Born in Baghdad, Ghina Al-Sewaidi left Iraq in the 1970s for schooling in Switzerland and the United Kingdom. She earned two bachelor's of law degrees in the U.K. and Canada (LLB) and a master's degree in petroleum law (LLM) at the University of Dundee in Scotland. Her educational background includes administrative and immigration law. She is presently practicing in Toronto (Ghina Al-Sewaidi Professional Corporation) concentrating on refugee law and protection. She is fluent in English, French, and Arabic. She acted as counsel for a precedent-setting case in the Federal Court of Appeal in Canada on the issue of “statelessness” and the availability of protection (See: Thabet v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration) (C.A.), [1998] 4 F.C.21). She was educated at the following institutions: York University (Certificate in Dispute Resolution, September 2003-April 2004); Bar Admission Course (London, Ontario, called to the bar in 1993); University of Ottawa (LL.B. Graduate, 1991); Dundee University, Scotland, UK (1988, Petroleum and Environmental Law LLM; Diploma,1986, International and Comparative Law); University of Buckingham, England (LLB, 1985); University of Lille, France (Diploma, 1982, French Civil Law); Concord College, Shrewsbury England (A-Levels, 1982); and Ecole Brillantmont, Lausanne, Switzerland (O-Levels).

Al-Sewaidi’s professional memberships include the following: Past Chair for the CBAO Young Lawyers Committee (Southwest Region); Past Council Member of the Canadian Bar Association, Ontario; Vice President of the Iraqi Canadian Society of Ontario (2005); President of the Iraqi Canadian Society of Ontario (2006); President of the Iraqi Canadian Society of Ontario (2007); Present Secretary of the Canadian Arab Network (CAN); Member, AJEFO (Association Des Juristes D’Expresssion Francaise De L’Ontario); and, Member: Criminal Lawyers Association. She is a guest lecturer at the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario and, the University of Montpelier, France. She is involved in projects such as “Breaking the Cycle of Violence,” dealing with problems of abuse against women in the community; “Children and the Rainbow,” helping children arriving from war-torn countries in cooperation with the Children's Aid Society; and, “Access, Equity, and Human Rights” (AEHR), a project dealing with newcomers to Canada.