Summary:
Most Canadian law schools offer units on Indigenous rights, Indigenous law and Indigenous-Crown relations, but many are not mandatory.
The Call to Action:
We call upon law schools in Canada to require all law students to take a course in Aboriginal people and the law, which includes the history and legacy of residential schools, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Treaties and Aboriginal rights, Indigenous law, and Aboriginal-Crown relations. This will require skills-based training in intercultural competency, conflict resolution, human rights and anti-racism.
Analysis:
Most Canadian law schools offer units on Indigenous rights, Indigenous law and Indigenous-Crown relations, but many are not mandatory.
Three law schools ― Lakehead University, University of Windsor and University of British Columbia ― offer a course in Indigenous law that is mandatory for all students.
In June 2020, the Federation of Law Societies of Canada (the national co-ordinating body of Canada’s 14 provincial and territorial law societies) released its Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action Advisory Committee. In it, it recommends “law societies be encouraged to review their admissions curriculum and licensing requirements and make modifications to ensure candidates receive the training called for by the TRC, including education about Indigenous legal issues and legal orders.”
The Federation of Law Societies of Canada created the advisory committee in 2016, to develop the recommendations on Calls to Action #27, #28 and #50.
In March 2016, the Canadian Bar Association formally endorsed Calls to Action #27 and #28. The CBA also specifically endorsed making courses about Indigenous Peoples mandatory in all law schools.