The Centre is excited to announce that we'll be hosting a launch event for Challenging Exile: Japanese Canadians and the Wartime Constitution by Professors Eric Adams (University of Alberta, Faculty of Law) and Jordan Stanger-Ross (University of Victoria, History Department). Join us for food, drinks, and a short talk by co-author Professor Adams, as well as comments on the book by Jessica Eisen (U of A, Law), Dominique Clement (U of A, Sociology), and Aya Fujiwara (U of A, History). It will take place at 5:30pm on October 21st, in the City Room (5th floor) of Peter Lougheed Hall (University of Alberta), and registration for the event will open in September.

Book Abstract:

In September 1945, Canada proposed exiling Japanese Canadians to Japan, a country devastated by war. Thousands who had experienced internment and dispossession were now at risk of banishment.

In Challenging Exile, Eric M. Adams and Jordan Stanger-Ross detail the circumstances and personalities behind the exile. They follow the lives of families facing government orders that uprooted them from their homes, stripped them of their livelihoods and possessions, and proposed to exile them from Canada. And they analyze the court case in which lawyers and judges grappled with the meaning of citizenship, race, and rights in times of war and its aftermath.

Unfolding in a context of global conflict, sharpened borders, and racist suspicion, the story told in Challenging Exile has enduring relevance for our own troubled times.

The Centre is excited to host a Zoom lecture by Andrew Stobo Sniderman, an SJD candidate at Harvard Law School and co-author of the acclaimed book, Valley of the Birdtail: An Indian Reserve, a White Town, and the Road to Reconciliation (along with Professor Douglas Sanderson). To register, please use the red button on the side of this page or go HERE.

Lecture Abstract

Canada’s belated legal reckoning with unequal public services on Indian reserves is only beginning. This article proceeds in two main parts. First, I address a puzzle: even though the problem of deficient services on reserves endured for decades – and, in many respects, endures still – Canadian courts have hardly addressed its constitutionality. This constitutional silence can appear surprising, even astonishing. Second, I suggest that the curiously neglected section 36 of the Constitution Act, 1982, which calls for "reasonably comparable services" and "essential public services of reasonable quality to all Canadians," should inform the constitutional conversation about unequal services on reserves. The exclusion of reserves from equalization, a principle enshrined in section 36, is a largely-overlooked legal omission that has enabled the problem to fester. Conceiving of section 36's components as "directive principles" – neither enforceable fundamental rights nor empty political aspirations – helps unlock new possibilities for judicial and political use, particularly in light of the treatment of directive principles in other countries. The language of section 36 has never been explicitly used by a Canadian judge as an interpretive aid. But this should change.

We're pleased to welcome Professor Michael Pal from the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law to discuss the right to vote under section 3 of the Charter.

This event will be held at 12:00PM in room 101 of the Law Centre.

To register, click the link on the right side of the page.

Lecture Abstract:

The right to vote guaranteed by section 3 of the Charter is in a period of rapid evolution, after the Supreme Court of Canada’s decisions in Frank, City of Toronto, and Working Families. This lecture argues that the history of section 3, the text of the Charter, and the contemporary case law suggest that the answers to three questions will define the ‘new right to vote.’ First, what is the proper relationship of section 3 to other democratic rights and freedoms? Second, what are the implications of the more frequent use of the notwithstanding clause for section 3? Third, is there a ‘positive’ dimension of the right to vote? The lecture argues that the scope of the new right to vote will be closely tied to the answers to these questions. It sets out responses to each in light of Canada’s democratic tradition and the reality of global challenges to democracy.

Please join us for the launch of Public Law: Cases, Commentary, and Analysis (5th Edition), with authors Professor Gerard Kennedy (University of Alberta, Faculty of Law), Professor Emeritus Philip Bryden (University of Alberta, Faculty of Law), Malcolm Lavoie (Government of Alberta, Ministry of Justice), and Professor Frankie Young (University of Ottawa, Faculty of Law).

This is a free event open to all members of the community. It will be held in-person at Peter Lougheed Hall in the City Room on the 5th floor. Catering will be provided. To register, click the link below, or click the red button to the right.

Public Law: Cases, Commentary, and Analysis Tickets, Mon Sep 8, 2025 at 6:00 PM | Eventbrite

Book Description

Public Law: Cases, Commentary, and Analysis, 5th Edition is the only text of its kind devoted exclusively to public law in Canada. Serving as a primer on the subject, this title will educate students about the importance of statutes and regulations both as forms of law and as political responses to pressing issues in Canadian society. This text demonstrates concepts, principles, constraints, and theory in a direct and accessible manner, contextualized with carefully selected case excerpts. Cases are presented with insightful author commentary, which offers a compelling, cohesive introduction to the subject of public law.

We're excited to be hosting an online talk by Chinese lawyer and political activist Teng Biao, who'll be presenting on some of the tensions within China's party-state system on April 16th at 12pm MST. To register, click the button on the right of this page or go here: https://ualberta-ca.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_CcFO5czRS2yofFkyrNqBIA.

