Named in honour of two remarkable members of the Canadian legal community—Clayton Charles Ruby, CM (1942–2022) and The Honourable Harriet Sachs, former Justice of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice—the Symposium brought together advocates, scholars, and community leaders dedicated to advancing global 2SLGBTQI+ rights.

Sachs giving opening remarks at the Sunday reception. The symposium was a living tribute to two amazing lawyers, Justice Harriet Sachs and her partner the late Clayton Ruby.

Clayton Ruby’s prolific career in constitutional, criminal, and civil rights law spanned more than five decades, marked by his unwavering commitment to ensuring that marginalized Canadians received fair and equal access to justice. In 1992, he successfully challenged the discriminatory policies targeting 2SLGBTQI+ members of the Canadian military. Justice Sachs, his partner in life and in principle, served with distinction on the Ontario Superior Court and has long been admired for her integrity, discipline, and dedication to equality.

Dr. Donn Short, Editor-in-Chief; William Ho, Editor, CJHR

Dr. Donn Short, Editor-in-Chief of the CJHR, delivered opening remarks on behalf of the Journal, announcing its intention to publish a special volume of collected papers arising from the Symposium. Editor William Ho representing the CJHR, attended the conference to liaise with panel participants and respond to publication inquiries. On the evening of October 5, Dean Dr. Richard Jochelson, Associate Dean Dr. Donn Short, and Alexander Kraus, Senior Editor of the CJHR, attended the opening reception.

This writer was privileged to attend the final day of the Symposium and hear Elder Albert McLeod, a trailblazer in 2S HIV education, and Judge Kael McKenzie, Canada’s first openly transgender judge, who spoke about the importance of legal protections for 2SLGBTQI+ communities. The plenary speaker, Dr. Lynne Gouliquer, reflected on the ethical and methodological challenges of conducting research with vulnerable populations—issues at the heart of human rights scholarship.

Renowned diplomat, former Ontario Premier, and Canada’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Bob Rae delivered the keynote address on October 5 at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR) about Canada’s LGBT Purge and using the law to strengthen rights.

Standing in the Museum’s Dangerous Time: Canada’s LGBT Purge exhibit, attendees could not help but feel the profound contrast between Canada’s commitment to inclusion and the troubling rhetoric emerging elsewhere. A recent U.S. executive order on “Military Excellence and Readiness” declared that adopting a gender identity inconsistent with one’s sex “conflicts with a soldier’s commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle.” The dissonance between those words and the spirit of the Symposium—grounded in honour, selflessness, and humility of a different kind—was striking.

The Ruby Sachs Symposium reaffirmed the essential role of law, research, and collective action in securing equality for all. It also celebrated the continuing legacy of those whose courage has shaped Canada’s human rights landscape.

Researchers interested in contributing to this ongoing dialogue are invited to submit papers for the special issue of the Canadian Journal of Human Rights by January 15, 2026, at research@humanrights.ca.

Photo of Chiamaka Ilozue [LLM/25]

Chiamaka Ilozue

Thesis: “Shareholder proposal in Canada: questions, concerns, and opportunities for improvement.”

Advisor: Professor Darcy MacPherson

Chiamaka Ilozue completed her LLB at Lancaster University in the UK in 2019, and received her BL (Barrister-at-Law) in 2021 at Nigerian Law School in Lagos, Nigeria. Prior to commencing studies in her LLM at Robson Hall, she worked as a Legal Officer at the Securities and Exchange Commission, and was Legal Counsel at Etiaba & Co, Etiaba Chambers in the Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria. Ilozue has worked as a graduate research assistant at the University of Manitoba Faculty of Law while completing requirements for her LLM degree.

What is your thesis on and who is your advisor?

My thesis is on the corporate aspect of law. This is because my interests in corporate law were naturally informed by the inconsistency laws on claims and tort governing the business environment I grew up in. Hence, my thesis topic is on: Shareholder Proposal in Canada: Questions, Concerns and Opportunities for Improvement. My thesis advisor is Professor Darcy MacPherson.

Where did you previously study or practice law?

I had my first degree at the University of Lancaster. Then, I proceeded to the Nigerian Law School where I was called to one of the largest bar associations in Africa as a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria. Thus, I was practicing law in Nigeria before I came to Canada.  

How did you come to study at the UM Faculty of Law?

Pretty much, I was searching for schools that offered a Master of Laws (LLM) program and came across the University of Manitoba. However, I was more particular about the University of Manitoba, specifically for graduate studies in Master of Laws (LLM) because of its renowned reputation in quality education and superior learning systems. Professors at the university are widely known for their intensive research and expertise from Contract Law to Human Rights Law. 

What do you hope to do with your LLM?

Obtaining an LLM (Master of Laws) from the University of Manitoba will guide me to what public and corporate legal teams I would love to be part of, equipping me with a dynamic and evolving range of skills to work anywhere in public and private markets. 

What have been your favourite aspects of studying at Robson Hall so far?

My favorite aspects of studying at Robson Hall are my classes. I get the opportunity to vehemently express myself on the different area of laws as they come. Thankfully, the lecturers are always quite engaging with their stimulating questions. 

How has the graduate seminar been of help to you in the preparation of your thesis?

The graduate seminar is indeed a stimulating one. It has helped me approach my thesis in a different light by exposing me to various research methods in order to achieve the goal of finishing my thesis in a timely manner.

What would you tell other students about the benefits of taking an LLM degree?

Lastly, I would advise students to take on the LLM program as it directs you to a new phase in a career marathon of learning from experienced Legal professionals.

Lovelyn Osiele [LLM/25]

Lovelyn Osiele

Thesis: “Examination of securities regulation in Canada.”

