On April 4th, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg spoke at a CÉPI - CIPS Town Hall discussion on the importance of NATO during a time in which the rules-based international order is being challenged. ICJ Canada President Errol Mendes joined Mr. Stoltenberg on stage as host and discussion moderator.

Jens Stoltenberg is Norwegian and held various posts in the government including Prime Minister of Norway from 2005-2013

During his tenure as Prime Minister, Mr Stoltenberg frequently called for NATO to focus on security challenges close to Allied territory.

Mr Stoltenberg is a strong supporter of enhanced transatlantic cooperation, including better burden-sharing across the Atlantic. He sees NATO and the EU as complementary organisations in terms of securing peace and development in Europe and beyond.

Mr Stoltenberg has had a number of international assignments. These include chairing the UN High-level Panel on System-wide Coherence and the High-level Advisory Group on Climate Change Financing. He was also UN Special Envoy on Climate Change.

Happy New Year!

May 2018 bring you a peace filled life, warmth and togetherness with your work, friends, family and much prosperity. ICJ Canada’s first order of business will be to get our podcast series off the ground and we want to hear from you! What topics would like covered? What are the pressing legal issues facing Canada today?  Are there any legal actors (judges, professors, lawyers, plaintiffs) we should profile or interview?

Send us a quick e-mail at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and let us know by next Friday, January 19, 2018. We would love to hear from you!

We would also encourage anyone who has not already purchased a membership for 2018 to please consider doing so. Your support is essential in allowing ICJ Canada to do projects such as these podcasts and advocate for the rule of law, judicial independence, and human rights in Canada. 

Bonne année!

Que cette nouvelle année vous apporte la réussite dans tout ce que vous entreprenez et que le bonheur soit dans vos coeurs et dans ceux de vos proches. Nous sommes en train de préparer la programmation pour 2018 et notre premier ordre du jour sera de démarrer notre série de baladodiffusions.  Nous avons décidé de solliciter nos membres pour voirs quels thématiques ils aimeraient abordés. Quels sujets aimeriez-vous couvrir? Quels sont les problèmes juridiques pressants auxquels le Canada est confronté aujourd'hui? Y a-t-il des intervenants juridique (juges, professeurs, avocats, plaignants) que nous devrions interviewer?

Envoyez-nous un courriel à This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. d'ici le vendredi 19 janvier 2018 avec vos suggestions!

Nous encourageons également toute personne qui n'a pas déjà acheté une adhésion pour 2018 de cliquer ici. Votre soutien est essentiel pour permettre à la CIJ - Canada de réaliser des projets tels que les balados et de défendre la primauté du droit, l'indépendance judiciaire et les droits de la personne au Canada.

ICJ Canada would like to invite you to attend the Canada 150 Conference on Innovation and Globalization. This conference aims to facilitate the networking and collaboration necessary to develope creative solutions to existing and imminent challenges as well as strategies to identify and capitalize on new opportunities. It will take place on November 29 to December 1 at the Global Centre for Pluralism at 330 Sussex Drive in Ottawa. This three day conference is being hosted in co-operation with the University of Ottawa with ICJ Canada President Errol Mendes acting as the Academic Director. 

ICJ Canada will be awarding the Tarnopolsky Award to Senator Murray Sinclair for his distinguished career and work on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission on the second day of the event. ICJ Canada members have already been invited to attend this conference for free, and everyone is welcome to register for this conference at the following link: http://trk.cp20.com/click/knajp-cb3g7x-5lpfxmd3/. 

ICJ Canada was thrilled at the turnout for the Canada's Constitutional Democracy: The 150th Anniversary Celebration book launch! This event was hosted by ICJ Canada President and general editor for the book Errol Mendes, and Senator Marilou McPhedran who also contributed a wonderful chapter on the efforts of Canadian women to acheive substantive equality through the Charter. 

In attendance were guests such as John Packer, Elizabeth May, Stéphane Beaulac, and many other Parliamentarians and contributors. 

You can order this landmark constitutional law and historical text celebrating Canada's 150th anniversary of Confederation here: 

https://store.lexisnexis.ca/en/categories/shop-by-jurisdiction/federal-13/canadas-constitutional-democracy-the-150th-anniversary-celebration-skusku-cad-6616/details

ICJ Canada is now on social media! Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ICJCanada/ or on Twitter https://twitter.com/icjcanada

ICJ Canada has published a unique collection of essays on the occasion of the 150th Anniversary of Canadian Confederation. Canada and the Rule of Law: 150 Years after Confederation / Le Canada et la primauté du droit: 150 ans après la Confédération features 35 short, captivating pieces by jurists from across Canada, interpreting the theme in diverse ways.

