Legal Lunch & Learn: International Movement to Ban NDAs

Who this resource is for: Everyone!

Julie Macfarlane, co-founder of Can't Buy My Silence, and human rights lawyer Clea Parfitt, engage in an in-depth discussion on the International Movement to Ban Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs). Learn about the campaign to stop the expanding misuse of these types of contracts by demanding new legislation and regulation to stop “gag orders” from being used in settlements of cases of sexual misconduct, racism, pregnancy discrimination and other human rights violations.

For more details on the Can’t Buy My Silence Movement, check out their website here: https://cantbuymysilence.com/

Julie Macfarlane:

Professor Julie Macfarlane (B.A., LL.M. (London), Ph.D. (C.N.N.A.)) is a Canadian law professor, Member of the Order of Canada, who has won many awards for her work advocating for access to justice. In 2016, in her personal negotiations with the Anglican Church, she persuaded the Church and their insurer to end the default practice of forcing NDAs on victims of clerical abuse. Later that year, she discovered that a colleague terminated following an investigation for harassment and other misconduct was protected by an NDA that had been negotiated before his departure from the University of Windsor, and that he had been able to move to another law school who knew nothing of his history. The University continued to hide the facts in the NDA enabling the perpetrator to successfully sue her for “defamation”.

Clea Parfitt:

Clea works primarily in the areas of human rights and employment law after being called to the bar in 1992. She was active for over a decade with the West Coast Domestic Workers’ Association, a non-profit organization that provides legal advice and advocacy for domestic workers in BC, and was a Board member of P.A.C.E. (Prostitution Alternatives Counselling and Education Society). Clea is currently active with West Coast LEAF, serving as a Board member, pro bono counsel, and chairing the litigation committee.