Disinformation - Challenges and Dangers to Democracy
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ICJ Canada is pleased to invite you to register for its upcoming event, "Disinformation: Challenges and Dangers to Democracy"! We are excited to be collaborating with the Professional Development Institute and the University of Ottawa's Information Integrity Lab with the Lab's first event. Join us on June 22nd to hear from speakers from academia, civil society, and industry on this challenging and prescient issue. Registration is $20 for the public, but ICJ Canada members with a valid 2022 membership can register free. It's not too late to renew, just click here.
Disinformation has emerged as one of the fundamental challenges facing society. The expression “A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth puts on its boots” has never been more accurate – the rapid development of social media and communication technologies has resulted in an environment that not only aids the spread of disinformation but incentivizes its creation. Disinformation has been used to create and exploit social divisions and to manipulate social discourse, including, and perhaps especially, surrounding politics and elections.
Canada’s resilience to disinformation has been tested these past years with concerted campaigns from foreign adversaries and a thriving domestic disinformation ecosystem – not to mention the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. These dynamics were fully on display with the contentious February Freedom Convoy protests against vaccine mandates in Ottawa and other major Canadian cities. Our speakers will discuss the challenges and dangers to Canadian democracy posed by disinformation.
Speakers
- Kevin Sheives, Associate Director at the International Forum for Democratic Studies, US National Endowment for Democracy
- Eve Gaumond, Director, Innovative Ideas Incubator Program, International Observatory on the Societal Impacts of AI and Digital Technology, Faculty of Law, University of Laval, Quebec
- Chris Tenove, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Political Science, University of British Columbia
- Vivek Krishnamurthy, Samuelson-Glushko Professor of Law and Director of the Samuelson-Glushko Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic (CIPPIC)
- Michele Austin, Head of Policy, Twitter, Canada
- Rachel Curran, Public Policy Manager, Facebook, Canada
First Annual ICJ Canada Rule of Law Lecture, "The Rule of Law in Pandemic Times"
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Monday, October 4th at 3:30 Eastern / 4:30 Atlantic via Zoom
Register Here for free (tinyurl.com/rule-of-law-lecture)
ICJ Canada is pleased to be hosting its first annual Rule of Law Lecture! The event, hosted with the generous cooperation of Dalhousie University's Schulich School of Law, includes a virtual keynote presentation titled “The Rule of Law in Pandemic Times” by one of the leading authorities on the rule of law in Canada, Dr. A. Wayne MacKay, followed by a virtual panel discussion with Hon. Thomas Cromwell and Dr. Sherry Pictou. Schulich School of Law Dean Camille Cameron and ICJ Canada Vice-President Maillet Monette will provide introductory remarks.
Now Accepting Nominations for the 2021 Tarnopolsky Award
Written by AdministratorICJ Canada is pleased to be accepting nominations for the prestigous Tarnopolsky Award for 2021! The Tarnopolsky Award is awarded annually to a resident of Canada who has made an outstanding contribution to human rights, domestically or internationally. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the winner will be presented the award and invited to provide a presentation at an uncoming virtual event.
To nominate someone for the award, please submit the following items to our Exective Director (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) by June 30th, 2021:
- A completed Tarnopolsky Award Nomination Form
- Two letters of support for the candidate's nomination
- A concise curriculum vitae of the nominee
Articles and testimonials may also be submitted. Nominations will stand for three years.
The winner is selection by a committee comprised of one representative from the Canadian Bar Association, the Canadian Judges’ Conference, the Canadian Society of Law Teachers, and the ICJ. The Committee is reconstituted annually.
