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Indigenous Ally Toolkit

Tansi Nîtôtemtik,

Photo retrieved from< https://sogs.ca/commissioners/indigenous/indigenous-student-life-resources/>.

 

For many of our non-Indigenous readers wondering what it means to be an Indigenous ally, the Montreal Urban Aboriginal Community Strategy Network (MUACSN), a not for profit organization, released a helpful toolkit this past November. The toolkit opens up with the following statement on allyship:

When it comes to creating a positive & sustainable impact on the lives of Indigenous Peoples living in Montreal, it is important to understand the role that an individual occupies and plays within the collective experience.

The term ally has been around for some time, and recently many critics say that it has lost its original meaning. Instead of being used to identify one’s role within a collective struggle, it has come to symbolize a token identity – a kind of “badge” that people wear to show they are one of the “good guys”. [1]

Although the MUACSN works to improve the lives of Indigenous people living in Montreal, the toolkit wasn’t created only to benefit Indigenous Montrealers. Leilani Shaw, a Kanien’kehá:ka woman from Kahnawà:ke, who designed the pamphlet, commented “[t]his toolkit is aimed at people who want to get into this work, or who already are and want to become a better ally.”[2] The toolkit has been in high demand since its release, with hard copies being requested by the Montreal police, and health and educational bodies across Canada and the United States. Although their budget couldn’t accommodate the large demand, the MUACSN launched the toolkit online last week. [3]

The toolkit itself breaks down allyship into three parts:

1. Be critical of any motivations;
2. Start learning; and,
3. Act accordingly. [4]

Step one focuses on the motivations behind becoming an Indigenous ally – is it because the issue is currently “buzzing”? To meet quotas or help with funding? Or because this serves to feed one’s ego? These are all questions the toolkit asks of the reader, sharing that “[t]hese movements and struggles do not exist to further one’s own self-interest, nor are they there as “extra-curricular” activities.”[5]

Step two then looks at how to educate allies on the history of Indigenous Peoples on Turtle Island, and reminds the readers that “Indigenous Peoples are the experts of their own realities & histories” [emphasis added][6]. Step two also offers terms not to say when referring to Indigenous Peoples, general definitions, as well as bringing up the overly used and offensive comments such as, “why don’t you get over it” or “you’re Indigenous, you must be an alcoholic”. This is a critical step in learning, or un-learning, and begs the important question, “[h]ow can I use my position & privileges to listen, shift power dynamics and take steps towards reconcili-action?”

The final step, to act accordingly, begins with the following:

Educating one’s self is only half of the work when being an ally. It is a lifelong process that is rooted in action and requires humility and ongoing critical self-reflection. Being an ally is not a badge of honour, it is a sign of privilege. [7]

This step calls on allies to listen to experts, ask what you can do, build relationships, research and learn more about the history, and continue to support and act in meaningful ways.[8]

The ReconciliAction YEG Team encourages our readers to check out the toolkit here, as today’s post only brushes the surface of what it has to offer. This is an important step as we work together as allies in the long road ahead that is reconciliation.

 

Until next time,

Team ReconciliAction YEG

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[1] “Indigenous Ally Toolkit” (no date), online (pdf): Montreal Urban Aboriginal Community Strategy Network <https://gallery.mailchimp.com/86d28ccd43d4be0cfc11c71a1/files/102bf040-e221-4953-a9ef-9f0c5efc3458/Ally_email.pdf>.

[2] Tom Fennario, “Indigenous Ally Toolkit aims to fill knowledge gap says developer” (29 January 2019), online: APTN National News <https://aptnnews.ca/2019/01/29/indigenous-ally-toolkit-aims-to-fill-knowledge-gap-in-says-developer/>.

[3] Jessica Deer, “Montreal non-profit launches toolkit on how to be an Indigenous ally” (23 January 2019), online: CBC News <https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/montreal-indigenous-ally-toolkit-1.4988074?fbclid=IwAR2pmGT7Uv0bBZcqkmtrpqBNA_mz1NGcircswQjhdLdHn8mAyIooTMZzbws>.

[4] Supra note 1.

[5] Ibid.

[6] Ibid.

[7] Ibid.

[8] Ibid.

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Wet’suwet’en Land Protectors

Tansi Nîtôtemtik,

Image retrieved from: <www.thestar.com/vancouver/2019/01/17/law-is-on-the-side-of-indigenous-group-in-pipeline-dispute-say-legal-experts.html>.

Today’s post briefly sets out the series of events surrounding the anti-pipeline protests by Wet’suwet’en land protectors in British Columbia.

In 2010, the Unist’ot’en Camp was erected to block proposed pipeline corridors.[1] Coastal GasLink, a subsidiary of TransCanada, signed agreements with the 20 elected First Nations councils who reside along the proposed pipeline route.[2] On November 28, 2018, a BC judge granted an interim injunction requested by TransCanada to proceed with construction of a natural gas pipeline within Wet’suwet’en territory.[3] The interim injunction allows pre-construction work for a 670 km long, $6.2 billion natural gas pipeline. If completed, the pipeline will connect with LNG Canada’s $40 billion export terminus in Kitimat, BC.[4] Pipeline opponents were instructed to remove their blockades as per the injunction.[5] In response, the Gitdumt’en Clan set up another check-point outside the injunction zone, known as the Gidimt’en Access Point. Next, TransCanada filed an amendment to the initial injunction, this time including the second roadblock; BC Supreme Court Justice Marguerite Church approved the amendment.[6]

On January 7, 2019, RCMP arrested 14 land protectors at the Gidimt’en blockade.[7] The RCMP were “armed with assault rifles, batons and bullets.”[8] The Emergency Response Team tactical squad was dispatched. This unit is employed in extremely high-risk situations and has special weapons training.[9] A helicopter circled overhead during the operation.[10] For some,[11] the actions of the RCMP are reminiscent of police complicity in the Pass System and the forcible placement of Indigenous children in Residential Schools.[12] Concerns over police brutality and inappropriate use of force have also been raised.[13] RCMP Media Relations Officer Madonna Saunderson wrote, “[the RCMP’s] role is to keep the peace and enforce the court ordered injunction.”[14] The arrest of land protectors has been viewed[15] as a violation of the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, specifically Article 10, which mandates that “Indigenous peoples shall not be forcibly removed from their lands or territories [without their] free, prior and informed consent.”[16] Those arrested were released from custody within 2 days.[17]

Ultimately, the fear of further violence compelled the Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs to call for a truce. The hereditary leaders made an agreement with RCMP on January 10, 2019; yet, the Wet’suwet’en note that their rights are still being infringed.[18] Presently, the Unist’ot’en and Gidimt’en checkpoints are open.[19] TransCanada continues construction between 6:00am and 6:00pm daily.[20] Most recently, industry workers have bulldozed an active trapline.[21] Protestors have argued that such actions constitute a violation of section 46 of the BC Wildlife Act.[22] Moreover, the company has been accused of failing to comply with the environmental conditions of their permits.[23]

The Wet’suwet’en believe that the devastation of their land is at stake. 500 square miles beyond the Unist’ot’en blockade is a natural habitat for bears, moose, beaver, grouse, eagles, and marten as well as a refuge for salmon spawning. Moreover, valuable berries and plants that serve as food and medicine for the Wet’suwet’en are located there.[24] Similarly, industry activity also threatens the Unist’ot’en Healing Centre.[25] Now a permanent structure, the Centre was built as a means to resist unwanted pipelines but also “for the spiritual, cultural and mental healing of [the Wet’suwet’en] people.”[26] It serves as a holistic place for Indigenous people to escape trauma and live off the land.

However, there exists strong financial incentives for First Nations to agree to the project. Victor Jim, an elected chief was told the project would “go ahead, with or without his signature.”[27] Satisfied that the environmental concerns were properly addressed, Chief Jim made the decision to make a deal with Coastal GasLink. Part of that deal includes 620 million dollars to be conditionally awarded to Indigenous business contracts. Currently, there is a suicide crisis among the Wet’suwet’en, being cited as the “leading cause of death up until age 44.”[28] Furthermore, high unemployment as well as subpar funding for education and child welfare services are among the dire social issues facing the Wet’suwet’en.[29] The reserves are dependent on federal government funding and often struggle on “shoestring [budgets]” to deliver services and programs.[30] Cash flow from the project would serve to alleviate financial burdens. The community has even made plans to build a language centre to revive fluency in the Wet’suwet’en language with funds from the pipeline agreements.[31]

Since the arrests, there has been national and international uproar over the actions of the RCMP, TransCanada, and the BC provincial and federal governments.[32] In Edmonton, 200 protestors gathered at Beaver Hills House Park to stand in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en on January 8, 2019.[33]

Next week, the blog will review the Wet’suwet’en’s own Indigenous laws and governance systems.

Until next time,

Team Reconcili-Action YEG

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[1] “Heal the People, Heal the Land” (no date), online (pdf): Unist’ot’en Camp <unistoten.camp/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/UZINE_View.pdf>.

[2] Amber Bracken, “‘The Nation Has Stood Up’: Indigenous Clans in Canada Battle Pipeline Project” (27 January 2019), online: The New York Times <www.nytimes.com/2019/01/27/world/americas/british-columbia-pipeline-wetsuweten.html>.

[3] Emilee Gilpin, “RCMP on Sidelines as TransCanada Bulldozes Wet’suwet’en Land” (28 January 2019), online: Canada’s National Observer <www.nationalobserver.com/2019/01/28/news/rcmp-sidelines-transcanada-bulldozes-wetsuweten-land> [Gilpin, "Bulldozes"].

[4] Angela Sterritt, “Wet’suwet’en Arrests Spark Debate About Indigenous Relations with RCMP” (18 January 2019), online: CBC News <www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/wet-suwet-en-conflict-spurs-debate-about-indigenous-relations-with-rcmp-1.4980695>.

[5] “Indian Act to Blame for Pipeline Gridlock in Northern B.C.: Federal Minister” (25 January 2019), online: The Province <theprovince.com/business/energy/indian-act-to-blame-for-pipeline-gridlock-in-northern-b-c-federal-minister/> [“Indian Act to Blame”].

[6] Gilpin, "Bulldozes", supra note 3.

[7] “Indian Act to Blame”, supra note 5.

[8] Gilpin, "Bulldozes", supra note 3.

[9] Perrin Grauer, “Law is on the Side of Indigenous Group in Pipeline Dispute, Say Legal Experts” (17 January 2019), online: The Star Vancouver <www.thestar.com/vancouver/2019/01/17/law-is-on-the-side-of-indigenous-group-in-pipeline-dispute-say-legal-experts.html>.

[10] “People Arrested at Gidimt’en Anti-Pipeline Camp Allege Inappropriate Use of Force” (12 January 2019), online: CBC News <www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/gidimten-wetsuweten-unistoten-rcmp-injunction-1.4971999> [“Use of Force”].

[11] Sterritt, supra note 4.

[12] Honouring the Truth, Reconciling for the Future: Summary of the Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (Winnipeg: TRC, 2015) at 60-62.

[13] “Use of Force”, supra note 10.

[14] Gilpin, "Bulldozes", supra note 3.

[15] Grauer, supra note 9.

