Avvy Go

{{short description|Canadian lawyer (born 1963)}}{{Infobox person | honorific_prefix = Honourable | name = Avvy Yao-Yao Go | honorific_suffix = OOnt | image = | alt = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth year and age|1963}} | birth_place = Hong Kong | death_date =  | death_place = | other_names = | occupation = Lawyer, activist | years_active = | known_for = | awards = Order of Ontario | notable_works = | module = {{infobox Chinese | child = yes | s=吴瑶瑶 | t=吳瑤瑤}} }}

'''Avvy Yao-Yao Go''' {{Post-nominals|country=CAN|OOnt}} (born 1963, in Hong Kong) is a Canadian lawyer and judge. She is known for her work advocating on behalf of immigrant and racialized communities in Canada. In 2014 she was appointed to the Order of Ontario. In August 2021, Go was appointed to the Federal Court.

== Early life and education == Go was born in 1963 in Hong Kong<ref name="Chan2011">{{cite book|author=Arlene Chan|title=The Chinese in Toronto from 1878: From Outside to Inside the Circle|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZnHe0V95S4sC&pg=PA201|year=2011|publisher=Dundurn|isbn=978-1-55488-979-2|pages=201–}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pressreader.com/canada/toronto-star/20140301/281492159237890|title=180 Portraits of the people who helped shape the city from March 6, 1834 to the present|last=deMars|first=Bruce|date=1 March 2014|website=Press Reader|publisher=Toronto Star|access-date=21 March 2017}}</ref> and emigrated to Canada with her parents in 1982.<ref name="waterlooBio">{{cite web|url=https://uwaterloo.ca/innovation60/blog/post/waterloo-and-order-ontario|title=Waterloo and the Order of Ontario - University of Waterloo: 60 Years of Innovation|date=13 February 2017|publisher=}}</ref>

Go completed her undergraduate studies in economics at the University of Waterloo in 1986, and obtained her law degree from the University of Toronto Faculty of Law in 1989.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.law.utoronto.ca/about/brief-history/trailblazers/avvy-yao-yao-go-89|title=Avvy Yao-Yao Go '89 - University of Toronto Faculty of Law|publisher=|access-date=2017-03-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170321170148/http://www.law.utoronto.ca/about/brief-history/trailblazers/avvy-yao-yao-go-89|archive-date=2017-03-21|url-status=dead}}</ref> She completed her articles with Toronto-based law firm WeirFoulds, and was called to the Bar in Ontario in 1991.<ref name="waterlooBio" /> She obtained her master of laws degree from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1999.<ref name="lco-cdo">{{Cite web|url=http://www.lco-cdo.org/en/avvy-go|title=Avvy Go|website=www.lco-cdo.org|access-date=2017-02-13|archive-date=2017-02-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170201211837/http://www.lco-cdo.org/en/avvy-go|url-status=dead}}</ref>{{Independent source inline|date=March 2026|reason=Appears to be syndicated content; resume-like, possibly from the person themselves, from a source of wiki-quality I'm unsure.}}

== Legal career == Go commenced her formal legal career at Women's Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF) as a legal researcher.{{Citation needed|date=March 2026}}

Go worked at Legal Aid Ontario's legal clinic system as a staff lawyer in Toronto, initially at the East Toronto Community Legal Services and Parkdale Community Legal Services.<ref name="lco-cdo" /><ref name="Bauder2011">{{cite book|author=Harald Bauder|title=Immigration Dialectic: Imagining Community, Economy, and Nation|url=https://archive.org/details/immigrationdiale0000baud|url-access=registration|year=2011|publisher=University of Toronto Press|isbn=978-1-4426-1076-7|pages=[https://archive.org/details/immigrationdiale0000baud/page/101 101]–}}</ref>{{Citation needed|date=March 2026}}

=== Advocacy for immigrants and racialized community === In 1992, Go began work as the clinic director of the Metro Toronto Chinese & Southeast Asian Legal Clinic, a clinic focusing on servicing low-income non-English speakers in the Chinese, Vietnamese, Cambodian, and Laotian communities in the Greater Toronto Area.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://mtcsalc.org/en/about-us/|title=Metro Toronto Chinese & Southeast Asian Community based legal clinic|website=mtcsalc.org|language=en|access-date=2017-02-13}}</ref>

