Members and Staff

Justice Christian Brunelle was appointed a member of the Human Rights Tribunal on September 1^st,  2019. He has been interim President since September 3^rd, 2024.

He holds a bachelor’s degree (Université Laval, 1987), a master’s degree (Ottawa University, 1992) and a doctorate degree in Human Rights Law (Ottawa University, 2000).

He was a law professor at the Faculty of Law of Université Laval between 2000 and 2015, where he taught Human Rights and Labour Law. He has published two books and many articles on human rights issues. He served as vice-dean and secretary of the law faculty from 2007 to 2010. He was also the person in charge of the Groupe d’étude en droits et libertés of the Faculty.    
 
Admitted to the Québec Bar in 1988, he practiced in private practice mainly in administrative Law (municipal and education Law), civil Law and labour Law. He was a member of the Human Rights Committee of the Quebec Bar from 2007 to 2015.

On September 3rd, 2015, Justice Brunelle was appointed to the Civil Division of the Court of Québec.

Justice Johanne Gagnon was appointed to the Human Rights Tribunal on September 1st, 2022.

She holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from Montreal’s École des Hautes Études Commerciales (HEC) as well as a bachelor's degree in law from the University of Montreal.

Justice Gagnon has devoted her career as a lawyer to civil and commercial litigation, having practiced in the fields of banking administration, mortgage collection, civil liability and estates and trusts.

At the time of her appointment as a judge in the Civil Division of the Court of Québec on August 15th, 2018, she was practicing law with Kaufman, where she developed an expertise in the realization of securities and in litigation related to commercial leases.

Justice Sophie Lapierre was appointed to the Human Rights Tribunal on September 1, 2021, for a two year term.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in law from Université de Sherbrooke (1992) together with a postgraduate degree in business administration (2000) from the same university.

Prior to her appointment to the Court of Quebec, Civil Division (2017), she practiced law in different private law firms, mainly in civil liability and insurance law. She also practiced in labour and construction law, and, generally, in civil litigation.

Throughout her career, she has been involved in her community, particularly with the regional hospital’s foundation and the École du Barreau. She also held various management and administration positions within a national law firm.

The Honourable Magali Lewis was appointeda member of the Human Rights Tribunal on June 8th, 2016. With both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in law from the Université de Montréal, Justice Lewis was admitted to the Bar in November 1988. She initially worked for The Court Challenges Program and subsequently practiced law for several years at the firm Ménard & Martin, working principally in the domain of medical, dental and hospital liability.  She then opened her own firm where she broadened her practice to include family law. In July 2000, Justice Lewis moved to California and obtained a master’s degree in American law from the University of Santa Clara. Upon her return to Québec, she joined the firm Barrette & Associés where, in 2007, she added family mediation to her practice. Very involved in her community where she has served as president or vice-president of community organizations, Justice Lewis was also member of the Comité sur l’arbitrage des comptes d’honorairesof theBarreau du Québec from December 2010 until her nomination to the Court of Québec on January 30, 2014.

M^e Pierre Arguin was appointed assessor to the Tribunal on August 1, 2018.  He holds both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in Law from the Université de Montréal. He also holds a master’s degree in Political science from the Université du Québec à Montréal , as well as a post-graduate diploma in Public management from the Ã‰cole nationale d’administration publique (ÉNAP). Admitted to the Bar of Québec in 1983, and now a retired lawyer, he first practiced Labour law at the Commission des normes du travail (CNT) and, in 1988, at the Commission de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CSST). In 2000, he joined the legal department of the Ministry of Justice of the Government of Quebec, where he practiced mostly Constitutional and Administrative law. In 2011, he was appointed Commissioner at the Commission des lésions professionnelles, and in 2016, member of the Tribunal administratif du travail and served as administrative judge until March 2017. In June 2021, he was appointed as a substitute member of the Commission de la fonction publique du Québec, where he acts as an administrative judge. He is also a teaching assistant in Public Administration Law at the ÉNAP. Furthermore, he is the author and co-author of many articles, published in various law journals, and of some versions of the Loi (annotée) sur les accidents du travail et les maladies professionnelles.

