Law Commission of Canada

This was the 1st discussion circle in a series of six that will be organized across the country over the coming months to hear directly from those in the charitable sector and to learn about some of the challenges, preoccupations and possibilities facing charities in Canada.

Today, the LCC was joined by the @OttCommFdn, @OttawaFoodBank, @UnitedWayEO, and @TIOntario at @artscourt for a discussion circle as part of our Charity and Law in Canada project.

With this first engagement in Newfoundland and Labrador, the LCC has now had the good fortune of holding an engagement each province since resuming its operations in June 2023. Thank you to participants for a rich and insightful discussion!

Last Friday, LCC Commissioner Kevin O'Shea chaired a Listen & Learn session in St. John’s with representatives from @LawSocietyNL , @CBA_NL , @NFPower and @StellasCircle.

Yesterday evening, the LCC attended the Thomas Feeney Memorial Lecture @uocommonlaw, delivered by Chief Justice of British Columbia Leonard Marchand on the inspiring and topical themes of legal pluralism and reconciliation.

President Van Praagh had the pleasure of chairing a Listen & Learn round table @umanitoba @robsonhall which included our provincial counterparts at the Manitoba Law Reform Commission. The LCC is grateful for the time and energy of our hosts!

Last week, the LCC was in Winnipeg to learn about the inspiring and innovative work being done at the Centre for Interdisciplinary Justice Studies at @uwinnipeg, @NCTR_UM , and @CMHR_News.

These include: lessons from the depopulation of jails in the pandemic; codification of Indigenous family and child welfare law; the public's role in shaping the adoption of AI tools w/in the justice system; and the impact of the demise of regional news on the open court principle

Through the fellowship, Besner will produce a series of original in-depth articles exploring how critical issues in law and justice in the lives of people across Canada.

The LCC and the @CBA_News are pleased to announce that Linda Besner has been named the inaugural LCC-CBA Journalism Fellow. Besner is an award-winning freelance writer based in Montreal who has collaborated with @globeandmail, @guardian and @TheAtlantic, among other publications.

Last week, LCC Fellow David D'Astous participated in 2 conferences: the @RunnymedeSoc “Law and Freedom” conference at @harthouseuoft, and "L'introduction du genre dans le Code civil du QC: une maladresse du législateur?", w/ the Centre Paul-André Crépeau de droit privé et comparé

Last week, Commissioners and staff members gathered for a workshop where the LCC’s inaugural cohort of Emerging Scholars presented an overview of their doctoral work. The LCC looks forward to supporting their ongoing reflections, research, outreach and writing!

The January letter from the LCC President, on leaning into challenging and complex conversations rather than retreating into hibernation, is now available: canada.ca/content/dam/lc…

The LCC has released a Call for Conference Support Proposals for initiatives taking place in spring and summer 2025. The deadline to submit a proposal is 17 February 2025. Please circulate the call within your network! canada.ca/content/dam/lc…

The LCC began the week in the Québec City region for a series of excellent engagements, namely with the @NhwWendake legal services, a Listen & Learn session with @ulaval_droit, and a discussion with a colleague from our Québec counterparts at the IQRDJ.

Authors will contribute to imagining, facilitating, and guiding the implementation of reform with lasting impact. Each report will draw on critical informed research to articulate constructive pathways and possibilities for law in the future.

The LCC is thrilled to launch a new research stream: Beyond Tomorrow Reports. Commissioned and published on a periodic basis, Beyond Tomorrow Reports will identify and address challenges and issues in law for Canada’s next generation and beyond. tinyurl.com/5n7fwwc9

The LCC was pleased to meet with the Office of the Correctional Investigator, for a rich discussion that ranged from the general, such as the shift in emphasis away from human rights in correctional settings, to the specific, such as the effects of aging infrastructure.

Today, the LCC was pleased to meet again with the @OFOVC to discuss pathways for collaboration, particularly in the context of the Office’s work on the experiences of survivors of sexual assault within the Canadian criminal justice system.

The LCC is pleased to share its third What We Heard report, setting out some of the preoccupations, projects, and possibilities that emerged from its coast-to-coast engagements with partners between June and December 2024: tinyurl.com/mdk7jka4