“The Desautels Centre is growing and it will take a village to ensure its success,” said Dr. Richard Jochelson, Dean of Law. “Congratulations to all our new appointments in these important roles. We look forward to a bright new future at the Desautels Centre.”

Since its inception in 2007, the Desautels Centre has undergone a number of stages of growth in its progress towards finding a balance between providing effective experiential learning opportunities for students and serving Manitobans needing help with business law matters. Partly through the L. Kerry Vickar Business Law Centre for-credit clinical course, the Desautels Centre provides future lawyers and their clients with a better understanding of the opportunities and challenges facing privately held businesses. The Centre’s areas of strength include Law and Technology, Business Organizations, Business Transactions and Obligations, Financing and Insolvency, and Alternative Dispute Resolution.

Darcy MacPherson, Professor, Faculty of Law

As the Desautels Centre’s Research Director, Professor MacPherson will serve as Faculty editor of the Desautels Review of Private Enterprise & Law, including its paper competitions and social media activities. He will run the Desautels Research Seed Funds competition, organize regular meetings of the Desautels Research Cluster and develop new initiatives to promote and celebrate private enterprise research. This will include developing and organizing a Desautels Conference, forming strategic partnerships with publishers, publications and scholarly associations to advance the mandate of the Desautels Centre, and building a broad network of Affiliated Researchers.

“To me, the Desautels Centre provides the Faculty of Law with a unique opportunity to do research and other programming that will be of relevance, not only to Manitoba, but also to private enterprises across the country as they develop, grow and prosper,” said MacPherson.  “Private enterprise and the law that surrounds it are key economic drivers in Manitoba and in all of Canada.

My goal is that the Centre and its Associates will provide top-flight research for entrepreneurs and others, including our students, who will have a front-row seat and immediate opportunities to learn while they are at Robson Hall, and the ability to use that knowledge for the benefit of their business clients when they leave us.”

Dr. Rebecca Jaremko-Bromwich

As Academic Co-Directors, Professor Trask and Dr. Jaremko-Bromwich will run the Desautels Centre Blog, Case Reporter and social media, plan and organize several Desautels lectures per year, and develop and administer new student prizes and awards related to private enterprise. They will also oversee curriculum development including a forthcoming Private Enterprise Concentration and the development of new courses related to private enterprise. Finally, the newest and most exciting development for which they will be responsible, will be bringing to fruition a new joint JD/MBA program in collaboration with the Asper Chair in International Business and Trade Law.

“I am tremendously excited about what we can build together here with the Desautels Centre and L. Kerry Vickar Business Law Clinic, collaboratively providing a hub for business excellence in Manitoba by serving access to Justice, and leading research and education,” said Jaremko-Bromwich.

Brandon Trask, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Law. Photo Credit: Dr. Amar Khoday.

“I’m honoured to have the opportunity to help the Desautels Centre at this exciting stage in its development, said Trask. “In addition to assisting with the growth of the academic program, I look forward to helping to foster partnerships and build important connections across disciplines, institutions, and organizations. It’s vital to recognize that it is possible—and indeed essential—to have success in private enterprise connected to prosperity for society as a whole.”

MacPherson has numerous private law publications and practice expertise having been an associate lawyer at what was then known as Tory, Tory, DesLauriers and Binnington (now Torys LLP). A Cambridge graduate, he has expertise in Corporate Law, Agency and Partnerships, Commercial Law, Contracts, Advanced Corporations, and has, over a number of years, been instrumental in coaching the Corporate/Securities Law Moot. He has also become an expert on corporate criminal liability and brings experience as a co-managing editor of the Manitoba Law Journal to the portfolio.

Trask completed graduate work at the University of Toronto under the supervision of Professor Michael Trebilcock, specializing in the area of law and economics. He also has research expertise in political economy, economic regulation, hydro-electric regulation and labour negotiations. Trask also dealt with white collar crime files during his extensive practice career with the Crown.

