Announcements and events

As the longest running common-law clinical program in Canada, the Law Centre provides clinical legal education to students enrolled in the Faculty of Law, while also providing outreach and service to the community. The Law Centre offers a range of legal services to low income clients, serving between 1,800 and 2,000 clients per year through a clinic located off campus at the Victoria Courthouse.

More than 10 years in the making, the national centre, set to complete construction in 2023, will be home to the Indigenous Law Research Unit, the joint degree program in Canadian Common law and Indigenous legal orders (JD/JID), as well as ceremonial and community spaces. But more than that, it will be a centre for dialogue, gathering, teaching and furthering the resurgence of Indigenous laws. How the centre will facilitate and build those conversations and connections has been the focus of a national outreach and engagement process which included an online engagement hub, a national survey and a series of open forums.

It is with great sadness that we mourn the death of Joseph Arvay. He was a wonderful, greatly loved human being and an exceptional and tireless advocate for individuals and groups whose basic human rights were being infringed. He was a committed champion of access to justice by, for example, taking on many public interest cases pro bono and initiating innovative litigation to provide pre-authorized costs for public interest cases.

Congratulations to our three SSHRC Doctoral Fellowship Recipients – PhD in Law and Society graduate students - Lana Lowe (2020-21 Year 4 PhD) - Dechinta nats'edeh / Witaskewin / Living on the land: revitalizing Indigenous law and environmental governance in Denendeh - $40,000 - Eva Linde (2020-21 Year 2 PhD) - Climate Litigation and the Legislative Powers of Courts: Redrawing the Boundaries between Law and Politics? - $80,000 - Esteban Vallejo Toledo (2020-21 Year 2 PhD) - A legal geography case for land value taxation and the right to the city $80,000

Deborah Curran, Associate Professor in the School of Environmental Studies (Social Sciences) and Faculty of Law, is a collaborator on a SSHRC Partnership Engage Grant – COVID 19 Special Initiative - awarded to Professors Van Wagner (York U) and Flynn (UBC). With the academic team comprises most of the municipal law scholars in Canada, they are working with community partners The Shift and others to develop an implementation strategy for the: National Protocol on Homeless Encampments in Canada: A Human Rights Approach.

Supriya Routh received a SSHRC Insight Development Grant for the research proposal Regulating Sustainable Development in Canada: exploring spaces of non-hegemonic legal imagination in collaboration with Alan Hanna.

The Province of BC announced a $13 million contribution on Sept. 3 to support the building of a National Centre for Indigenous Laws (NCIL) at the University of Victoria. This funding is in addition to $5 million from the Law Foundation of British Columbia, announced the same day, and $9.1 million from the federal government, committed in 2019.

John Borrows, Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Law at the University of Victoria and a recipient of the 2020 Governor General’s Innovation Award, talks about how Indigenous laws and governance systems are helping to protect First Nations during the COVID-19 pandemic and how they are providing a way forward for a healthier and an economically stronger future. Read a Q & A with Dr. Borrows on how Indigenous laws and protocols are protecting First Nations communities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr. Pooja Parmar's paper ‘Reconciliation and Ethical Lawyering: Some Thoughts on Cultural Competence’ (2019) 97:3 Canadian Bar Review 426-457’ was awarded the annual CALT Award for Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 2020.

On July 1 we welcomed two new faculty members - Tracey Lindberg and Janna Promislow, and we welcome Asad Kiyani back to UVic Law.

The UVic Faculty of Law presents: Indigenous Law: Today and Tomorrow with John Borrows and Val Napoleon 7:30 p.m. Farquhar Auditorium, University of Victoria. Join Chancellor Shelagh Rogers, Indigenous leaders, community members, and scholars to mark this historic moment as we celebrate the launch of the world’s first Indigenous law degree. Dr. Borrows will explore Salish Law and Land: Lessons Learned and Dr. Napoleon will look at the future of Indigenous Law: Fast Forward. This free public lecture has reserved seating.

Shiri Pasternak presents "What is colonialism that does not dispossess? Ecologies of Care and Supply at Barriere Lake." This presentation examines the materialities of colonialism from the perspective of a present-day Algonquin community in northern Quebec.

Join us in celebrating the Law Class of '93! This reunion will be a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with fellow grads! Saturday, September 15, 2018 4:00 pm: Meet and greet with classmates and former professors in the Fraser Building 6:00 pm: Dinner & Dance at the University Club Cost: $125 per person (includes catering, gratuity and taxes) Sunday, September 16, 2018 10:00 am: Golf (optional, not included in above price) at Cordova Bay Golf Course If you have any questions, please contact Liz Eby, Law Alumni Relations Officer at lawalum@uvic.ca or 250-853-3518.