Days before the Grey Cup, Winnipeg was the gathering place for another group of people with a shared passion. On November 13-14, 2025, the University of Manitoba Faculty of Law hosted the inaugural Canadian Forum for Business and Human Rights Conference. Scholars from across the globe met first at Robson Hall for a workshop, and then at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights for a conference to share research, knowledge, and ideas about Business and Human Rights – a critical area of law that deeply affects all aspects of the economy, society, and the environment worldwide.

Conference organizer, Dr. Akinwumi Ogunranti, Faculty of Law, University of Manitoba. Photo by Adam Dolman.

Yasmina Salama is a PhD candidate at the Peter Allard School of Law, University of British Columbia, Canada, who presented her paper at the workshop. Photo by Adam Dolman.

PhD candidates and post-doctoral scholars from across the globe gathered at the University of Manitoba for the opportunity to present their research to established, expert scholars in the field of Business and Human Rights. This workshop was hosted by the Canadian Forum for Business and Human Rights at Robson Hall. Photo by Adam Dolman.

Conference keynote speaker, Fernanda Hopenhaym, Business and Human Rights specialist and member of the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights.

The conference brought together over 50 participants from Canada and beyond, including the United Kingdom and the United States. Starting with a traditional Indigenous water ceremony and Dean Richard Jochelson’s welcoming address, Fernanda Hopenhaym, a member of the United Nations Working Group on Business and Human Rights, delivered a thought-provoking keynote address on the state of BHR in times of transition. This was followed by a plenary session and parallel panel sessions that addressed various issues, including Indigenous rights, judicial and non-judicial remedies, climate change, investment, and child labour.

The Conference will take place at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights after a day-long workshop for scholars on Thursday, November 13, at Robson Hall, the Faculty of Law building on the University of Manitoba’s Fort Garry Campus. Dr. Ogunranti hopes the workshop and subsequent conference will serve to bring together legal scholars from across the globe to share ideas and collaborate on projects that could have impact for positive change in the way business is conducted and legislation and policy are created.

“This conference marks the end of the beginning of a timely and critical conversation about the role of Canadian businesses operating in Canada and abroad,” said Dr. Ogunranti. “It heralds the birth of a think-tank forum in Canada that is dedicated to mentoring young scholars, amplifying the voices of marginalized groups, and fostering collaboration among all stakeholders working in the business and human rights field.”

“Hosting the inaugural Insights ’25 Business and Human Rights Conference reflects our Faculty’s deep commitment to advancing legal scholarship that connects business practices with human rights principles,” said Dr. Richard Jochelson, Dean of the Faculty of Law. “Through the Desautels Centre and collaborations like this, we’re fostering a space where research, advocacy, and education converge to address some of the most pressing global challenges in law and commerce.”

The origins of the idea for a Canadian Forum for Business and Human Rights was born of a conversation between Dr. Laura Reimer, Director of Program Development for the Faculty of Law, and Dr. Nathan Derejko, Mauro Chair in Human Rights and Social Justice at UM. Reimer had attended a forum of Business and Human Rights in Geneva, and Derejko had recently come to UM from his role as Director of the Human Rights Centre Clinic at the University of Essex. When Ogunranti arrived with his specialization in Business and Human Rights, the CFBHR came together and the idea for a workshop and conference became a reality.

“The Desautels Business Law Accelerator is proud to have provided the seed money that established Canada’s only Canadian Forum for Business and Human Rights. Working collaboratively with four other leading scholars in the field and their institutions, Professor Akin Ogunranti and his excellent Research Assistant, Jovinel Evangelista have led the way for a national first in the establishment of this international conference,” said Dr. Laura Reimer, Director of Program Development for the Faculty of Law. “We are excited to welcome scholars and activists from all over the world to Winnipeg, and stand proudly with Dr Ogunranti and the founding partners of the CFBHR as we meet together (appropriately) at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.”

The conference begins with a Keynote address from Fernanda Hopenham, Vice-Chairperson of the United Nations Working Group on Business and Human Rights, and the Co-Executive Director at Project on Organizing, Development, Education and Research (PODER), Latin America. Plenary sessions and panels throughout the day will include topics including:

• Business and Human Rights in a time of transition: The effect of cross-border relationships
• Indigenous Rights, Gender, and Benefit Agreements
• The Role of Non-state Actors’ Advocacy in BHR: Prospects and Challenges
• Judicial Remedies: Civil and Criminal Liability | Transnational Corporate Accountability
• Non-Judicial Remedy
• Transparency Laws, Supply Chain, and Human Rights Due Diligence
• Rights of Nature Litigation as Business and Human Rights Litigation: The Lake Winnipeg Case and Prospects for Canada
• Climate Change, Sustainability, Corporate Governance, and National Security
• Canadian Extractive Industry: Colonialism, BHR Norms, and Investment Law

Panelists and presenters include law professors and legal practitioners from all across Canada and the United States, as well as the United Kingdom.