Advisor: Professor Darcy MacPherson

Lovelyn Osiele completed her LLB at Benson Idahosa University, Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria in 2019 and received her BL (Barrister-at-Law) from The Nigerian Law School in Lagos, Nigeria in 2021. She enrolled in the University of Manitoba’s LLM program in 2023.

What is your thesis on and who is your advisor?

My Thesis Topic: A Comparative Analysis of Securities Regulation in Canada and the United States.  My Thesis advisor is Professor Darcy MacPherson.

Where did you previously study or practice law?

I had my Bachelor of Laws degree (LLB) from Benson Idahosa University, Nigeria where I also practice law.

How did you come to study at the UM Faculty of Law?

I had a couple of friends who always discussed about the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg Canada, so I picked an interest and decided to research about the University on my own. I found a lot of interesting things about the school I just couldn’t let go. I studied how highly the University of Manitoba is ranked, the various scholarships offered, and how supportive the Professors are, I noticed the student-teacher relationship, and the University of Manitoba from my research is best known as a research institution and has the best law program. 

What do you hope to do with your LLM?

I am pursuing this degree in Law because I have been looking forward to getting the role as a Senior lawyer in my place of work which has been eluding due to my inability to acquire a higher professional degree. I am particularly certain that on completion of my program, I will be adequately equipped with the skills I hope to acquire from my Law certificate, I will also have acquired the requisite qualifications to stand as a good candidate for the role in my organization.

What have been your favourite aspects of studying at Robson Hall so far?

The lecturers and Professors are friendly and ensure they provide everything needed for a successful academic year. The E.K. Williams Law Library is so equipped and I have access to learning materials. Also being taught by intelligent professors gives me so much edge and confidence. 

Read a feature story about Oluwafisayo Stephen Ayita of this class, who graduated in June, 2025. He is now a student in the Internationally Trained Lawyer program, working towards becoming licensed to practice law in Manitoba.

Applications for the Master of Laws program at the University of Manitoba are now open until December 15, 2025. Apply now.

“When I came here as a permanent resident with my wife and children, I was looking for a new challenge and opportunity,” he says.

A new academic challenge

He had started working towards achieving his practicing license with the National Committee on Accreditation and had written one exam for administrative law and was looking for a new academic challenge, and was considering the future possibility of becoming a professor of law at a Canadian University. An LLM would be a starting point, he thought.

His thesis title was “Mediation practice in Nigeria: experiences from Abuja and Ondo with lessons from Ontario, Canada”, completed with Professor Darcy MacPherson of the University of Manitoba’s Faculty of Law as his advisor.

Ayita completed his LLB in 2015 at Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria. While there, he received the Presidential Award as the best graduating student in Commercial Law, as well as the Attorney General of the Federation Award in the same subject during the 2015 convocation. He also won the National Essay Competition on the topic “Nigeria at 50, the past, the present and the future,” funded by Intercontinental Bank (now Access Bank), which was – significantly, how he obtained his first laptop. Additionally, he was the first runner-up in the continental essay competition titled “The Immorality of Self-Interest [The Morality or otherwise of Capitalism],” organized by African Liberty and IMANI in 2011.

He concluded his legal practice training at The Nigerian Law School in Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria in 2016. As a next step, he obtained a certificate in Arbitration at the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, London, UK in 2017 and then received certification in conflict and dispute resolution at the Canadian Institute for Conflict Resolutions in 2021. He further earned a certificate in Conflict Management Skills at the University of Toronto (2022) followed by certification in Reconciliation and Restoration at Forgiving For Restoring Canada. At this time in 2023, he completed some of the requirements of the Federation of Law Societies of Canada to pass his Bachelor of Laws Equivalency Examination and then commenced the Master of Laws program at the University of Manitoba in 2023.

Having practiced law in Nigeria and studied mediation and alternative dispute resolution both there and in Canada, Ayita found it impossible to ignore his calling to further his education and deepen his studies in law.

UM’s policies of accommodation and inclusion attractive

He was drawn to the University of Manitoba for his LLM having researched Canadian universities and learned that UM “has been established for more than a century and has produced a lot of policymakers,” as well as “those who are also at the forefront of access to justice in Canada as well as in the global community.” Additionally, he notes that UM’s policies of accommodation and inclusion were another thing that attracted him.

“I landed in Canada October 26, 2022,” he says, “so it’s like less than a month that I came in and about approximately a month that I applied to the school, so I was just trying to settle down.”

Teaching law someday was on his mind when he made the decision to apply for the LLM program. “Most of what I’ve been doing – about 80% of what I’ve done all my life has been the issue of building capacity teaching and imparting knowledge. And now I really want to do that. One of the motivations [to do the LLM] is to become a professor and to also influence policies in the area of access to justice, because access to justice is an ongoing crusade.”

Engaging in community

Beyond legal studies, volunteering in community is important to Ayita. During his time as a Master of Laws student, he served as a volunteer facilitator with the Speaker Bureau for the Centre for Human Rights Research at the University of Manitoba for a year. He also served as class president for the LLM program from September 2023 to May 2025. He participated in the Community Venture/Salvation Army fundraising event in December of 2024 and took part in the university’s community seed planting initiative. Even before arriving in Canada, he volunteered as national coordinator for AFSEN (Alliance for Sustainable Environment Nigeria), focusing on environmental protection and sanitation. There, he led a team in sanitation activities, planted new trees, and educated teenagers on water use and waste disposal.

Speaking from his experience working as Director of Training and Development at the Mediation Training Institute in Nigeria and as a lawyer and conflict coach, he says, “Everybody wants to access justice in all facets of humanity such as divorce and in all your legal needs. You want justice to be served, and I believe going into this program will assist me to be able to have that proper foundation through research and development.”

