto Star. ISSN 0319-0781. Retrieved 2021-11-04.
  14. ^ Salem, Zena (2021-03-29). "Landlord, former tenants reach agreement to cover costs after sudden evacuation of illegal Bloor West". The Toronto Star. ISSN 0319-0781. Retrieved 2022-01-02.
  15. ^ Gibson, Victoria (2021-04-07). "Landlord should have negotiated with tenants' union in rent repayment deal, says Ontario Landlord and Tenant". The Toronto Star. ISSN 0319-0781. Retrieved 2021-11-04.
  16. ^ Jane Gerster and Greg Ross (Aug 31, 2021). "Ontario NDP pushes for safety zones as anti-vaccine protests continue to plague restaurants". CBC.
  17. ^ DiMatteo, Enzo (2021-07-21). "Caryma Sa'd makes no apologies". NOW Magazine. Retrieved 2022-01-02.
  18. ^ Miller, Mira (25 Feb 2021). "Toronto lawyer creates humorous comics to highlight issues of the day". www.blogto.com. Archived from the original on 2021-02-25. Retrieved 2022-01-02.
  19. ^ a b Olinjyk, Zena (22 Feb 2022). "How Caryma Sa'd has been a 'fly on the wall' at the Ottawa blockade". www.canadianlawyermag.com. Retrieved 2022-03-03.
  20. ^ Gamage, Michelle (2020-03-31). "NORML Canada's new executive director Caryma Sa'd explains how legalization went wrong: Q&A". Mugglehead Magazine. Retrieved 2022-01-02.
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