[16] United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, GA Res 295, UNGAOR, 61st Sess, Supp No 49, UN Doc A/RES/61/295 (2007) 15, art 10.

[17] Bracken, supra note 2.

[18] Gilpin, "Bulldozes", supra note 3.

[19] Bracken, supra note 2.

[20] Gilpin, "Bulldozes", supra note 3.

[21] Ibid.

[22] Wildlife Act, RSBC 1996, c 488, s 46.

[23] Gilpin, "Bulldozes", supra note 3.

[24] Bracken, supra note 2.

[25] Emilee Gilpin, “Leaders of Unist’ot’en Community Were Protecting Their Territory. TransCanada Took Them to Court” (5 December 2018), online: Canada’s National Observer <www.nationalobserver.com/2018/12/05/news/leaders-unistoten-community-were-protecting-their-territory-transcanada-took-them>.

[26] Sakura Saunders, “The Wet’suwet’en Struggle is Far From Over” (17 January 2019), online: The Coast <www.thecoast.ca/halifax/the-wetsuweten-struggle-is-far-from-over/Content?oid=20266678&fbclid=X>.

[27] Bracken, supra note 2.

[28] Ibid.

[29] David P Ball, “Wet’suwet’en Hereditary System ‘Never Ceased, it Just Went Underground’” (10 January 2019), online: The Star Vancouver <www.thestar.com/vancouver/2019/01/10/wetsuweten-hereditary-system-never-ceased-it-just-went-underground.html>.

[30] Bracken, supra note 2.

[31] Ibid.

[32] Saunders, supra note 26.

[33] Anna McMillan, “‘A Conversation About Justice For People’: Edmonton Protestors Support Wet’suwet’en Anti-Pipeline Camps” (9 January 2019), online: CBC News <www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/edmonton-protest-wet-suwet-en-anti-pipeline-camps-1.4970970>.

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In the Media: MMIWG

Tansi Nîtôtemtik,

Image retrieved from: www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/red-river-snow-sculptures-mmiwg-1.4967005?fbclid=IwAR04Lhmn8Ngk_ajro6TTSI9QEpRQ5wT6X4EwKuyHC3sCD7d8HfkpZc2aEIU

The dialogue about missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls continues across Canada in 2019.

Winnipeg Metis artist, Jaime Black, created art in the snow on the Red River to commemorate the lives of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. When interviewed by CBC, she described her art, saying “it's a comment on the fact that Indigenous women are facing high rates of violence in Winnipeg — often we're finding women in the river.”[1] Ms. Black also was an artist involved in the REDress Project, which slung red dresses from trees in cities across Canada in honour of MMIWG. She hopes to continue her efforts of drawing attention to the ongoing problems and violence for Indigenous women, hoping to get a group together for more participation in creating more snow figures on the river, or other art displays.[2]

In December, two grade 12 students, Trinity Harry and Joseph Ginter, used welding skills to create an art display drawing attention to the issue of MMIWG. In 2017, they welded a rose in honour of Tina Fontaine, which is now located at Tina's Safe Haven, a 24/7 drop-in centre in Winnipeg.[3]

Trinity Harry and Joseph Ginter
(Image retrieved from: www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/rb-russell-welding-mmiwg-1.4931544>). 

Jaime Black’s idea of the red dress hanging in a tree as a symbol of MMIWG was adopted by the two students into a welding project commissioned by LNG (pictured below). The tree has seven branches, which Ms. Harry explained represent the seven teachings. Each leaf has a province or territory name on it to identify where each woman was missing or murdered.[4]

Image retrieved from: www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/rb-russell-welding-mmiwg-1.4931544>

The movement to alleviate the ongoing issues with the continuation of the murder and abduction of Indigenous women in Canada is unfinished. The National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls shared on January 19, 2019, that the theme of the 2019 Women’s March was  “Ending Violence Against Women.” The Inquiry felt the theme resonated well within the Canadian climate, which is characterized by the “unacceptable reality that Indigenous women and girls are the most vulnerable people...and are 12 times more likely to be subjected to violence than non-Indigenous women.”[5] Canadian organizers specifically acknowledged the plight of MMIWG with the theme of “You are Not Forgotten”.

As Canadians, our awareness of this issue cannot only occur once or twice a year. It is the current reality for Indigenous women and girls in Canada, and so it must also be our reality. We must remember them and take action in the ways that we can -- with our art and with our voices.

Until next time,

ReconciliAction YEG

 

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[1] “Red River snow sculptures honour murdered, missing Indigenous women and girls”, CBC News (4 January 2019), online: <www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/red-river-snow-sculptures-mmiwg-1.4967005?fbclid=IwAR04Lhmn8Ngk_ajro6TTSI9QEpRQ5wT6X4EwKuyHC3sCD7d8HfkpZc2aEIU>.

[2] Ibid.

[3] “These students spent 300 hours welding metal into a red dress sculpture honouring MMIWG”, CBC News (4 December 2018), online: <www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/rb-russell-welding-mmiwg-1.4931544>.

[4] Ibid.

[5] “On January 19, we march again”, National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, News Release, online: <www.mmiwg-ffada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/2019-01-19-Womens-March_EN.pdf>.

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Thunder Bay & Systemic Racism

Tansi Nîtôtemtik,

Photo retrieved from: <https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/canadian-police-force-slammed-for-handling-of-dozens-of-indigenous-deaths/2018/12/15/9642d860-ffef-11e8-a17e-162b712e8fc2_story.html?utm_term=.837b6070f83c>

 

For the next week, ReconciliAction YEG will be catching up on some of the recent headlines that have concerned Indigenous peoples in Canada. Today’s post concerns systemic racism and the Thunder Bay Police Service (TBPS), which made headlines over the past three months because of two significant investigative reports released in late 2018, and because of the apology for systemic racism offered by the TBPS Board in response to those reports.[1]

 

In November 2018, Senator Murray Sinclair released the TBPS Board Investigation’s Final Report, and the following month Ontario’s Independent Police Review Director Gerry McNeilly released a report entitled “Broken Trust: Indigenous People and the Thunder Bay Police Service.”[2] Both reports reviewed multiple cases that were mismanaged due to racial bias and made recommendations for necessary changes. Some of the most shocking of such case reviews include:

• The death of Stacy DeBungee, whose body was found during October 2015. Police ruled the cause of death to be “non-criminal” before conducting an autopsy and before even consulting any potential eyewitnesses. The victim’s family had to hire a private investigation firm with its own money to even learn that there were possible witnesses to the crime. The victim’s family stated that they believed the TBPS’s theory of Mr. DeBungee rolling almost 10 feet into the river was “entirely speculative” and based on “an assumption that because Mr. DeBungee was Indigenous, intoxicated and reportedly sleeping along the riverbank, the only way he could have ended up in the river was by simply rolling over in his sleep.”[3]
• The death of a 57-year-old Indigenous woman, who TBPS considered dead due to hypothermia and intoxication. This was despite evidence pointing to a physical struggle prior to her death and a witness telling police that the victim had stated she believed someone was following her the day of her death.[4]
• Several other similar cases of TBPS prematurely deciding that the deaths of Indigenous persons were not suspicious.
• A 46-year-old Indigenous woman was walking across the street at an intersection and was struck by a truck that was turning left. She suffered a broken leg and a concussion. As she was recovering from surgery, the investigating police officer delivered to her in the hospital a Provincial Offence Notice for crossing the street unsafely. The driver of the truck was not charged.[5]

 

Not only were the two aforementioned reports released this year, but one of 2018’s best podcasts, Thunder Bay, also directed significant public attention towards the city’s systemic racism.[6] The podcast extensively documents how Indigenous persons in Thunder Bay have been victimized by corrupt people in positions of power, as well as by racist attitudes held by Thunder Bayers in general.

 

Thunder Bay has begun its reckoning with the racist systems and attitudes that have victimized its Indigenous citizens. Its police service has apologized and is beginning systemic reform to facilitate greater oversight and more representative leadership.[7] However, while Thunder Bay has been the focal point of great criticism recently, it is merely one of many communities in Canada that are due for significant self-reflection. It is up to the rest of Canadians to learn from Thunder Bay’s mistakes and to apply our learning to our own communities.

Until next time,

Team ReconciliAction YEG

 

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[1] Willow Fiddler, “Thunder Bay police board apologizes for systemic racism,” APTN National News (14 January 2019), online: <https://aptnnews.ca/2019/01/14/thunder-bay-police-apology/>

 

[2] Senator Murray Sinclair, “Final Report,” Thunder Bay Police Services Board Investigation (1 November 2018), online: <https://slasto-tsapno.gov.on.ca/ocpc-ccop/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2018/12/TBPSB_Investigation_Final_Report_-_EN-FINAL-1.pdf>; Gerry McNeilly, “Broken Trust: Indigenous People and the Thunder Bay Police Service,” Office of the Independent Police Review Director (December 2018), online: <http://oiprd.on.ca/wp-content/uploads/OIPRD-BrokenTrust-Final-Accessible-E.pdf>

 

[3] Gerry McNeilly, “Broken Trust: Indigenous People and the Thunder Bay Police Service,” Office of the Independent Police Review Director (December 2018), at 128-129, online: <http://oiprd.on.ca/wp-content/uploads/OIPRD-BrokenTrust-Final-Accessible-E.pdf>

 

[4] Ibid, at 119-120.

 

[5] Ibid, at 123.

 

[6] Ryan McMahon, Thunder Bay, CANADALAND (2018), online: <https://www.canadalandshow.com/shows/thunder-bay/>

 

[7] Supra, at note 1.

 

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The University of Alberta Faculty of Law's Response to Call to Action #28

Tansi Nîtôtemtik,

Photo retrieved from: <https://twitter.com/ualbertalaw>.

Today’s post will close our series on Canadian law faculties’ responses to the Truth and Reconcilation Commission (“TRC”) Call to Action #28 with a discussion of the initiatives taken by the University of Alberta (“U of A”) Faculty of Law (For a backgrounder on Call to Action #28, please see last Monday’s post here).

First-year students at the U of A Faculty of Law are required to participate in a law-focused blanket exercise adapted and written by U of A Faculty of Law professors as a component of the two-week introductory Foundations to Law course. [1] The exercise is focused on colonial laws and their impact on Indigenous peoples, interweaving Canada’s legal history with its oppressive effects on Indigenous peoples. This blanket exercise has been taken up by both Dalhousie Law School and the University of Victoria Faculty of Law. Following the exercise, first-year students reflect on their experiences during a lunchtime talk with Indigenous scholars, lawyers, and community members. In addition to this exercise, the Faculty’s mandatory Constitutional Law course involves a unit on Aboriginal and Treaty rights. It has been also been recent practice to host a group lecture for all first-years on Aboriginal title in the mandatory Property Law course. Aside from this, curriculum is adapted by professors and may or may not integrate Indigenous legal perspectives, leaving students with widely divergent exposure to Indigenous laws and perspectives.