Having knowledge and research skills to influence government policy is also in his sights. “I look forward to one day becoming a professor in any of the universities in Canada,” he says, “and also be able to influence policy in the decision-making in government.”

Focus on what matters

Ayita has observed, that policy and decision-makers tend to focus on exciting topics such as crime, which tend to get the most media hits. He speaks passionately about what is not getting enough attention when it comes to access to justice: “You don’t want to focus on housing, on the issue of environment, on things that are dear to people like family, but these are the areas that are most needed and people are yearning for access to justice.”

His thesis delves into how the tools of mediation may be used to achieve access to justice. Most of the challenges to access to justice when pursuing a path of litigation, he notes, include delay in proceedings, costs and the complexities of court procedures. Costs are both implicit and explicit, not to mention the psychological cost of litigation. “You realize that all these are not the same when parties have to go through the route of mediation,” he observes.

[G]oing through mediation, they realize that there are no more enemies but they want to work together to see how the parties involved can reach a truce that will most accommodate their differences that also align their interests.
– Oluwafisayo Stephen Ayita [LLM/25]

Mediation, he says, enables parties to overcome the many challenges that form barriers to access to justice including delay and procedural complexity. “It also helps the party to retain what is most important to them. We have realized because the process has been regarded as a kind of legal combat, where parties duel to death, that going through mediation, they realize that there are no more enemies but they want to work together to see how the parties involved can reach a truce that will most accommodate their differences that also align their interests.”

A highly recommended course of study

During his time at Robson Hall, Ayita has worked with instructors, faculty and staff including Natasha Brown [BEd/01; LLB/05], Director of Access to Justice and Community Engagement, and Dr. Michelle Gallant, who also works in conflict resolution. Dr. Donn Short, Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Studies at the Faculty of Law, taught the mandatory graduate seminar for the LLM program, which teaches how to write a thesis and fundamental research skills. “The graduate seminar has been quite helpful,” said Ayita, who took it in his first term of the program. At the time, he explained, each student undertook four assignments related to their thesis including an annotated bibliography to teach them how to identify the sources they would be using for their main thesis. “The research seminar has helped me in particular and I believe it also has helped my colleagues to be able to bring together our aspirations.”

“All these have enabled me to be able to now understand how to carry out research as well as how I can use that to improve on my main thesis, such as this search format, the McGill Research format, the sources, how to write, and notes to include when you are paraphrasing, restate, quote, you know, then when you’re also making your own statement.

So the research seminar has helped me to be able to understand how to be able to go through the authorized format and avoid academic misconduct and fraud. It also has been able to [ensure] that all my work will be genuine. That’s very, very useful.”

Ayita recommends taking an LLM to anyone wanting an academic challenge and looking to deepen their knowledge of the law, “I have been encouraging people,” he said, calling Robson Hall one of the best law faculties in Canada whenever he mentions to people that he is studying here. “I’m proud to be here,” he said.

Ayita’s pursuit of academic challenges is not over yet. In September, he will be a member of UM’s first cohort of Internationally Trained Lawyers and will be taking one of the two Micro-Diplomas now offered in Canadian Private or Canadian Public Law, designed to help such lawyers qualify to practice law in Canada. Then, he will be fully able to practice law in Canada.

Learn more about UM’s LLM program.

Learn more about UM’s Internationally Trained Lawyer program.

Produced with funding from the Legal Research Institute, the Law Foundation of Manitoba, and with assistance provided by Carmen Roberge, Faculty of Education and Professional Studies, Université de Saint-Boniface, the CJHR is an internationally recognized journal that attracts scholarship from respected human rights scholars around the world. Publications have included immigration and refugee law, freedom of expression, equality, sexuality and gender rights, international law, criminal law and numerous other issues related to domestic and international human rights.

“As we start our second decade, I can’t help but think back on all of the amazing students who have come together each year to work as a team to fulfill our mandate to promote awareness and discussion of issues of human rights law and policy,” said Dr. Short. “So many of those students have gone on to have a real impact on the respecting of human rights through legal practice, academia and volunteerism and I have maintained contact with many of them. This year’s senior editors, Brayden Gray and Rhiannon Swan, led a wonderful team of student editors and it gives me a deep sense of satisfaction to know that, once again, there have been so many people who are committed to ensuring that this work continues – and that we are here to stay.”

Senior Editors Gray and Swan both graduated from the Juris Doctor program this spring, having both completed clerkships at the Manitoba Court of Appeal. Swan won course awards for highest standing in Torts, Criminal Law and Contracts, and is now articling at Fillmore Riley. Gray served as Vice-President Internal for the Manitoba Law Students’ Association and is now articling at MLT Aikins.  He describes his time spent with the journal as “an incredibly fulfilling experience.”

“I had the privilege of starting as a Junior Editor and rising through the ranks to Senior Editor, said Gray. “Throughout that time, the CJHR has provided me with an eye for detail, an understanding of the academic process, confidence with editing, and an opportunity to lead.”

“I’ve enjoyed my time with the journal so much that I have been trying to find a way to stay involved! My time with the CJHR was truly a highlight of my academic career. I could not recommend it enough to students, and I definitely have already done so.” – Brayden Gray, Senior Editor, CJHR

 Gray also spoke highly of the experience of working with Dr. Short, emphasising his mentorship and guidance. “I cannot express enough how much of a pleasure it was working with him and chatting with him about the journal, law school, and anything else that came up,” said Gray. “Every conversation with Dr. Short has been a conversation I feel glad walking out of. I know he may shake his head at me for making any of this about him, but the journal is uniquely representative of him, and it wouldn’t be the same CJHR without him. He put his trust in Rhiannon and me this past year to keep the ship steady, and it was an honour to do so.”

