Stories of Resilience with Robert Philp

Join us for a stories of resilience session with Robert (Bob) Philp, who will share with us his experiences, wisdom and reflections on the work to advance human rights and what younger generations need to strengthen our impact.

Bob has extensive legal and judicial experience, which includes 9 years as an Alberta Criminal Court Judge and 7 years as a Deputy Judge of the Northwest Territories. In addition to his practice and judicial experience, Bob served as the Chief of the Commission and Tribunals of the Alberta Human Rights Commission. His practice today includes employment, labour, administrative law, and legal assistance to Indigenous communities. Bob holds executive & board positions with many community organizations in Alberta and he continues to mentor young lawyers and law students. Bob lectures at many universities and is a frequent public speaker on community, poverty, and human rights issues.

Bob has been named King’s Counsel, he received the Queen’s Jubilee Medal in 2003 and the Alberta Centennial Medal in 2005. Bob was honoured by the Law Society of Alberta and Canadian Bar Association with a Distinguished Service Award.

Coming into the 75th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we see there are many struggles that continue to confront our local and global communities. While we have international human rights law and foundations to guide us, we have a long way to go to actualize these rights and bring peace to our communities and world. The rates of hate and intolerance are growing, poverty is deepening, and Canadians are only now beginning to reckon with our deep history of genocide.

“If there is to be perpetual peace in a world of nation states, the individuals who live in them must be free, their human rights must be respected.” John Peters Humphrey

We thank the New Horizons for Seniors Program for enabling us to host these spaces of learning with our Elders.