A sub-committee of the Faculty’s Curriculum Committee, comprised of Professors Jessica Eisen and Joshua Nichols, has recently been formed to assess the Faculty’s curriculum and make recommendations concerning Call to Action #28. However, there is currently no upper-year mandatory course in Indigenous or Aboriginal law. Students may choose to take elective courses such as Indigenous Laws, Peoples, Justice, and Reconciliation; Aboriginal Peoples and the Law; and a seminar in Indigenous Laws. [2] The Faculty also offers a seminar course and externship designed to provide students with an understanding of the principles set out in the Supreme Court of Canada’s landmark decision on sentencing for Indigenous offenders, R v Gladue. [3]  In addition, the Faculty offered a five-day on-the-land summer course in 2017, entitled the Wahkohtowin Project, which gives students exposure to and direct experience with the Cree legal and governance concepts of wahkohtowin (interrelatedness) and miyo-wicehtowin (building good relations). [4] As a component of this course, the Faculty hosted the Reconciliation Wahkohtowin Conference in September 2017 with the Centre for Constitutional Studies. [5] It is worth noting also that the Faculty has hired two new Indigenous professors in the most recent academic year: Professors Darcy Lindberg and Joshua Nichols. Professor Lindberg co-teaches a course along with Professor Hadley Friedland in Jurisprudence with a focus on Indigenous legal traditions. Professor Nichols teaches courses in Law, Empire, and Canadian Federalism; Administrative Law; and Jurisprudence.

Outside of the classroom, students may become engaged with Indigenous legal issues in other ways. For example, the Indigenous Law Students’ Association (“ILSA”) hosts an annual Speaker Series drawing in lawyers, legal scholars, and subject matter experts in the community. Each year covers a topic on Indigenous legal issues, this year being on the child welfare system and its intersection with Indigenous peoples (running from March 4-8). During the series, the Aboriginal Justice Award is also presented to one of the guest speakers. [6]

Finally, the Faculty has appointed a part-time Indigenous Student Academic and Cultural Support Advisor, Ms. Apryl Gladue. Ms. Gladue offers supports for Indigenous students, as well as the Indigenous Law Students’ Association.

Personally, I feel that our Faculty has not taken strong enough initiatives to implement Call to Action #28. Certainly, efforts in innovative courses such as the Wahkohtowin project and the Gladue sentencing principles externship are positive steps. However, these courses are completely self-selected and will necessarily attract students with an already-present interest in the subject matter. This means that students who might benefit more strongly from Indigenous legal content are left unexposed. Additionally, as noted above, the content of first-year courses may vary widely, meaning that students enter second-year with varying levels of understanding. In closing, the ReconciliAction YEG Team calls upon the Faculty to take a stronger stance in implementing Call to Action #28.

 

Until next time,

 

Team ReconciliAction YEG

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[1]  Council of Canadian Law Deans, “UAlberta Responses to the Calls to Action”, online: <https://ccld-cdfdc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/CCLD-TRC-REPORT-V2.pdf?fbclid=IwAR2lpJoKH8dQwFv_kv3C_PHMzdJxSabIW322d0hZzySPkHOZUle0228kSmg>.

[2] Ibid.

[3]  [1999] 1 SCR 688; 171 DLR (4th) 385 [Gladue].

[4] Council of Canadian Law Deans, supra note 1.

[5] Ibid.

[6] Ibid.

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Osgoode Hall and Call to Action #28

Tansi Nîtôtemtik,

 

Photo retrieved from: <www.lsac.org/choosing-law-school/find-law-school/canadian-law-schools/osgoode-hall-law-school>.

 

Today’s post looks at York University’s Osgoode Hall Law School (“Osgoode”), and their response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (TRC) Call to Action #28. For those just tuning in, Call to Action #28 reads as follows:

We call upon law schools in Canada to require all law students to take a course in Aboriginal people and the law, which includes the history and legacy of residential schools, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Treaties and Aboriginal rights, Indigenous law, and Aboriginal-Crown relations. This will require skills-based training in intercultural competency, conflict resolution, human rights, and anti-racism.[1]

For Osgoode, a meaningful response to #28 meant formally implementing an Indigenous and Aboriginal Law Requirement in its Juris Doctor (JD) degree program, beginning in September 2018. Osgoode Dean Lorne Sossin commented on its direct response to the TRC as being “a genuine watershed moment for legal education at Osgoode and reflects the engagement and commitment of our whole community – with lots of important work and reconciliation discussions to come."[2]

The new degree requirement for Osgoode law students requires all upper years to complete at least one course that engages in a substantial way with all three of the following:

• Indigenous law (law that stems from Indigenous communities and their legal traditions);
• Aboriginal law (non-Indigenous law, specifically Canadian law as it pertains to Indigenous people); and
• Aspects of professionalism and/or practice skills related to serving Indigenous clients, which may include intercultural competency, conflict resolution, human rights and anti-racism.[3]

In meeting the above criteria, students are able to choose from courses such as Indigenous Peoples and Canadian Law and Indigenous Perspectives and Realities.[4]

In addition to implementing a mandatory course requirement as set out in #28, Osgoode has made further endeavours in terms of reconcili-action by establishing the Reconciliation Fund in June 2017. The Fund has an initial investment of $300,000.00 over its first three years, and will provide support for the following initiatives:

• Three years of annual funding for the Anishinaabe Law Camp held each September at Neyaashiinigmiing (Cape Croker) in collaboration with the Chippewas of Nawash and the Debwewin Summer Internship program in collaboration with the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General.
• Establishment of Osgoode’s first Office of Indigenous and Reconciliation Initiatives.
• Strengthening and deepening ties with Indigenous communities by bringing Elders in Residence to Osgoode, as well as other experts and guests from Indigenous communities for Osgoode events, courses and programs.
• Programming in Skennen’kó:wa Gamig (formerly Hart House) as a centre for Indigenous community life at York University and other pan-University collaborations.
• Augmenting available funding sources for Osgoode Indigenous students.
• Enhancing the Indigenization of Osgoode’s curriculum, as well as research projects, exhibits and collaborations that enrich study and knowledge about Indigenous law and legal issues. This builds on the success of Osgoode’s Intensive Program in Aboriginal Lands, Resources & Governments as one of North America’s premier experiential programs exploring legal issues relating to Indigenous peoples and Indigenous rights. The program celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2014. [5]

Both in terms of its response to the TRC Call to Action #28 and its reconcili-actions, we applaud Osgoode for making meaningful efforts. These efforts will help to create future legal professionals who are culturally competent and aware of Indigenous issues and their intersection with our legal systems. This is invaluable in an era where the law no longer encompasses only Common, Civil, or State-made laws, but also the laws of those who originally called Turtle Island home.

 

Until next time,

Team ReconciliAction YEG

 

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[1] Honouring the Truth, Reconciling for the Future: Summary of the Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (Winnipeg: TRC, 2015) at 168.

[2] Sandra McLean, “Osgoode Hall Law School adopts new Indigenous and Aboriginal Law Requirement” (6 April 2018), online: York University News <http://news.yorku.ca/2018/04/06/osgoode-hall-law-school-adopts-new-indigenous-and-aboriginal-law-requirement/>.

[3] Ibid.

[4] “Courses and Seminars”, York University, online: <https://www.osgoode.yorku.ca/courses-and-seminars/>.

[5] “Osgoode Hall Law School establishes Reconciliation Fund for Indigenous initiatives” (22 June 2017), online: Nation Talk <http://nationtalk.ca/story/osgoode-hall-law-school-establishes-reconciliation-fund-for-indigenous-initiatives?utm_content=buffer7e247&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer>.

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University of Calgary and Call to Action #28

Tansi Nîtôtemtik,

Image retrieved from: <www.ucalgary.ca/oacac2011/university_of_calgary>.

Today’s post reviews the University of Calgary’s Faculty of Law (“Faculty”) response to the Truth and Reconciliation’s (“TRC”) Call to Action concerning the inclusion of mandatory Indigenous legal curricula in law schools. Once again, Call to Action #28 mandates:

We call upon law schools in Canada to require all law students to take a course in Aboriginal people and the law, which includes the history and legacy of residential schools, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Treaties and Aboriginal rights, Indigenous law, and Aboriginal-Crown relations. This will require skills-based training in intercultural competency, conflict resolution, human rights, and anti-racism.[1]

The Faculty has undertaken to consult with students and Indigenous communities as to what full implementation of Call to Action #28 would ultimately look like. Currently, the Faculty offers 34 “courses [which] contain content reflecting issues of Indigenous law.”[2] Presently, 5 courses are devoted specifically to First Nations issues:

• Canadian Law and Indigenous Peoples;
• Comparative Indigenous Law;
• Seminar on the Residential Schools Litigation;
• Seminar on the Land Claims process; and
• Kawaskimhon Aboriginal Law Moot, a non-competitive national forum where law students negotiate and debate Indigenous legal issues.[3]

Clearly, the Faculty provides students with a number of rich and diverse courses that explore Indigenous legal issues. Efforts have been made to ensure that Aboriginal law content is being added to and expanded on in all courses.[4] Moreover, the Faculty has appointed Lee Francoeur as an Indigenous faculty member. Francoeur is an accomplished lawyer and member of the Taku River Tlingit First Nation.[5]

In addition, the Faculty has recently introduced the “Indigenous Legal Traditions” course, available to upper year law students.[6] The course “engages the historical Indigenous legal traditions with current events to highlight how this area of law is currently used, and where there is potential for growth.”[7] Students have an opportunity to compare and contrast common law, civil law, and Indigenous legal traditions. By identifying differences and similarities, students can apply the “valuable tools that each one provides to solve moral, ethical, and legal problems.”[8] The class is taught by Professor Kathleen Mahoney, a former Chief Negotiator for the Assembly of First Nations as well as a “primary architect of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in the historic Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement.”[9] Students are able to hear from guest speakers with experience in Indigenous law and the course also includes a guided field trip to Blackfoot Crossing, the historic location where Treaty 7 was signed.[10]

Each year, first year students are exposed to Indigenous ceremony in order to understand the cultural and historical significance of the traditional lands and territories on which they are learning. The Faculty plans on having first year students travel to a Reserve as part of their Foundations in Law and Justice course. Moreover, in the future, Law Day Activities are to be organized on a Reserve as well.[11]

The Faculty is committed to continuing to support and host the Indigenous Youth Outreach Program (formerly known as “Dare to Dream”), an innovative educational and mentorship oriented program for Indigenous youth aged 11-14.[12] Through the program, “students work with justice sector volunteers and participate in experiential learning opportunities like mock trials, sentencing circles, and field trips that expose them to the justice system in a positive and culturally-empowering way.”[13] Recently, the Faculty has partnered with the Native Law Centre Summer Program for Indigenous students entering into law school.[14]

The Faculty is dedicated to increasing the amount of First Nations and Métis students attending law school as well as providing financial support to those students through scholarships and bursaries. Funding is also provided for students to complete the University’s First Nations Leadership Program during their law degrees. The Faculty also has an Indigenous Law Club, “which hosts events throughout the school year to encourage awareness and discussion of Indigenous Law issues.”[15] As well, the Native Centre is an additional resource for Indigenous students. The Native Centre provides culturally appropriate supports for Indigenous students through a variety of different programs and services.[16]

The Faculty’s approach corresponds with the University of Calgary’s Indigenous Strategy: ii’taa’poh’to’p (“Strategy”), which signifies “a place to rejuvenate and re-energize while on a journey.”[17] The Strategy recognizes the devastating effects of colonialism, Canada’s history of racist legislation (including the Gradual Civilization Act, 1857 and the Indian Act, 1876), as well as the fracturing, displacement, and separation of Indigenous communities and families during colonization and assimilation.[18] Specifically, the Strategy highlights how Canada’s colonial governments’ “legislative acts and policies also led to the dispossession of Indigenous lands and the imposition of a legal order aimed at limiting Indigenous rights and the suppression of cultures to make room for settlement and economic development.”[19] The Strategy emphasizes the injustices inflicted upon Indigenous peoples through the Canadian legal system, a history that should be reflected in our law schools’ curricula.

