CBA Immigration Law Section Lunch & Learn
The Intersection of Race and Immigration Law in Canada
December 5th, 2025 | 12:00 PM to 1:15 PM Eastern
Online (Zoom)
Join us for an insightful Lunch & Learn exploring how race shapes policies and outcomes within Canada’s immigration system. Our panel of experts will unpack the historical and contemporary ways in which racial dynamics influence immigration policy, decision-making, and public opinion. Through discussion and case examples, we’ll consider how systemic bias manifests in immigration law making —and what lawyers can do to promote equity and accountability in our advocacy work.
Whether you’re an immigration practitioner, policy advocate, or student of the law, this conversation offers a valuable opportunity to deepen your understanding of race and its impact on immigration in Canada.
Please note, this session is only available live. No recording will be made available afterwards.
This event will only be presented in English.
Speakers
Nicole Piggott
Nicole Piggott has spent her career promoting inclusive workplaces. Before founding, Synclusiv, Nicole held leadership positions in Women in Governance (WiG), Bombardier Aerospace, RioTinto, Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOCC) and FedEx Canada. Nicole has implemented and overseen all aspects of Human Resources, from policies, programs and practices aimed at fostering more inclusive and motivating work environments. She had the privilege of negotiating the first partnership agreements between IOCC and various Indigenous communities.
In 2017, Nicole was a principal player in the development of the Gender Parity Certification at WiG and stewarded the evolution of the questionnaire to include an assessment of intersectionality. This innovative certification assesses the parity at the decision-making level of organizations, as well as the organization's commitment to putting in place mechanisms that allow women at all levels of its hierarchy to obtain career progression, thus creating a pipeline of female talent.
In 2021, Nicole launched Synclusiv to support organizations in their journey to create more inclusive workplaces for everyone. Since its inception, it has rapidly grown to become a driving force behind some of Canada’s top companies’ EDI strategies.
Nicole is the Vice-Chair of the Black Academic Scholarship Fund and Vice-Chair of the Board of the National Safety Council. Nicole has guest lectured at McGill, Concordia, Toronto Metropolitan and Guelph Universities. Nicole was also an advisor to Global Affairs Canada and the CN-Paul Tellier chair of the University of Ottawa on gender issues.
Vasanthi Venkatesh
Dr. Vasanthi Venkatesh is an Associate Professor in Law, Land, and Local Economies at the University of Windsor, Faculty of Law. Her research focuses on law, resistance, and social movements; labour migration and citizenship; racialisation, colonialism and discrimination; and political economy of agriculture and technology. Her expertise lies in the interdisciplinary and comparative study of law within its political, economic, global, and historical contexts.
With Justicia for Migrant Workers in Ontario, she administers the Migrant Farmworkers Clinic at Windsor Law; this is the first legal clinic for migrant farm workers in Canada and is based on law and organising principles. She was appointed as a member of the Leadership Committee on Equitable Livelihoods in the UN Food Systems Summit (UNFSS) 2021 based on her expertise in migrant and labour rights of food system workers. She is the Chair of the Board of Directors of IAVGO, a workers compensation legal clinic that is oraganised as a collective. She has worked and continues to work with a variety of activist, grassroots, and human rights organizations globally and in Canada that mobilise against colonialism, capitalism, and casteism.
Prior to entering academia, Vasanthi ran a sole legal practice and consultancy in Toronto specializing in refugee rights litigation with a focus on women and LGBTQ+ claimants and has also worked in a litigation firm.