Being based at a Faculty that houses a graduate program which includes a Master of Laws and a Master of Human Rights degree (with Dr. Short serving as Associate Dean, Research and Graduate Studies) the CJHR offers opportunities to law students to engage in Human Rights research, which Gray recommends as a way to “maintain their hunger for advocacy and to explore their curiosities.”

“Many of our submissions are highlighting gaps in Human Rights, exploring solutions, advocating for change, and examining unexamined areas,” Gray explained. “Peer reviewers often feel privileged to review our submissions and are excited to see new scholarly articles. I have seen CJHR citations in other journals. This is a highly respected and special journal for many, and I cannot wait to track its progress and evolution.”

Further to that, Dr. Short added, “I am also very grateful to the amazing scholars who support us by sending us their work and who want to publish with us. As we start the next decade, I have some plans I would like to implement to expand the forms of scholarship we publish, both in terms of content and delivery. I look forward to seeing where we are where when this next decade concludes.”

Articles contained in the 11^th Anniversary edition include “Ignoring Complex Identities: Canada’s Post-Ezokola Overzealous Application of Article 1F(a) of the Refugee Convention” by Randle C. DeFalco, “Prosecution as a Tool of Human Rights: Reflections on Dominic Ongwen” by Emil Stanca, “Citizenship, Belonging, and Deportation” by Benjamin Perryman, and “Systemic Discrimination Against Female Sexual Violence Victims” by Karen Bellehumeur.

The full volume is available for download on the CJHR website, along with past volumes.

This year’s editorial board consists of the following individuals:

Editor-in-Chief
Donn Short

Senior Editors
Brayden Gray and Rhiannon Swan

Editors
Julian Brown
Dominique Gibson
Brandon Gray
Keelin Griffin
Stephan Possin
Prachi Sanghavi

Summer Editor
Stephan Possin

Assistant Editors
Sami Bhangoo
Jaspreet Brar
Nicole Golletz
Carly Lafond
Pavel Shetra
Corbin Stewart
Jeremy Tran
Maya Yuel

Produced with funding from the Legal Research Institute, the Law Foundation of Manitoba, and with assistance provided by Carmen Roberge, Faculty of Education and Professional Studies, Université de Saint-Boniface, the CJHR is an internationally recognized journal that attracts scholarship from respected human rights scholars around the world. Publications have included immigration and refugee law, freedom of expression, equality, sexuality and gender rights, international law, criminal law and numerous other issues related to domestic and international human rights.

In the 10^th Anniversary edition’s forward, Dr. Richard Jochelson, Dean of the Faculty of Law, recognizes the CJHR’s singularity and the critical role it plays in fostering the exploration of human rights issues, especially with so much more work to be done. “Disability injustice maintains, as Canada continues to lag even the United States in legislative responses to inaccessibility,” he writes. “Members of the LGBTQ2S*+ communities continue to be othered and excluded from institutions and opportunities across the globe. Hate crimes and anti-Semitic speech appear to be on the rise over the last several years in Canada and globally. Trumpism, the rise of strong men and movements to the fascistic right have increased around the world.”

“It has never been more important to explore these vital issues, and this journal continues to be an international thought leading vehicle in the complicating of human rights discussions.” – Dr. Richard Jochelson, Dean of Law, Forward, (2021) 10:1 Can J Hum Rts 

“The CJHR is one of the few groups in the law school who do what we do twelve months during the year,” said Dr. Short. “There is no season to what we do – it’s an ongoing cycle. We work through the entire school year and we don’t stop during the summer. As those cycles have turned, ten times now, I have been cognizant of two overriding principles or goals that define our mission of public education. First, our task is to contribute to the growing awareness of human rights, generally, and, second, our charge to present scholarship that results in the actual respecting of human rights.”

Senior Editor Jack Powles graduates from the Juris Doctor program this spring after having been involved with the CJHR in multiple capacities since the end of his first year of law school. He describes his time spent with the journal as one of the highlights of his law school experience. “It offers a unique experience during law school in being a part of an ongoing project throughout the entire academic year,” he said. “Each volume of the journal is a culmination of the work other student editors have done in preceding years, and it is both a rewarding and memorable experience to have each year culminate in publishing a volume of the CJHR with that year’s editorial team. I know the CJHR will continue to be a success for all of those involved, and pass all my thanks to Editor-in-Chief Dr. Donn Short for this invaluable mentorship throughout these past 2 years.”

Editor Rhiannon Swan finishes her second year of law this spring and has learned much from her experience working on the journal. “I have really enjoyed being able to work with peers who share an interest in the promotion and discussion of human rights,” she said. “The CJHR has allowed me insight into topics that I might not have otherwise considered, and more importantly how the law might be used to protect the rights of vulnerable communities. I think this is something that is very important for professionals in the legal field to remember.”

Articles contained in the 10^th Anniversary edition include “The Final Refugee Paradigm: A Historical Warning” by J. Mauricio Gaona, “Managing Campus Expression and Equality Rights: Contemporary Considerations for Canadian Universities” by Arig al Shaibah and Sophie Poinar, and “Towards Developing a Non-ableist and Non-cisnormative Taxonomy of Bodily Integrity Identity and Expression in Canadian Human Rights Law” by Daniel W. Dylan.

The full volume is available for download on the CJHR website, along with past volumes.

This year’s editorial board consists of the following individuals:

Editor-in-Chief
Donn Short

Senior Editor
Jack Powles

Editors
Brandon Gray
Brayden Gray
Rhiannon Swan
Prachi Sanghavi
Lewis Waring

Next year, students Rhiannon Swan and Brayden Grey will take on the roles of co-senior editors working with Dr. Short to continue the CJHR’s mission of producing outstanding human rights scholarship.

