Aleem S. Bharmal, Q.C.

Aleem has practiced human rights law at CLAS for almost fifteen years. Prior to that, he was an associate lawyer practicing employment law with a large firm in Toronto.

Aleem graduated from Trinity College, U of T with a B.A. in Philosophy in 1991 and obtained his LL.B. from UBC Law School in 1994. He was called to the Bars of both B.C. and Ontario in 1995 and 1997, respectively.

Aleem has been a presenter on human rights, social justice and access to justice issues. He is currently an Officer of the CBABC Executive Committee, Co-Chair of both the Human Rights and Social Justice Sections, on the Executive of the Administrative Law Section, and a volunteer mentor at the Allard School of Law, UBC.

Aleem is also a past Chair of the CBABC Access to Justice Committee as well as the CBA Equality Committees at both the provincial and national levels. He is also a past member of the Law Society of BC Equity and Diversity Committee.

In late 2015, Aleem and his co-counsel, Clea Parfitt, won a very lengthy, high-profile racial discrimination case involving Indo-Canadian veterinarians. In early 2016, Aleem was involved with other non-profit legal groups and concerned lawyers in the launch of an Islamophobia Legal Hotline currently administered by Access Pro Bono BC.

In June 2016, Aleem was awarded the CBABC President’s Medal in recognition of his contributions to the legal profession. In May 2017, he was elected to Provincial Council as a representative of Vancouver county. In June 2018, he was elected as an Officer of the Executive Committee. In June 2019, he was acclaimed to continue as an Officer of the Executive Committee.

Part of Aleem’s passion for human rights comes from his previous work abroad. As a new lawyer in the mid-nineties, he worked as a Human Rights Officer for the U.N. High Commission of Human Rights where he assisted in reporting on the administration of justice and ongoing human rights violations in Rwanda.