Glenn Wheeler, Canadian lawyer and journalist

Glenn Wheeler is a journalist and lawyer born in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador and now based in Toronto. He is best known for his involvement with the Toronto weekly magazine NOW, where he was associate editor and head of the news department with colleague Ellie Kirzner from 1990 to 2001. He also wrote for the controversial Canadian gay/lesbian publication The Body Politic in the 1980s.

During his years as news editor, NOW became known for its hard-edged and irreverent reportage. Wheeler, who has a graduate degree in criminology from the University of Toronto, spent time on the police beat while acting as news editor and reported on unsavory police tactics in minority communities. NOW became a frequent critic of then police chief Julian Fantino. NOW ran a full-page photo of Fantino's house in the Toronto suburb of Woodbridge in order to publicize the fact that many Toronto police officers live outside the city. The paper was criticized by police officers and police supporters for endangering the safety of the chief because the house was identifiable from the photo. Wheeler dismissed the criticism, pointing out that Fantino's address was published in the telephone directory.

Wheeler also wrote much of the paper's coverage of labour issues and provincial and national politics during this period. Though GeneRally supportive of unions and the social democratic New Democratic Party, Wheeler was frequently critical of internal union squabbling and of the NDP leadership.

NOW led its fellow urban weeklies in the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies in reporting on international developments rather that sticking to the standard menu of city hall politics and local arts and culture. Wheeler spent a month in South Africa in 1990 and among other stories reported on Nelson Mandela's release from prison and triumphant return to Soweto. Wheeler also reported from East Timor, Serbia and Croatia at the time of the civil war in the Balkans, and from dozens of other international locations.

In 2001, Wheeler vacated the editor's chair and enrolled at Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto. He "articled" (as the obligaory practicum for new lawyers is generally known in Canada) at the prominent Toronto labour and social justice firm Sack Goldlblatt Mitchell and spent two years as a litigator, human rights and labour lawyer with the boutique firm Shell Lawyers, headed by Brian Shell, former Canadian legal director of the United Steelworkers. In 2007, Wheeler set up his own practice and acts for clients on employment and other matters.

Wheeler continues to write for NOW and other publications, often on issues related to the Middle East and on their impact on Toronto and the rest of Canada. He also has been ACTIVE in a number community organizations and agencies. Currently, he is a member of the board of directors of Zatoun, a multi-faith organization that imports fair trade olive oil from the West Bank for sale in Canada and the United States.

He also is a founder, director and the publisher of Out in Canada, a travel and style magazine whose mandate is to promote gay and lesbian travel to and within Canada, both to large centres and to non-traditional rural destinations.