In addition to her doctoral studies, Jaremko-Bromwich has an MBA and mediation training from Harvard. She has years of experience with Gowling WLG and was involved in ensuring big firm corporate and commercial practice was apprised of EDI fundamentals. She has taught at the Sprott School of Business and has also been a successful business person, running a multi-million dollar business.  YWCA Woman of Distinction Award Winner.  Both of the Academic Co-Directors have extensive publication output.

Dr. Laura Reimer, who currently serves as Master of Human Rights Practicum Program Coordinator, will assist the Desautels Centre with program development in the JD/MBA and related areas and provide program development support for the Directors in running the blogs, case reporter, guest speaker events, conferences and the Desautels Review.   Reimer, in addition to her doctoral training, has multiple credentials in mediation, extensive experience in program development and also brings business expertise from time working in Human Resources with The Bay, Steinbach Credit Union, Mordyck Auctions, Momentum Software, Online Business Systems and in providing training in workplace conflict. She has an extensive publication record and related expertise in Indigenous education policy, and is currently involved in other program development responsibilities at the Faculty of Law.

Six externships in addition to the new Rights Clinic and the continuing Public Interest Law Centre (PILC) clinic were open for applications this summer. These included:

• Legal Help Centre
• University of Manitoba Community Law Centre (UMCLC)
• Manitoba Law Reform Commission
• L. Kerry Vickar Business Law Clinic
• Cochrane Saxberg Indigenous Community Clinic
• RobsonCrim Attorney General Externship

Clerkships with the Manitoba Court of Queen’s Bench and the Manitoba Court of Appeal are also staples of hands-on for-credit opportunities available to third-year law students.

The Legal Help Centre, UMCLC, the Manitoba Law Reform Commission and the Vickar Business Law Clinic are mainstays of the annual roster of externships. This year, the Faculty of Law celebrates a 50-year partnership with Legal Aid Manitoba in running the UMCLC, in addition to implementing a new expansion of services that will see students now helping with a wider range of files. Law students have assisted at the Legal Help Centre almost since its origins in 2011.

As with other clinics, the new Cochrane Saxberg Indigenous Community Clinic will provide hands-on opportunities for students to interview clients, provide counsel, develop and manage client files, and conduct qualitative research. Students will especially have an opportunity to learn theory about decolonizing and Indigenizing law, and integrate these principles into the practice of law.

The RobsonCrim Attorney General externship will see law students placed with the Manitoba Department of Justice’s Crown Law Analysis and Development department. Students will work directly with legal counsel and policy analysts at the branch to help with related legal research, cross-jurisdiction analysis and policy development.

With the growing number of clinics and engaged students, the Faculty has appointed Associate Professor David Ireland as Director of Clinics. He will be working with a team that includes Assistant Professor Brandon Trask (clinical professor), Senior Clinical Instructors Elizabeth McCandless and Dr. Rebecca Jaremko Bromwich, along with staff members Marc Kruse (Indigenous Legal Studies Coordinator) and Trina McFadyen (Director of Professional Development).

Business Law Clinic

Operating virtually for the past two years of the pandemic, the Business Law Clinic, under the direction of practicing professional lawyer Nick Slonosky [LLB/1979] and retired faculty member, former Associate Dean (JD) Lisa Fainstein [LLB/ 1979], the clinic has provided law students with hands-on experience advising small business clients while counting as a for-credit course. Starting in the fall term, practitioner Rebecca Jaremko Bromwich will join the team as a Faculty presence for the Clinic.

“This new space is part of a transformational set of opportunities for hands-on clinical experience for our students,” said Dr. Richard Jochelson, Dean of Law. “The space will not only be a clinical hub but a site of discovery and collaboration as the clinical team reaches out to partners like the Stu Clark Centre and North Forge and beyond to become the Manitoba engine room for access to innovation.”

UMCLC expansion, Indigenous, Mediation and Rights Clinics

In addition to the L. Kerry Vickar Business Law Clinic’s ongoing operations, UM Law will be increasing the number of clinical experience opportunities next year with expanded services now available to Manitobans at the University of Manitoba Community Law Centre (UMCLC). Through an agreement with Legal Aid Manitoba, law students will be able to assist with family law, prison law and Indigenous legal services in addition to criminal law matters as before.

