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User:Geo Swan/Saron Gebresellassi

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Saron Gebresellassi
Born1987 (age 36–37)
Eritrea
NationalityCanadian
Occupationlawyer
Known foractivism

Saron Gebresellassi is a Canadian lawyer.[1][2][3][4][5]

She declared herself as a candidate for mayor of Toronto in 2018.[2]

On October 21, 2018, the eve of the election for mayor Toronto the Toronto Star reported that Desmond Cole claimed Gebresellassi had accepted a list of contact numbers from incumbent John Tory, that Cole felt she should have informed the public of this help.[6]

Personal life[edit]

Gebresellassi was born in Eritrea, but left in 1989, when her family was accepted for refugee status, when she was only a few years old.[3][5] Now magazine reports she grew up in a "Toronto Community Housing high-rise near Eglinton and Keele."

Gebresellassi, who speaks seven languages, and is a classically trained pianist, excelled academically.[3] Her academic success earned her scholarships, which enabled her to graduate debt-free from University.

Educational career[edit]

Educational career[1]
degree period insistitution field
B.A. 2004-2008 Ryerson University Radio and Television Arts (journalsim)
PhD candidate 2009 York University social and political thought (philosophy)
J.D. 2010-2014 University of Ottawa articled at a firm specializing in personal injury

Legal practice[edit]

Gebresellassi charges conventional clients conventional fees, and serves many pro-bono clients, including undocumented immigrants and individuals claiming sexual harrassment.[3]

In 2014 she defended Sohill Agha who was kicked off an Air Canada plane when a fellow passenger claimed an overheard cell phone conversation should raise a legitimate safety concern.[7] Gebressellassi asserted Agha had been unfairly profiled, as a muslim, of African background. She disputed whether he had said what the eavesdropper reported hearing.

She worked for Gilary Massa Machado, who was fired while on maternity leave.[3]

Candidate for mayor of Toronto in 2018[edit]

Gebresellassi announced her candidacy on May 1, 2018.[8] Activist Desmond Cole, who had considered running himself, accompanied Gebresellassi when she filed her candidacy.

Globe and Mail columnist Elizabeth Renzetti, in a profile of several female candidates, compared Gebresellassi to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, as they were young capable candidates, who seemed to emerge at the right time for an electoral upset.[9]

On October 15, 2018, a week before the election, Christopher Hume called her "the most exciting and articulate mayoral candidate".[6]

High Park-Swansea NDP Nominee[edit]

In 2019 Gebresellassi was one of three nominees to be the New Democratic Party's nominee for the Federal riding of High Park Swansea.[10] According to Matt Fodor, reporting in Now magazine, Gebresellassi had recruited 400 new members in the riding, whose support she was expecting to count on, but party workers took hours verifying their party status. Fodor said that many of Gebresellassi's supporters, which included many new Canadians, felt frustrated and humiliated.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Daniel Fish (2017-05-30). "How Saron Gebresellassi practises law and activism at the same time". Law and Style. Retrieved 2018-07-31. But google the 30-year-old and you'll hardly find any mention of personal injury law. Instead, you'll see Gebresellassi using law as a tool for social justice. There she is, in the Toronto Star, suing Starbucks for $1 million on behalf of a woman who says her manager scheduled her to work with a colleague she accused of assault. And there she is, again, representing a woman who lost her job while on maternity leave. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |trans_title= (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. ^ a b Roy Murray (2018-05-20). "Local lawyer wants to be mayor of Toronto". Weston Web. Retrieved 2018-07-31. She came from Eritrea to Canada as an infant in 1989 and according to an article in The Lawyer's Daily, her impressive list of accomplishments ranges from fluency in six languages to classical piano and flute playing. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |trans_title= (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. ^ a b c d e Carolyn Gruske (2018-05-18). "Lawyer/activist confident her mayoral campaign will 'resonate with the people' of Toronto". The Lawyer's Daily. Retrieved 2018-07-31. Gebresellassi, who is founder of Saron Legal PC, came to Canada as a child in 1989 when she and her family were accepted as refugees from Eritrea under United Nations conventions. The family resided in what she describes as an "at risk neighbourhood" — the same neighbourhood that is home to her practice. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |trans_title= (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. ^ James Gaughan (2018-05-31). "Here's What You Need To Know About The People Running For Mayor In Toronto Besides John Tory". Narcity. Retrieved 2018-07-31. Her twitter bio refers to her as a 'People's Lawyer. Agitator. Power Broker. Crisis Manager. Fixer. Legal Analyst/Commentator. Millennial. Community Advocate.' {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |trans_title= (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. ^ a b Samantha Edwards (2018-10-17). "Toronto Election 2018: Mayoral hopeful Saron Gebresellassi is the antidote to the status quo". Now magazine. Retrieved 2018-10-22. Throughout the campaign, she's been a fierce critic of both Tory and Jennifer Keesmaat, who the media has painted as Tory's only real opposition. Gebresellassi says neither have shown leadership on the issue of affordable housing, a point that was underscored when Tory skipped the affordable housing debate on October 15, less than a week before the election. After 15 minutes, Keesmaat left the debate, too. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |trans_title= (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. ^ a b Marco Chown Oved (2018-10-21). "Mayoral hopeful accused of accepting 'material support' from John Tory's team". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2018-10-22. Cole published the post on social media two days before the municipal vote 'out of fear Saron would continue to keep her actions from the community.' {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |trans_title= (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link) Cite error: The named reference "TheStar2018-10-21" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  7. ^ Tim Alamenciak (2014-12-22). "Charges dropped against 22-year-old law student in plane scare at Pearson International". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on 2018-01-18. Retrieved 2018-07-31. Gebresellassi refused to repeat the comments that caused concern or go into detail, stating that further litigation may be possible. She did not specify what form any further complaints or legal action would take. {{cite news}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 2018-08-01 suggested (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |trans_title= (help)
  8. ^ Arianne Robinson (2018-05-01). "Politics at city hall on first day of election registration as candidates for mayor and city councillor file nomination papers". Signal Toronto. Retrieved 2018-07-31. Among them are Saron Gebresellassi, who came to city hall with activist Desmond Cole. Cole had considered a run for mayor but announced on Sunday he wouldn't enter the race. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |trans_title= (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. ^ Elizabeth Renzetti (2018-07-21). "The monolithic face of Toronto politics may finally change". Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 2018-08-01. Ms. Gebresellassi put her law career on hold, joined the Women Win TO program and decided that the best place for her progressive vision was on the mayoral ticket. She thinks the budget for policing is too large, and wants to see youth crime tackled through earlier interventions such as job creation and mental-health services. She wants to see transit fares frozen, and would ideally like to see a free public-transit system. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |trans_title= (help)
  10. ^ Matt Fodor (2019-07-04). "Frustration and confusion mark Parkdale-High Park NDP nomination". Now magazine. Retrieved 2019-07but -29. It was a stressful, painful and humiliating experience for the mostly African immigrants who came to support Saron Gebresellassi and participate in the Canadian political process for the first time {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link)
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