Speakers
Christian Whalen, Deputy Advocate and Senior Legal Counsel
défenseur adjoint et conseiller juridique principal, Bureau du défenseur des enfants, des jeunes et des aînés
Christian Whalen is a native of Fredericton and holds degrees from Carleton University (BA ’87); the University of New Brunswick (LLB ’89) and from l'Université de Strasbourg III (D.E.A. ’92), as a French Government Scholar and Council of Europe Human Rights Fellow. Following his call to the bar, Mr. Whalen worked as a lawyer in private practice and as legal counsel to the New Brunswick Human Rights Commission before joining the Office of the Ombudsman in 2005. He has been responsible for systemic investigations and acted as lead investigator on several reports of Ombudsman and the Child and Youth Advocate. He was also the project lead on the Advocate's annual State of our Children and Youth reports and annual Children’s Rights and Well-being Framework. He served as Acting Child and Youth Advocate for New Brunswick from April 1, 2011 to August 1, 2013. He served as founding chair of the Canadian Bar Association’s National Sections Council Committee on Children’s Law. In 2014 he received the Children’s Rights Champion Award from the Canadian Coalition for the Rights of Children and in 2015 was awarded the John Tait Award for distinguished service as public sector counsel by the Canadian Bar Association.
Christian Whalen est originaire de Fredericton. Il détient des diplômes de Carleton University (baccalauréat ès arts, 1987) et de l’Université du Nouveau-Brunswick (baccalauréat en droit, 1989) ainsi que de l’Université de Strasbourg III (diplôme d’études approfondies, 1992), en tant que titulaire d’une bourse du gouvernement français et d’une bourse d’études en droits de la personne du Conseil de l’Europe. Après son admission au Barreau, Me Whalen a exercé le droit dans le secteur privé et au sein de la Commission des droits de la personne du Nouveau-Brunswick, avant de se joindre au bureau de l’ombudsman en 2005. Il s’est occupé d’enquêtes systémiques et a mené des enquêtes dans le cadre de plusieurs rapports de l’ombudsman et du défenseur des enfants et de la jeunesse.