An Indigenous Community Legal Clinic will be for-credit starting in Fall 2022, thanks to the help of Marc Kruse [JD/2015], Indigenous Legal Studies Coordinator. A Mediation Clinic course, to be guided by Professor Jennifer Schulz and Chief Justice Glenn Joyal (Court of Queen’s Bench), is slated to begin in 2023. Also, a new Rights Clinic, which is being developed and supervised by Professor Brandon Trask, will be launched later this year, with a for-credit course being offered in Fall 2022. The Rights Clinic will be a site of innovation, focusing primarily on environmental rights and civil rights work pertaining to matters of importance for vulnerable Manitobans.

Launch of Robust Clinical Team

To facilitate the expansion of its clinical programs, UM Law has proposed a position of Director of Clinics to coordinate the increasing number of clinics, experiential learning opportunities, moots, competitions, articling integration and development of clinical and experiential programing while helping to administer the work of a newly formed clinical team.

The clinical team is comprised of faculty members Associate Professor David Ireland (clinical professor; clinical coordinator), Assistant Professor Brandon Trask (clinical professor), Senior Instructor Elizabeth McCandless (clinical instructor), and Senior Instructor Dr. Rebecca Jaremko Bromwich (clinical instructor), along with staff members Marc Kruse (Indigenous Legal Studies Coordinator) and Trina McFadyen (Director of Professional Development).

Ireland possesses years of experience representing clients in all levels of court, including the Supreme Court of Canada. He teaches Criminal Law, Evidence and Trial Advocacy at Robson Hall while maintaining a practice at the law firm of Cochrane Saxberg, specializing in public law with an emphasis on criminal litigation and appeals. Ireland has experience both prosecuting and defending criminal charges as well as proficiency in public inquiries, inquests and human rights litigation.

Trask is a practicing lawyer focusing on public law who worked as a Crown prosecutor in Newfoundland and Labrador and later in Nova Scotia, most recently with the Appeals and Special Prosecutions Section of the Nova Scotia Public Prosecution Service. While practicing as a Crown prosecutor, Trask was involved with hundreds of cases across two levels of court in Newfoundland and Labrador and three levels of court in Nova Scotia. He also regularly appeared on behalf of the Crown at the Criminal Code Review Board in Nova Scotia. He is an Assistant Professor at Robson Hall teaching Constitutional Law and Evidence this year, and will additionally be teaching Criminal Law, Mental Health and Criminal Law, and the Rights Clinic courses next year.

McCandless and Jaremko Bromwich are both seasoned lawyers who bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the clinical program at UM Law. McCandless most recently served as director and legal counsel at the Manitoba Law Reform Commission and holds an LL.M. from UM Law. Jaremko Bromwich practices law at Gowling WLG Canada where she has acted as the firm’s national manager of equity, diversity and inclusion. She holds a Ph.D. from Carleton University’s Department of Law and Legal Studies.

Kruse returned to his alma mater of Robson Hall after practicing criminal law at Rees Dyck Rogala Law Offices, and engaging in research on curriculum reform. He has published work on the moral foundations of professional ethics, social justice education, and Indigenous educational ethics.

McFadyen, also an alum of Robson Hall, was an associate at Thompson Dorfman Sweatman practicing civil litigation with an emphasis on commercial litigation, employment and labour law. She was later Legal Counsel at the Great-West Life Assurance Company, practicing civil law. She has returned to the Faculty as Director of Professional Development.

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

Brewing over at least the past decade, movement towards curriculum Indigenization at the Faculty of Law came to a head this summer when the new Dean of Law Dr. Richard Jochelson, a professor with the faculty since 2016, reinvigorated an advisory group now called the Truth and Reconciliation Action Team. The Team consists of professors, instructors and practicing professional lawyers with deeply-rooted experience and knowledge in Aboriginal law, Indigenous Legal Orders, teaching and practice. Most also have personal family connections to Indigenous communities across Canada.

