The Honourable Avvy Yao-Yao Go

Credit: Balfour

Justice Avvy Yao-Yao Go received her B.A. from University of Waterloo, her LL.B. from University of Toronto, and her LL.M. from Osgoode Hall Law School. She was called to the Bar of Ontario in 1991.

Madam Justice Go has 30 years of advocacy and litigation experience on behalf of low-income racialized clients, mostly through her role as Clinic Director of the Chinese and Southeast Asian Legal Clinic. As a first-generation Canadian, she has devoted her entire legal career to breaking down barriers for marginalized groups. She has appeared before all levels of court, including the Supreme Court of Canada, on behalf of clients and public interest litigants seeking to promote equity and racial justice. She served as a Bencher of the Law Society of Ontario for 14 years and sat on the LSO’s Access to Justice Committee, Equity and Aboriginal Issues Committee, and Human Rights Monitoring Group.

Justice Go has served as a part-time member of several administrative tribunals in Ontario. She has volunteered for many non-governmental and community-based organizations, including serving as the Vice Chair of the Court Challenges Program of Canada and President of the Chinese Canadian National Council, Toronto Chapter. She co-founded the Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers (FACL) and the Colour of Poverty – Colour of Change Network.

For her contributions to disadvantaged communities and to the legal profession, Justice Go has received many awards, including the Order of Ontario (2014), the FACL Lawyer of Distinction Award (2012), the City of Toronto’s William P. Hubbard Award for Race Relations (2008), and the Women’s Law Association of Ontario President’s Award (2002).

Appointed Justice of the Federal Court, and ex officio member of the Federal Court of Appeal, on August 4, 2021.