Summer Student Series 2020: Keira Lewis

I am so grateful to have had the incredible opportunity to complete an internship with the East Coast Environmental Law Association. I have always loved and admired the beauty, strength, and stability of the natural world. I have always cared deeply about the role the natural world plays in keeping the world not only healthy and balanced, but beautiful and meaningful. As such, I knew early on that I want to do everything I can to protect and restore the environment. As my education progressed, I also came to appreciate the deep importance of issues surrounding Indigenous peoples in Canada and how these issues so often intertwine with environmental issues. Eventually, I came to understand that law and policy play an integral role in both Indigenous and environmental issues. The law guides and influences everything that happens in our society. This means that if we can effect positive changes in the law, positive changes in society will follow. This is why my goal is to use the law as a tool for protecting the environment and pursuing reconciliation with Indigenous peoples in Canada throughout my legal career.