Go has been cited in the Canadian press for comments on legal issues relating to systemic racism and the racialization of poverty, especially regarding the Chinese Canadian community.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |url=https://www.thestar.com/news/immigration/2017/02/24/high-fees-blamed-for-sharp-decrease-in-canadian-citizenship-applications.html |title=High fees blamed for sharp decrease in Canadian citizenship applications |last=Keung |first=Nicholas |date=February 24, 2017 |website=Toronto Star |access-date=2017-03-21}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.thestar.com/news/immigration/2016/04/25/widespread-workplace-abuse-persists-for-chinese-restaurant-workers.html |title='Widespread' workplace abuse persists for Chinese restaurant workers |last=Mojtehedzadeh |first=Sara |date=April 25, 2016 |website=Toronto Star |access-date=2017-03-21}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/chinese-restaurant-workers-report-1.3551423|title=Chinese restaurant workers underpaid and overworked, new report says|date=April 25, 2016|work=CBC News|access-date=2017-03-21|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/chinese-signs-divide-resort-area-owners-near-algonquin-park/article32379649/ |title=Chinese signs divide resort-area owners near Algonquin Park |last=Grant |first=Tavia |date=October 14, 2016 |work=The Globe and Mail |access-date=2017-03-21 |language=en-ca}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |url=https://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2017/03/21/ending-racial-discrimination-means-overhauling-our-employment-laws-opinion.html |title=Ending racial discrimination means overhauling our employment laws: Opinion |last=Go |first=Avvy |date=21 March 2017 |website=Toronto Star |access-date=21 March 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/abdirahman-abdi-siu-investigation-video-evidence-1.3700715|title=Why video now plays a major role in probes of deaths linked to police|last=Long|first=Jamie|date=July 30, 2016|work=CBC News|access-date=2017-03-21|language=en}}</ref>

In 2007, she co-founded the Colour of Poverty Campaign, a campaign to address the increasing racialization of poverty in Ontario and currently serves as a member of its steering committee.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://migrantmothersprojectsymposium.weebly.com/avvy-go.html |title=Avvy Go |website=Migrant Mothers Project |access-date=2017-02-13}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://news.ontario.ca/mci/en/2014/01/new-appointees-to-the-order-of-ontario.html |title=New Appointees to the Order of Ontario |publisher=}}</ref> She continued in the organization, and was a member of the steering committee in 2017.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.chroniclejournal.com/news/province-takes-aim-at-racism-strategy-includes-collecting-race-based/article_51d21ec4-040c-11e7-b7aa-575842ba124f.html|title=Province takes aim at racism; Strategy includes collecting race-based data|date=March 8, 2017|work=Chronicle Journal|access-date=21 March 2017|publisher=The Canadian Press}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.insidetoronto.com/news-story/7177727-ontario-to-tackle-systemic-racism-through-three-year-strategic-plan/|title=Ontario to tackle systemic racism through three-year strategic plan|website=Inside Toronto|date=9 March 2017 |access-date=2017-03-21}}</ref>

In 2017, Go appeared before a Canadian Senate hearing to discuss the impact of high fees on immigration for the communities she served in her role at Metro Toronto Chinese & Southeast Asian Legal Clinic.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Schneidereit |first=Erika |date=2 March 2017 |title=Immigration and citizenship: The financial barriers to becoming new Canadians |url=http://nationalmagazine.ca/Articles/March-2017/The-financial-barriers-to-becoming-new-Canadians.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170322020223/http://nationalmagazine.ca/Articles/March-2017/The-financial-barriers-to-becoming-new-Canadians.aspx |archive-date=22 March 2017 |access-date=2017-03-21 |website=National}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=2017-01-04|title=Immigrants peeved by federal government's switch to sponsorship lottery|work=The Hamilton Spectator|url=http://www.thespec.com/news-story/7048810-immigrants-peeved-by-federal-government-s-switch-to-sponsorship-lottery/|access-date=2017-03-21}}</ref>

Go was involved in a case involving a Chinese couple who had their rights as parents challenged because their DNA did not match the DNA of their child.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Siyi |date=March 2017 |title=多伦多大陆难民申请养女来加移民官拒认一家人 - 无忧资讯 |url=http://info.51.ca/news/canada/2017-03/518161.html |access-date=2017-03-21 |website=info.51.ca |language=zh-CN}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=March 2017 |title=因计生遭遗弃中国女孩随养父移民加拿大受阻_加拿大家园网 |url=http://www.iask.ca/news/canada/2017/03/424886.html |access-date=2017-03-21 |website=www.iask.ca |publisher=加拿大家园网版权所有家园简介}}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=Need English language source|date=March 2026}}

In 2013, Go described herself as a “loudmouth activist for politicians to contend with.”<ref>{{Cite web |last=Go |first=Avvy Yao-Yao |date=2013-05-28 |title=What happened to family values in immigration? |url=https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/what-happened-to-family-values-in-immigration/article_f207ea67-0ac9-547d-b60b-d8bb80468f22.html |access-date=2026-01-09 |website=Toronto Star |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite news |last=Sarkonak |first=Jamie |date=January 9, 2026 |title=Jamie Sarkonak: The federal judge determined to dismantle Canada's immigration safeguards |url=https://nationalpost.com/opinion/jamie-sarkonak-the-federal-judge-determined-to-dismantle-canadas-immigration-safeguards |work=The National Post}}</ref>

