Douglas Ruck, lawyer and author of recommendations, calls Janna Hines 'suited' for this work
The Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society (NSBS) has appointed Janna Hines as the Ruck independent implementation lead and called her retention an important step in its commitment to focus on the provincial legal community’s future relating to systemic discrimination.
Her consulting role involves developing and executing a plan to ensure the implementation and monitoring of the recommendations in “Regaining Trust: The Ruck Report” on systemic discrimination in Nova Scotia’s legal community, according to a news release from the NSBS. She will work with the NSBS equity and access director and the Ruck implementation task force.
Douglas Ruck, a Nova Scotia lawyer and adjudicator, authored the report, which was released in late October last year.
“Independence in this role is designed to ensure recommendations are handled with resolve, expertise, and neutrality—to address all interests seriously, efficiently, and objectively,” Ruck said in the NSBS news release. “Janna is ideally suited for this important undertaking.”
Hines will also help promote trust and accountability as the report’s recommendations are implemented, in collaboration with NSBS staff members, council equity committees, and other interest holders.
The Ruck report has 21 recommendations covering reporting and educational requirements, disciplinary needs, and policy-driven reforms to build the foundation for achieving meaningful cultural changes. The first recommendation calls for retaining an independent implementation lead to ensure effective and objective achievement of the other recommendations.
In April 2021, the NSBS acknowledged and expressed regret about the systemic discrimination existing within it and the broader legal profession, the society’s news release noted.
The NSBS council committed to a comprehensive external independent review and voted to fully accept the report’s recommendations and advance a transparent and accountable process for attaining change once Ruck finished his presentation.
The NSBS news release shared that Ruck’s experience spans labour relations and employment, human rights, occupational health and safety, civil litigation, and administrative law. He has been provincial ombudsman and chairman of the Nova Scotia Labour Board and the Nova Scotia premier’s employment equity task force.
With Janna Allen Hines Consulting, Hines seeks to offer solutions to assist organizations with developing cultural competency and incorporating diversity and inclusion in their operations and practices, her LinkedIn page stated.
The NSBS news release said her experience includes almost 10 years of managing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) strategy development and implementation, programs, and community engagement and delivering DEI keynotes and training. She has also helped launch employee resource groups and support organizational social responsibility aligning with DEI.
Hines has been senior manager of DEI at Emera in Halifax since January, consultant at Be Equitable from November 2021 to September 2023, diversity and inclusion manager from December 2020 to November 2021, and program manager for communications and community engagement from May 2019 to December 2020 at Central Health, according to her LinkedIn page.
She graduated with a BA in social work from Concordia University Portland. She is a CQ®-certified facilitator in unconscious bias and cultural intelligence.