Regulating the internet – really? Part II: The accountability and enforcement challenges
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Tuesday, May 11 - Wednesday, May 12, 2021 Via Zoom |
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The Canadian government has attempted to extend its regulatory reach over the internet through Bill C-10 (An Act to amend the Broadcasting Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts) and Bill C-11 (Consumer Privacy Protection Act). But the challenges are significant and fundamental: who is accountable between all the actors? The platforms? The app developers? The individuals? Or is anyone accountable at all? And when we have attributed accountability, how do we enforce it without breaching privacy or violating freedom of expression, yet effectively extending the rule of law to the internet? As Canada moves to regulating the internet, it is these two main legal issues that arise: accountability and enforcement. These issues will be tackled in the second edition of the conference “Regulating the Internet – Really?” organized by Dentons, the International Commission of Jurists, ICJ Canada (an international organization created 60 years ago to assert the rule of law as a matter of democracy), and the Professional Development Institute, University of Ottawa. We invite you to a complimentary virtual conference where Parliamentarians, representatives from the social media industry, specialized lawyers, and academics will address the specific challenges of regulating the Internet. Errol Mendes, President of the International Commission of Jurists, ICJ Canada, will provide opening remarks. We hope you are able to join us! Day 1 – Accountability on the internet Moderated by Monica Song, Partner, Dentons Canada LLP, join us on day one to hear about how the Internet has raised new challenges in upholding the rule of law and in defining who is accountable for legal compliance with:
Day 2 – Enforcement on the internet Moderated by Chantal Bernier, Of Counsel and National Practice Leader, Privacy and Cybersecurity, Dentons Canada LLP, join us on day two to hear about the challenges in enforcing the law on the Internet with:
QuestionsIf you have any questions pertaining to this event, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Accreditation
AccessibilityDentons Canada LLP is committed to accessibility for persons with disabilities. Please contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. in advance of the event if you have any particular accommodation requirements. We will work with you to make appropriate arrangements. |
The Rule of Law & Combatting Systemic Discrimination: Policing, Judicial Proceedings, and Corrections
Written by AdministratorThree Part Special Series Event
The Rule of Law & Combatting Systemic Discrimination:
Policing, Judicial Proceedings, and Corrections
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This conference is hosted by the International Commission of Jurists Canada and its President, Professor Errol Mendes and co-sponsored by the Professional Development Institute
This three-part special series will offer high quality presentations and discussions by leading experts on the topic of Combatting Systemic Discrimination in Policing, Judicial Proceedings, and Corrections. The events will be hosted virtually by Zoom, with the meeting links sent to attendees the day prior to each event.
| Event 1: Policing | Event 2: Judicial Proceedings | Event 3: Corrections |
| When: April 9th, 2021 from 1:00 to 3:00pm ET | When: April 29th, 2021 from 1:00 to 3:00pm ET | When: May 17th, 2021 from 1:00 to 3:00pm ET |
| Host: Julianne C. Dunbar, Senior General Counsel & Director General - Military Police Complaints Commission | Host: David Antonyshyn, Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions | Host: Monette Maillet, Executive Director and General Counsel - Office of the Correctional Investigator |
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Each event will be eligible for 2 substantive CPD hours in Ontario for a total of 6 CPD hours (for other provinces please check with your provincial law society).
Registration: Register Here
ICJ Canada members: Free with coupon code provided with confirmation of new membership or membership renewal (To become a member or renew your membership, click here).
Non-members:
1 event: $40
2 events: $80
3 events: $100 (Includes a complimentary ICJ Canada membership for 2021)
An Evening with Ambassador Dominic Barton
When: Wednesday, April 8, 2020 | 6:00 p.m.
Where: University Club, 380 University Avenue, Toronto
Cost: $275 per guests or a table of ten for $2,750
The International Commission of Jurists, Canadian Section, in collaboration with the Professional Development Institute of the University of Ottawa invites you to an evening with Dominic Barton, Canada's Ambassador to the People's Republic of China.
The dinner event will feature a talk by Ambassador Barton on Canada's Relationship with China: Promoting our Interests and Protecting our Values.
Speaker Biography
Mr. Dominic Barton was appointed as Canada’s Ambassador to the People’s Republic of the China by the Right Honourable Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on September 4, 2019.
Prior to his nomination, Ambassador Barton was a Global Managing Partner at McKinsey & Company where he served from 2009 to 2018. Ambassador Barton also served as Chairman of Teck Resources and as Non-Executive Director at the Singtel Group in Singapore and Investor AB in Sweden. He was also a board member of the Olayan Group, a private family-owned company.
In 2016, Ambassador Barton assumed the responsibility of Chair for the Canadian Minister of Finance’s Advisory Council on Economic Growth. He was also the Chair of the Seoul International Business Advisory Council for six years prior to his nomination. Ambassador Barton also served as a Senior Trustee of the Brookings Institution, as a member of the Singapore Economic Development Board’s International Advisory Council, and as a member of the boards of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City and the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada. Mr. Barton is also one of the founders of Focusing Capital on the Long Term (FCLTGlobal).
In 2018, Ambassador Barton was named Chancellor of the University of Waterloo. He has also served as Co-Chair on the Max Bell School of Public Policy Advisory Board at McGill University and on the University of Toronto Psychiatry Campaign Cabinet where he engaged in volunteer support, community outreach and leadership development. In addition to these roles, Ambassador Barton served on the board of the Malala Fund, has been actively involved in the HeForShe initiative, and worked with the Mastercard Foundation to create employment in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Ambassador Barton has co-authored four books, including on topics related to financial management and leadership. He is an Adjunct Professor at Tsinghua University in Beijing, and the recipient of eight honorary doctorates, including from the University of Toronto, the University of British Columbia and the University of Edinburgh.
