About Bruce Best
Bruce joins Rubin Thomlinson with over 20 years of experience as a litigator, mediator, trainer, and adjudicator. His impartiality, legal knowledge, analytical evaluation, and careful assessment of evidence result in efficient and focussed investigations, leading to the timely and effective resolution of workplace disputes.
Expertise & Services
Bruce’s expertise is in human rights law, including discrimination, disability accommodation, sexual harassment, poisoned work environment, and systemic discrimination. He also has a strong background in administrative and social justice law, and brings a seasoned adjudicator’s perspective to his investigations, achieving results that stand up to scrutiny.
Background
Before joining Rubin Thomlinson, Bruce spent five years as Vice-Chair of the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario. He presided over hundreds of cases brought under the Human Rights Code, the majority of which related to employment. Bruce previously spent eight years at the Human Rights Legal Support Centre where, as Senior Legal Counsel, he litigated cases before Ontario’s Human Rights Tribunal and Divisional Court, including acting as counsel on several leading cases.
He spent the first half of his career as a lawyer in Ontario’s legal clinic system, including test case litigation, and worked on law reform in housing, social assistance, and human rights matters to address systemic issues affecting low-income individuals. As a lawyer at the Clinic Resource Office for Legal Aid Ontario, he provided training and expertise in administrative law, appellate litigation, and housing to lawyers across Ontario. Bruce has also been a regular presence at continuing legal education conferences throughout his career.
Community Involvement
Bruce is a Director and past Board Chair of Environmental Defence, one of the leading Canadian environmental organizations with a mandate to defend clean water, a safe climate, and healthy communities.
- Called to the Bar of Ontario
- B.A. (Honours), McGill University
- LL.B., Osgoode Hall Law School