This last book, written with educators, government officials and curriculum-makers in mind, was a collaboration with Drs. Bruce MacDougall (Allard School of Law, UBC) and Paul Clarke (Faculty of Education, University of Regina). Dr. Short is the founding and current editor-in-chief of the Canadian Journal of Human Rights and a former member of the Manitoba Human Rights Commission. Robson Hall was able to catch up with him to learn more about this final portion of his current body of research.

What was your motivation for pursuing this area of research, and in particular this latest book?

With Making the Case, I wanted to produce a book that was empowering to people who were interested in or who are working towards supporting 2SLGBTQ+ students in their quest for equal access to education, full citizenship in schools, and creating schools that are places of inclusion for 2SLGBTQ+ students. This book is for those who may have been feeling un-empowered or insecure about what the law was around all that, particularly in the context of opposition based on religion-based rights claims.

I really wanted to put together a book that made it clear just how much support there was out there for anybody wanting to make schools safer and more inclusive spaces for 2SLGBTQ+ students. So, this book is meant to be empowering and encouraging to people doing this kind of work, that is, 2SLGBTQ+-inclusive education.

Who is this book for?

Teacher organizations, government workers including ministers of education, equity or human rights officers, curriculum directors or specialists, and local MLAs and MPs. Also School districts, super-intendents and trustees, and within schools, a school’s administration from principals to guidance counsellors to student councils. Outside schools, certainly parents, siblings, allies of every sort. With respect to teacher training, I think this book would be very useful to faculties of education, new hires, and especially for new teachers at all levels.

Finally, I’d love to see the book read by those working in faith-based schools: Catholic school systems – principals’ associations; trustees; Canadian Council of Catholic Bishops; the Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association; Edmonton Catholic Teachers (local 54 of the Alberta Teachers Association) and so on, other groups like that.

What is the main message in the book, Making the Case?

The main goal of this book is to empower people to understand what the law says or where the law is leaning. It’s not enough to say that something is against one’s religious beliefs or practices for it to be banned or forbidden: there needs to be objective evidence of that infringement. In the context of schools, if someone feels that a particular educational initiative infringes an individual’s or community’s expression of their religious beliefs or practices, then you have to prove it – it’s not enough just to say you think that it does.

There are some very basic concepts for law students, lawyers and professors. But I came to realize that “on the ground”, these concepts were not very well understood by many people. Of course, things can get much more complicated when you then move on to competing rights. Very often it is religious beliefs and declarations of infringement that are weaponized against 2LGBTQ+ equality rights. It seems to come as a shock to a lot of people asserting religion-based claims that their rights are not absolute – rights have limits – especially when those rights interfere with public safety or the rights and protection of other people.

So the second book looks at what teachers and the administration need to know when confronted with teachers or students or parents with religious objections to ensuring 2SLGBTQ+ rights for students in their schools. And at the time, this was during the years I think of as the GSA-wars, years of mounted resistance against gay-straight alliances, or gender-sexuality alliances, more often that not based upon the assertion of religion-based rights claims. I do want to stress, however, that there were many religious-based or affiliated groups who worked hard to support GSAs in their schools – OECTA, the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association, for instance. It was the bishops and trustees who opposed GSAs in many cases. A lot of school boards and schools opposed them, too, but many were supportive.

How does Making the Case fit in with your previous publications?

The role of religion has filtered through all of my work to this point, the use of religion on the marginalization of these students. So I wanted to work on something that drilled down into that religious piece, which is this third book. The role of religion, the use of religious beliefs and practices to oppose or stymie equality rights – and what the law had to say about those kinds of claims, were themes that were present in both of the other books, and in many of my articles, in all of the research I was doing.

Making the Case confronts religion head on. The book was asking to be written. I asked Bruce MacDougall, who has written extensively about the legally-constructed queer child and law and religion, and Paul Clark, who has written a good deal about GSAs, to join me.  But for me, it’s really the culmination of fifteen years’ worth of work.

The first book, Don’t Be So Gay! Queers, Bullying, and Making Schools Safe (2013), was very student-focused, looking at safety and inclusion from the point of view of students, treating them as experts of their own experiences, listening to and privileging what they had to say. This all started at the time when discussions around the country were about “safe schools” and “zero tolerance”, very punitive or response-oriented approaches. But the first book was the culmination of a number of years work that I undertook before the book was ready to be published and took things in a very different direction.

Early discussions about keeping schools safe took place at a time when school boards, safe school committee, parents viewed safety in terms of cameras, surveillance, guards in schools, zero tolerance policies. In other words, students were perceived as the threat to school safety. 2SLGBTQ+ students were largely ignored in that equation. The students I spent time with and listened to conceptualized safety very, very differently. They viewed safety very broadly, as a concept that included equality rights, safety as much more than just responding to bullying – safety that was really about the need to change the culture of schools in order to include and celebrate sexual minority students, to respond to heterosexism and homophobia and transphobia. So in this new conception of safety, students wanted the people who could make a difference to understand that heteronormativity itself in schools was the problem, the threat to the safety of these students.

The next phase of my work put more emphasis on teachers and how teachers could bring to life those aspects of making schools safe for students – primarily educative responses, the educative piece, the transformative piece, that would change the climate of schools. It’s that educative piece that ends my first book and is really the point of launch and the focus of my second book, Am I Safe Here? LGBTQ Teens and Bullying in Schools(2017). This was a question a student I met had posed to his school, to his teachers, his principal. What are you doing to keep me safe in this school? This book fit very nicely with other research I was doing at the time, that also focused on teachers and what teachers need to do to help 2SLGBTQ+ students achieve full citizenship.

I’m very happy to have these three books, and to have this as the last of the three because there is, for me, a sense of completeness to them, a sense of completion of 10-15 years of work.

What further work needs to be done in this area?

