Judith Rae is a Partner at OKT committed to advancing Indigenous peoples’ goals. Her focus areas include governance, child welfare, health and education. She has also worked on protecting Indigenous lands and resources, developing Indigenous laws, constitutional and human rights, and a number of other strategic, negotiation & litigation matters.
In addition to her legal background, Judith also has a Masters in Social Work and experience working with youth at risk. She offers inter-disciplinary assistance in social policy areas.
Judith received her JD and MSW from the University of Toronto, and was Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Indigenous Law Journal. She is a member of the Ontario and Newfoundland and Labrador bars.
In 2015, Judith taught “Legal Issues in First Nations Governance” at Lakehead University’s Bora Laskin Faculty of Law.
Publications and Media
- “Changes for Ontario students crossing on/off reserve to attend school”, OKT Blog, September 2019
- “A Roadmap to C-92, the Federal Child Welfare Law”, OKT Blog, June 2019
- “When are First Nations children with special needs going to get fair treatment?”, OKT Blog, May 2017
- “Ontario commits to clean mercury from English-Wabigoon river system”, OKT Blog, February 2017
- “One year later, one big disappointment: First Nation Child and Family Caring Society case, one year later”, OKT Blog, January 2017
- "Thunder Bay police under review in treatment of Indigenous peoples", OKT Blog, November 8, 2016
- "First Nations win major child welfare case", with Kaitlin Ritchie, OKT Blog, January 26, 2016
- “The Federal Control of First Nations Education Act” OKT Blog, May 9, 2014
- Nancy Kleer and Judith Rae, “Divided We Fall: Tsilhqot’in and the Historic Treaties”, OKT Blog, July 11, 2014
- Presentation, “Context & controversy around the First Nations Education Act” March 22, 2014, Law Union of Ontario
- “Behind the numbers: Harper’s new funding of the First Nations Education Act”, OKT Blog, February 14, 2014
- Presentation, “The 1965 Agreement: Overview and Focus on Child Welfare”, January 14, 2014, Aboriginal Child and Youth Strategy Conference, Independent First Nations.
- “New twist after Supreme Court decision in Behn”, OKT Blog, January 9, 2014.
- Presentation & Workshop, “We are all treaty people”, December 2, 2013, High School Student Conference organized by the Toronto District School Board and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.
- “The proposed First Nations Education Act”, OKT Blog, October 24, 2013.
- “Education a hot topic”, OKT Blog, May 30, 2013.
- “A win for Matawa First Nations”, OKT Blog, March 19, 2013.
- Presentation, “Aboriginal Youth and Child Welfare”, March 16, 2013, Annual Conference of the Law Union of Ontario.
- “Daniels case on Métis and Non-Status Indians”, OKT Blog, January 10, 2013.
- Judith Rae, “Keewatin: Natural Evolution, Not a Revolution” (Paper presented at the National Aboriginal Law conference hosted in Ottawa by Pacific Business & Law Institute, November 20-21, 2012. This paper comments on the Ontario Superior Court’s decision in Keewatin v Ontario (Minister of Natural Resources), 2011 ONSC 4801. Please note the subsequent appeal decisions reported at 2013 ONCA 158 and 2014 SCC 48).
- Presentation, “Practicing Aboriginal law”, July 18, 2012, Law In Action Within Schools (LAWS) High School Student Conference at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Law.
- “New Environmental Assessment Act is leaner and meaner, not greener”, OKT Blog, May 8, 2012.
- “Caring Society and First Nations Win Decision in Federal Court on Child Welfare Funding”, OKT Blog, April 19, 2012.
- “Supreme Court reaffirms principles of Aboriginal sentencing; Renée Pelletier quoted”, OKT Blog, March 23, 2012.
- “Matawa First Nations file judicial review”, OKT Blog, November 9, 2011.
- “Case Update on First Nations Child and Family Caring Society et al v Canada, 2011 CHRT 4” OKT Blog, March 30, 2011.
- Judith Rae, “Program Delivery Devolution: A Stepping Stone or Quagmire for First Nations?” (2009) 7:2 Indigenous LJ 2.
- Co-Editor-in-Chief, Indigenous Law Journal, (2008) 7:2 Indigenous LJ.
- Judith Rae, “Child ‘rescue’ in mass emergencies: illegal, unrealistic, and unethical Web-Exclusive Comment”, The Globe and Mail, November 21, 2007.
- Judith Rae, “Indigenous Children’s Rights: An International Perspective” (2007) Canada’s Children at 45.
- Judith Rae, (with UN Sub-Group on Indigenous Children and Youth People), “Indigenous Children: Rights and Reality” (Ottawa: First Nations Child and Family Caring Society, 2006).
- Judith Rae, “Empire’s Hidden Hand: American NGOs and Central America in the 1980s” (2005-2006) 6:1 The Attaché (Journal of International Affairs) at 15.
Recent Articles
Five Years of C-92: Progress Made and the Road Ahead for Indigenous Jurisdiction in Child and Family Services
Tuesday, April 22, 2025
An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families came into force over five years ago on January 1, 2020. It is frequently…
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OKT Podcast - Overview of the Reference on Bill C-92
Tuesday, February 20, 2024
We are excited to introduce the inaugural episode of the OKT podcast!
In this debut installment, Jesse Abell, Krista Nerland, and Judith Rae discuss the intricacies…
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First Nations: Did some of your members go to residential school?
UPDATED DEADLINE: JUNE 30, 2022
First Nations: Did some of your members go to residential school?
If yes, there is a class action underway now that may apply to you,…
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