Career
Go became Acting Executive Director of the Chinese Canadian National Council (CCNC) in 1988 and President of the Toronto Chapter of the CCNC in 1989. In that role, she became involved in the Redress Campaign for the Chinese Head Tax and Exclusion Act. [3]
After completing her articles with Toronto-based law firm WeirFoulds, Go worked as a Legal Researcher at Women's Legal Education & Action Fund (LEAF) before entering the legal clinic system as a Staff Lawyer for East Toronto Community Legal Services and Parkdale Community Legal Services. [5] [6]
In 1992, she became the executive director of the Metro Toronto Chinese & Southeast Asian Legal Clinic, a community legal aid clinic which provides free legal services to low-income, non-English speaking individuals in the Chinese, Vietnamese, Cambodian, and Laotian communities in the Greater Toronto Area. [7] In 2015, her organization hosted a series of workshops to assist people with applying for citizenship ahead of a new government coming into power in Canada. [8] She was still with the organization in 2016 and 2017, where she served as the Clinic Director. [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13]
Go was elected as a Bencher of Law Society of Upper Canada in 2001, 2006, and 2013. [14]
In 2007, she co-founded the Colour of Poverty Campaign, a campaign to address the increasing racialization of poverty in Ontario and currently serves as a member of its steering committee. [15] [16] She continued to serve in the organization, and was a member of the steering committee in 2017. [12] [17] [18]
In 2017, Go appeared before a Canadian Senate hearing to discuss the impact of high fees on immigration for the at risk communities she serves in her role at Metro Toronto Chinese & Southeast Asian Legal Clinic. [8] [19] [20]
Go was involved in a case involving a Chinese couple who had their rights as parents challenged because their DNA did not match the DNA of their child. [21] [22]
On August 6, 2021, Go was appointed to the Federal Court by Minister of Justice and Attorney General David Lametti. [23]
Mack v Canada (AG)
In 2002, Go was co-counsel in a class action lawsuit, Mack v Canada (AG), on behalf of Chinese head tax payers and their descendants against the Government of Canada to seek redress for the harmful effect of the historic Chinese head tax and Chinese Exclusion Act. [24] [25]
After losing an appeal in this case, Go and CCNC accused an appeal judge of racism, alleging he made inappropriate comments to counsel during the course of argument on an appeal. [26] [27] [28] Remarking on the case, The Globe and Mail noted it is extremely rare for lawyers to attribute improper motives to judges. [28] The complaint was rejected. [27]
Then Prime Minister of Canada, Stephen Harper made an official apology for the Chinese head tax on June 22, 2006, and announced the payment of reparations for survivors and their spouses. [29]
Statements
In 2005, she criticized Canadian journalist Jeffrey Simpson for displaying "insensitivity and ignorance by maligning the individuals and groups who are rightly seeking redress for the racist Chinese Head Tax and Exclusion Act." [30]
In 2013, Go described herself as a “loudmouth activist for politicians to contend with.” [31] [26]
Remarking on applying multiple times to a federal judicial appointment, in 2014 Go said she had "put in an application as an act of challenge with no expectation of ever being appointed, not only because I am a woman of colour, but more importantly, because my politics are not in sync with the current government.” [32]
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