Dr. Ogunranti expressed deepest thanks to the conference’s generous supporters, including the University of Manitoba Faculty of Law, the University of Manitoba, the Desautels Centre, the Manitoba Law Foundation, the Law Commission of Canada, the Legal Research Institute, and Research Manitoba.

Having initially articled at a Bay Street business law firm, Seck eventually found her way to a PhD in Law at Osgoode Hall Law School, and a research program in international human rights law, the environment, and how business law and the conduct of business impacts these critical areas. Her focus today is on the rights of local and Indigenous communities, and she has researched and published extensively on home state duties and business responsibilities in the context of extractive industries (such as mining, oil and gas). Currently, she is an Associate Professor at Dalhousie’s Schulich School of Law, where she holds the Keddy Chair in Human Rights Law, in addition to the Directorship of the Marine and Environmental Law Institute in Halifax, NS.

Seck was invited by the Desautels Centre for Private Enterprise and the Law to speak at the Faculty of Law on October 22, 2024, as part of the Business and Human Rights speaker series. The series is supported by the emerging Canadian Forum for Business and Human Rights, an initiative of the Desautels Centre, to bring together scholars, policymakers, and practitioners to explore the intersection of corporate activities and human rights, addressing topics such as corporate social responsibility, supply chain ethics, and legal frameworks for ensuring human rights standards in business practices globally.

Dr. Sara Seck of the Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie University was the inaugural speakerfor the Desautels Centre’s Business and Human Rights Lecture Series.

As the inaugural speaker in this series, Seck shared an overview of Business and Human Rights laws in Canada, and discussed career paths in the field with an audience of law and graduate students in law and human rights programs at the University of Manitoba. For the question and answer period, she was joined by her former PhD student, Dr. Akinwumi Ogunranti, who is now an Assistant Professor at the Faculty, a member of the Desautels Centre’s research group, and a founding member of the Forum.

A full recording of Dr. Seck’s lecture can be viewed on the Faculty of Law’s YouTube channel.

Call for Abstracts

The Canadian Forum for Business and Human Rights is currently accepting abstracts for INSIGHTS ‘25, an upcoming International Business and Human Rights Conference taking place in Winnipeg, MB, Canada on November 14, 2025 at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. The deadline for submissions is January 30, 2025.

The inaugural theme of the Insights ’25 conference is Corporate Accountability in Canada: At the Crossroads of Scholarship, Legislation, Litigation, Policy-making and Community Resistance.

This conference is presented in collaboration with the Faculties of Law at the University of Essex, Dalhousie University’s Schulich School of Law Marine and Environmental Law Institute, and the University of Ottawa. Learn more about the conference.

Dr. Akinwumi Ogunranti

Dr. Akinwumi Ogunranti (Akin) earned his LLB degree from the University of Ilorin, Nigeria, and was called to the Nigerian bar in 2013. He practiced law in a full-service commercial law firm for three years before starting his graduate studies. Akin earned his LLM and Ph.D. degrees in 2017 and 2022, respectively, at the Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University. His Ph.D. thesis is titled “Africa’s Contribution to the Development of the Norm of Corporate Responsibility to Respect Human Rights.” His research interests include business and human rights, private international law, investment law, and dispute resolution relating to corporate accountability and access to justice. 

Akin has published nationally and internationally. His recent paper, “Localizing the UNGPs: An Afrocentric Approach to Interpreting Pillar II,” is published in the Business and Human Rights Journal. His forthcoming paper on international investment law titled “Why the Multilateral Investment Court is a Bad Idea for Africa” is forthcoming in the Dalhousie Law Journal.

“I look forward to interacting with students in and outside the classroom. For me, learning is always a two-way street. I learn from the students as much as they learn from me. I want to share classrooms with students who, through innovative thinking, shape the future of legal practice in Canada.” – Dr. Akinwumi Ogunranti

He is currently a Crawford Fellow at the Schulich School of Law. He joined the teaching faculty of the Schulich community as a professor in 2019. He teaches first and upper-year courses, including contracts, professional responsibility, business and human rights, and legal ethics. He has received many awards, including the Law Foundation of Nova Scotia entrance scholarship, the Dean Ronald St. John MacDonald Graduate Fellowship in Law, the Schulich Fellowship, and the Crawford Fellowship.

