Upcoming Access to Justice and Artificial Intelligence Events

March 17, 2025March 17, 2025ajrn1 Leave a comment

On 20 March 2025, from 11.00 a.m. – 12.30 p.m. CET (6:00 a.m. – 7:30 a.m. EDT), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Hague Institute for Innovation of Law (HiiL) will host a webinar on: Transforming Access to Justice through Artificial Intelligence.

Policymakers, legal experts, front-line activists, and justice innovators will discuss opportunities, risks, and governance strategies for AI-driven justice solutions and the broader role of AI in access to justice.

For more information, or to register, please visit: https://www.hiil.org/our-events/ai4justice-transforming-access-to-justice-through-artificial-intelligence/.

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On 2 April 2025, the Peter A. Allart School of Law at The University of British Columbia will host an AI and Law (Student) Symposium under the theme: Exploring Innovation, Challenges, and Legal Implications of a Technological Revolution.

Undergraduate and graduate students will engage in discussions on various topics related to AI and law, including:

AI & Free Expression: Algorithmic content moderation and political speech
AI & Litigation: Challenges in administrative and immigration law cases
AI & Accountability: Who is responsible when AI deceives?
AI & Creativity: The ownership of AI-generated works
AI & Journalism: Legal risks of AI in news reporting
AI & Law Practice: Regulating AI in legal decision-making
AI Personhood: How should we approach legal status for AI agents?

For more information, visit: https://allard.ubc.ca/about-us/events-calendar/ai-law-symposium.

Nunavut and Yukon Seeking Community Feedback on Health Privacy and Human Rights Laws

March 17, 2025March 17, 2025ajrn1 Leave a comment

The Government of Nunavut has announced that it is carrying out Nunavut-wide community consultations to identify potential issues or concerns relating to new health privacy legislation.

According to a Government of Nunavut press release, community consultations will engage Nunavummiut on questions around privacy and security of personal health information and access to personal health information. Community consultations are currently scheduled for March 19 and March 26.

For more information, or to view the consultation schedule, visit: https://www.gov.nu.ca/en/newsroom/consultations-new-health-privacy-legislation-2025-03-13.

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The Government of Yukon is seeking feedback from Yukoners on proposed changes to the Human Rights Act, aimed at better aligning it with similar laws across Canada. In a request to the Government of Yukon, the Yukon Human Rights Commission outlined changes to the Act that are being considered, including the following:

Clarifying the meaning of “systemic discrimination”
Clarifying when the duty to accommodate applies
Allowing complaints of retaliation to be investigated by the commission and punishable through damages.

The Government of Yukon invites Yukoners to provide feedback through an online survey, which will remain open until May 10, 2025.

For more information, view the Government of Yukon’s press release here: https://yukon.ca/en/news/government-yukon-seeks-public-input-improvements-human-rights-act.

Justice Canada Releases First Federal Indigenous Justice Strategy

March 11, 2025March 11, 2025ajrn1 Leave a comment

Canada’s Department of Justice, in collaboration with First Nations, Inuit and Métis published the first federal Indigenous Justice Strategy. The Indigenous Justice Strategy seeks to “advance effective and concrete measures, shaped by the lived experiences of First Nations, Inuit and Métis, to improve Canada’s justice system and to support the revitalization of Indigenous laws.”

The first phase of the Indigenous Justice Strategy was pre-engagement, which took place during the summer of 2021. This was followed by Indigenous-led and Justice Canada-led engagement; reporting and development; validation; and the publication of the final Indigenous Justice Strategy on 10 March 2025. As part of its vision, the Indigenous Justice Strategy report notes that, “the Indigenous Justice Strategy aims to implement progressive and transformative reforms throughout the justice system to meaningfully address systemic discrimination and the overrepresentation of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis people in contact with the Canadian justice system.”

In addition to presenting a vision, the Indigenous Justice Strategy report outlines (i) Principles and Goals, (ii) the Implementation of the Indigenous Justice Strategy, (iii) Priority Actions, (iv) First Nations Priorities, (v) Inuit Priorities, and (vi) Métis Priorities, among other items. Priority Actions discussed in the report include the following:

Collaborative relationship and accountability
Long-term and predictable funding
Justice and wellness
Administration of justice and access to justice – policing
Administration of justice and access to justice – corrections
Administration of justice and access to justice – revitalization and enforcement
Administration of justice and access to justice – legislation

The Indigenous Justice Strategy is available in English here: https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/csj-sjc/ijr-dja/ijs-sja/tijs-lsja/index.html.

Stratégie en matière de justice autochtone est disponible en français ici : https://www.justice.gc.ca/fra/sjc-csj/dja-ijr/sja-ijs/lsja-tijs/index.html.

The Justice Canada news release about the Indigenous Justice Strategy is available here: https://www.canada.ca/en/department-justice/news/2025/03/canadas-first-federal-indigenous-justice-strategy-to-address-systemic-discrimination-and-overrepresentation-in-the-canadian-justice-system.html.

Ontario Law Society Seeking Feedback on Paralegal Service Expansion

March 3, 2025March 1, 2025ajrn1 Leave a comment

A recent report by the Law Society of Ontario’s Paralegal Standing Committee outlines proposed changes aimed at increasing access to justice options for appeals and judicial review.

The main change involves expanding the paralegal scope of activities to include certain appeals and judicial reviews before the Divisional Court. According to the report, if the Law Society were to adopt a change to the paralegal scope of activities, it would also need to create a training program on the expanded duties, which would be required for paralegals before they could represent clients before the Divisional Court.

The Law Society is seeking feedback on the proposed expansion of scope of activities, including what the scope of activities should include, as well other comments on the proposal. The Law Society of Ontario’s Increasing Access to Justice Options for Appeals and Judicial Reviews: Consultation Report, authored by The Paralegal Standing Committee of the Law Society of Ontario is available in English here: https://lawsocietyontario-dwd0dscmayfwh7bj.a01.azurefd.net/media/lso/media/about/convocation/2025/convocation-february-2025-paralegal-standing-committee-report.pdf.

Augmenter les options d’accès à la justice pour les appels et les révisions judiciaires : Rapport de consultation est disponible en français ici : https://lawsocietyontario-dwd0dscmayfwh7bj.a01.azurefd.net/media/lso/media/about/convocation/2025/convocation-february-2025-paralegal-standing-committee-report-fr.pdf.

Feedback will be gathered until 30 May 2025. To access the consultation form, or for more information in English, please visit the Law Society of Ontario website here: https://lso.ca/about-lso/initiatives/increasing-access-to-justice-options-for-appeals-a. For the French form, please visit: https://lso.ca/a-propos-du-barreau/initiatives/augmenter-les-options-d%E2%80%99acces-a-la-justice-pour-les-appels-et-les-revisions-judiciaires.