Help Joanna Berry Cover Investigation & Litigation Costs

Hello friends,

My name is Joanna Berry. I am a Canadian refugee and immigration lawyer and a peace activist who stands for the fair, universal application of international law and human rights. I also have prior experience as an adjunct law professor at Humber College and Queen's University.

Over the past year, I endeavoured to use my personal and professional platforms and networks to condemn Israel’s many violations of international law. I have been vocal about Canada’s complicity in funding, arming and enabling Israel’s atrocities against the Palestinian, Lebanese and Syrian people. I have also endeavoured to alert the public about the infiltration of far-right politics and racism throughout Canadian institutions and professional organizations.

Like many others engaged in this type of advocacy, I have been bullied and harassed, including by members of my own legal community. My bullies have sought to silence me through intimidation and “lawfare” tactics. The harassment has included the filing of three frivolous and vexatious complaints against my law license with the Law Society of Ontario (LSO), and the filing of at least two complaints against me for "criminal harassment" with the Ottawa Police Service (OPS).

In early October 2024, the OPS deployed two detectives from my local Niagara Regional Police Services (NRPS) to my home to “caution” me with respect to the content of my social media posts. The detectives said that a group of 10 lawyers from the Ottawa Region “of the Jewish faith,” representing themselves as the “Law Association of Ontario,” filed a complaint against me with the OPS for criminal harassment. Here's the video clip: https://youtu.be/kvEH7v8yR_g?feature=shared

During a subsequent phone call with the investigating OPS officer, he advised that he might bring charges against me in the future, if my social media posts were determined by a particular lawyer to be directly or “indirectly” harassing. Listen to the linked recording; it’s a trip: https://youtu.be/2aBwL2MphyE?feature=shared

All of these LSO and OPS investigations are now closed (apparently). Who knows what tomorrow will bring.

Mine is one of many cases where Canadian law enforcement is mobilized to intimidate and silence peace activists. In my case, I am especially concerned about how—on the face of this case—it appears a group of legal professionals may have possibly misused both the OPS and the LSO’s official reporting systems to suppress my free expression. I am also concerned about the NRPS and the OPS’s mishandling of my case.

As an Officer of the Court, I feel compelled to fully investigate this matter; to possibly bring civil action(s), if warranted; and to publicly advocate for reforms to Canadian legal complaints processes to protect the public and fellow licensees from similar forms of improper lawfare.

I have retained legal counsel and we are beginning to prepare my civil case(s). There are going to be significant frontend costs related to the proper investigation and preparation of my case(s), including Court filing fees; private investigator fees; fees for a legal assistant to properly capture and transcribe relevant social media materials; expert fees; etc. I am not presently in a financial position to bear these costs on my own. In fact, I am reluctant to take on new clients at the moment, given recent escalations in the harassment directed at me and peers.

In the event that I am successful in my civil cases, and if I can recover some or all of the donated funds through a court costs award, I commit to donating the recovered costs that came by way of this fundraiser to charitable initiatives that will assist Palestinian and Lebanese refugees and Internally Displaced Persons.

I will provide regular updates via my social media to share my case’s progress. If you have questions, you can reach me at [email redacted]

Thank you for your support.

Joanna Berry

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joannaberry2/

Blue Sky: @joanna-berry.bsky.social

X/Twitter: @JoannaRuthBerry