Go was elected as a Bencher of Law Society of Upper Canada in 2001, 2006, and 2013.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lawtimesnews.com/current-issue/inside-story/Page-11|title=Avvy Go to Replace Wendy Matheson as Bencher|date=July 1, 2013|website=Law Time}}</ref>

=== Campaign for Chinese head tax reparations === Go played a significant role in Canada’s redress for Chinese Head Tax and the ''Chinese Immigration Act'' of 1923, which resulted in a formal apology by the government of Canada in 2006.<ref name="waterlooBio" /> Her involvement and her role as a spokesperson commenced when she became the acting executive director of the Chinese Canadian National Council (CCNC) in 1988 and the president of its Toronto chapter in 1989.{{Citation needed|date=March 2026}}

In 2002, Go was co-counsel in a class action lawsuit, ''Mack v Canada (Attorney General)''<ref>{{Cite CanLII|litigants=Mack v. Canada (Attorney General)|court=onsc|year=2001|format=canlii|num=27983|parallelcite=55 OR (3d) 113|courtname=auto}}</ref><ref>{{Cite CanLII|court=onca|litigants=Mack v. Canada (Attorney General)|format=canlii|year=2002|num=45062|parallelcite=60 OR (3d) 756|courtname=auto}}</ref>, on behalf of Chinese head tax payers and their descendants against the Government of Canada.<ref name="HendersonWakeham2013">{{cite book |author1=Jennifer Henderson |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nyIaxJFkdPIC&pg=PA90 |title=Reconciling Canada: Critical Perspectives on the Culture of Redress |author2=Pauline Wakeham |publisher=University of Toronto Press |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-4426-1168-9 |pages=90–}}</ref> After losing an appeal in this case, Go and CCNC accused an appeal judge of racism, alleging he made inappropriate comments to counsel during the course of argument on an appeal.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3">{{Cite web |date=2019-05-29 |title=The Chinese Canadian National Council (CCNC) alleged that Justice James MacPherson of the Ontario Court of Appeal made inappropriate comments to counsel during the course of argument on an appeal |url=https://cjc-ccm.ca/en/resources-center/publications/chinese-canadian-national-council-ccnc-alleged-justice-james |access-date=2026-01-09 |website=Canadian Judicial Council |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite news |date=2002-09-14 |title=Head-tax ruling clouded by allegations |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/head-tax-ruling-clouded-by-allegations/article1026230/ |access-date=2026-01-09 |work=The Globe and Mail |language=en-CA}}</ref> Remarking on the case, ''The Globe and Mail'' noted it is extremely rare for lawyers to attribute improper motives to judges.<ref name=":4" /> The complaint was rejected.<ref name=":3" />

In 2005, she criticized Canadian journalist Jeffrey Simpson for displaying "insensitivity and ignorance by maligning the individuals and groups who are rightly seeking redress for the racist Chinese Head Tax and Exclusion Act."<ref>{{Cite news |date=2005-12-20 |title=Letters to the editor: Seeking redress |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/letters/seeking-redress/article4122750/ |access-date=2026-01-09 |work=The Globe and Mail |language=en-CA}}</ref>

On June 22, 2006, Prime Minister Stephen Harper made an official apology in the House of Commons on behalf of Canada for the Chinese head tax, and announced the payment of reparations for survivors and their spouses.<ref>{{Cite news |title=PM offers apology, 'symbolic payments' for Chinese head tax |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/pm-offers-apology-symbolic-payments-for-chinese-head-tax/article711245/ |access-date=2017-02-13 |newspaper=The Globe and Mail |language=en-ca}}</ref>

== Judiciary == Remarking on applying multiple times to a federal judicial appointment, in 2014 Go said she had "put in an application as an act of challenge with no expectation of ever being appointed, not only because I am a woman of colour, but more importantly, because my politics are not in sync with the current government,”<ref>{{Cite web |last=MacCharles |first=Tonda |date=June 19, 2014 |title=Lawyer disputes Peter MacKay’s claim that women, visible minorities don’t apply to be judges |url=https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/lawyer-disputes-peter-mackay-s-claim-that-women-visible-minorities-don-t-apply-to-be/article_91968774-3349-530f-9d6a-f704bbcf87ec.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20260109170032/https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/lawyer-disputes-peter-mackay-s-claim-that-women-visible-minorities-don-t-apply-to-be/article_91968774-3349-530f-9d6a-f704bbcf87ec.html |archive-date=Jan 9, 2026 |access-date=Jan 9, 2026 |website=Toronto Star}}</ref> referring to the Conservative Harper ministry then in office.