Furthermore, the Strategy acknowledges that Residential Schools have directly caused “language and cultural loss, socio-cultural disparity, and inter-generational trauma.”[20] The United Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (“UNDRIP”) is explicitly cited as “an important foundation for the [Indigenous Strategy].”[21] Lastly, the Strategy works to “transform [their] ways of being” by undergoing intercultural competency processes that require education on “the history and legacy of Indian Residential Schools, [UNDRIP], Treaties and Aboriginal rights, and Indigenous teachings and practices.”[22] The Strategy is guided by the TRC’s recommendations and the Faculty is wise to align their educational and reconciliatory goals with its aims.

However, the Faculty also admits that Call to Action #28 demands more. Currently, the Faculty has yet to implement a mandatory course that satisfies the requirements set out in Call to Action #28. Although great work is occurring at our southern neighbour law school, the inclusion of a required class remains to be seen.

Until next time,

Team Reconcili-ActionYEG

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[1] Honouring the Truth, Reconciling for the Future: Summary of the Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (Winnipeg: TRC, 2015) at 168.

[2] “The University of Calgary and the Calls to Action” (no date), online (pdf): Council of Canadian Law Deans <ccld-cdfdc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/CCLD-TRC-REPORT-V2.pdf> [Calls to Action Summary].

[3] “Kawaskimhon Moot 2019” (no date), online: Dalhousie University <www.dal.ca/faculty/law/current-students/kawaskimhon-moot-2019.html>.

[4] Calls to Action Summary, supra note 2.

[5] “Lee Francoeur” (no date), online: Eagle Law <eaglelaw.ca/?page_id=780>.

[6] Katie Moore, “New Course Demonstrates How Indigenous Traditions Can Be Used in Current Legal System” (22 March 2018), online: University of Calgary UToday <www.ucalgary.ca/utoday/issue/2018-03-22/new-course-demonstrates-how-indigenous-traditions-can-be-used-current-legal-system>.

[7] Ibid.

[8] Ibid.

[9] “Kathleen Elizabeth Mahoney” (no date), online: University of Calgary Law Contacts <contacts.ucalgary.ca/info/law/profiles/198-182>.

[10] “About Us” (no date), online: Blackfoot Crossing Historical Park <www.blackfootcrossing.ca/about-us.html>.

[11] Calls to Action Summary, supra note 2.

[12] “Empowering Indigenous Youth Through Justice Education and Mentorship” (no date), online: Level: Changing Lives Through Law <leveljustice.org/en/youth-outreach>.

[13] Ibid.

[14] Calls to Action Summary, supra note 2.

[15] “Future Indigenous Students” (no date), online: University of Calgary Faculty of Law <law.ucalgary.ca/future-students/calgary-curriculum/future-indigenous-students>.

[16] “Native Centre: About” (no date), online: University of Calgary Native Centre <www.ucalgary.ca/nativecentre/home/about>.

[17] “Indigenous Strategy” (February 2018) at 2, online (pdf): University of Calgary <www.ucalgary.ca/indigenous-strategy/files/indigenous-strategy/indigenous-strategy_publication_digital_feb2018.pdf>.

[18] Ibid at 3.

[19] Ibid.

[20] Ibid.

[21] Ibid at 35.

[22] Ibid at 27.

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Queen's Faculty of Law & Call to Action 28

Tansi Nîtôtemtik,

A recent public art installation at Queen's Faculty of Law. Photo retrieved from: law.queensu.ca/programs/jd/student-support/diversity-inclusion/indigenous-initiatives

In continuing our analysis of Canadian law schools’ responses to TRC Call 28, today we focus on Queen’s University Faculty of Law in Kingston, Ontario. Queen’s has a number of Indigenous initiatives, detailed on this webpage, and this post will discuss a number of their efforts to support their Indigenous students, and provide a clear response to the TRC’s Call 28. [1]

Queen’s has made a number of notable efforts in showing support to Indigenous students and Indigenous curriculum, but have not yet responded to Call 28 by ensuring a mandatory class for all students. Their efforts include:

• an internship agreement that allows them to work with Indigenous organizations in Ontario, in partnership with Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General Indigenous Justice Division.
• cultural support offered by the Faculty to current Indigenous students through coffee chats.
• creating the Queens Law Student’s Society Reconciliation Committee and a permanent Aboriginal student representative spot in student governance.
• a permanent scholarship, created by the student governance body with an amount matched by the Faculty, to help more Aboriginal students access legal education.[3]
• commitment from the Dean, including attending a “reconciliation Trip” in 2015 which involved visiting a Northern Ontario Indigenous community to better understand the “barriers and challenges of those who live there”[4]
• Installation of a public art piece in September 2015 by Indigenous artist, Hannah Klaus, entitled “words that are lasting” [pictured above].

In the 2018-2019 school year, the Faculty offered four courses focused on Aboriginal law and Indigenous issues: Aboriginal Law, Aboriginal Child Welfare, First Nations Negotiations, and Bias in the Criminal Justice System. As well, the Faculty participated in developing an undergraduate course in Aboriginal Law for non-law students, to be offered online and in person.[5]

Queen’s is hosting an interesting conference in February called “Reconciliation on Bay Street”, which will “explore the theme of economic reconciliation and the roles that Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities can play in its attainment” [6]. The conference, for both law, business, Indigenous, and non-Indigenous students, will start with a Kairos blanket exercise, and a viewing of the film “Reconciliation on Bay Street” by Andree Cabazon.

Despite all of Queen’s efforts towards reconciliation, they fall short in providing a full response to Call 28 because they have not yet made a class focusing on Aboriginal Law and Indigenous issues mandatory for all students. It seems that when they endeavour to do this, their total efforts will be an example to other Faculties of Law across the country.

Until next time,

Team ReconciliAction YEG

 

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[1] "Indigenous Initiatives", Queen's University, Faculty of Law, webpage, online: <law.queensu.ca/programs/jd/student-support/diversity-inclusion/indigenous-initiatives>.

[2] "Students vote to create Aboriginal student entrance scholarship", Queen's University, Faculty of Law News, webpage, online: <law.queensu.ca/news/Queens-Law-students-vote-to-create-aboriginal-student-entrance-scholarship>.

[3] "Indigenous Initiatives", supra note 1. 

[4] "Dean's trip north helps build ties with First Nations", Queen's University Gazette, webpage, online: <www.queensu.ca/gazette/stories/deans-trip-north-helps-build-ties-first-nations>.

[5] "Indigenous Initiatives", supra note 1. 

[6] "Reconciliation on Bay Street" Conference, webpage, online: <www.rbsconferencequeens.com/>.

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McGill University & Call to Action 28

Tansi Nîtôtemtik,

 

Photo retrieved from: <https://reporter.mcgill.ca/nominations-needed-for-new-dean-of-law/>

(UPDATE ~ 4 February 2019) McGill University's Faculty of Law has provided the following comment regarding the article below:

The McGill Faculty of Law’s efforts to respond to Call 28 are ongoing and the Faculty does not hold out any part of the integration workshop as fully satisfying the call to action. We look forward to sharing additional details concerning the Faculty’s response in the near future.

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ReconciliAction YEG has decided to continue our posts from last week on Canadian law schools’ responses to the TRC’s Call to Action # 28. We will cover five more law schools this week, starting today with McGill University’s Faculty of Law.

 

As was noted in a 2018 blog post, McGill has dedicated one week of its “mandatory first-year Integration Workshop” to teaching students about Indigenous laws and legal traditions.[1] McGill’s description of its Integration Workshop says:

 

This course aims to help you identify, articulate, and call into question some of your preconceptions about law and justice so that you may experience law as historically and culturally located. It aims to help you find law where you least expect it but also to appreciate law differently where you most expect to find it… This course is a foundational one in that it encourages you, in the trans-systemic spirit, to think carefully and critically about the language you not only speak, but also inherit and inhabit.[2]

 

This description does not explicitly mention dedicating one week of the Integration Workshop to Indigenous laws and legal traditions, but it does seem to address intercultural competency as described in the 28th Call to Action. Despite the fact that the one-week Indigenous law component of the mandatory Integration Workshop is not mentioned in the course description and the 2017 McGill Tribune article that this post is partially based on does not mention the Indigenous law component recurring annually, this post assumes that it will recur annually.

 

The one week Indigenous laws and legal traditions component addresses both Indigenous laws and legal traditions and intercultural competency. However, there are other components of the 28th Call to Action that are not addressed in McGill’s Integration Workshop, such as Aboriginal peoples and the law, the history and legacy of residential schools, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Treaties and Aboriginal rights, and Aboriginal-Crown relations.

 

Other required courses, like property and criminal law, incorporate elements of the above components into their learning.[3] However, it appears that not all the components of Call to Action # 28 are covered in mandatory courses at McGill University’s Faculty of Law. Further, Call to Action # 28 states that all of the topics it lists should be delivered through a single, mandatory course. Currently, there is no single required course at McGill University that requires all students to learn all of the listed topics in Call to Action # 28.

 

In conclusion, McGill University’s response to Call to Action # 28 is insufficient.

Until next time,

Team ReconciliAction YEG

 

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[1] Cherry Wu, “McGill Introduces Intensive Course on Indigenous Law” McGill Tribune (January 17, 2017), online: <http://www.mcgilltribune.com/news/mcgill-faculty-of-law-introduces-intensive-course-on-indigenous-law-097235/>

 

[2] “Current Courses”, McGill University Faculty of Law - Student Affairs Office (2018-2019), online: <https://www.mcgill.ca/law-studies/courses/current#1LRequired>

 

[3] Supra, note 1.

 

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University of Manitoba Faculty of Law’s Response to Call to Action #28

Tansi Nîtôtemtik,

Photo retrieved from: <http://www.themanitoban.com/2017/02/law-school-good-bad-ugly-mostly-good/30575/>.

Continuing with our posts from earlier this week, today’s blog addresses the University of Manitoba Faculty of Law (also known as “Robson Hall”) and its response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (“TRC”) Call to Action #28. (For background on Call to Action #28, see Monday’s post here).

