A long-time leader in Toronto's black community, Charles Roach, has died at the age of 79.

He was a well-known Toronto lawyer and human rights advocate who fought against racist policing.

He was one of the founders of the Toronto Caribbean Carnival, formerly known as the Caribana festival, and the Black Action Defence Committee.

In 1998, he was appointed lead defence counsel at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.

"My father was a man of tremendous integrity," says Kike Roach, one of Roach's daughters. "Once he took on a cause... he never abandoned it and tried to see it through right to the end."

She says one of the causes that was closest to his heart was a fight to remove the oath to the Queen that is required when one wants to become a Canadian citizen. It's an oath he refused to take even though he wanted to become a part of this country.

"He really believed that we as human beings should not be swearing oath of allegiance to each other, but to greater principles, principles of equality and justice and democracy for all," Kike says.

She says as a father he was a mentor and coach to her throughout her career as a lawyer. And she says he was always there for someone who needed counsel.

"He would be there for them to advise them and share himself, share his art, his music, his poetry, his thoughts and his legal counsel," Kike says.

Dr Rita Cox worked closely with Roach as a member of the committee that runs the Caribbean Carnival.

"He's left a big hole in our community," Cox says. "And it's going to be a long time before we get over his death."

Roach died of brain cancer.