Mtre Gabriel Babineau was appointed assessor at the Human Rights Tribunal on January 18, 2023. He earned a Bachelor of Arts with a major in philosophy from Concordia University and a Bachelor of Laws from the Université du Québec à Montréal. He also holds a Master of Laws from the Université de Laval. In his master’s thesis, he examines the impact of mass arrests on freedom of expression and freedom of peaceful assembly. His research has been cited by the Court of Appeal of Quebec and the Superior Court of Quebec in cases on the right to protest.

Mtre Babineau was called to the Quebec Bar in 2010 and began his legal career as a law clerk for Justice François Doyon at the Court of Appeal of Quebec. Mtre Babineau is currently with the firm Desjardins Côté where he practices mainly in criminal and penal law. He has argued before a wide range of courts in criminal and penal cases, including the Court of Appeal of Quebec and the Supreme Court of Canada.

Mtre Babineau also acts as an instructor at the Université de Sherbrooke, where he teaches courses on constitutional guarantees and the appellate process in criminal and penal law.

Mtre Djénane Boulad was appointed as an assessor with the Tribunal on January 9, 2018. A member of the Barreau du Québec since 1986, and retired attorney since 2017, she holds a master’s degree (DESS) in Public International Law (Administration Internationale) from the Paris II Panthéon-Sorbonne University, in France. She has practised law as legal and legislative counsel at the House of Commons. Sha was also counsel to members of the Immigration and Refugee Board, as a refugee protection officer, and subsequently was Minister’s counsel to the Board. Following an assignment with the Canadian Human Rights Commission as a human rights officer, she served for 10 years at the Competition Bureau as a competition law officer in charge of major fraud and misleading telemarketing investigations.

Mtre. Pierre Deschamps was appointed as an assessor with the Tribunal on July 3, 2018. He graduated in Law from McGill University in 1975 after obtaining a degree in Religious Studies from the Université de Montréal in 1972.  He has been a member of the Québec Bar since 1976. He was a member of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal for ten years and Research Director at McGill University's Research Centre in Private and Comparative Law for more than 15 years.  During those years, he also held an appointment as Adjunct Professor in the University's Faculty of Law, where he taught human rights law and civil liability.  In 2000, Mr. Deschamps was made a member of the Order of Canada for his volunteer work. In 2013, he received the title of Lawyer Emeritus from the Québec Bar.  In 2015, he was appointed to the Québec End of Life Care Commission.

Mtre Carolina Manganelli was appointed as an assessor to the Tribunal on March 30, 2016.  A member of the Barreau du Québec since 2005, she also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology with a concentration in Canadian Ethnic Studies from McGill University, as well as a Master of Laws in Human Rights from University College London in the UK. She has worked with the OSCE and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In Canada, she founded her own law firm and practiced with a major Quebec law firm, as well as with the Department of Justice Canada. Prior to her appointment to the Tribunal, she was a Member of the Immigration and Refugee Board, Refugee Protection Division. In 2022 she relaunched her private law practice and obtained the status of accredited investigator by the Barreau du Québec Bar in matters of psychological harassment in the workplace.

Mtre Marie-Josée Paiement was appointed as an assessor with the Tribunal on January 16, 2019. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from the Department of Applied Human Sciences of Concordia University as well as a Bachelor’s degree in Law from the Université de Sherbrooke. She is admitted to the Bar of Quebec in 1987. Since then, she practiced mainly as a prosecutor for the Director of Youth Protection of Batshaw Youth and Family Centres in matters of youth law. She was a member of the Committee in youth law for the Bar from 2007 to 2016 and she has worked for the Barreau du Québec from 2014 to 2015 as a lawyer for the Research and legislation department. In addition, she lectured in social law and in civil law for college level courses from 1991 to 2003.

Mtre Daniel Proulx was appointed assessor to the Tribunal on March 20th, 2019. A member of the Barreau du Québec since 1978, and now a retired lawyer, he was a Faculty member of the University of Ottawa Law School from 1980 to 2004. In 2004, he became a law professor at the University of Sherbrooke, where he was also appointed Dean of the Faculty of Law for a seven years term. At the end of his term in 2011, he went back to his teaching and research activities at the Faculty, which he continued until his retirement on August 31th, 2019. Mtre Proulx is an expert in constitutional law and has published extensively in the field of human rights, especially equality rights and prevention of discrimination. He was also a member of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (1989-1997) and co-editor of the Canadian Human Rights Yearbook (1985-1990).