Ambassador Barton graduated from the University of British Columbia with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Economics and has a Master of Philosophy in Economics from Oxford University, where he studied as a Rhodes Scholar.
Ambassador Barton was born in Kampala, Uganda, in September 1962. He is married and has three children.
To purchase a table of ten, please contact Marie Dickinson at 613-562-5272 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
The International Commission of Justists Canada, the Human Rights Research and Education Centre (HRREC) and the Chair of Ukrainian Studies at the University of Ottawa cordially invite you to an event featuring the Ukrainian filmmaker and human rights activist Oleh Sentsov.
Oleh Sentsov, an internationally known documentary film director, was an active Maidan supporter, in Kyïv and his native Simferopol, Crimea. After the annexation in 2014, he was arrested on fabricated charges of “terrorism.” In contravention of international law, he was imposed Russian citizenship and sent to Russia, where he was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment. His arrest, trial, and punishment in Siberian prisons drew international condemnation. Mr Sentsov was released in 2019 as part of a exchange of prisoners between Russia and Ukraine.
The event, “A Conversation with Oleg Sentsov” will be moderated by John Packer, HRREC Director, and will feature Dominique Arel, Chair of Ukrainian Studies, and the Hon. Andriy Shevchenko, Ambassador of Ukraine to Canada. Mr Sentsov will be speaking in Russian, with consecutive translation into English. The question period will be conducted in English and French.
The event is co-sponsored by the Canadian Section of the International Commission of Jurists and is made possible thanks to the support of the Embassy of Ukraine to Canada and the Ukrainian Canadian Congress.
It will be held on Wednesday, February 5, between 2.30-4.30 PM, in the HRREC Seminar Room, in Room 570 (5th Floor) of Fauteux Hall, 57 Louis Pasteur, on University of Ottawa Campus. The campus map can be accessed at http://www.uottawa.ca/maps/. Fauteux Hall is identified on the map as “FTX” and is located between University Private and Thomas More Private.
Since seating is limited, people interested in attending are strongly encouraged to freely pre-register by sending an email to the Chair of Ukrainian Studies (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.). The Human Rights Research and Education Centre can also be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
2020 Tarnopolsky Award Winner, Renu Mandhane
Written by AdministratorNovember 30 2019. OTTAWA.
The International Commission of Jurists- Canada (ICJ-C) is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2020 Walter Tarnopolsky Human Rights Award, the highest form of recognition for contribution to the promotion and protection of human rights and civil liberties that can be granted by the ICJ-C.
The Walter Tarnopolsky Award recognizes individuals in the legal community, as well as institutions and organizations, for their outstanding national contribution in the field of human rights and civil liberties. Outstanding achievement is measured by the recipients’ level of excellence and initiative, their sustained body of work, peer recognition and the recipients’ broad impact inside and outside the Canadian legal community.
The ICJ-C is pleased to announce the recipient of the 2020 Award is the Chief Commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Commission, Renu Mandhane. You can read Ms. Mandhane’s biography here.
The recipient of the 2020 Walter Tarnopolsky Prize will receive her Award in the form of a specially designed medal at a major event in the first part of 2020. Details of which will follow. We encourage those that have been nominated in the past to seek to be re-nominated for 2021 and beyond. Further details on the Award and method of nomination and past recipients can be found at the ICJ-C website here.
For more information about ICJ-C and the Walter Tarnopolsky Prize, please contact the Executive Director of ICJ Canada, Stéphanie Plante This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Professor Errol Mendes, LSM, O. Ont, FRSC
President, ICJ-C
Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa
Ottawa,Ontario
28 May 2019: The Rule of Law: Is it at Risk? The Role of Courts, Human Rights Commissions & Administrative Bodies in Preserving the Rule of Law
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Hotel Bonaventure Montreal, 900 Rue de la Gauchetiere Oest, Montreal, QC H5A 1E4
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | 613-562-5199
$149 Registration
In countries across the world, the rule of law is under threat. What is Canada’s experience? Have courts and administrative bodies been impacted? Join us for an event hosted by the International Commission of Jurists Canada and the Canadian Human Rights Commission.
As stated by former Chief Justice Beverly McLachlan: “...without administrative tribunals, the rule of law in the modern regulatory state would falter and fail.”
