Justice Corrine Sparks Appointed Following National Advocacy for Black Representation

Nicholas Marcus Thompson speaking at a press conference on June 4, 2026. Ottawa.

When the Government of Canada announced its new Advisory Council on Rights, Equality and Inclusion on June 1, 2026, there was no Black representation on the Council and no explicit mandate to address anti-Black racism.

In response, Nicholas Marcus Thompson led the National Employment Equity Council’s (NEC) call for Black representation on the Advisory Council and an explicit mandate to address anti-Black racism.

As Co-Chair of the NEC, Thompson led a press conference in Ottawa alongside the Honourable Jean Augustine, Ketty Nivyabandi, Secretary General of Amnesty International Canada, and Bishop Ransford Jones, Chair of the Canadian Black Clergy and Allies, calling on the Government of Canada to address these gaps.

On June 26th, the Government announced the appointment of the Honourable Justice Corrine Sparks to the Advisory Council. Justice Sparks, the first African Nova Scotian appointed to the Bench and the first African-Canadian woman to serve in the judiciary in Canada, brought decades of leadership in advancing equality, justice and human rights.

Following the appointment, the National Employment Equity Council welcomed Justice Sparks’ appointment while reaffirming its call for the Government to explicitly recognize anti-Black racism within the Advisory Council’s mandate.

Thompson told CBC News:

The appointment of Justice Corrine Sparks is a positive and welcome step. It demonstrates that when Canadians raise legitimate concerns about representation, governments can and should listen. While we welcome this appointment, our work is not finished. We will continue advocating for the Advisory Council to explicitly recognize anti-Black racism within its mandate so that Black Canadians can have confidence their experiences are both represented and addressed.