This Team is working to advise the Faculty and take action to implement long-anticipated changes to the curriculum. The Team builds further on a mandate adopted by the Law Faculty Council (LFC) in 2016 when former Dean Dr. Lorna Turnbull brought a motion to “investigate options for fulfilling elements of Call to Action #28 in existing courses and programs in a more coordinated way.”

“I am most grateful and excited that this group of alumni and advisors have agreed to share their time, talent and wisdom to move the Faculty of Law into the future,” said Jochelson. “Each voice on this team is critical to ensure we are on the right track with Indigenizing our curriculum, improving the student experience and reaching out to untapped potential students. As such, it is equally critical that we include the student voices of the Manitoba Indigenous Law Students Association.”

Team member Stacey Soldier graduated from the Faculty of Law in 2007. “I am so pleased to be a part of a historical endeavor,” she said, regarding her involvement. “The years I spent at Robson Hall had little to offer on Indigenous people and perspectives, with the exception of a portion in Constitutional Law and an upper-level course. I would not have made it through without the support of Wendy Whitecloud, whose steady and constant presence was a lifeline.”

Soldier is pleased with changes made thus far. “Marc Kruse, the new Indigenous Student Support Coordinator is already off to an amazing start and his mentorship and enthusiasm are invaluable,” she added.

Likewise, Team member and Robson Hall alumna Jessica Saunders [JD/2012] said, “During my time at Robson Hall, professors like Wendy Whitecloud and Lorna Turnbull worked in their own ways to advance reconciliation and support Indigenous students. Now, those efforts are being made full circle by Robson Hall. These efforts will go a long way to ensure future lawyers, academics, law and policy makers are advancing reconciliation in their own ways and on a wider scale.”

Given this history, these changes have been a long time coming, and are welcomed by members of the Faculty of Law community. Even as recently as two years ago, “Indigenous content was really missing from the majority of my first-year courses and it was disappointing to see,” said third-year student Katie Rothwell, an active member of the Manitoba Indigenous Law Students Association (MILSA) who is set to graduate in the spring of 2022. “However, it’s encouraging to hear from current first-year students that there is a real prioritization of Indigenous content in their courses.”

One such first-year student, Melinda Moch, was pleased to see consistent commentary being made on Indigenous matters in her first-term courses. “Our orientation days spotlighted many Indigenous voices and many of our first few weeks of classes had Indigenous content shared by outside sources,” she said. “I was pleased to see that a distinction is being made between Aboriginal Law (relating to Canada’s legislation and laws pertaining to the Indian Act and Indigenous persons) and Indigenous Legal Orders (being the laws of Canada’s Inuit, First Nations and Metis peoples) and I believe that each of our professors acknowledged this distinction at one point or another.”

Since the Faculty adopted Call to Action #28 in 2016, a number of dedicated courses have delivered Indigenous content to students at Robson Hall including:

• Aboriginal Law – Criminal Justice and Family Law
• Aboriginal Peoples and the Law
• Indigenous Economic Development and the Law
• Oral History, Indigenous Peoples, and the Law

No less than 24 courses in the Faculty’s catalogue also contain Indigenous-related units of study for a substantial period of the course offering, in addition to doctrinal and clinical learning. These include such mandatory courses as:

• Administrative Law
• Constitutional Law
• Evidence
• Legal Systems
• Legal Profession and Professional Responsibility
• Property

This fall, the Faculty took its first-year curriculum a step further, first, as Moch noted, by incorporating significant content into its orientation days, followed by educational activities implanted into the mandatory first-year Legal Systems course. Dean Jochelson’s orientation address was informed by findings of the TRC. Faculty alumni and Indigenous members of the practicing bar, Stacey Soldier and Sacha Paul, gave a “Welcome from the Bar” address, and brought welcome from their respective Treaty lands. Law Orientation’s Keynote address was given by Canadian Senator Mary Jane McCallum who spoke about her role as a law maker and how her experiences in residential schools informed her perspective and law-making mission.