Join human rights advocates, jurists and legal experts as we explore the risks facing Canadian judicial and quasi-judicial bodies and preserving independence and the rule of law.
This afternoon event at Hotel Bonaventure, in Montreal, is on the last day of the Council of Canadian Administrative Tribunals' (CCAT) 35th Annual Symposium: Common Challenges, Diverse Solutions: Administrative Justice in a World of Change. This event will take place on May 28, 2019 from 1:45 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.Click here to proceed to the event page for registration.
AGENDA
Introductory Remarks:
Marie-Claude Landry, Ad. E., Chief Commissioner of CHRC
Keynote Speakers:
The Honourable Justice Elizabeth Corte, former Chief Justice, Court of Québec
Panelists:
Michael Gottheil, Chief of the Commission and Tribunals, Alberta Human Rights Commission
Howard Sapers, International Expert Advisor on Prison Reform, former Federal Correctional Investigator and former Ontario Independent Adviser on Prison Reform.
Charles Murray, New Brunswick Ombud, New Brunswick Ombud’s Office
This event is moderated by Professor Errol P. Mendes, President, International Commission of Jurists-Canada
June 10, 2019: Facing Changes in the Military While Respecting the Rule of Law: Emerging Responses and Legal Issues
Written by AdministratorUniversity of Ottawa, FSS 4007, Social Science Building, 120 University Private, Ottawa, Ontario
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | 613-562-5199
$275 Registration
Please join us on June 10th, 2019 for our conference titled "Facing Changes in the Military While Respecting the Rule of Law: Emerging Responses and Legal Issues", co-hosted with the University of Ottawa Professional Development Institute. This conference will be a unique one-day program designed to offer high quality presentations and discussions by leading experts on the following topics:
- Military recruiting and retention in the 21st Century;
- Legal/ethical challenges and advantages of key technologies applied to military operations;
- Social media, cybercrime and the military: security issues, extremism, freedom of expression/association, investigations and actions; and
- Operational legal issues associated with how military forces face contemporary and emerging threats to national security
This conference is eligible for 7 substantive CPD hours, and is eligible to go towards the requirements of the S.E.T. certificate of professional development of the Institute of Professional Development. For more information, or to register for this conference, please follow this link to the event page.
More...
Seasons greetings from ICJ Canada,
2018 was an eventful year, and we would like to take this opportunity to reflect on the work we have done protecting human rights, the rule of law, and the independence of the judiciary. We would also like to look to 2019 and give our members a hint of what we have planned ahead.
2018 in Review
ICJ Canada was active in responding to pressing issues being faced both within Canada and internationally.
In April, ICJ Canada and CIPS hosted NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg for a town hall discussion on the importance of NATO during a time in which the rules-based international order is being challenged:
In May, we hosted a High Level Discussion on the Role of the Canadian Ombuds Person for Responsible Enterprise that attracted participants from the private sector, civil society, and regulators:
In October, we supported Senator Kim Pate in her call against mandatory minimum penalties through Bill S-251, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (independence of the judiciary) and the make related amendments) :
ICJ Canada also continues to take a principled stance in calling for action against the ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya people in Myanmar alongside our civil society partners from across the world. Board Member John Packer in particular was quite busy on this file, and was featured in an article from the Globe and Mail on the topic. In August, we hosted a symposium on the Rohingya Crisis:
ICJ Canada President Professor Errol Mendes has working on the topic of press freedom and the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashaggi. Professor Mendes participated in a news conference with former justice minister Irwin Cotler and several Parliamentarians on November 8th, 2018. Professor Mendes also contributed an Op-ed to the Globe and Mail that you can read here.
Members of ICJ Canada also had distinguished years individually. Professor Mendes received a Senate 150th Anniversary Medal in recognition of his work on the rule of law, human rights, and anti-discrimination. ICJ Canada Board Member Pierre Dalphond was appointed as an Independent Senator with the intention of assisting with the Senate's modernization and helping it fulfill its responsibility as a chamber of sober second thought, examination and inquiry.
Lastly, ICJ Canada would like to again congratulate Professor Penelope Simons on being selected as the 2018 Tarnoposky Award winner. Professor Simons received the award on October 31st at the reception following the event "70 Years On... is Humanity Ready for a World Court of Human Rights?", hosted by the Human Rights Research and Education Center and chaired by Professor Packer.