On January 26, 2016, Robson Hall’s Faculty Council endorsed the following statement concerning Call to Action #28:

       The Faculty of Law, University of Manitoba is committed to working collectively to meaningfully implement Call to     Action #28, with particular attention to its implications for our curriculum and the learning environment at Robson Hall.         Our current curriculum includes a mandatory unit on Aboriginal-Crown relations, Treaties and Aboriginal Rights (in Constitutional Law) and some of the other topics highlighted by the TRC are addressed in deliberate but uncoordinated ways in a range of mandatory and elective courses. A broad-based curriculum review process is already underway (which includes, for example, a proposal from the Academic Innovation Committee that knowledge of Indigenous Legal Traditions be a mandatory competency of the J.D program). The Faculty of Law commits to incorporating measures consistent with Call to Action #28 in the Faculty’s future urriculum. In the short term, faculty members will investigate options for fulfilling elements of Call to Action #28 in existing courses and programs in a more coordinated way. [1]

As the statement above alludes to, Robson Hall Faculty Council has undergone a review of its Juris Doctor (“J.D.”) program curriculum. While ensuring that mandatory courses such as legal systems, constitutional law, property law, evidence, tax law, and family law all include Aboriginal perspectives, an Academic Innovation Committee has also proposed that an Indigenous Legal Traditions course be a mandatory component of its J.D. program.  Robson Hall also offers a concentration in Aboriginal law-focused courses, including Aboriginal Justice and Family Law, Aboriginal Peoples and Land Claims, Aboriginal Peoples and the Law, Advocating for the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in International Law, and two interdisciplinary courses in conjunction with the University of Manitoba’s Human Rights program. [2] Along with its curriculum review, the Faculty Council has appointed Senator Murray Sinclair, a former Justice of the Manitoba Court of Queen’s Bench and current Senator, as its Distinguished Jurist-in-Residence. The role of the Jurist-in-Residence is to offer guidance and leadership to students in the faculty. [3]

Beyond its curriculum review, faculty at Robson Hall have also undertaken a number of significant research projects in the area of Indigenous law and policy. For example, former University of Manitoba law professors David Milward and Debra Parkes worked with staff at Robson law, students, and members of the Manitoba Bar and Bench to develop resources towards the implementation of the Supreme Court of Canada’s R v Gladue [4] decision on Aboriginal sentencing. This project resulted in the development of a Gladue Handbook, which is intended to be a resource for lawyers, judges, and other participants in the justice system. [5]

In addition to an increased exposure to Indigenous legal issues during class time, students at Robson Hall also participate in a variety of mandatory and non-mandatory activities focused on building relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous members of the legal community and general public. For example, the mandatory orientation week for first-year students includes a blanket exercise, a tour of Winnipeg’s National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, and sharing with Indigenous Elders in the community. In addition, many students at Robson Hall participate in Orange Shirt Day, which is meant to honour residential school survivors. [6]

Generally speaking, Robson Hall has taken a number of positive initiatives in terms of implementing Call to Action #28, which should be commended. Mandatory units in topics such as Crown-Aboriginal relations and Treaties are essential so that students understand both the history and context of the law that they are studying. However, it’s difficult to know from the information offered what substantive content is included in these courses, and whether it incorporates any Indigenous perspectives beyond common law principles. Certainly, a mandatory course in Indigenous Legal Traditions, as recommended, would be a positive step forward.

Next week, our blog will continue with its series on Canadian law schools’ responses to Call to Action #28. Thank you for reading.

Until next time,

 

Team ReconciliAction YEG

 

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[1]University of Manitoba Robson Hall, Faculty of Law, “Response to TRC”, (26 January 2016), online: < http://law.robsonhall.com/response-to-trc/?. >.

[2] University of Manitoba Robson Hall, Faculty of Law, “Indigenous Initiatives”, (2016), online: <http://law.robsonhall.com/current-students1/indigenous-initiatives/>.

[3] University of Manitoba, “Justice Sinclair to Join Faculty of Law as Distinguished Jurist-in-Residence”, (3 October 2015), online: <http://news.umanitoba.ca/justice-sinclair-to-join-faculty-of-law-as-jurist-in-residence/>.

[4]  [1999] 1 SCR 688; 171 DLR (4th) 385.  

[5] “Indigenous Initiatives”, supra note 2.

[6] University of Manitoba, “Law Students Learn About, Promote Significance of Orange Shirt Day”, (19 September 2018), online: <http://news.umanitoba.ca/law-students-learn-about-promote-significance-of-orange-shirt-day/>.

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University of Victoria and Call to Action #28

Tansi Nîtôtemtik,

Art by Val Napoleon, photo retrieved from: https://www.uvic.ca/law/about/indigenous/indigenoussummerintensive.php.

 

Today’s post will look at efforts by The University of Victoria Faculty of Law (“the Faculty”) in response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (TRC) Call to Action #28. For those familiar with Indigenous laws, you will most likely have heard of Val Napoleon and John Borrows. Both Professor Borrows and Dr. Napoleon are based out of the University of Victoria, which means that some exciting things are happening at the school in terms of reconcili-action.

The Faculty emphasizes the importance of understanding Indigenous history, culture and legal traditions for law students, stating:

We aim to equip our students with the knowledge and skills to adapt to the ever-changing field of Indigenous law and the impact those changes will have on so many facets of Canadian society. We strive to have our students enter the workforce as informed citizens with a strong cultural understanding and appreciation of the many different legal traditions that comprise our systems of justice...Recent landmark rulings by the Supreme Court of Canada serve as strong reminders to the legal community that Indigenous issues will be increasingly salient. As educators, we must reflect these anticipated trends in our university course offerings, programs and research initiatives.[1]

In response to the above goals, the Faculty offers programs and supports for students, resident scholars and their leading research, the Indigenous Law Research Unit (ILRU), the National Consortium for Indigenous Economic Development (NCIED), as well as the recently founded JID Program (see below).

The Faculty has developed the Amicus Program, which provides academic, cultural, personal and accommodation assistance for Indigenous students. The Amicus Program also coordinates with the Faculty’s Indigenous Law Students’ Association to create additional supports. Moreover, the University itself also has a First Peoples House, which also acts as a support system for Indigenous students schoolwide. In addition, since 1996, UVic has hosted an Aboriginal Awareness Camp where students spend a weekend at the start of the school year with a First Nations community learning about their values, customs and beliefs.[2]

As was mentioned above, the Faculty is also fortunate to have Professor John Borrows, Dr. Val Napoleon, and D Heather Raven, QC, all of whom offer an abundance of knowledge on Indigenous law, as well as issues in Indigenous governance, power, and community.[3] In addition to having these internationally-recognized scholars, the Faculty is also home to the ILRU, headed by Dr. Napoleon and dedicated to the recovery and renaissance of Indigenous laws. The ILRU collaborates and supports two major streams of Indigenous laws research – Land, Waters and Resources, as well as Governance, Justice and Citizenship.[4]

The last initiative worth noting of the Faculty is the newly established joint degree program in Canadian Common Law (Juris Doctor) and Indigenous Legal Orders (Juris Indigenarum Doctor), with its first enrolled law students having begun in September 2018. The JID has been a topic of great discussion amongst law students interested in studying Indigenous laws throughout Canada, being the first of its kind in the world. The program itself is explained as “[c]ombining intensive study of Canadian Common Law with intensive engagement with Indigenous laws, the JD/JID will develop the skills needed to practice within Canadian Common Law, with Indigenous legal orders, and at the interface between them.”[5] As such, graduates of the program will be in high demand in areas of Indigenous governance, non-Indigenous government agencies, law firms that work with Indigenous peoples and lands, as well as business enterprises.[6]

Looking at the above initiatives, it is easy to see why the Faculty is deemed as a leader in Indigenous legal issues. However, Indigenous Initiatives within the Faculty’s website do not touch on the TRC Call to Action #28 – it seems as though the emphasis is on the JID Program, and not on curriculum for those students enrolled in the JD Program. Although the Team looks to our friends on the West Coast as leaders in Indigenous Law, we do recognize the need for more in terms of reconcili-action, and for #28 to be meaningfully implemented.

 

Until next time,

Team ReconciliAction YEG

 

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[1] “Indigenous Initiatives”, University of Victoria, online: https://www.uvic.ca/law/about/indigenous/index.php.

[2] “Programs and Supports for Indigenous JD Students”, University of Victoria, online: https://www.uvic.ca/law/about/indigenous/students/index.php.

[3] “Leading Scholars and Research”, University of Victoria, online: https://www.uvic.ca/law/about/indigenous/scholars/index.php.

[4] “Indigenous Law Research Unit (ILRU)”, University of Victoria, online: https://www.uvic.ca/law/about/indigenous/indigenouslawresearchunit/index.php.

[5] “Joint Degree Program in Canadian Common Law and Indigenous Legal Orders JD/JID”, University of Victoria, online: https://www.uvic.ca/law/about/indigenous/jid/index.php.

[6] Ibid.

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University of Saskatchewan and Call to Action #28

Tansi Nîtôtemtik,

Image retrieved from: <www.usask.ca/plsnp/>.

Today’s post looks at the work being done at the University of Saskatchewan’s College of Law (“College”) in addressing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action. Specifically, Call to Action #28 states:

We call upon law schools in Canada to require all law students to take a course in Aboriginal people and the law, which includes the history and legacy of residential schools, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Treaties and Aboriginal rights, Indigenous law, and Aboriginal-Crown relations. This will require skills-based training in intercultural competency, conflict resolution, human rights, and anti-racism.[1]

The College is the oldest law school in Western Canada, established in 1912. It is also the alma mater of the first Indigenous lawyer to be called to the Bar in Western Canada, William Wuttunee, in 1954. Recently, the College has begun to implement a number of Indigenous initiatives, including the founding of law programs for Indigenous students in Nunavut and Newfoundland and Labrador. The northern initiative in Nunavut is the first law program to be offered to that region in over 10 years. Of the 24 students who are set to graduate in 2021, 18 are Inuit. The College is accepting 2 Indigenous students from Newfoundland and Labrador every year since the province has no law school of its own.[2]

The College is committed to increasing the amount of Indigenous law students enrolled in the school. Currently, 15% of the student population of the College are Indigenous, with the aim of increasing that number to 20+% in the coming decades. Moreover, the College has developed a mandatory first year class on Indigenous law and history; upper year students must also take a second course that covers Indigenous legal issues. The new curriculum received unanimous faculty support and directly responds to Call to Action #28.[3]

In addition to these initiatives, the College is home to the Native Law Centre (“NLC”), a world renowned legal institution:

dedicated to facilitating access to legal education for Aboriginal peoples, promoting the development of the law and the legal system in Canada in ways which better accommodate the advancement of Aboriginal peoples and communities and disseminating information concerning Aboriginal peoples and the law.[4]

Founded by Dr. Roger C. Carter in 1975, the NLC became a part of the College in 1984.[5] Its objectives are to:

• Provide high quality legal education for Indigenous students;
• Set a positive example of Indigenous legal education;
• Produce research aimed at Aboriginal legal issues, both nationally and internationally;
• Publish Aboriginal legal scholarship and reference material;
• Be a resource for Aboriginal legal issues;
• Collaborate and build relationships with other organizations working on Indigenous issues.[6]

In May 2018, the NLC was given the name Wiyasiwewin Mikiwahp, which translates to “law lodge.” During the naming ceremony, a tipi was raised. The adoption of the Cree name “honours the centre’s long history and global reputation as a leader in its field.”[7]

The NLC also offers a Summer Program of legal studies for Indigenous students.[8] The course is eight weeks long focusing on first-year property law, and is taken by students before they enter law school the following fall. For many students, acceptance into law school is conditional on their completing the course. The program helps future students prepare for law school through writing workshops, mentorship, a dynamic educational environment, and cultural supports. The program also has the effect of lightening students’ first year workload. Moreover, the course provides an alternate means for Indigenous students to be accepted into law school.[9]

The program increases the amount of Indigenous legal professionals while also incorporating Aboriginal legal content into students’ education. Real property law, personal property law, Aboriginal property law, and customary law are all taught during the program, ensuring that students receive a well-rounded and challenging education.[10] The program “has trained more than 1,300 students including three out of every four Indigenous lawyers practising in Canada.”[11] As a result, the program has successfully created a network of future Indigenous lawyers and legal professionals across the country.