On August 6, 2021, Go was appointed a justice of the Federal Court and an ''ex officio'' member of the Federal Court of Appeal by Minister of Justice and Attorney General David Lametti.<ref>{{Cite web|date=August 6, 2021|title=Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada announces judicial appointments to the Federal Court|url=https://www.canada.ca/en/department-justice/news/2021/07/minister-of-justice-and-attorney-general-of-canada-announces-judicial-appointments-to-the-federal-court.html|website=Department of Justice}}</ref> This made her the first Chinese Canadian to be appointed to the Federal Court.<ref name=tmu2022 /><ref name=":5" /> She was the fifteenth judge appointed to the Federal Court by the Liberal Trudeau ministry.{{efn|Between June 2017 and March 2021, the Trudeau ministry appointed fourteen justices to the Federal Court. Justice Go's appointment was announced with the appointment of Justices Mandy Aylen and Vanessa Rochester, with Go listed first in accordance to the three justices' seniority on the bar.}}

She would face mandatory retirement in 2038.<ref>{{Cite canlaw|short title=Federal Courts Act|abbr=RSC|year=1985|chapter=F-7|section=8(2)|link=https://www.canlii.org/en/ca/laws/stat/rsc-1985-c-f-7/latest/rsc-1985-c-f-7.html}}</ref>

=== Criticism === In a 2026 opinion piece, National Post columnist Jamie Sarkonak argued that Go had made many decisions on immigration cases that harmed Canada's interests.<ref name=":2" />{{POV statement|Fairness of Criticism|date=April 2026}}

== Awards and honours == * President's Award, 2002, Women's Law Association of Ontario<ref name="waterlooBio" />{{Independent source inline|date=March 2026}} * William P. Hubbard Race Relations Award, 2008, City of Toronto <ref name="waterlooBio" />{{Independent source inline|date=March 2026}} * Lawyer of Distinction Award, 2012, Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers * Member, 2014, Order of Ontario,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.oba.org/2015Benchers/OBA-Candidates-List/Avvy-Yao-Yao-Go|title=OBA.org - Avvy Yao Yao Go|website=www.oba.org|language=en|access-date=2017-02-13}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lawsocietygazette.ca/news/go-order-ontario/|title=Go awarded Order of Ontario - The Gazette|date=27 January 2014|publisher=}}</ref> with the following citation:<ref>{{Cite press release |title=New Appointees to the Order of Ontario |date=2014-01-23 |publisher=Office of the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario |url=https://news.ontario.ca/en/backgrounder/28217/new-appointees-to-the-order-of-ontario}}</ref> <blockquote>'''Avvy Yao Yao Go''' is a respected lawyer, who uses her law degree to advance the rights of Toronto's marginalized communities. She has built coalitions across different communities on issues of anti-racism, human rights and equity and most recently co-founded the "Colour of Poverty Campaign".</blockquote> * Doctor of Laws Honoris Causa, Toronto Metropolitan University (2022)<ref name=tmu2022>{{cite web|author=|date=2022-05-19|title=Leaders in business, the law, philanthropy and Indigenous advocacy to be honoured at TMU convocation this spring|url=https://www.torontomu.ca/news-events/news/2022/05/Michael-Clemons-one-of-notable-leaders-to-receive-hon-doc/|publisher=Toronto Metropolitan University}}</ref>{{Independent source inline|date=March 2026}} * Alumni Achievement Award recipient for Professional Achievement, University of Waterloo (2025)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Avvy Yao-Yao Go (BA '86, Economics) {{!}} Arts {{!}} University of Waterloo |url=https://uwaterloo.ca/arts/alumni-friends/alumni-awards/alumni-achievement-award/avvy-yao-yao-go-ba-86-economics |access-date=2026-04-01 |website=uwaterloo.ca |language=en}}</ref>{{Independent source inline|date=March 2026}} * Honorary LLD, 2026, Law Society of Ontario<ref name=":5">{{Cite news |last=Law Society of Ontario |date=2026-03-02 |title=Law Society presents Honorary LLD to the Honourable Avvy Yao-Yao Go |url=https://lso.ca/gazette/news/gazette-news-2026/law-society-presents-honorary-lld-to-the-honourabl |work=Law Society Gazette |publisher=Law Society of Ontario}}</ref>

== References == {{notelist}}

* {{cite web |author= |date=2023-08-17 |title=The Honourable Avvy Yao-Yao Go |url=https://www.fct-cf.ca/en/pages/about-the-court/members-of-the-court/judges/the-honourable-avvy-yao-yao-go |publisher=Federal Court (Canada) |access-date=2026-04-02}} {{reflist|30em}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Go, Avvy}} Category:1963 births Category:Living people Category:Canadian women lawyers Category:Members of the Order of Ontario Category:Lawyers in Ontario Category:Canadian people of Hong Kong descent Category:Canadian activists