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The Centre for Constitutional Studies is pleased to welcome Dr. Ryan Beaton from Vancouver's Power Law to discuss enfranchisement and current constitutional challenges relating to loss of status under the Indian Act. This event will be held at 12:00pm in room 231A of the Law Centre. Lunch will be provided.

Lecture Abstract:

From the pre-confederation "Gradual Civilization Act" through various iterations of the Indian Act up to 1985, Canadian law provided mechanisms for "Indians" to apply for "enfranchisement", renouncing their Indian status in exchange for such benefits as the right to vote and to keep their children out of residential schools. The Indian Act today continues to deny status to thousands of individuals based on a family history of enfranchisement. This talk will give an overview of the history of enfranchisement and describe the lawsuit filed in June 2021 (and now proceeding through the courts following an attempted legislative solution, Bill C-38, killed by prorogation) by members of three families challenging the legacy of enfranchisement under the Indian Act.

We're delighted to be co-sponsoring this year's Dallas Cullen Memorial Lecture, which will feature talks by Professors Vrinda Narain and Kerri Froc. The lecture will be held at 3:30pm in the City Room of Peter Lougheed Hall (5th floor) on March 17, 2025. To register, please use the "register here" button on this page.

Event Abstract

Quebec’s controversial Law 21, An Act Respecting the Laicity of the State, is on its way to the Supreme Court of Canada. The law bans public sector workers in positions of authority—like teachers, police officers, and judges—from wearing religious symbols, all in the name of promoting secularism in the province.

Beneath its appeal to securalism, Law 21 has disproportionately targeted Muslim women who wear hijabs or niqabs. These women are now barred from teaching and excluded from most public sector jobs. The law also mandates that faces must be uncovered to access many public services, effectively excluding women who wear niqabs from participating fully in public life.

Critics argue that this law is blatantly discriminatory, especially on the intersectional grounds of sex and religion. This is why the Quebec government invoked the notwithstanding clause to shield it from certain Charter challenges, but this case also engages Section 28 of the Charter: “Notwithstanding anything in this Charter, the rights and freedoms referred to in it are guaranteed equally to male and female persons.”

This pivotal legal battle will be the focus of an upcoming panel discussion featuring two of Canada’s leading feminist constitutional scholars. Together, they’ll unpack the complex legal, social, and gendered implications of this landmark case and what it means for the future of rights and freedoms in Canada.

Kerri Froc is an Associate Professor at UNB Law and is currently the Law Foundation of Saskatchewan H. Robert Arscott Chair at the University of Saskatchewan College of Law.

The Centre will be co-hosting a one-day workshop on encampments and the Charter on February 28th along with the David Asper Centre for Constitutional Rights (University of Toronto). A small number of participant spots are available for U of A law students; please email mailey@ualberta.ca if you're currently enrolled as a JD student at the University and you would like to attend.

Workshop Synopsis:

The unhoused population has grown significantly across Canada in recent years, particularly in major cities such as Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Edmonton, and Ottawa, and in areas in between. In urban centres, homeless encampments — consisting of tents, makeshift shelters, and informal settlements — have emerged across public and private spaces. These informal settlements are visible markers of the country’s housing crisis, and have attracted varied and often problematic responses from government. The result is a challenging range of legal, social, and political actions, with ongoing and complex interactions across all arenas.

This day long workshop engages with both the procedural and the substantive legal issues that shape provincial and municipal governments’ treatment of encampments and unhoused people, as well as the ways in which that treatment has been challenged. Parallels will be drawn with other pressing urban justice issues to set a rich comparative context for discussions. Panels will also deal with legal issues key to getting the perspectives of the unhoused before the courts, such as standing. The substantive issues of Charter rights and Indigenous rights will be examined too.

Workshop Participants:

Margot Young, Alexandra Flynn, Anna Lund, Martha Jackman, Estair van Wagner, Heidi Stark, Avnish Nanda, Chris Wiebe, Renee Vaugeois, Gerard Kennedy, Shaun Fluker

The Centre is excited to be co-sponsoring the event, Pride vs Prejudice, which will take place on Tuesday, March 11, 2025 as part of Pride Week at the University of Alberta and MacEwan University.

The evening will feature a screening of Pride vs Prejudice: The Delwin Vriend Story, written and directed by Darrin Hagen.

The documentary film explores the story of one human challenging a determined and hostile government — and winning. Delwin Vriend never wanted to be a human rights activist, but in challenging his firing for being gay, he set in motion a chain of events that impacted the lives of 2SLGBTQ+ people across the world. As Darrin Hagen states “When we first set out to tell the story of Delwin Vriend’s legal battle with the government of Alberta, we thought we were simply revisiting a pivotal milestone in the slow progress towards equality. We didn’t realize that we were making a documentary that would act as a portent for generations to come.”

A panel discussion will follow the screening, featuring individuals from the film (TBA), to discuss this history victory and its continued relevance in today's world. Join us for an evening of reflection and inspiration as we honour the past and look towards a more equitable future.

All proceeds from this event will be donated to the Trans ID Clinic, a vital program run by Student Legal Services (SLS). The clinic provides assistance to Edmonton-area residents over 18 who wish to change their names and gender markers, regardless of income level.