Runnymede Society National Law & Freedom Conference

All readers of ARL are warmly invited to attend the 2018 Law and Freedom conference, presented by the Runnymede Society. Join the Runnymede Society for some lively debate and discussion about the most important issues in Canadian constitutional law today — and how they impact freedom, policy, and society.

Until December 1^st, 2017, the code EARLYBIRD will entitle you to a 50% discount on registration.

The Hon. Peter Lauwers of the Court of Appeal for Ontario will deliver the keynote address to kick off the Runnymede Society Law & Freedom Conference on Friday, January 12, 2018 at 6:00pm at Hart House, University of Toronto.

Justice Lauwers’ talk is titled “The Mischief of ‘Charter Values’” in constitutional interpretation. The keynote address will be followed by a cocktail reception.

The rest of the conference will take place on Saturday, January 13, 2018, with four outstanding panels and debates featuring leading Canadian scholars, judges, and practitioners. Topics and participants include a:

• Debate on the Law Society of Upper Canada’s new mandatory Statement of Principles featuring Marni Soupcoff(writer, lawyer, policy analyst), Bruce Pardy (Queen’s University Faculty of Law), Adam Goldenberg (McCarthy Tétrault), and Renatta Austin (Renatta Austin Law);
• New paper by professor and Double Aspect-blogger Leonid Sirota, with a conversation to follow with The Hon. Brad Millerof the Ontario Court of Appeal;
• Panel on the state of stare decisis in Canadian law featuring Michael Bookman(Norton Rose Fulbright) and Professors Brian Bird and Dwight Newman;
• Discussion of what is going on with the duty to consult in Aboriginal Law featuring Professors Maxime St-Hilaireand Malcolm Lavoie.

The conference will conclude with a dinner at Hart House, featuring celebrated free speech advocate, Flemming Rose, former editor of Danish newspaper Jyllands Posten and publisher of the infamous 2005 “Muhammad cartoons”.

The schedule can be downloaded and viewed here. Tickets for the full conference are available here. available here for only the afternoon debate as well.

Prices including breakfast, lunch and dinner on Saturday.

Through on-campus debates and discussion, the Runnymede Society ensures that free speech and intellectual diversity remain an active part of Canadian law school life. We provide outstanding support and opportunities for intellectual enrichment, networking, and professional development, including by providing members opportunities to meet professors, practitioners, and judges supportive of our mission.