Souhila Baba

Lawyer | Jurist, McGill University

Criminal law, Health law, Access to justice, Legal reforms that impact marginalized populations, Feminism, Mental health

Media

Opinion: COVID-19 situation in prisons requires urgent action

Montreal Gazette, April 27, 2020Print

URL: https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/opinion-covid-19-situation-in-prisons-requires-urgent-action/

Just because some inmates were sentenced to serve time does not mean they forfeited their right to health or should be left to perish in dangerous conditions. By reducing the numbers of arrests, processing bail faster, reviewing past bail decisions and releasing non-violent inmates, Quebec could mitigate the consequences of any outbreak within provincial jails.

COVID-19: Greater Police Powers Is Not the Solution

National Newswatch, April 8, 2020Online

URL: https://www.nationalnewswatch.com/2020/04/08/covid-19-greater-police-powers-is-not-the-solution/#.Xo9pNchKhPY

We learned from the HIV crisis: punitive measures in these circumstances are dangerous for civil liberties, they are ineffective, and are unjustly applied.

[FR] Adoption : l’intérêt de l’enfant, considération primordiale

LaPresse, August 1, 2019Online

URL: https://www.lapresse.ca/debats/opinions/201907/31/01-5235797-adoption-linteret-de-lenfant-consideration-primordiale.php

A look at the Quebec policy barring citizens to adopt children from countries with a kafalah system.

How RCMP job policy is undermining the careers of women within its ranks

CBC, December 11, 2019Online

URL: https://www.cbc.ca/news/opinion/opinion-rcmp-pension-supreme-court-hearing-1.5382513

As police forces try to recruit more women, a key to retaining those already in uniform is being overlooked: a look at the legal arguments in the Supreme Court case Canada v Fraser (2019)

Canada has flipped the burden of proof for bail in cases of repeated intimate partner violence

CBC, August 17, 2019Online

URL: https://www.cbc.ca/news/opinion/bail-change-1.5245986

This change won't help women. In fact, it could make their situations worse

Biography

Souhila Baba works and researches in criminal law, health law, feminism, and equity, diversity, & inclusion. She has a keen interest in mental health, access to health services, and access to justice. She holds a B.C.L./J.D. from the Faculty of Law of McGill University, and a B.Sc. with distinction in Psychology, with a minor in Political Science from Concordia University.

Baba has interned with several health institutions, including with the legal department of the CIUSSS centre-ouest-de-l’île-de-Montréal, through the Research Group in Health and Law, as well as with the McGill Observatory on Health and Social Services Reforms, through the Institute of Health and Social Policy. She was also a clerk to the Hon. Justice Sophie Bourque of the Superior Court of Québec (criminal division). She is currently a collaborator with the iMPACTS project at McGill, a partnership with law, arts, and media sectors to develop responses to sexual violence in universities and society.

Baba is an executive member of Law Needs Feminism Because, a national collective working to increase awareness of intersectional feminism in law, and a member of the board of directors of LEAF Québec.

Additional Titles and Affiliations

LEAF Québec

LEAF’s founding mothers created LEAF to defend the equality rights enshrined in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Over its thirty years, the battles LEAF has fought in the courts have achieved many victories and advanced substantive equality for women and girls in Canada.

https://www.leaf.ca/branches/quebec/

Law Needs Feminism Because

Law Needs Feminism Because (Le droit a besoin du féminisme car) is a national collective of law students and legal professionals engaging in advocacy work to increase awareness of intersectional feminism. We facilitate dialogue on issues relating to gender, diversity and inclusivity in law schools, the legal profession and the justice system.

https://www.lawneedsfeminismbecause.ca/

iMPACTS - McGill University

A partnership with law, arts and media sectors to develop responses to sexual violence in universities and society

https://www.mcgill.ca/definetheline/impacts/about-us/collaborators

Expertise

  • criminal law
  • health law
  • access to justice
  • legal reforms impacting marginalized populations
  • feminism
  • mental health