Please find below a preliminary program.
8:30 AM - 9:00 AM
Registration & Refreshments
9:00 AM - 9:15 AM
Conference Opening
Welcome Remarks from Dean Trevor Farrow (Osgoode Hall Law School).
Chairs: Benjamin L. Berger, Emily Kidd White and Sonia Lawrence (Osgoode Hall Law School)
9:15 AM - 10:00 AM
Opening Address
A Review of the Supreme Court’s 2023 Constitutional Jurisprudence
Speaker: Kate Glover Berger (Osgoode Hall Law School)
10:00 AM - 11:15 AM
Plenary I
Environmental Regulation and the Constitution
As recognized by the Supreme Court, environmental protection is one of the most pressing challenges of our times. Nevertheless, the Supreme Court recently declared ultra vires the majority of the most comprehensive federal impact assessment scheme developed to date. Panelists will analyze the Reference re Impact Assessment Act, and the possibility of robust environmental impact assessment policy under the current division of powers jurisprudence. Panelists will discuss the social and reconciliation-based aspects of environmental assessment that formed part of the federal scheme, and the relationship between this Reference and the GGPPA.
Panelists:
Dayna N. Scott (Osgoode Hall Law School)
Deborah Curran (Faculty of Law, University of Victoria)
Anna Johnston (West Coast Environmental Law)
Nathalie Chalifour (Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa)
Chair: Emily Kidd White (Osgoode Hall Law School)
15-Minute Break
11:30 AM - 12:45 PM
Panel A
Immigration and Refugee Law and the Constitution
Drawing from Canadian Council for Refugees, panelists will analyze the implementation of the 2002 “Safe Third Country Agreement” vis-a-vis the s.7 right to life, liberty, and security of the person, and s.15 equality rights. Panelists will also address these Charter arguments in relation to rights under international law regarding non-refoulement and detention.
Panelists:
Jamie Liew (virtual) (Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa)
Audrey Macklin (Faculty of Law, University of Toronto) and Josh Blum (Jared Will & Associates)
Sharry Aiken (Faculty of Law, Queen’s University) and Colin Grey (Faculty of Law, Queen’s University)
Jackie Swaisland (Landings LLP)
Chair: Sean Rehaag (Osgoode Hall Law School)
Panel B
Punishment and Policing
In a year of surprising quiescence in the criminal/constitutional jurisprudence, there was nevertheless a series of cases that advanced the Court’s thinking on persistently challenging issues. This panel will consider the effects of Hills and Hilbach on s 12, McGregor’s impact on s 8, and what Zacharias will mean for s 24(2).
Panelists:
Steve Coughlan (Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University)
Lisa Kerr (Faculty of Law, Queen’s University)
Gerald Chan (Stockwoods LLP)
Michael Perlin (Ministry of the Attorney General)
Chair: Palma Paciocco (Osgoode Hall Law School)
30-Minute Break (Lunch)
1:15 PM - 2:15 PM
The Laskin Lecture 2024 "Race, Democracy and Politics without Guarantees"
Dr. Debra Thompson
Associate Professor (Political Science, McGill University)
Canada Research Chair in Racial Inequality in Democratic Societies
Co-sponsored with the York Centre for Public Law and Public Policy
15-Minute Break
2:30 PM - 3:45 PM
PLENARY II
The Criminal Law Power and the Evolution of Federalism
Since confederation, the federal criminal law power has been central to both the vision and operation of the Canadian constitutional order. It is arguably the true “plenary” federal power and has always — since early debates about its nature and purpose — had a rights-adjacent character. As we watch the Court preside over a significant evolution in the nature of contemporary federalism, this Panel takes the Court’s decision in Murray-Hall as a touchstone for reflecting on the role and future of the criminal law power.
Panelists:
Asha Kaushal (Peter A Allard School of Law, University of British Columbia) and Robert Danay (Ministry of Attorney General of British Columbia)
Benjamin Perryman (Faculty of Law, University of New Brunswick)
Yashoda Ranganathan (Crown Law Office – Constitutional)
Colton Fehr (College of Law, University of Saskatchewan)
Chair: Vanessa MacDonnell (Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa)
15-Minute Break
4:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Closing Plenary
Courts, Politics and Public Trust
In recent years, potent forces have emerged which are reshaping democratic institutions, constitutionalism and public trust in our courts. Our speakers present different engagements with these questions, including quantitative empirical data, case studies and reflections from comparative perspectives.
Panelists:
Erin Crandall (Department of Politics, Acadia University) and Andrea Lawlor (Political Science, McMaster University)
Kyle Kirkup (Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa)
Rosalind Dixon (School of Global & Public Law, University of New South Wales)
Chair: Bruce Ryder (Osgoode Hall Law School)