M.J. BRYANT
2019 Top 25 Most Influential Lawyer in Canada: Canadian Lawyer Magazine.
Born in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Third generation politician; Harvard-educated lawyer; public defender. I've lived in Victoria, Vancouver, Toronto, London UK, New York and Boston. Toronto is home now. My two teenagers are my life and for a living I get to be Executive Director of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.
I've got a past and it's all over the place. I've been blessed by some people who saved me, undeservedly, but that's their point. I've written some and speak publicly a little.
WRITING & TEDx
TEDX
Michael Bryant TedXToronto Talk
2018
Mere Addiction
2018
- "After reading Mere Addiction, I felt that my 20+ years in the field of Addiction Medicine were for naught. Its realism and humility will resonate with all who live, love and work with people who are substance dependent. However, Michael’s words demand that what really needs to be done is to become better listeners, not enablers.": Thea Weisdorf, MD U of T
- Dr. Ray Baker (Addiction Medicine, UBC) refers to Mere Addiction as, “a deceptively simple masterpiece of perceptive analysis…”
- This book is highly reviewed and endorsed by: Thea Weisdorf, MD (University of Toronto); Justice Jonathan C. George (Superior Court of Justice, Ontario); Ray Baker, MD (University of British Columbia); and Sharon L. Acoose, PhD (First Nations University of Canada).
28 Seconds: A True Story of Addiction, Tragedy and Hope.
2012
- Published by Viking Press, 2012. A #1 CDN Best-Seller (NON-FICTION).
- "The story that fate handed [the author, Michael Bryant] on an unsavoury platter is not merely the stuff of fiction, it is the stuff of the greatest moral dramas in the literary canon. ... By chastening him so thoroughly, by forcing him to bare his soul so openly, his angels have transformed him from a callow opportunist into one of Canada's most compelling political figures. And a pretty good writer to boot." John Barber, Globe & Mail
- "a moving description of a painful yet wholesome path from hubris to humility,": Dow Marmur, Toronto Star
- Goodreads: 53 ratings, 15 Reviews, 94% liked.
Briefcase on Criminal Law
1998
Co-Authored w Dr. Julia Fionda. Published by Cavendish Press, UK. 2 editions.
A 2013 polemic on casinos that is my angriest publication.
Public Law
2002
Co-Authored w Hon. Lorne Sossin. Published by Carswell.
Precedent Magazine, 2017
Gold Medalist, Professional Article, 40th National Magazine Awards Canada, Daniel Fish, Precedent Magazine.
"Don't Call It A Comeback"
Michael Bryant Talks Tragedy & Transformation"
The Grid
CCLA
I’m very lucky to be the Executive Director and General Counsel at CCLA. For more on CCLA, please click https://ccla.org