I think a study of religious schools, or people of faith at non-religious schools would be very, very useful – to really get that qualitative understanding of “why” – why do some people oppose this kind of work? Maybe even more interestingly, would be to look at the religious folks who support it, who don’t see their religious life, beliefs, practices as any kind of bar to, and at the same time, might even be pursuing, supporting 2SLGBTQ+ rights in schools. I think that kind of study would be very useful and empowering for other like-minded people. I do not think I will be the one to do it, however.

The final frontier (is anything final?) seems to be – and you see this right now in Florida – is getting past this idea that 2SLGBTQ+ inclusive-education is something that must be restricted to the higher grades. Listen, kids are already learning about sexual orientation – very largely negatively – in the early grades, as early as Kindergarten. The so-called “curriculum”, the unofficial ways students learn, through each other, sometimes from teachers, by listening to what the culture is already saying, they learn. At school, whether through sports, schoolyard conversations, all aspects of youth culture, really, are already “teaching” kids what to think about 2SLGBTQ+ students or their parents. So, it’s really important that the “official” or manifest curriculum – all the official spaces of the school – are brought into play, to respond to the negativity of that unofficial but very real learning, to counter it. 2SLGBTQ+ students need to be welcomed and celebrated and included officially as full citizens of every school from the first grade to the moment of graduation just as they are often denigrated and excluded unofficially. And, of course, very often officially marginalized, as well. Justice and injustice vary according to the particular school.

What lessons do you most hope readers of Making the Case will take away?

The law is more supportive than people think, particularly when competing rights come into play. A rights claim made by one person will sometimes conflict, or appear to conflict, with a rights claim made by someone else. This can happen when a 2SLGBTQ+ student asserts the right to be free from discrimination which a teacher, or another student, complains violates their legally protected religious freedoms. If possible, the courts will try to accommodate both rights. Sometimes that is not possible. In such cases, the courts will then ask if the 2SLGBTQ+ rights claim infringes on the religion-based right in a significant way? If the answer is no, the religion-based claim will give way to the rights claim. In these scenarios – and the book is full of them – the law, more often than not, supports educational initiatives that are intended to target the discrimination of 2SLGBTQ+ students in schools, to ensure their safety and inclusion. The courts are very likely to find that it’s a reasonable limitation on religious rights to ensure equal and open access of schools by 2SLGBTQ+ students and that it’s harmful to these students if the initiatives are not in place. In other words, religious rights are not absolute. And connected to that is the requirement that evidence of infringement of religion-based claims must be affirmatively shown – your religion-based rights are not infringed just because you say they are.

So with respect to all of that, Making the Case makes that case. It explains in a very straightforward, understandable way what “competing rights” are all about, what the issues are and how they are often resolved in favour of supporting a broadened conception of safety for 2SLGBTQ+ students.

Looking back now, these three books seem very cohesive to me as a body of work that adds up to something. That’s why I think I have completed this part of my research life. It feels all of a piece. The work is not over, making schools better has not come to an end, but my contributions may have.

The Trans ID Clinic, operated through Rainbow Resource Centre and Pro Bono Students Canada (PBSC), provides free legal support to trans and non-binary people who seek to legally change their names and/or gender marker on their provincial or federal IDs. The clinic launched in September 2021 and a team of students and supervising lawyers meet with clients on a monthly basis.

“While our clients have expressed that they are thrilled to access the support the Clinic offers in filling out legal name and gender marker change applications, we realized that many may be unable to afford the costs associated with such applications,” said Hannah Taylor, an executive member of Outlaws.

These expenses include $120 to legally change one’s name, $30 for each new birth certificate, $10 for a new driver’s license, and $120 for a new passport. While often inaccessibly high for the average person in Winnipeg, such costs are even more inaccessible for transgender Manitobans, since the transgender community experiences poverty at levels disproportionate to the average Canadian due to realities such as employment discrimination, unstable housing, and lack of generational wealth due to familial disownment.

The Outlaws group at the University of Manitoba’s Faculty of Law, which offers support and a welcoming environment to law students who are members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community, has been working towards the upcoming fundraiser for months. Despite COVID-19 keeping students away from Robson Hall during the Fall term, the group managed to raise $1350 to pay for the main fundraiser, by selling pronoun pins in November of 2021. That money will now go directly to fund applications through the Clinic, however, thanks to the partnership of Pro Bono Students Canada and the generous support of the Dean of Law, Dr. Richard Jochelson, who has set aside Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) funding to help cover the cost of the drag show fundraiser.

“OUTlaws has been an important Robson Hall community group since years ago when Associate Dean Donn Short helped open the Faculty chapter,” said Jochelson. “One of our goals with EDI funding was to make sure we could support members in the community that otherwise would need to scramble to get funding together for social activities and activism. We are happy to have provided some assistance to Outlaws during this year of separation and it is exciting that this event will be in-person and connect individuals to communities.”

The Drag show itself was the brainchild of law student Lamari, who is a Drag performer and – of course – plans to host the event in Drag. “This should be a fantastic event,” said Lamari. “It will be a great opportunity to get together in person and also to raise awareness about the Trans ID Clinic.”

OUTLaws hopes to welcome University of Manitoba students, faculty, staff, Queer and Trans people, and allies to Call Me By My Name. “As a Drag show, we want to make sure it’s a safe space, and also create an opportunity for our classmates to learn,” said Lamari.

Besides Lamari as host, the evening’s performers will include other members of the community who are very involved in advocacy work for Trans people including the Executive Director of Sunshine House, a community drop-in and resource centre that focuses on harm reduction and social inclusion. 

Further information about the OUTlaws May 7^th fundraiser can be found on the Faculty of Law Events calendar.