Topics addressed in the book include the Canadian ‘origin myth’, the interpretation of the rule of law in Canadian constitutional jurisprudence, the relationship between access to justice and the rule of law, the role of members of the judicial profession in relation to the rule of law, and the need for a rule of law that upholds fundamental human rights. Authors identify areas in which our continued vigilance and commitment to improvement is critical for ensuring a strong rule of law, particularly in relation to human rights. Several essays in the book focus on reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in Canada, and advocate for a rule of law that respects Indigenous laws. The essays are written in both English and French.

Our book launch took place on June 10, as part of the Realizing Rights 2017: Human Rights and Constitutionalism Conference. ICJ Canada Executive Director Janine Lespérance chaired the discussion, which featured 13 other book contributors: Raj Anand, Karen Busby, Richard Devlin, Scott Fairley, Julius Grey, Hanna Gros, Marie-Claude Landry, Errol Mendes, Samer Muscati, Alex Neve, John Packer, and Robin Sully.

Additional contributors to the book are Roger Bilodeau, Ian Binnie, John Campion, Adam Dodek, Maureen Duffy, Mary Eberts, Dennis Edney, Allan Hutchinson, Fiona Keith, Marcia Kran, Lucie Lamarche, Anne Levesque, Kathleen Mahoney, L.S. Tony Mandamin, Jesse McCormick, Bradford Morse, Pamela Palmater, Debra Parkes, Kimberly Prost, Daniel Proulx, Michèle Rivet, Colleen Sheppard, Shauna Van Praagh, Sherri Walsh, and Jack Watson. ICJ Canada wishes to sincerely thank all of our contributors for their excellent, thought-provoking writing.

We’d also like to acknowledge the editorial team that made this publication happen: Janine Lespérance (Lead Editor), Richard Devlin, Errol Mendes, John Packer, Michèle Rivet, and Peter Tinsley.

We intend to distribute this book widely, and hope that it will spark discussions about the nature and meaning of the rule of law for Canadians.

PURCHASE BOOKS THROUGH DONATION to ICJ Canada ($50 suggested donation). All 2017 ICJC members will receive a copy of the book.

You are invited to join us in Toronto for an exclusive dinner event with David MacNaughton on May 29, 2017. All proceeds from this fundraising dinner go to support ICJ Canada's work in favour of the rule of law, human rights, and judicial independence.

International Commission of Jurists Canada is proud to partner with the Human Rights Research and Education Centre (HRREC) to host a unique national and international conference, “Realizing Rights 2017: Human Rights and Constitutionalism,” to be held from June 8-10, 2017 at the University of Ottawa.

The Conference seeks to bring together, for the first time, the full range of practitioners, scholars, and advocates working on human rights across Canada and beyond, in order to discuss challenges and opportunities for the effective realization of human rights and related constitutional and governance arrangements. This major conference coincides with Canada’s 150th anniversary, which provides a special opportunity for celebration and reflection.

To organize it, HRREC and ICJC are working in partnership with: the Canadian Association of Statutory Human Rights Agencies (CASHRA), the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers (CARL), and the Interdisciplinary Research Laboratory on the Rights of the Child (LRIDE). The conference, featuring various parallel meetings, sessions, workshops, and social events of distinct character, will contribute in a significant way to the development and strengthening of the field of human rights professionals.

ICJC will be hosting a special session at the Conference to launch our book on the rule of law in 2017, and we will hold our annual members' meeting on June 7, the day before the Conference officially begins.

Registration is now open, and volunteer applications are being accepted.

We hope to see many ICJC members there!

On January 31, 2017, ICJC members, colleagues, Parliamentarians, lawyers, and other members of the community gathered on Parliament Hill in Ottawa to recognize her Professor Jennifer Bond's achievements. She is the 2016 winner of the Walter S. Tarnopolsky Award. Following the Award Ceremony, in lieu of giving a traditional address, Independent Senator for Ontario Ratna Omidvar joined Professor Bond for an engaging discussion on "Responding to the Refugee Crisis".

Professor Bond is Associate Professor at the University of Ottawa; Chair of the Global Refugee Sponsorship Initiative; and Founder and Faculty Director of the University of Ottawa Refugee Hub. She has also served as Special Advisor to the Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship; was on the founding executive of the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers, and led the creation of the Refugee Sponsorship Support Program (“SSP”), which has mobilized over 1,300 pro-bono lawyers to assist Canadians across the country seeking to privately sponsor refugees. She has published extensively, is a frequent media commentator, has given numerous presentations at national and international events, and has contributed to litigation, including by appearing in interventions in important refugee cases at the Supreme Court of Canada. She holds a BA and BCom from the University of Calgary, an LLB from the University of Victoria, and an LLM from Yale Law School.

Her nomination was supported by several colleagues who noted Professor Bond’s truly outstanding dedication to refugees over the past decade. She has demonstrated exceptional leadership, advocacy, and community building in the face of the migrant crisis, and been a great source of inspiration to many people through her work.

One of the Tarnopolsky award criteria for 2016 was that it must be awarded to a person not yet at the midpoint of his or her career. With her remarkable achievements to date, Professor Bond is an extremely deserving candidate.