Sitting across a grand conference table, Joga Chahal, the Vice President
of Canadian Association of South Asian Lawyers (CASAL) met with
Generation Next to share his experiences as a South Asian lawyer in
Canada. His family came to Canada when he was three, and he grew up in a
South Asian household while experiencing the Canadian way of life in the
East end of Toronto.

It was an eye-opening experience for Mr. Chahal when his family moved to

Brampton as the South Asian community is concentrated in that area of the
city. He is among those individuals who have successfully preserved their
cultural identities while beautifully integrating into the
Canadian society, recalling his own upbringing, he says, ” My parents were
always there to help us with our education and to guide us and that made
it easier to meet our goals in life. The cultural aspects were always
important, my parents even though they spoke English, they mainly spoke
Punjabi at home. So, we also learnt to speak Punjabi ourselves. With that
came the aspect of going to the temple once a week, and with that came all
the other cultural aspects.”

Talking about the problems that youth today face, he says, “Fitting in is
very important, meaning that they have their parent’s values which are
traditional; they also have the values of Canadian society which are
different and sometimes diametrically opposed to the values you have at
home with your family.” Mr. Chahal is very proud of his heritage and he
says, ” it defines who you are. It’s important to know your heritage and
culture.”

As a successful and well respected trial lawyer he talks about the
perception the South Asian community has of South Asian lawyers, ” I think
that depends from case to case. There are some people who feel more
comfortable using the services of a South Asian lawyer and for some there
is a misconception that South Asian lawyers cannot provide legal services
at a high standard. Through Canadian Association of South Asian Lawyers we
are trying to eliminate this stereotype.”

He thinks that this misconception prevails because “maybe, South Asian’s
have been accustomed to following television and the media, in general,
where they constantly see non-South Asian lawyers being portrayed in a
positive light and they don’t see as many South Asian lawyers who fit that
role model and therefore believe that South Asian lawyers cannot perform
at the same level as non-South Asian lawyers.”

Being the Vice-President of CASAL, he sheds some light on the problems
being faced by new lawyers from South Asian countries: “New South Asian
lawyers face difficulty securing articling positions and developing
networking contacts, being that they are new to the country. Also,
sometimes, language can be a barrier. However, we are attempting to
overcome these issues by having an organization like CASAL. CASAL has made
it easier for new lawyers to access resources and develop
networking contacts such that they can secure articles and develop a
support system which is valuable in the legal field. New lawyers need to
be able to turn to their peers for assistance with legal and non legal
issues. The legal profession is extremely demanding and we have seen that
lawyers that have a support system in place are in the end much better
lawyers, not only at the office or in court but at home as well.”

Another reason why CASAL was created, states Mr. Chahal, was because
“there is a need to educate the broader public about important
social/legal issues that face not only the South Asian community, but all
communities, issues such as domestic violence and drunk driving.” Most
importantly, youth issues involving gangs and drugs are becoming a real
concern for the South Asian community, states Mr. Chahal, and therefore
there is a real need to focus in on this segment of the
population.

He talks about parenting and the difficulties families face in today’s
world. “The financial situation of families today has resulted in both
parents being required to work to make ends meet and that results in
parents being unable to spend as much time with their children as they
would like”, states Mr. Chahal. “This as a result, requires that we pay
greater attention to our youth and assist them in making the correct
choices.” “Hopefully, through CASAL, we can identify the issues that are
of concern to the South Asian community and work with the community in
finding a solution.”

The issues that face the South Asian community are not particular to our
community only, these are issues for all communities”

Author: Saniya Zahid