Lisa Joyal

Lisa Joyal, BA (Double Hons), MA, LLB, was called to the Bar in 1991. She was a civil lawyer for the first few years of her career, before becoming a Crown prosecutor in 1994 with the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General. Since 1999, she has worked as a Crown counsel with the Ministry of the Attorney General’s Crown Law Office—Criminal. She has prosecuted numerous child abuse cases before both the Ontario Court of Justice and the Superior Court of Justice, and has also worked with child complainants and their families through various child witness preparation programs. In addition, she has argued many child abuse appeals before the Ontario Court of Appeal and a number before the Supreme Court of Canada.

She has written about children’s rights in the criminal justice system, and has lectured on children’s evidence and child abuse issues in the criminal law. She is a co-developer and co-director of the Ontario Crown Attorneys’ Association child abuse course for prosecutors. She also writes and lectures on Crown ethics. She is a member of the Ministry of the Attorney General’s Child Homicide Resource Team, and she served as a review counsel for Ontario’s multidisciplinary “Shaken Baby” Death Review Committee. She participated on the Deaths Under Five Committee and Pediatric Death Review Committee (child welfare) of the Chief Coroner for Ontario. She was a member of the Crown Law Office—Criminal’s Internet Child Exploitation Committee and coordinated the Crown Law Office—Criminal’s approach to handling child pornography material in appellate court proceedings.

In addition, she was a co-drafter of the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General’s Crown Prosecution Manual directives on offences against children, internet child exploitation, victims, and expert evidence. On a personal note, Lisa is the proud mother of two amazing daughters. She is also a member of the Manitoba Métis Federation and the Red River Métis.