Dalhousie Law School Students Launch Website on Indigenous and Aboriginal Law

September 25, 2023September 25, 2023ajrn1 Leave a comment

Students at the Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie University have launched a website to help “demystify aspects of Indigenous and Aboriginal law”. The website, named abajignmuen, which is a Mi’kmaw word that means “sharing” and “giving back” to the community, will highlight the work of Schulich Law students, faculty and staff in the areas of Aboriginal and Indigenous law.

The website will host access to justice projects and papers, which may also serve as a public resource to better understand matters related to Aboriginal and Indigenous law.

For more information, visit www.abaji.ca.

Public Legal Education Association of Canada Annual Conference Takes Place October 25–26, 2023

September 25, 2023September 25, 2023ajrn1 Leave a comment

The Public Legal Education Association of Canada (PLEAC), the national umbrella organization for public legal education and information (PLEI) groups across Canada, will hold their annual conference this year in Toronto from October 25^th to 26^th.

The conference will include workshops, plenaries, and townhall sessions on a range of topics, including: “The Role of Community Workers and Other Trusted Helpers in the Justice Ecosystem”, “Artificial Intelligence: How to Harness it (for good) for Public Legal Education”, and “Advocating for Better Justice: Does Public Legal Education Have a Role?”

Attendance is capped at 150 people.

To learn more about the conference, how to register, conference fees and more, visit the PLEAC website here: https://www.pleac-aceij.ca/our-work/annual-conference/.

Women and Gender Equality Canada Publishes Two Calls for Proposals

September 25, 2023September 25, 2023ajrn1 Leave a comment

Women and Gender Equality Canada (WAGE) has two open calls for proposals. WAGE invites non-for-profit organizations, women’s organizations, Indigenous women’s organizations, or other equality-seeking organizations in Canada with a mandate to advance women’s equality to submit a proposal for a capacity-building or systemic change project.

Under Call 1 – the Women’s Economic and Leadership Opportunities Fund – WAGE seeks to support projects that address barriers to women’s success, change systems to improve women’s economic security and prosperity, and/or increase women’s representation.

Under Call 2 – Women’s Capacity Fund – WAGE welcomes proposals for projects that seek to develop the long-term capacity of women’s and Indigenous women’s organizations.

The submission deadline is November 3, 2023, at 12:00 p.m. pacific time. Eligible organizations can apply to one call.

For information on eligibility requirements or more information about the calls, please visit the WAGE website here: https://women-gender-equality.canada.ca/en/funding/funding-programs/women-economic-leadership-opportunities-capacity-funds/about.html.

Women in Law Reflect on Challenges, Triumphs, and Regrets in New Book

September 17, 2023September 17, 2023ajrn1 Leave a comment

A new collection, edited by Beth Bilson (University of Saskatchewan, College of Law), Leah Howie (Law Reform Commission of Saskatchewan), and Brea Lowenberger (Saskatchewan’s Access to Justice Coordinator), presents the experiences of 18 women navigating law school and legal careers. Contributors – who are from different generations and different areas of law – discuss various issues they have faced in their journey in law and the impacts of gender-based and race-based discrimination, sexual orientation, and disability in their careers.

The foreword for this collection is written by The Right Honourable Beverley McLachlin.

Creating a Seat at the Table: Reflections from Women in Law is available for pre-order: https://uofrpress.ca/Books/C/Creating-a-Seat-at-the-Table.

Landmark Report Warns of Threats to Rule of Law in the UK

September 11, 2023September 11, 2023ajrn1 Leave a comment

A groundbreaking new report is sounding the alarm over growing threats to the rule of law in the UK within the past decade. The State We’re In: Addressing Threats & Challenges to the Rule of Law uses the Venice Commission’s Rule of Law Toolkit to examine changes to democracy in the UK based on five rule-of-law benchmarks:

Legality: transparency, accountability, inclusivity and democracy in law-making and legal institutions
Human rights: safeguarding the dignity of all human beings
Legal certainty and the prevention of the misuse of power: clarity and predictability in the law
Access to justice: “independent and impartial judiciary, a robust legal profession, and practical and effective access to the courts”
Equality and non-discrimination: equal treatment before the law

On the “access to justice” benchmark, the report cites the corrosive impacts of cuts to legal aid, which have had serious consequences for broad-based access to justice, with delays of months to years for some trials. The report identifies (i) the ongoing courts backlog crisis, which saw more than 300,000 cases outstanding in the Magistrates’ courts as of March 2023; (ii) decreases in annual public spending on legal aid by a quarter from 2009 to 2022; and, (iii) “legal aid deserts” which now leave some with no access to legal advice at all, as evidence of the extent to which access to justice has been, and continues to be eroded.

The report offers 20 recommendations to address, and potentially reverse damage to the rule of law foundation.

The State We’re In: Addressing Threats & Challenges to the Rule of Law (September 2023) was produced by JUSTICE.org. JUSTICE is a law reform and human rights organisation, founded in 1957, that aims to strengthen the UK’s justice system.

The State We’re In: Addressing Threats & Challenges to the Rule of Law is available on justice.org.uk here: https://justice.org.uk/the-uks-longstanding-commitment-to-the-rule-of-law-is-under-grave-threat-according-to-landmark-report-from-justice/.