Related: Help build a trans-inclusive world

Meanwhile, the boxy pile of concrete still stood as it has for 52 years, with Professor John Irvine pacing its halls preparing his lectures, while other faculty and staff popped in and out on occasion, all masked and waving greetings, relieved to see actual people in-person. Dr. Richard Jochelson, once installed as the new Dean, became a stalwart fixture in the big corner office. And things began to change.

Looking back over 2021, here is a list of significant evidence of changes coming to Robson Hall with related UM Today stories, heralding a bright future:

Answering the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Call to Action #28

1. Formation of the Truth & Reconciliation Action Team 
2. Passing of the mandatory upper-year course, “Indigenous Methodologies and Perspectives” 
3. Hiring of alumnus Marc Kruse as Indigenous Student Support Coordinator
4. Ongoing updates to Law course calendar to reflect commitment to CTA 28 on a course-by-course level 
5. Call for applications for an Indigenous Professor (please share job posting)
6. Development of a new Indigenous Clinical Experience 
7. Improved 1L orientation to include CTA 28 and legal ethics content
8. Hosted a second session of the Indigenous People and the Criminal Justice System workshop for practicing bar plus 40 law students 
9. Sponsored about 30 students to attend the Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice’s Indigenous Peoples and the Law conference

See UM Today Stories:

• Faculty of Law introduces new Indigenous Student Support Coordinator
• Faculty of Law takes major steps to answer Call to Action 28
• Faculty of Law to offer new mandatory Indigenous course

Expanding Clinical Learning Opportunities, Business Law, and Bilingual program

1. Increased investment in the L. Kerry Vickar Business Law Clinic
2. Developing Room 113 (former storage room) into a new clinical space
3. Expanding the Desautels Centre for Private International Law to include blogs, case reporter, peer reviewed journal, conference and paper sponsorship and student support
4. Passing of a concentration in Private Enterprise & the Law
5. Passing of a concentration in Access to Justice Bilingual program
6. Expanding the University of Manitoba Community Law Centre (UMCLC)
7. Addition of a net year’s worth of four full-time staff forming a clinical team of instructors and professors

See UM Today Stories:

• Faculty of Law moves forward with plans for Desautels Legal Research Fund
• Kerry Vickar Business Law Clinic goes virtual
• Legal Help Centre unites law students, alumni for common goals
• Achieving access to justice through language
• Access to Justice French Endowment Fund established to help train law students

Hiring new professors and staff

1. Two new professors were hired in the spring
2. In addition to the new Indigenous Student Support person, a new Admissions Officer was hired in the summer
3. Two new instructors were hired this fall
4. The search for the Mauro Chair in Human Rights and Social Justice has concluded and will be announced in the new year
5. It goes without saying but bears repeating that the Faculty appointed a new Dean of Law, Dr. Richard Jochelson, who took office on July 1, 2021.
6. The Faculty also appointed a new Associate, JD Program, Dr. Virginia Torrie, with Dr. Donn Short continuing in his term as Associate Dean, Research and Graduate Studies

See UM Today Stories:

• Faculty of Law welcomes Assistant Professors Martine Dennie and Katie Szilagyi
• An essential service: Robson Hall’s Admissions and Financial Aid office
• Familiar faces form new team at faculty of Law Dean’s Office
• Running down a dream of law school

 Administrative, Building, and Community Improvements

1. Four classrooms have been prepared with videoconferencing capabilities in anticipation of a partial return to in-person teaching and learning
2. Faculty council has completed an initial study of bylaws and is preparing them for modernization
3. Despite Labour Action and pandemic, the Faculty successfully preserved the schedule for Winter term to keep students on track for graduation and timely commencement of articles
4. Forging of strong links with the Law Society of Manitoba with announcements coming 
5. Ongoing provision of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) seminars with more planned for next term

Mental Health supports and initiatives

1. Ongoing – Student Counselling Centre services have provided two imbedded counsellors for law students to have one-on-one counselling appointment (virtual). When SCC counsellors were not, available, students were connected with Empower Me for virtual counselling support.
2. A Mindfulness presentation given virtually by Dr. Thomas G.W. Telfer of Western Law was part of the 1L Orientation on September 3.
3. A “Mask and Learn” lunchtime talk with Professor Brandon Trask took place September 14 on the topic of protecting one’s mental health as a lawyer. The in-person event featured tips for law students to carry into practice to guard their mental health and help reduce the overall stigma of mental health issues in workplace.
4. A Presentation by Shannon Daniels (therapist for MB Justice) and Carolyn Reimer (MB Crown Attorney) occurred October 22 over Zoom. Discussion was regarding general risks faced by law students and lawyers regarding mental health issues and stress, how to recognize the signs of stress and trauma, how stress/trauma impact your work, how to deal with stress, the competitiveness of law, imposter syndrome and how to deal with same.
5. Rebecca Bromwich, EDI manager at Gowling joined us via Zoom on November 23 to give a Mental Health First Aid presentation. This was an overview for students, staff and faculty of the basics of mental health, how to notice mental health issues in others, what to do/not do to provide assistance to someone who experiencing a mental health crisis.
6. Shannon Daniels and Carolyn Reimer returned virtually to give a presentation to Assistant Professor David Ireland’s Legal Profession and Professional Responsibility class at the end of term on December 10. Assistant Professor Brandon Trask moderated class discussion. The presentation included practical pointers for law students and lawyers to deal with stress and vicarious trauma related issues. 