By pushing for greater Indigenous numbers within the legal system (starting with law schools); ensuring all law students are properly educated in Indigenous legal issues; and researching important legal scholarship at the NLC, the College is innovating justice systems in Canada.

Until next time,

Team Reconcili-ActionYEG

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[1] Honouring the Truth, Reconciling for the Future: Summary of the Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (Winnipeg: TRC, 2015) at 168.

[2] James Shewaga, “College of Law Implementing Innovative Indigenous Initiatives” (8 November 2018), online: University of Saskatchewan News <news.usask.ca/articles/colleges/2018/college-of-law-implementing--innovative-indigenous-initiatives.php>.

[3] Ibid.

[4] “College Programming” (no date), online: University of Saskatchewan Indigenous Initiatives <aboriginal.usask.ca/college-programming.php#Law>.

[5] “Native Law Centre” (no date), online: University of Saskatchewan Native Law Centre of Canada <www.usask.ca/nativelaw/>.

[6] Ibid.

[7] “Native Law Centre Adds Cree Name” (18 May 2018), online: University of Saskatchewan News <news.usask.ca/media-release-pages/2018/native-law-centre-adds-cree-name.php>.

[8] “Native Law Centre Summer Program” (no date), online: University of Saskatchewan Native Law Centre of Canada <http://www.usask.ca/plsnp/>.

[9] Ibid.

[10] Ibid.

[11] Shewaga, supra note 2.

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Dalhousie University and Call to Action 28

Tansi Nîtôtemtik,

Photo retrieved from: www.dal.ca/campus-maps/building-directory/studley-campus/weldon-law.html

I feel fortunate to...push for positive change for Mi’kmaq and other Aboriginal peoples. I’m most passionate about the representation of Indigenous peoples and diversity within key societal institutions like law schools, the legal profession, and the judiciary. The Chancellor’s Chair gives me a wonderful opportunity to move this work along with more authority and legitimacy. - Naomi Metallic,  Chancellor's Chair in Aboriginal Law and Policy and Associate Professor at Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University [1]

 

This week, our team is taking a look at five different law schools across Canada to assess how they have been responding to TRC Call to Action 28. As identified in yesterday’s post, Call to Action 28 asks law schools to take specific actions to work towards reconciliation.

The Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie University has started their work towards fulfilling Call 28, and in large part, these efforts have been the work of their Chancellor’s Chair in Aboriginal Law and Policy, Naomi Metallic. Ms. Metallic was awarded the Chancellor’s Chair in Aboriginal Law and Policy in 2016, and aims to fully implement a response to Call 28 by the end of her term. She and the Faculty have already taken a number of steps to respond to TRC Call 28, including:

• Conducting blanket exercises for all first-year law students in September 2016 which were facilitated by the Mi’kmaw Native Friendship Centre. For more on the Blanket exercise, check out this blog post about the exercise at the University of Alberta.
• In September 2017, the law faculty launched a course called “Aboriginal and Indigenous Law in Context” (AILC), which is a new mandatory two-credit course. It was delivered to all first-year students in two intensive components, one at the beginning of each semester.
• Additionally, the faculty’s TRC Committee, which Metallic has co-chaired since December 2016, has been developing a database of teaching materials for professors who want to incorporate more Indigenous content into their classes and have a dedicated research assistant to help them prepare curriculum in this regard.
• At this time, the faculty is “exploring options” for implementing a mandatory course in Aboriginal Law for upper-years (2nd and 3rd year students).

It is clear that, especially with the continued work of Ms. Metallic and the Schulich School of Law, along with resources that have been provided by the Faculty and University, Dalhousie’s faculty of law has made great strides forward in responding to Call 28. In an interview with the school’s newsletter, Metallic listed three principles that can aid with the work of reconciliation in school departments: “(1) making space (in scheduling, curriculum, policies, thinking); (2) giving support (with time, money, advocacy, raising awareness); and (3) following the mantra “Nothing about us without us.””.

It seems that the Schulich School of Law can be marked as an exemplary faculty in terms of their responses to Call 28. It is inspiring and exciting to see what other changes will be made in the years to come with Ms. Metallic as Chair of Aboriginal Law and Policy.

Until next time,

Team ReconciliAction YEG

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[1] For all information, please see: “Schulich School of Law’s Response to the TRC Calls to Action”, Dalhousie University, December 2018, online: <www.dal.ca/faculty/law/news-events/news/2018/12/11/schulich_school_of_law___s_response_to_the_trc_calls_to_action.html>.

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Lakehead University & Call to Action 28

Tansi Nîtôtemtik,

Photo retrieved from: <https://globalnews.ca/news/4684696/former-law-dean-sues-lakehead-university/>

 

The TRC’s 28th Call to Action calls on Canadian law schools:

 

to require all law students to take a course in Aboriginal people and the law, which includes the history and legacy of residential schools, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Treaties and Aboriginal rights, Indigenous law, and Aboriginal–Crown relations. This will require skills-based training in intercultural competency, conflict resolution, human rights, and antiracism.[1]

 

This week, ReconciliAction YEG will examine how five different Canadian law schools are responding to Call to Action # 28. Today’s post concerns Lakehead University’s Bora Laskin Faculty of Law.

 

According to CBC News’s “Beyond 94” online interactive, “[m]ost Canadian law schools offer units on Aboriginal rights, Indigenous law and Aboriginal-Crown relations, but they are not mandatory. Only one school, Lakehead University, offers a course in Aboriginal law that is mandatory for all students.”[2]

 

The Bora Laskin Faculty of Law website says that it is “one the first law schools in Canada to include stand alone mandatory courses on Indigenous legal issues in its curriculum.”[3] In fact, Lakehead University offers a mandatory first-year, one-semester course in Indigenous Legal Traditions and a mandatory second-year, full-year course in Aboriginal Law.[4]

 

The Indigenous Legal Traditions course seeks to enable students to contribute to “a burgeoning movement seeking to revitalize, recognize and apply Indigenous laws and legal principles” by examining “the laws and legal traditions of various Indigenous nations...”[5] The Indigenous Legal Traditions course also includes mandatory readings from the TRC’s reports on residential schools.[6] The full-year Aboriginal Law course “examines Canadian laws applied to Aboriginal peoples. It focuses on the jurisprudence pertaining to constitutionally protected Aboriginal and treaty rights and engages in a critical evaluation of that jurisprudence and its underlying tenets, such as the assumption of Crown sovereignty.”[7] The Aboriginal Law course also includes an in-depth examination of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (“UNDRIP”)  and its application in Canadian domestic courts.[8] Bora Laskin Faculty of Law also offers a first year, non-credit, experiential learning course in Aboriginal Perspectives, components of which are mandatory.[9] The Faculty says that the course “gives students the opportunity to begin to immerse themselves in Indigenous worldviews.”[10]

 

The Bora Laskin Faculty of Law says of its progress on Call to Action # 28:

 

We have more work to do, though. We want to improve on our Aboriginal Perspectives course, continuing to strengthen our relationships with Indigenous communities in our region, and focusing on the specific recommendation of “intercultural competency”. We aim to incorporate all aspects of Recommendation 28 into our curriculum. We are committed to providing a first-rate legal education – both Canadian and Indigenous – to all of our Indigenous and non-Indigenous students.[11]

 

The Bora Laskin Faculty of Law is responding meaningfully to Call to Action #  28. However, despite the faculty’s progress in this area, Lakehead University’s reputation as a leader in reconciliation has been dampened after former Dean Angelique EagleWoman sued the University in 2018 for “constructive dismissal and racial discrimination.”[12] EagleWoman alleged in her statement of claim that she “found the reality of Lakehead University did not match its many promises, to me or the local Indigenous communities...”[13]

 

In sum, the Bora Laskin Faculty of Law’s response to Call to Action # 28 is an example that should be followed by other Canadian law schools. However, ReconciliAction YEG reserves wholehearted commendation from Lakehead University based on former Dean EagleWoman’s allegations.

 

Until next time,

Team ReconciliAction YEG

 

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[1] Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action (Winnipeg: Truth and Reconciliation Commision, 2015).

 

[2] “Beyond 94”, CBC News [published March 19, 2018; last updated 3 January 2019], online: <https://newsinteractives.cbc.ca/longform-single/beyond-94?&cta=28>

 

[3] “Aboriginal Law”, Lakehead University Bora Laskin Faculty of Law [accessed 12 January 2019], online: <https://www.lakeheadu.ca/academics/departments/law/curriculum/aboriginal-law>

 

[4] Ibid.

 

[5] “Indigenous Course Offerings”, Lakehead University Bora Laskin Faculty of Law [accessed 12 January 2019], online: <https://www.lakeheadu.ca/academics/departments/law/curriculum/aboriginal-law/indigenous-course-offerings>

 

[6] “Faculty of Law’s Response to TRC Report,” Lakehead University Bora Laskin Faculty of Law [accessed 12 January 2019], online: <https://www.lakeheadu.ca/academics/departments/law/curriculum/aboriginal-law/response-to-trc>

 

[7] Supra, at note 5.

 

[8] Ibid.

 

[9] Ibid.

 

[10] Supra, at note 6.

 

[11] Ibid.

 

[12] “Former law school dean sues Lakehead University for ‘racial discrimination’”, CBC News [last updated 21 November 2018], online: <https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/eaglewoman-suing-lakehead-university-1.4914462>

 

[13] Ibid.

 

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Law Society of Manitoba's Response to Call to Action #27

Tansi Nîtôtemtik,

 

Photo retrieved from: <https://www.lawsocietylistens.ca/entity-regulation/team_members>.

What is the Law Society of Manitoba (“the Law Society”) doing following Call to Action #27? What are some challenges that stem from creating an appropriate response to the Call to Action? Today’s post will address these questions. (For background on Call to Action #27, see Monday’s post here.)

A quick review of the Law Society’s website reveals a commitment Call to Action #27, but it does not detail particular initiatives or programs that have been implemented. Rather, the Society offers a vaguely-worded blanket commitment to the creation of educational programs, as well as the incorporation of cultural competency into existing programming. [1] The website also states that the administration of the TRC is facilitated by an Equity Officer, but does not explain in any detail what this encompasses. [2]

While detail on programming for existing lawyers is lacking, Manitoba has been more transparent about its efforts towards implementing the Call to Action in its student-at-law training program. Articling students seeking admission to the bar are now required to complete a course entitled “Indigenous Canada”, which provides an overview of Indigenous histories and issues in Canada, as a component of the Canadian Centre for Professional Legal Education (“CPLED”) accreditation program. [3] CPLED, which consists of modules and related assignments, is a prerequisite for entry into the Manitoba bar.  

