LCC Engagements in British Columbia and Saskatchewan

March 2024 

During the week of 4-8 March 2024, the LCC visited Vancouver, Regina, and Saskatoon to engage with a diverse set of partners, including law faculties, academics, legal professionals, and grassroots community organizations.  

LCC President Shauna Van Praagh and Director General Kirk Shannon began the week in Vancouver by participating in a Listen & Learn session with scholars at UBC’s Peter A. Allard School of Law. During the session, participants discussed the importance of nourishing trust in institutions, legal education, and asking courageous questions. The LCC met subsequently with the British Columbia Law Institute, where both sides noted the possibility of the LCC playing a convening role for law reform agencies across the country.  

While in Vancouver, President Van Praagh also met with representatives from the Justice Education Society (JES) and the Law Society of British Columbia. These exchanges touched on the challenges associated with reconciliation and capacity-building in the administration of justice. Meanwhile, DG Shannon held an introductory meeting with the International Centre for Criminal Law Reform and Criminal Justice Policy, which stressed the importance of engaging with law enforcement in addition to academics and legal practitioners.  

Later in the week, the LCC travelled to Saskatchewan. In Regina, President Van Praagh met with the Law Society of Saskatchewan, the Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy, Intercultural Grandmothers Uniting, and President Jacqueline Ottman of First Nations University. In Saskatoon, DG Shannon met with the Law Reform Commission of Saskatchewan, CREATE Justice, and the University of Saskatchewan College of Law. These fruitful discussions with a diverse set of actors highlighted, among other things, the need for varied support across the province’s 74 First Nations and Métis communities, the importance of familiarizing justice actors with Indigenous knowledge systems, and the strong work being done by Indigenous scholars to bridge the worlds of academia and practice. 

“The LCC has much to learn from interesting and inspiring scholars, jurists, and grassroots groups across Canada,” said President Van Praagh. “There is real value in direct engagement with and in communities, in order to facilitate connections spanning local, national, and international contexts.”