Celebrating Accomplishments of Faculty, Students, and Alumni

1. In addition to online teaching, many professors have continued to publish their research throughout the pandemic
2. Students have persevered, competing in moot competitions online, and taking part in extracurricular academic and career-related activities to their benefit
3. We have been increasingly reaching out to our alumni to see what kind of impact their legal educations have had on their careers and their communities

See UM Today Stories:

Professors

• Law professors engage in cross-Canada collaboration on law and disability case book
• Supreme Court of Canada cites law professor’s book in key Human Rights Case
• UM Law Students’ Associate Dean (JD) behind globally-recognized law review
• New book fills gap in research on perpetrators of genocide
• Law Faculty members share knowledge in plain sight and plain language
• Law professor’s accessible first book earns global attention, local award nomination
• Law professor wins Law of Work best paper prize
• COVID and the Constitution

Students

• An education with impact
• What makes you stronger
• Shawn Singh and the President’s Student Leadership Program
• WFP: From the streets to the courtroom
• Manitoba Faculty of Law teams shine at fifth annual Canadian National Negotiation Competition
• Moot News: Team Manitoba takes 3^rd place in National 2021 Sopinka Cup
• Mooting Matters
• Manitoba’s Gale Cup Team places third after decade-long shutout
• Rising to the Charter Challenge
• Celebrating Faculty of Law class of 2021 graduates

Alumni

• Living with law and art
• Memories of Robson Hall
• Delightful conversations and stirring memories: Law Homecoming 2021
• Faculty of Law alumna turns class assignment into TV script
• Alumnus creates scholarship for Black Law Students
• New scholarship fund to honour UM Law alumnus Darius Maharaj Hunter
• Faculty of Law congratulates Professor Emeritus Philip H. Osborne

The case involved the right to safeguard human dignity, freedom of expression, and discrimination against someone who was mocked for physical characteristics. The work referenced was Dr. Short’s oft-cited book “Don’t Be So Gay!”: Queers, Bullying, and Making Schools Safe. Vancouver: UBC Press, 2013.

Dr. Short was cited at paragraph 194 in the reasons of dissenting Judges Abella, Karakatsanis, Martin and Kasirer who wrote, “These types of harm to a person’s right to dignity mirror those caused by bullying, an issue which disproportionately affects young, vulnerable people and which has been addressed by legislation in various provinces and in this Court’s jurisprudence (Jane Bailey, “‘Sexualized Online Bullying’ Through an Equality Lens: Missed Opportunity in AB v. Bragg?” (2014), 59 McGill L.J. 709, at pp. 725‑26; Donn Short, “Don’t Be So Gay!”: Queers, Bullying, and Making Schools Safe (2013); An Act to prevent and stop bullying and violence in schools, S.Q. 2012, c. 19 (“Bill 56”); The Public Schools Amendment Act (Reporting Bullying and Other Harm), S.M. 2011, c. 18; Accepting Schools Act, 2012, S.O. 2012, c. 5; An Act to Amend the Alberta Bill of Rights to Protect Our Children, S.A. 2015, c. 1; An Act to Amend the Education Act, S.N.B. 2012, c. 21; see also Intimate Images and Cyber-protection Act, S.N.S. 2017, c. 7). 

“It was very rewarding to see the work cited,” said Dr. Short, “And, in this instance, I’m glad it was in the dissent!”

His widely-read “Am I Safe Here? LGBTQ Teens and Bullying in Schools” was also published by UBC Press in 2017. Dr. Short has won the UM/UMFA Merit Award for research, service and teaching numerous times, most recently in 2018.

In addition to his scholarship dealing with bullying and safe schools, Dr. Short has written a number of plays dealing with themes of youth and youth violence which have been produced in Los Angeles, London and across Canada. Dr. Short is the recipient of research support from the Law Foundation of British Columbia, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, and numerous other academic honours, awards and prizes. In 2017, Dr. Short was the winner of the inaugural Aaron Berg Award, presented by the Canadian Human Rights Commission, the Manitoba Human Rights Commission and the Manitoba Association for Rights and Liberties, awarded to a person involved in the legal profession who has contributed significantly to the advancement of human rights in Manitoba.

His forthcoming book Making the Case: 2SLGBTQ+ Rights and Religion in Schools is a collaboration with Bruce MacDougall and Paul T. Clarke, and will be published by UBC Press and The University of Chicago Press in 2021.

“It is important when we think of the future to understand the needs of our community,” said Dean of Law, Dr. Richard Jochelson. “With their input, the work of the Strategic Planning Team, and ultimately the decision-making authority of Faculty Council, we can get a sense of where we should grow. We do not intend that the Plan should be so aspirational as to be merely symbolic. It should be an evergreen, living document that we can revisit annually, as we pivot to become an even better institution.”

“The Plan is intended to help us understand who we are in a way that makes us valuable and unique among law schools,” said Dr. Donn Short, committee chair. “For example, we want to ask our stakeholders, ‘What is the meaning of a UM Law legal education? What is our key mission? What are our values? Whom do we serve?’”

The Faculty of Law (UM Law), annually houses about 300 Juris Doctor students, 15 to 20 Master of Laws students, and close to 40 Master of Human Rights students. The Faculty’s small size allows close relationships among professors, students, alumni, members of the Bar, judiciary and staff. Approximately 100 law students graduate each year and go on to finish their training as articling students in the local, national, and sometimes international legal community. UM Law graduates go on to become lawyers, judges, professors, policy-makers, or hold leadership positions in various professional fields including business, academia and politics.

As part of the Strategic Plan development process, the committee intends to conduct a survey of stakeholder groups to appreciate the diverse understandings of the various roles UM Law fulfills and to grasp future possibilities. The survey will be made available in both English and French and will be made available in late fall, 2021. Information will be made available on the Faculty of Law website: umanitoba.ca/law

In addition to Dr. Short, the committee consists of UM Law Faculty members Professors Jennifer L. Schulz, Darcy MacPherson and David Ireland, and staff members Trina McFadyen, Lily Deardorff and Christine Mazur.