Canadian Forum on Civil Justice eNewsletter

CFCJ and Winkler Co-Host Pizza and Painting Event

CFCJ, along with the Winkler Institute for Dispute Resolution, co-hosted a Meet and Greet event for the Osgoode community. Students, staff and faculty gathered to enjoy pizza and explore their artistic side by painting what justice means to them. The creative canvasses will be divided and presented as mosaics in the CFCJ and Winkler offices.

Connecting Ottawa: Reducing Linguistic Barriers to Access to Justice

by Dawood Nasir

In December 2008, the Law Foundation of Ontario tasked Karen Cohl and George Thomson with the responsibility of finding durable solutions for individuals facing linguistic and rural barriers to accessing justice. In response to their findings, a pilot project funded by the Law Foundation and Connecting Ottawa was born. I had the opportunity to intern with the organization this past winter. Having always thought of myself as a social justice law student, I naturally gravitated towards Connecting Ottawa for its simple but powerful mandate: to break down all linguistic barriers to accessing justice.

Dr. Patricia Hughes

Canadian Forum on Civil Justice Board Member and Executive Director of the Law Commission of Ontario

Dr. Patricia Hughes has been the Executive Director of the Law Commission of Ontario since it began operations in September 2007. A graduate of Osgoode Hall Law School (’82), she is a member of the Ontario and Alberta Bars. She has served as counsel in the Policy Development Division of the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General, a Vice-chair of the Ontario Labour Relations Board, the Alternate Chair of the Ontario Pay Equity Hearings Tribunal, the Chair in Women and Law at the University of New Brunswick, Faculty of Law, Dean of Law at the University of Calgary and Executive Director of Education and Scholar in Residence at a large Calgary law firm. Patricia was granted a PhD in Political Economy from the University of Toronto and received her BA and MA from McMaster University. She has been active on women’s issues and has published, spoken and taught on constitutional law, access to justice, law reform, feminism and legal education, among other areas. She currently contributes to several initiatives dedicated to advancing access to justice.

LawTechCamp: "Access to Justice: Good, Fast, Cheap?"

Nicole Aylwin presented a talk co-authored with Sabreena Delhon at the 2014 LawTechCamp titled “Access to Justice: Good, Fast, and Cheap?” Organized by Fleet Street Law, the event took place at Ryerson University and brought an “un-conference” style approach to knowledge exchange among technological, new media and legal communities. For more information check out the event website or follow @LawTechCamp on Twitter.

Legal Problems Research Aids LAO Rural and Remote Boldness Project

This month, Ab Currie, CFCJ Senior Research Fellow, presented on the results of the legal problems research to the Legal Aid Ontario Rural and Remote Boldness project. This project is an initiative undertaken jointly by several Ontario legal aid clinics to bring innovative strategies for service delivery in areas of the province where geography is an especially important factor limiting accessibility. The presentation consisted of an overview of results from the larger international body of legal problems research with a special emphasis on Canadian studies. A practical, working level discussion followed of how the results of this research could inform the overall objectives of the Remote and Rural Boldness project.

Trevor Farrow Talks Access to Justice in the Yukon

This month our Chair Trevor Farrow traveled to Whitehorse to speak with different groups about how to advance access to justice. Farrow gave a presentation at a national meeting of law foundations and also met with the Yukon Department of Justice to discuss CFCJ’s current work. In addition, he participated in public discussions about key access to justice issues at events hosted by the public library and local high school. For more details see coverage of Trevor's visit in the Yukon News and the Whitehorse Daily Star.

SEPTEMBER 2014

CFCJ and Winkler Co-Host Pizza and Painting Event

Connecting Ottawa: Reducing Linguistic Barriers to Access to Justice

by Dawood Nasir

Dr. Patricia Hughes

Canadian Forum on Civil Justice Board Member and Executive Director of the Law Commission of Ontario

LawTechCamp: "Access to Justice: Good, Fast, Cheap?"

Legal Problems Research Aids LAO Rural and Remote Boldness Project

Trevor Farrow Talks Access to Justice in the Yukon

Fundraising Update

CFCJ Column in Osgoode's Obiter Dicta