Residence Toronto, Ontario | Nationality Canadian | |
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Occupation Lawyer, Mediator, Animal Law Advocate Alma maters University of Toronto, Osgoode Hall Law School | ||
Suzana Gartner is a lawyer, mediator, and animal advocate. Her legal practice, Gartner & Associates Animal Law, is the first law firm in Canada to focus exclusively on animal law and the mediation of animal law disputes.
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Gartner serves as the Chair of the Ontario Bar Association’s Animal Law Executive Committee. She is a past member of the Ontario Bar Association’s Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Executive Committee. She sits on the Board of Advisors for Animal Justice Canada. Gartner is also a member of the Jackman Humanities Institute (JHI) working group, ‘Animals in the law and Humanities’ at the University of Toronto.
Gartner is a member in good standing with The Law Society of Upper Canada.
Early Life and Animal Welfare
Gartner’s journey into animal welfare began as a shelter volunteer. In 2010, a chance encounter led her to an abandoned dog at a Toronto municipal shelter. She regularly walked him, but as days passed, and no came to claim or adopt him, she realized the implications. She convinced her mother to meet him and that day, he was adopted and found a home.
Saving this one life was her impetus to commit to change the legal system, and work to put an end to the killing of adoptable companion animals.
In 2013, Gartner completed her Master of Laws degree in ADR at Osgoode Hall Law School. Her research combined ADR methods with the field of animal law, and she coined the term, ACAP, Acceptable Companion Animal Philosophy, a balanced approach that recognizes the inherent value and sentience of companion animals, and proposes consensus building as a strategy to amend animal legislation towards ending the plight of homeless companion animals.
Career
From 2009-2010, Gartner worked for the Ontario Ministry of Labour, in the Dispute Resolution Services Branch, as a mediator intern.
In 2014, Gartner launched Gartner & Associates Animal Law, a law firm that represents clients with animal-related disputes, focuses on protecting animal’s interests, and advancing the field of animal law.
Gartner continues to lobby provincial and federal governments to amend animal legislation to improve the conditions for animals across Canada and abroad.
Publications and Presentations
When there's a divorce, who gets the family pet? on CBC Here and Now
What happens to the dog when a couple breaks up? in The Toronto Star and Tasha Kheiriddin's show on Talk Radio AM640
Pet Insurance Growing But Read the Fine Print in The Lawyers Weekly
Judge limits Toronto lawyer to two pets in the Law Times News.
‘Animal law: Reducing Euthanasia in City Shelters’ to the Canadian Bar Association.
‘Improving Canadian Federal Anti-Cruelty Legislation’ at the Institute of the Ontario Bar Association's session ‘Current Trends and Important Developments in Animal law’.
‘Pet Custody Disputes: Companion Animals as Sentient Beings,’ in the Newsletter of the Animal Law section of the Ontario Bar Association (November, 2015).