Upon further research, I discovered an example of a cultural competency training program offered by University of Manitoba Anishinabek law professor Aimee Craft, who is also the director for research at the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, in partnership with the Law Society. It’s not clear whether cultural competency training programs are required as a component of continued professional development, or whether these resources are simply available to interested legal professionals who seek them out. Craft spoke about Indigenous legal traditions with judges, lawyers, and legal scholars in a teaching lodge. In terms of the challenges of creating robust legal education programs, Craft stated:

We don’t want to be recolonizing in spaces that we’re making, making sure that we’re not appropriating Indigenous law, or trying to transform it without the proper process for Indigenous law to evolve, and we certainly don’t want to essentialize it and say this is the whole of Indigenous law because, like any other legal system, it’s changing and has moving parts and people that are part of the evolution of it. [4]

Craft’s comments shed light upon the challenges inherent in implementing Call to Action #27. If the goals of the TRC are to decolonize and, indeed, to reconcile Canada’s colonial past with Indigenous histories and ways of knowing, legal educational training and competency programs must be sensitive to the fact that there are multiple Indigenous legal traditions and processes for the “evolution of law”. [5] Certainly, basic history, including residential schools, is a good starting point for the many of us that lack a baseline. However, we must be cognizant of the fact that Indigenous presence encompasses a vast array of cultural and legal traditions.

Another interesting question to consider is why the Law Society has failed to sufficiently detail its response to Call to Action #27. Has the response been sparse, or have the initiatives not been recorded? In any event, Manitoba’s response appears to be lacking, especially in comparison to what we have seen from other provincial law societies this week.

Thank you for reading. Next week, we will look at what Canadian law schools have been doing in response to Call to Action #28.

 

Until next time,

 

Team ReconciliAction YEG

 

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[1] Law Society of Manitoba, “Truth and Reconciliation Commission”, online: <http://www.lawsociety.mb.ca/equity/truth-and-reconciliation-commission>.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Canadian Centre for Professional Legal Education, “2018-2019 Handbook”, (2018 July) at 17, online: <http://www.lawsociety.mb.ca/forms/admission/articling-and-cpled-admission-forms/2018_CPLED_Student_Handbook.pdf>.

[4] Mervin Brass, “Embracing a time for change”, Canadian Lawyer (2016 August 1), online: <https://www.canadianlawyermag.com/article/embracing-a-time-for-change-3343/>.

[5] Ibid.

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The Law Society of British Columbia: Responding to the TRC

 

Photo retrieved from: lawsociety.bc.ca

 

Tansi Nîtôtemtik,

 

As we continue our week surveying various Canadian Law Societies responses to the TRC’s Call to Action #27, we look today to our neighbours to the West. The Law Society of British Columbia states on their website:

Addressing the challenges arising from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's findings is one of the most critical obligations facing the country and the legal system … The Law Society continues to work on developing a full and impactful response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s calls to action in collaboration with Indigenous people that effectively addresses the needs of Indigenous communities.[1]

So what do these responses look like for the Law Society? In June 2016, the Benchers hosted a forum at their annual retreat, where Indigenous leaders were able to discuss topics such as the TRC recommendations, Indigenous laws, Aboriginal and Treaty rights, restorative justice, as well as issues in child welfare.[2]

In November of 2017, the mini documentary, “But I Was Wearing A Suit” was released, which looks at racism that lawyers and students often face within the legal profession. This project manifested from the efforts of Indigenous lawyers, and was produced by the Continuing Legal Education Society of BC and the Law Society of BC.[3]

In addition, the Law Society hosted their first ever Truth and Reconciliation Symposium on November 23, 2017. Participants shared ideas on how legal professionals “can address systemic biases against Indigenous people and how the Law Society can take action to facilitate reconciliation.”[4] The symposium garnered enormous interest within BC’s legal realm, with over 450 lawyers, judges, academics and representatives from legal and Indigenous organizations in attendance.[5] (For those interested in watching the video recordings of the event click here)

The Law Society of British Columbia also established a Truth and Reconciliation Advisory Committee, who released their year-end report on November 27, 2017. The Committee’s objective is to provide “guidance and advice to the Law Society on legal and justice issues affecting Indigenous people in the province, including those highlighted in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Report and Recommendations.”[6]

The 2018 Benchers retreat was also significant in reconcili-action for the Law Society. The retreat was hosted in Osoyoos, BC, where those in attendance learned about local Indigenous laws and traditions from Dr. Jeanette Armstrong, a Syilx First Nation leader and Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Knowledge and Philosophy at UBC-Okanagan. In addition, TRC commissioner Dr. Marie Wilson presented on challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for reconciliation in the legal field, with the retreat then concluding with a blanket exercise.[7]

The latest significant step in responding to the TRC’s Calls to Action was the release of the Truth and Reconciliation Action Plan by the Advisory Committee in May 2018, which was later approved in July by the Benchers. The Action Plan is intended to guide the Law Society’s response to the TRC going forward, and involves commitments and actions that are to take place.[8]

In closing, the Team would like to hear from you if you are a practicing lawyer, or law student in BC – please feel free to comment below other steps your Faculty or the Law Society have taken in reconcili-action that were not listed in today’s post.

 

Until next time,

Team ReconciliAction YEG

 

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[1] “Responding to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action”, The Law Society of British Columbia, online: https://www.lawsociety.bc.ca/our-initiatives/truth-and-reconciliation/.

[2] Ibid.

[3] The Continuing Legal Education Society of BC, “But I Was Wearing A Suit”, youtube (23 November 2017), online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTG7fi-5c3U.

[4] “Truth and Reconciliation Symposium: truth-telling and sparking change”, The Law Society of British Columbia, online: https://www.lawsociety.bc.ca/about-us/news-and-publications/news/2017/truth-and-reconciliation-symposium-truth-telling/.

[5] Ibid.

[6] Supra note 1.

[7] Ibid.

[8] Ibid.

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Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society & Reconciliation

Tansi Nîtôtemtik,

Image retrieved from: <www.linkedin.com/company/ns-barristers%27-society>.

Today’s post looks at the progress the Nova Scotian legal profession is making in answering the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (“TRC”) Calls to Action. Specifically, Call to Action #27 requires Canadian law societies to address anti-Indigenous racism by ensuring lawyers engage in cultural competency training and continue their education on Indigenous legal issues. Once again, Call to Action #27 states:

“We call upon the Federation of Law Societies of Canada to ensure that lawyers receive appropriate cultural competency training, which includes the history and legacy of residential schools, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Treaties and Aboriginal rights, Indigenous law, and Aboriginal-Crown relations. This will require skills-based training in intercultural competency, conflict resolution, human rights, and anti-racism.”[1]

In Nova Scotia, lawyers are regulated by the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society (“Society”), which is a creature of statute under the Legal Profession Act.[2] The Act states that part of the purpose of the Society is to improve the administration of justice by regularly consulting with groups that reflect the “economic, ethnic, racial, sexual and linguistic diversity” of Nova Scotia.[3]

The Society has developed the 2016-2019 Strategic Framework (“Framework”), which outlines the Society’s strategic direction.[4] Furthermore, the Framework sets out the Society’s purpose, vision, initiatives, and values. Two central priorities of the Society are to “[e]nhance access to legal services and the justice system” as well as “[p]romote equity, diversity and inclusion in the legal profession.”[5] Specifically, the Society is working towards “substantive equality and freedom from discrimination in the delivery of legal services and the justice system.”[6] Moreover, the Society seeks to “[engage] with ... equity-seeking communities” and “[advance] cultural competence and inclusiveness in the legal profession and the justice system.”[7] This also requires directly responding to the TRC’s Calls to Action.

The Equity and Access Office (“Office”) works towards achieving these goals.[8] The Office advises the Society on issues of equity and discrimination, while developing policies, procedures, and activities that improve access to justice, anti-racism, and anti-sexism. In addition to the Office, the Society has created the Racial Equity Committee (“Committee”). The Committee’s mandate states that its purpose is to advance the Framework by “promoting, monitoring and providing advice about programs and policies that address issues of racism and discrimination in the legal profession and with regard to the administration of justice.”[9] Responsibilities of the Committee include “[raising] awareness of issues of historic and current racism and discrimination affecting racialized and Aboriginal communities.”[10] Moreover, the Committee is charged with “carrying out programs and initiatives for the Nova Scotia legal profession on equity and cultural competency.”[11] The composition of the Committee includes members from equity-seeking groups, African Nova Scotians, Mi’kmaq, and other racialized groups.[12]

Below are the objectives the Society is seeking to accomplish in order to comply with their mandate and achieve reconciliation in practice:

• Helping lawyers stay up to date with relevant changes in Aboriginal law
• Keeping the public informed about how Indigenous legal issues are addressed in the legal system and better the administration of justice for Indigenous peoples
• Supporting innovative ways of offering legal services to Indigenous communities
• Determining best practices for culturally competent conduct in order to meet Indigenous legal needs
• Ensuring that the legal profession’s makeup reflects the province’s Indigenous population
• Strengthening the relationship with the Mi’kmaq community
• Making sure Society staff and lawyers receive training on cultural competency and the effects of intergenerational trauma, i.e., being “trauma informed”
  • Training must include the history and legacy of residential schools, substantive Aboriginal law education, and instruction on appropriate ways of interacting with Indigenous colleagues, clients, and community members
• Publicly reporting on the society’s progress on reconciliation
• Providing Indigenous mentorship opportunities
• Including Aboriginal law content in materials for the Nova Scotia Bar exam and incorporating cultural competency in the articling program
• Creating supports for Indigenous lawyers, including a telephone line to discuss issues in the legal workplace
• Supporting pro bono work on Indigenous legal issues
• Working with a Mi’kmaq community liaison
• Advocating on issues of Indigenous child welfare, Indigenous judicial appointments, and missing and murdered Indigenous women[13]

The Society’s website has an Equity Portal for more resources,[14] which include useful educational videos. The Society’s Council has also conducted a blanket ceremony in the past.[15]

Nova Scotia has a long history of racism, specifically against Indigenous and African Nova Scotians. This racism was highlighted by the 1989 Marshall Commission, which was created in response to the wrongful conviction of Donald Marshall Jr.[16] Marshall, a Mi’kmaq man, was found guilty of the murder of Sandy Seale in 1971. He served 11 years in prison for a murder he did not commit. The entire legal process surrounding the prosecution, from the initial police investigation to Marshall’s trial to his eventual acquittal, was fraught with egregious racism. The Marshall Commission “found that racist and discriminatory attitudes towards Mi’kmaq and African Nova Scotian people existed at every level within the province’s justice system, from lawyers to judges to Court staff.”[17] In the Nova Scotian context, the TRC Calls to Action “should be seen as a continuation of our long standing obligations and previously made commitments under [the] Marshall [Commission].”[18]

By accomplishing the above objectives, the Society can ensure that it does not repeat the mistakes of its past and provide justice for Indigenous and non-Indigenous Nova Scotians alike.