Akin is licensed to practice law in Nigeria and Nova Scotia, Canada. He is a member of the Nigerian Bar, the Nova Scotia Bar Society, the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, and the Association of Certified Anti-money Laundering Specialists. 

When asked what it was about Robson Hall that inspired his wish to join the Faculty, he explained, “The strategic vision of the law school on teaching and research was a major attraction for me. Robson Hall’s goal of supporting students’ experiential learning aligns with my teaching philosophy because I believe law cannot be taught; its application can only be learned. Similarly, the law school’s business and human rights research centers that produce cutting-edge research excite me. My research focuses on the intersection of business and human rights. So, the opportunity to collaborate with colleagues in these research clusters is difficult to turn down.” 

If you don’t see Akin in the classroom, his office, or the library, you will catch him skiing or bowling.

“Outside the classroom, I look forward to exploring the city of Winnipeg and trying out new food and sports,” he said.

Yvan Larocque

Yvan Guy Larocque, CD, LLM is a well-respected Indigenous business lawyer and the Founder of Larocque Business Law. With a practice focused on Indigenous Economic Development and Governance, Yvan has extensive experience advising Indigenous governments and Economic Development Groups on a wide range of corporate, financing, tax, and development matters.

Yvan holds a Juris Doctor degree from the Peter A. Allard School of Law (UBC) with a Business Law Concentration and a Specialization in Aboriginal Law, as well as a Master of Laws from Osgoode Hall Law School with a Specialization in Business Law. He is called to the Bar in the Province of British Columbia and Manitoba.

Prior to joining Robson Hall as an Instructor, Yvan regularly guest lectured on the subjects Indigenous economic development and governance at the University of British Columbia and University of Victoria, and taught Commercial Law and Corporations I as a Practicing Professional Instructor.

“I’m honoured to join the faculty of at the University of Manitoba Faculty of Law as an Instructor and look forward to sharing my professional experiences and knowledge with students in my courses and clinical work. I’m also looking forward to joining other Indigenous Instructors and Professors at Robson Hall in continuing to advance Reconciliation in legal education and the legal profession.” – Yvan Larocque

Yvan has also had a lengthy military career, having served in the Canadian Armed Forces for over 20 years in both the Royal Canadian Navy and Royal Canadian Air Force, and currently holds the rank of Petty Officer 1st Class.

Yvan’s expertise and contributions to the field of Indigenous business law are further reflected in his co-authorship of “The Taxation and Financing of Aboriginal Businesses in Canada” (Thomson Reuters). His dedication to improving the economic opportunities and legal rights of Indigenous peoples in Canada is a testament to his commitment to justice and equality.

Andrea Doyle

Andrea R. Doyle graduated from the University of Manitoba, Faculty of Law (Robson Hall) with a Bachelor of Laws degree in 2009 and was called to the Manitoba Bar in 2010. During the past thirteen years, Andrea has had a broad practice with the firm Thompson Dorfman Sweatman LLP (TDS). She is fluently bilingual and has practised law in both English and French. As a student at Robson Hall, Andrea was honoured to receive many academic awards, including being a Pitblado Scholar and obtaining the third highest standing in first and third year law.

Andrea has been a sessional instructor at Robson Hall since 2020 teaching the French section of Legal Negotiation (Négociation juridique) and more recently, teaching Remedies. She coached the Robson Hall negotiation team that recently participated in the Canadian National Negotiation Competition in French. 

“I am happy to be joining the faculty at Robson Hall. As a student, sessional instructor and negotiation coach, I have enjoyed being a part of the Robson Hall community. I look forward to continuing to work with students in both English and French in my new role.” – Andrea Doyle

Andrea has made presentations in the areas of bankruptcy and insolvency law and French language programs. She is a member-at-large of the French Speaking Common Law Members Section Executive of the Canadian Bar Association and a member of the board of directors of l’Association des juristes d’expression française du Manitoba (AJEFM). Andrea is currently chair of the Insurance Agents’ and Adjusters’ Licensing Appeal Board and has been a member of the Manitoba Health Appeal Board since 2017. She has also been involved with the Manitoba Bar Association, including being a member of Council and a member of the Law Day and Mid-Winter Conference Committees.