Avvy Yao-Yao Go OOnt (born 1963, in Hong Kong) is a Canadian lawyer and judge. She is known for her work advocating on behalf of immigrant and racialized communities in Canada. In 2014 she was appointed to the Order of Ontario. In August 2021, Go was appointed to the Federal Court.

Go was born in 1963 in Hong Kong^[1][2] and emigrated to Canada with her parents in 1982.^[3]

Go completed her undergraduate studies in economics at the University of Waterloo in 1986, and obtained her law degree from the University of Toronto Faculty of Law in 1989.^[4] She completed her articles with Toronto-based law firm WeirFoulds, and was called to the Bar in Ontario in 1991.^[3] She obtained her master of laws degree from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1999.^{[5][independent source needed]}

Go commenced her formal legal career at Women's Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF) as a legal researcher.^{[citation needed]}

Go worked at Legal Aid Ontario's legal clinic system as a staff lawyer in Toronto, initially at the East Toronto Community Legal Services and Parkdale Community Legal Services.^{[5][6][citation needed]}

In 1992, Go began work as the clinic director of the Metro Toronto Chinese & Southeast Asian Legal Clinic, a clinic focusing on servicing low-income non-English speakers in the Chinese, Vietnamese, Cambodian, and Laotian communities in the Greater Toronto Area.^[7]

Go has been cited in the Canadian press for comments on legal issues relating to systemic racism and the racialization of poverty, especially regarding the Chinese Canadian community.^{[8][9][10][11][12][13]}

In 2007, she co-founded the Colour of Poverty Campaign, a campaign to address the increasing racialization of poverty in Ontario and currently serves as a member of its steering committee.^[14][15] She continued in the organization, and was a member of the steering committee in 2017.^[12][16][17]

In 2017, Go appeared before a Canadian Senate hearing to discuss the impact of high fees on immigration for the communities she served in her role at Metro Toronto Chinese & Southeast Asian Legal Clinic.^[8][18][19]

Go was involved in a case involving a Chinese couple who had their rights as parents challenged because their DNA did not match the DNA of their child.^{[20][21][better source needed]}

In 2013, Go described herself as a “loudmouth activist for politicians to contend with.”^[22][23]

Go was elected as a Bencher of Law Society of Upper Canada in 2001, 2006, and 2013.^[24]

Go played a significant role in Canada’s redress for Chinese Head Tax and the Chinese Immigration Act of 1923, which resulted in a formal apology by the government of Canada in 2006.^[3] Her involvement and her role as a spokesperson commenced when she became the acting executive director of the Chinese Canadian National Council (CCNC) in 1988 and the president of its Toronto chapter in 1989.^{[citation needed]}

In 2002, Go was co-counsel in a class action lawsuit, Mack v Canada (Attorney General)^[25][26], on behalf of Chinese head tax payers and their descendants against the Government of Canada.^[27] After losing an appeal in this case, Go and CCNC accused an appeal judge of racism, alleging he made inappropriate comments to counsel during the course of argument on an appeal.^[23][28][29] Remarking on the case, The Globe and Mail noted it is extremely rare for lawyers to attribute improper motives to judges.^[29] The complaint was rejected.^[28]

In 2005, she criticized Canadian journalist Jeffrey Simpson for displaying "insensitivity and ignorance by maligning the individuals and groups who are rightly seeking redress for the racist Chinese Head Tax and Exclusion Act."^[30]

On June 22, 2006, Prime Minister Stephen Harper made an official apology in the House of Commons on behalf of Canada for the Chinese head tax, and announced the payment of reparations for survivors and their spouses.^[31]

Remarking on applying multiple times to a federal judicial appointment, in 2014 Go said she had "put in an application as an act of challenge with no expectation of ever being appointed, not only because I am a woman of colour, but more importantly, because my politics are not in sync with the current government,”^[32] referring to the Conservative Harper ministry then in office.

On August 6, 2021, Go was appointed a justice of the Federal Court and an ex officio member of the Federal Court of Appeal by Minister of Justice and Attorney General David Lametti.^[33] This made her the first Chinese Canadian to be appointed to the Federal Court.^[34][35] She was the fifteenth judge appointed to the Federal Court by the Liberal Trudeau ministry.^[a]

She would face mandatory retirement in 2038.^[36]

In a 2026 opinion piece, National Post columnist Jamie Sarkonak argued that Go had made many decisions on immigration cases that harmed Canada's interests.^{[23][neutrality is disputed]}

• President's Award, 2002, Women's Law Association of Ontario^{[3][independent source needed]}
• William P. Hubbard Race Relations Award, 2008, City of Toronto ^{[3][independent source needed]}
• Lawyer of Distinction Award, 2012, Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers
• Member, 2014, Order of Ontario,^[37][38] with the following citation:^[39]

Avvy Yao Yao Go is a respected lawyer, who uses her law degree to advance the rights of Toronto's marginalized communities. She has built coalitions across different communities on issues of anti-racism, human rights and equity and most recently co-founded the "Colour of Poverty Campaign".

• Doctor of Laws Honoris Causa, Toronto Metropolitan University (2022)^{[34][independent source needed]}
• Alumni Achievement Award recipient for Professional Achievement, University of Waterloo (2025)^{[40][independent source needed]}
• Honorary LLD, 2026, Law Society of Ontario^[35]

• "The Honourable Avvy Yao-Yao Go". Federal Court (Canada). 2023-08-17. Retrieved 2026-04-02.