Alfred Alan Borovoy, was a Canadian lawyer and human rights activist best known as the longtime general counsel of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.
13 Facts About Alan Borovoy
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Alan Borovoy was raised as a child in the 1930s and '40s in Toronto where anti-Semitism was commonplace [reference to support this needed].
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Alan Borovoy was on the community relations committee of the Canadian Jewish Congress from 1951 until 2011.
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Alan Borovoy received a Bachelor of Arts in 1953 and a Bachelor of Laws in 1956 from the University of Toronto.
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Alan Borovoy was admitted to the Ontario Bar in 1958.
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In 1960, Alan Borovoy started working as secretary of the Jewish Labour Committee in Toronto fighting racism against minority groups in Toronto, particularly Black Canadians.
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In 1968, Alan Borovoy became General Counsel for the CCLA, a position he held until his retirement on 1 July 2009.
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Alan Borovoy later believed that "extremists among equality seekers" are dangerous to liberal values by using hate speech laws and human rights commissions to censor their adversaries.
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Alan Borovoy was a visiting professor at Dalhousie University's law school and the University of Windsor's law school and lectured part-time at the University of Toronto's Faculty of Social Work and York University's political science department.
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When Israel Apartheid Week advocates complained in 2009 about the administration at Carleton University removing their posters, Alan Borovoy defended the activists.
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Alan Borovoy was the author of The New Anti-Liberals, Uncivil Obedience: The Tactics and Tales of a Democratic Agitator and When Freedoms Collide: The Case for Our Civil Liberties, which was nominated for the 1988 Governor General's Awards.
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Alan Borovoy wrote a biweekly column for the Toronto Star from 1992 to 1996.
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Therein, Alan Borovoy describes his 'pragmatic' view of human nature, the inevitability of conflict in making progressive social change, and the sacrifices he made for career over family.