Until next time,

Team Reconcili-Action YEG

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[1] Honouring the Truth, Reconciling for the Future: Summary of the Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (Winnipeg: TRC, 2015) at 168.

[2] Legal Profession Act, SNS 2004, c 28.

[3] Ibid s 4(2)(d)(i).

[4] “2016-2019 Strategic Framework” (no date), online (pdf): Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society <cdn2.nsbs.org/sites/default/files/cms/menu-pdf/2016-2019_stratframework.pdf>.

[5] Ibid.

[6] Ibid.

[7] Ibid.

[8] “About the Equity and Access Office” (no date), online: Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society <nsbs.org/about-equity-access-office>.

[9] “Terms of Reference for the Racial Equity Committee” (no date), online (pdf): Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society <nsbs.org/sites/default/files/ftp/EQ2015-07-24_TOR_REC.pdf>.

[10] Ibid.

[11] Ibid.

[12] Ibid.

[13] Jane Willwerth, “Reconciliation in Practice at the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society” (11 January 2018) at 124-28, online (pdf): Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society <nsbs.org/sites/default/files/ftp/CouncilMaterials/2018-01-19_CouncilPkg.pdf>.

[14] “Equity Portal: Developing an Equity Strategy in Your Legal Workplace” (29 October 2018), online: Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society <nsbs.libguides.com/equityportal>.

[15] Willwerth, supra note 13 at 135; to learn more about the blanket exercise, see: “Reconciliation Through Education” (no date), online: KAIROS Canada <www.kairosblanketexercise.org/>.

[16] Chief Justice T Alexander Hickman, Associate Chief Justice Lawrence A Poitras, & the Honourable Gregory T Evans, Royal Commission on the Donald Marshall, Jr. Prosecution: Digest of Findings and Recommendations (December 1989), online (pdf): Nova Scotia Canada <novascotia.ca/just/marshall_inquiry/_docs/Royal%20Commission%20on%20the%20Donald%20Marshall%20Jr%20Prosecution_findings.pdf>.

[17] Willwerth, supra note 13 at 122.

[18] Ibid.

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Law Society of Alberta: Steps Towards Reconciliation

Tansi Nîtôtemtik,

 

For some background on TRC Call to Action #27, which calls for cultural competency training for practicing lawyers, see yesterday’s post. (Scroll down to find it on the blog!)

Today’s post will be discussing what actions the Law Society of Alberta (LSA) has taken, or is planning to take, in relation to Call #27. One major piece of the LSA’s response has been the creation of a new role called Indigenous Initiative Liaison (IIL). Koren Lightning-Earle has been in this position since its inception in 2017. As described on the Canadian Bar Association’s website, the breadth of Lightning-Earle’s work as ILL includes “developing a work plan and strategies for the LSA to respond to the TRC calls to action….[which] includes internal strategies directed at Law Society staff and Benchers [and] external strategies aimed at both indigenous lawyers in Alberta and Alberta lawyers generally.”[1]

Steps already taken by the Law Society include:

• starting Benchers meetings by acknowledging Treaty 7 territory and the traditional territory of the Niitsitapi (Blackfoot), Nakoda (Stoney), and Tsuut'ina, and delivering reports on Indigenous Initiatives
• LSA staff participating in “Orange Shirt Day” in recognition of the harm caused by the residential school system to Indigenous children.
• LSA staff invited to particiapte in the Kairos Blanket Exercise facilitated by Koren Lightning-Earle, Indigenous Initiatives Liaison and Hadley Friedland, University of Alberta Faculty of Law Professor.  
• In collaboration with the Communications team, Indigenous Initiatives is developing an internal Blog for staff, which will include resources, daily acts of reconciliation, a question and answer section, resources and blog posts by the ILL.

As well, the LSA has a goal of building relationships with Indigenous lawyers and students. They aim to ask: how can they change to be a more inclusive organization? “To support this work, in person  meetings are currently being planned with all Indigenous lawyers in Calgary and Edmonton. The objective of these meetings will be to provide an update on the work of the Law Society and to discuss ways in which the LSA can provide more supports to Indigenous lawyers.”[2] As well, the ILL is further developing relationships with newly-called Indigenous lawyers, and seeking ways to provide support for such junior lawyers and articling students. One initiative involves incorporating Indigenous Culture into the call to the bar ceremony.[3]

The ILL, Koren Lightning-Earle, is also working to develop relationships with the two Alberta law schools, and “collaborating with the U of A and U of C Career Services offices on how to provide better supports for future lawyers.”[4]

With respect to the call for education of legal professionals, the LSA remarks that such education will be a “vital element” of their response, and notes that multiple initiatives are already underway. The LSA is developing Cultural Awareness Training for Law Society Adjudicators and for recruitment staff at Edmonton and Calgary law firms who participate in the Indigenous Summer Student Program.[5]

As well, the LSA aims to develop an Internal Education Program, and a program that would be administered to all new staff as part of their Orientation Program.[6]

In August of 2018, the LSA and the ILL put a call out for applications to become a part of a new Indigenous Advisory Committee.[7] The Committee’s purpose is to obtain feedback and input on the initiatives of the Law Society. The posting for applications noted that successful candidates would result in a committee makeup of: either 4 or 5 Indigenous members of the bar, and 2 Indigenous members of the public.[8]

It seems that the LSA, with the advisement of their knowledgeable ILL, is making moves in the right direction. However, they have not fully responded to Call #27 by implementing cultural competency training for all practicing lawyers.

 

Until next time,

Team ReconciliAction YEG

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[1] “Law Society of Alberta Responds to Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action”, Canadian Bar Association, online: <www.cba-alberta.org/Publications-Resources/Resources/Law-Matters/Law-Matters-Fall-2017/Law-Society-of-Alberta-Responds-to-Truth-Reconcili>.

[2] Ibid.  

[3] Ibid.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Ibid.

[6] Ibid.

[7] “Indigenous Advisory Committee Application Period Open”, Law Society of Alberta, online: <www.lawsociety.ab.ca/law-society-of-alberta-indigenous-advisory-committee-applications-open/>.

[8] Ibid.

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Law Society of Ontario & Call to Action 27

Tansi Nîtôtemtik,

Photo retrieved from: <https://lso.ca/>

 

The TRC’s 27th Call to Action called on the Federation of Law Societies of Canada to:

 

Ensure that lawyers receive appropriate cultural competency training, which includes the history and legacy of residential schools, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Treaties and Aboriginal rights, Indigenous law, and Aboriginal-Crown relations. This will require skills-based training in intercultural competency, conflict resolution, human rights, and anti-racism.[1]

 

In a press release dated March 11, 2016, the Federation of Law Societies of Canada announced its council had “voted to establish a working group to develop recommendations on how best to effectively respond to the Calls to Action. The Council resolution included a commitment to a process that engages representatives of Indigenous peoples.”[2] The CBC classified the Federation’s response to Call to Action 27 as “In Progress - Projects proposed”, elaborating that “[a]s of March 2018, the Federation of Law Societies of Canada has not made amendments to national requirements ensuring cultural competency training. It is however, actively reviewing ways to do so.”[3] For the next week, ReconciliAction YEG will examine the steps that five provincial law societies have taken to fulfill Call to Action 27. Today’s post concerns the Law Society of Ontario.

 

The Law Society of Ontario (LSO) has completed two significant steps in its pursuit of fulfilling the 27th Call to Action: first, the Guide for Lawyers Working with Indigenous Peoples [Guide], which it completed in partnership with The Indigenous Bar Association and The Advocates’ Society[4]; and second, the Indigenous Legal Issues Certified Specialist Program.

 

1. The Guide

 

The Guide:

 

is intended to be a starting resource to help lawyers and others in the justice system to learn about Indigenous cultures and understand the interplay between Indigenous legal orders and the Canadian legal system. However, reading [it] cannot replace building meaningful relationships with Indigenous peoples, communities, and organizations, nor should it be the only action a legal practitioner takes to better understand legal matters relating to Indigenous peoples.[5]

 

The Guide contains ample information for legal professionals looking to gain a functional understanding of, not only Canadian common law and statute relevant to the practice of Aboriginal law, but also Indigenous cultures, languages, history, laws, and legal systems. The Guide also includes techniques for applying the reader’s learning to professional relationships between legal professionals and Indigenous communities or individuals. The Guide is enormously helpful, and I would recommend that law students and legal professionals read it. Indeed, it appears to be at least a healthy first step towards addressing all of the topics that the 27th Call to Action mentions that lawyers must be instructed in.

 

However, where the Guide falls short in fulfilling Call to Action 27 is that it only provides access to helpful information and relies on the legal professional to voluntarily seek it out. In contrast, Call to Action 27 is unequivocal when it calls on Law Societies to “[e]nsure that lawyers receive appropriate cultural competency training…”[6] In summary, the Guide’s insufficiency as a response to Call to Action 27 is not because of its contents, but rather because it is not clear that the LSO has required its members to learn its contents.

 

2. Indigenous Legal Issues Certified Specialist Program

 

The Indigenous Legal Issues Certified Specialist Program allows for lawyers who practice in the area of Aboriginal law  to obtain certification in the Indigenous law subcategories of rights and governance, litigation and advocacy, or corporate and commercial.[7] Obtaining certification requires learning a significant degree of cultural competency that would seem to satisfy Call to Action 27.[8] In this way, the LSO has ensured that some lawyers who specialize in Aboriginal law will learn sufficient cultural competency.

 

In sum, the Guide and the Indigenous Legal Issues Certified Specialist Program only fill the following functions: to provide cultural competency for those lawyers who voluntarily seek it, and to ensure cultural competency for those seeking to obtain Indigenous Legal Issues specialist certification. This is arguably not a full fulfillment of Call to Action 27, which does not discriminate what lawyers do or do not need to receive appropriate cultural competency training.

 

Until next time,

 

Team ReconciliAction YEG

 

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[1] Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action (Winnipeg: Truth and Reconciliation Commision, 2015).

 

[2] “Federation of Law Societies commits to effective response to TRC report”, Federation News, Federation of Law Societies of Canada [11 March 2016], online: <https://flsc.ca/federation-of-law-societies-commits-to-effective-response-to-trc-report/>

 

[3] “Beyond 94”, CBC News [published March 19, 2018; last updated 3 January 2019], online: <https://newsinteractives.cbc.ca/longform-single/beyond-94?&cta=27>

 

[4] Guide for Lawyers Working with Indigenous Peoples, Law Society of Ontario [8 May 2018], online: <https://www.advocates.ca/Upload/Files/PDF/Advocacy/BestPracticesPublications/Guide_for_Lawyers_Working_with_Indigenous_Peoples_may16.pdf>

 

[5] Ibid at 4.

 

[6] Supra, note 1 [emphasis added].

 

[7] “Certified Specialist Program - Indigenous Legal Issues - Standards for Certification”, Law Society of Ontario [accessed 5 January 2019], online: <https://lawsocietyontario.azureedge.net/media/lso/media/lawyers/certified-specialist/csp10-indigenouslegalissues.pdf>.

 

[8] Ibid.

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