Looking to 2019
ICJ Canada has several events lined up for early 2019. First, we will be co-hosting a talk with Bill Browder, who will be speaking on how he became President Putin's nemesis with his tireless world-wide campaigning on "The Magnitsky Act". You can see the full details of the event and buy tickets for Bill Browder: From Russia's largest foreign investor to President Putin's Public Enemy No. 1 here now.
Looking further ahead, Chantal Bernier will be be holding an event on the regulation of the Internet, hate speech, and privacy in April. Monette Maillet will be holding an event on commissions, tribunals, and the rule of law in May. Julianne Dunbar and David Antonyshyn will be holding an event on military justice, technology, and the rule of law on June 10th, 2019. For more information on any of these events, please contact Stephanie Plante at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
ICJ Canada relies on the support and expertise of its members to continue its mission of protecting human rights, the rule of law, and the independence of the judiciary. If you have any thoughts on, or would like to contribute to, any of the events identified above, please let us know.
Additionally, if you have not already, please consider renewing your ICJ Canada membership for 2019 using the button below. We are looking to expand our membership next year, so if you have any friends or colleagues that would be interesting in supporting assisting us in achieving our mandate please consider suggesting they join us as well.
Best wishes for the holidays!
2018 Tarnopolsky Award Winner, Penelope Simons
Written by AdministratorOn October 31st, 2018, ICJ Canada recognized Professor Penelope Simons as the 2018 recipient of the Walter S. Tarnopolsky award, which is given annually to an individual who has made a significant contribution to human rights in Canada or abroad. The award ceremony took place in at the University of Ottawa, Faculty of Law's atria at the reception following the event "70 Years On... is Humanity Ready for a World Court of Human Rights?", hosted by the Human Rights Research and Education Center and chaired by ICJ Canada board member John Packer.
Prior to taking up her position at the Faculty of Law at the University of Ottawa, Penelope was a Senior Lecturer in Law at Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, UK. She was called to the British Columbia Bar in 1996 and practiced corporate/commercial law with McCarthy Tétrault LLP. She has also worked in the nongovernmental sector on peace and disarmament issues.
Penelope has been engaged in research on corporate human rights accountability for over a decade. In December 1999 she participated in the Canadian Assessment Mission to Sudan (the Harker Mission), appointed by Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, to investigate allegations of slavery as well as links between oil development in Sudan and violations of human rights. Her current research is focused on the human rights implications of domestic and extraterritorial corporate activity, state responsibility for corporate complicity in human rights violations, as well as the intersections between transnational corporate activity, human rights and international economic law.
Penelope teaches international human rights law, business organizations, public international law and a course on transnational corporations, human rights and international trade and investment law. Her most recent work involved research with UN High Commissioner for Human Right’s Accountability and Remedy Project.
Congratulations Professor Simons!
Statement on the 70th Anniversary of the Genocide Convention and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Written by AdministratorIn this month which marks the 70 anniversary of the Genocide Convention, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Canada should demonstrate its profound commitment to both Conventions by actions that prevent the promise of “never again” becoming the reality of “yet again” as we are seeing too often, since the Second World War demonstrated most recently by the continuing unfolding of the genocide in Myanmar against the Rohingya people.
The International Commission of Jurists, Canada asks the Canadian government to demonstrate leadership by demanding effective international efforts to protect the Rohingya that remain in Myanmar while also ensuring that any attempts to repatriate them back to Myanmar is not sending them back into a continuing form of genocidal repression. This is the minimum that our commitment to the Genocide Convention, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and our own commitment to the global rule of law demands of us.
Professor Errol P. Mendes
President, International Commission of Jurists, Canada
ICJ Canada cohosts symposium on the Rohingya Crisis
Written by Administrator
On August 25th, ICJ Canada board member John Packer and the Human Rights Research and Education Centre co-hosted a Symposium on the Legal Dimensions of the Rohingya Crisis with the help of guests such as David Palumba-Liu from Stanford University and Ashley S. Kinseth from the Stateless Dignity Program. The symposiums programme is attached to this post. The symposium is well time with the release of the United Nation Human Rights Council's Report of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar today on 27 August 2018. The UNHRC's report describes that the Rohingya crisis as a foreseeable, planned, and enduring human rights catastrophe, and makes several strong findings and recommendations.
ICJ Canada president Errol Mendes is urging Canada and all nations that are signatories to the 1948 Genocide Convention to support the UN report that Myanmar’s top military generals, including Commander-in-Chief Senior-General Min Aung Hlaing, must be investigated and prosecuted for genocide in the north of Rakhine State, as well as for crimes against humanity and war crimes in Rakhine, Kachin and Shan States. See the UN Press Release: https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=23475&LangID=E