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Michael Sousa
Justice Canada
Senior Assistant Deputy Minister
Biography
In February 2022, Michael Sousa became the Senior Assistant Deputy Minister of the Policy Sector at Justice Canada.
In his current role, Michael leads a multi-disciplinary team that supports the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada in working towards a fair, relevant and accessible justice system, through research, external relations, policy development, legal advice, law reform and delivery of programmes. The Sector plays a strategic role (with provinces and territories and international partners) in contributing to the policy function across the Department, including through managing priorities and planning, and undertaking research and analysis to support evidence-based decisions. The Sector’s teams work mainly in the areas of criminal law including victims, family and children’s law, youth criminal justice, Indigenous justice, international development, and access to justice. An important component of his and the Sector’s work includes the work of the Access to Justice Secretariat, whose mandate is to promote and support a people-centred approach to justice, by working to understand how individuals experience legal problems and how to best respond to their justice needs. The Secretariat aims to achieve the full realisation of SDG 16 in the federal government, as well as domestically and internationally.
Since first joining the Department of Justice in 2021, Michael has worked in a variety of legal service units, including with Citizenship and Immigration, the Canada Border Services Agency, Environment Canada and Public Safety Canada. Michael’s most recent assignment prior to taking on his role as Senior Assistant Deputy Minister was as Executive Director of the Department of National Defense Legal Services Unit and Legal Advisor to the Department of National Defense and the Canadian Armed Forces.
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