Mtre. Monique Rousseau was appointed assessor to the Tribunal on May 19, 2021. She holds a bachelor's degree in Law from Université Laval and a postgraduate diploma in administrative sciences from the Ã‰cole des hautes études Commerciales de Montréal.

Admitted to the Bar in 1984, she began her career as a litigator in private practice before joining the Quebec public service in 1986, first at the Ministry of Revenue, then at the Ministry of Justice. 

From 2003 until 2019, she held various management positions within the Quebec Ministry of Justice, including those of Director of the Direction du droit autochtone et constitutionnel and Director of Public Law.

As a lawyer at the Direction du droit autochtone et constitutionnel, she handled a number of cases related to ​​human rights and represented the Attorney General of Quebec in more than twenty cases before the Supreme Court of Canada.

Mtre. Hajirah Ismail-Zada has been acting as an attorney for the Tribunal since May 2023. Previously, she has held the position of a legal research officer and has also completed her articling at the Tribunal.

She was admitted to the Barreau du Québec in April 2022. She holds a bachelor’s degree in international studies and a bachelor’s degree in law from the University of Montreal. In 2019-2020, she did an internship at the Superior Court of Quebec and her main fields of interest are human rights and international law.

Mtre Sonia D. Levesque acts as an executive assistant and lawyer at the Human Rights Tribunal since February 6^th, 2023. She assists the President in his functions and is the lawyer in charge of the office of the court. Admitted to the Bar in 1998, she practised as a litigator for the Quebec Ministry of Justice, for nearly 25 years, in various matters.  She also holds the title of mediator, accredited by the Barreau du Québec.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in applied sciences and a bachelor’s degree in law from University Laval. She has also completed the schooling for the master’s degree in international commercial law from University Laval and held a position as a lecturer in law at the Faculty of Agriculture and Food Sciences.

Me Justine Lalonde completed her articling at the Tribunal in 2023. She now holds the position of Legal research Officer. She holds a bachelor’s degree in International Relations and International Law (B.A., 2019) as well as a bachelor’s degree in Law from UQAM (LL.B., 2022). She was involved with the International Human Rights Clinic at UQAM as well as the Legal Aid Service for Victims of Sexual Abuse during her studies. She completed the Professional Training Program at the École du Barreau du Québec in June 2022 and then worked for Amnesty International on indigenous peoples’rights.

Ms. Élisabeth Clara Thibault holds a law degree from UQÀM and is currently articling at the Tribunal. During her university career, she was involved with the Clinique internationale de défense des droits humains de l'UQAM and CliniX, a social justice clinic focusing on gender and sexuality matters.  She has also worked for the Centre de justice de proximité du Grand-Montréal and for Avocats sans frontières Canada.

Mrs. Roza Hadibi has been acting as clerk of the Tribunal since January 2022. She is responsible for setting the hearings, under the authority of the President, and for ensuring the management of the cases for all the districts of the province. She holds a law degree and a certificate of aptitude to the legal profession from the University of Algiers. Mrs. Hadibi held a management position in Algeria from 2011 to 2015 and then a legal executive position from 2016 to 2019.

Mrs. Toranj-Mehregan has been acting as principal secretary for the Human Rights Tribunal and assisting the President in his administrative functions since April 17, 2023. She is also the resource person for all matters related to the general secretariat of the Tribunal. Mrs. Toranj-Mehregan holds a Bachelor's degree in Political Science and a Minor in Law & Society. She has many years of experience in secretarial work, having held administrative positions since 2014.

Mrs. Virginie Cheded has been the Tribunal's clerk since October 2023. In this context, she manages the proceedings introduced before the Tribunal and the handling of the motions. She holds a bachelor's degree in law from Université Laval (UL). In addition to being a specialist in circus arts, she has experience with the UL's Bureau of Legal Information, a legal firm and the Commission de protection du territoire agricole du Québec.