From Local to International: Yu Cai Tian, community-driven international trade lawyer
For some people, finding their dream is the entire story, for Yu Cai Tian it was just the beginning.
People search their whole lives to capture the spark that motivates them, the one that gives them purpose. Yu Cai Tian found that spark early and would not rest until he nourished it. For him, the spark took the form of serving the public and supporting his community, along with a passion for the international rules that govern how countries work together.
Yu Cai works as a counsel focused on international trade law at the Trade Law Bureau, a joint unit between the Department of Justice and Global Affairs Canada. He is at the beginning of his career, still an avid learner, discovering himself and appreciating the variety and importance of his work. For Yu Cai, his love of international law meant the choice of where to work was always clear: the Government of Canada, the main practitioner of international law in the country. Less clear for Yu Cai however, is how he would get there.
For him, it all started for him when he and his family left China to start a new chapter in Canada.
Citizen of the world
Arriving in Montreal at eleven years old, Yu Cai already spoke some English from his studies in China but did not speak French. His family settled in the Saint-Laurent area, where he engaged in learning the language of his community by connecting with them and getting involved. Like everyone else, Yu Cai wanted to feel at home in his country, and treated with equality and respect. He started at Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf, which put a focus on promoting volunteerism and encouraging its students to give back to their communities.
In high school, Yu Cai was looking to connect with people and so he joined a model United Nations club. To him, coming from abroad, the way countries worked together had always been of interest but being part of the model UN really was a game-changer for him. “You would go represent a country and negotiate the resolution and that resolution, as I think of it now, is in fact a piece of international law,” he explained.
Yu Cai appreciated how the various nation-States balanced so many variables in the name of securing world order and promoting equity for all citizens. He continued to participate in similar groups throughout school and, when it was time to decide on university, he knew he wanted to explore the laws and institutions that made the world work. It was more than curiosity; his sense of volunteerism was pushing him to use that understanding for the public good.
Yu Cai followed that curiosity and started studying law at l’Université de Montréal. His course work was mostly focused on becoming a private law practitioner but his lived experiences prompted him to explore further. Learning more about the various avenues available to him, it was public international law that was the most appealing.
But he knew that to work in public international law he would have to go beyond and chart a slightly different path.
His professors told him about the Legal Excellence Program at Canada’s Department of Justice, and he applied to do his articling there, with an eye on a career in international law. To his disappointment, he didn’t get accepted. Something was missing. But he didn’t get dissuaded.
Yu Cai in front of the “Centre de services scolaire Marguerite-Bourgeoys” in Montreal where he’s been a Board member since 2020.
What is the Legal Excellence Program?
The Legal Excellence Program is an innovative program allows law students to complete articling opportunities at Canada’s Department of Justice, providing them with the opportunity to develop the essential knowledge, skills and experience for practicing different types of law, from aboriginal to environmental to international, and beyond.
Almost immediately, he started thinking about how he could apply again. He would have another shot the following year and really wanted to make it count. “You take time to reflect on what happened and then you question yourself – is this the right way? For me the answer was yes, it is the combination of two things I am looking for: international law and serving the public.”
Yu Cai felt he had to further find himself. He wanted to keep participating in the international conversation he had been a part of since the model UN in high school, so he got involved with the Assemblée parlementaire de la francophonie, an association of parliaments from French-speaking countries around the world, including Canada. It reinforced to Yu Cai how different countries, united by a common element, can work together towards a mutual purpose. He joined the youth parliament and, always having been comfortable with public speaking, was elected to be a spokesperson. He presented at the summits, at home and abroad, championing a youth mobility project. This first-hand experience in diplomacy left Yu Cai feeling energized and aware that, beyond the world of law, there were many ways he could participate in the international process and make a difference.
Then, learning from his previous experience, Yu Cai reapplied to the Legal Excellence Program, fingers crossed he would make it.
This time, he got in. While excited, he didn’t stop there.
Yu Cai knew that l’Université de Montréal had given him the fundamentals of law but, now that he had a clear appetite for international law and a career plan, he wanted to learn more, and he would have to go further afield to do it. If the study of international law, trade and order had a global heart, it was in Geneva, Switzerland.
Yu Cai applied for the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies and decided to, once again, move across the world.
Geneva
Geneva was nothing like what Yu Cai had ever experienced before. It was like a crucible of learning, with experts from around the world gathering to teach the next generation in matters of law, trade, international affairs, and development. Yu Cai felt a long way from the model UN of his high school as he moved into a residence in a city that housed an office of the actual United Nations, not to mention the headquarters of the World Trade Organization. “We got to work on a specific practical project that contributed to the work of one of these leading international organizations,” he explained. It was the most challenging experience of Yu Cai’s life but a rewarding one as well, as he connected with like-minded people and worked together on passion projects. Coming together with people from all walks of life reinforced the value of diversity to Yu Cai. He had conversations with people from around the globe and learned from their experiences. He saw how treating people equally, as you want to be treated, is the root of fairness and equality.
As a new professional, starting his career, Yu Cai wanted to be an ambassador for these types of values, both in his community and at his work.
With his Master’s degree in hand, Yu Cai returned home, looking to re-engage with his community and join the Department of Justice.
Yu Cai’s tips:
- Support your communities and they will support you: “Stand with your communities, empower them genuinely, and watch as the echoes of your goodwill return as unwavering support, creating a bond that withstands the tests of time and adversity.”
- Do your homework and follow your passion: “Let your passion be the compass guiding your journey, while recognizing that the key to unlocking the door to your dreams resides in the combination of diligence and thorough preparation.”
- Get involved: “Engage with purpose, become part of the narrative and you’ll discover the true depth of your capabilities.”
Joining Justice
Yu Cai spent a year studying at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, Switzerland.
Yu Cai officially joined the Department of Justice as an articling student in 2022 and, after his call to the bar, as a counsel. Following his experiences in academia, the federal government was a whole new type of learning experience. Yu Cai currently works on trade and investment disputes, where precise language is very important. He drafts submissions to international bodies, translating the expertise of Global Affairs experts into legal language that can withstand scrutiny. He provides his best advice, often working with provincial governments as well, when their legal issues cross international borders. It is exciting and engaging work, but it also requires being adaptable.
“At school, you are often presented with a set of facts that don’t change, whereas here, be it new discoveries or facts brought by the opposing counsel, it's really evolving, and you have to adapt accordingly,” said Yu Cai.
As Yu Cai has been laser-focused on his career trajectory, one thing he appreciates about his work at the department is how he had an opportunity to be exposed to other experts and even help work on their files, sometimes outside of his comfort zone. He feels like he is growing every day.
As a first-generation Canadian who values his communities, he also wants to give back and help the department become a more inclusive place. Learning about the department’s internal advisory committees, Yu Cai volunteered to join the one for racialized employees, sharing his international perspective and experiences to make a positive difference for his colleagues. It is one of the most rewarding pieces of his work and allows him to bring his full self and sense of community to work.
Yu Cai knows he is just getting started and is excited about what the future brings. While he often works in Ottawa, he still stays connected with Montreal, even sitting on the local school board in hopes of seeing the spirit of inclusivity and community be passed to future generations. For Yu Cai, it is never too early to give back. From China to Canada and everywhere in between, while it is good to have a global spirit and an international passion, home remains where the heart is.
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