The Legal Systems course that Moch and her fellow first-year classmates have experienced in their first term was facilitated by the Manitoba Museum and included a modules involving discussion of the original spirit and intent of the Treaties, their foundational importance, and the basis of all kinds of law and how these discussions create the possibility of a moral inflection point in relations with First Nations peoples. Other experiences included elders and teachers from Roseau, Peguis and Berens First Nations, plus guest speakers Elder Harry Bone, Manitoba Treaty Commissioner Loretta Ross, Former Treaty Three Grand Chief Diane Kelly, and UM Faculty of Law alumna and Athabasca University Assistant Professor, Myra Tait. Professor Turnbull is the lead instructor for this course in collaboration with Ontario-based instructor and lawyer, Dr. Rebecca Bromwich-Jaremko.

Learning about these curriculum updates, third-year student Rothwell said, “I think it is crucial to introduce Indigenous content as early on as possible because it is such an important topic. Knowing that professors and instructors are making a point to introduce and incorporate Indigenous content into first-year courses, such as Legal Systems and Methods is a step in the right direction; although there is still much work to be done, it is one positive step.”

In answer to what she hopes to see improve with these initiatives, Moch said, “I look forward to seeing an increase in course content relating to Indigenous peoples in the future and specifically a separate course offering specifically relating to the law and Indigenous peoples.” Further, she added, “I would acknowledge the hard work of our Professors to rethink and reformat their commentary in this regard and have personally (happily) noted their thought-provoking, open-ended questions when discussing jurisprudence that reflects Canada’s colonial foundation.”

More updates are coming. This past summer, the Faculty hired Marc Kruse [JD/2015], practicing lawyer and research scholar specializing in the Indigenization of curricula. Kruse plays several roles at the Faculty including supporting Indigenous students, working with Faculty members to review their course curricula and help improve Indigenous content. Retired Faculty member Wendy Whitecloud, one of the architects of the Aboriginal Justice Inquiry, has also been retained to support Kruse and students.

“I was hired to continue the Indigenous student support work of Wendy Whitecloud and bring a new addition to the position for curriculum development,” said Kruse. “When I joined the Faculty, the Truth and Reconciliation Action Team had already been formed. With their support we were able to develop a new course which fulfills the TRC Call to Action 28.”

This new course, recently passed by the Law Faculty Council, is set to be mandatory for all second-year law students and was developed with the addition of Indigenous perspectives to first year courses to ensure that it would not be a standalone class. “Our new course continues discussions of Indigenous legal issues started in first year and will help our students develop a deeper understanding of Indigenous worldviews,” Kruse explained. “Indigenizing our curriculum and those of all law schools in Canada is necessary for meaningful discussions about reconciliation.”

He continued, “Non-Indigenous Canadians and Indigenous folk need to see each other as equals and to do so, both sides need to have respect for each other; this respect means learning about each other’s laws and worldviews. Our new class is the next step in developing a curriculum which prioritizes the knowledge students will need to take part in and lead Canada’s reconciliation efforts.”

As the Faculty of Law’s Truth and Reconciliation Action Team rolls out more changes in the coming months, law students at the University of Manitoba and the broader legal community can expect to see such progress as the hiring of teaching staff who will be actively involved in the Indigenization of the law program including developing the Faculty’s teaching and clinical curriculum; the hiring of a Faculty member to help Indigenize the legal curriculum and develop an Indigenous-focused research program with an eye to meeting the TRC Calls to Action; development of an endowed Chair in Indigenous Economic Reconciliation; and implementation of further workshops aimed at educating students and the practicing bar around Gladue principles, and Indigenous People and the Criminal Justice System.

“When it comes to changes being made to implement Calls to Action and to advance reconciliation,” Saunders reflected, “the Hon. Murray Sinclair has said that we must ask, “what will this do to change the relationship between Indigenous peoples and Canada?”. Providing a foundation for Indigenous Laws and Legal Orders, honoring the stories, voices and vision of Indigenous students and their forebears impacted by Indian Residential Schools and the Sixties Scoop systems, are just some of the impactful changes Robson Hall is making to contribute to a relationship based on respect.”