Podcasts

Check out the episodes

#117 (in French) | Justice Without Barriers Series — Plain language: A key to accessibility

Access to Justice – Jun 04, 2026
In this episode, Christine O’Doherty, Lawyer & CIAJ's Executive director, talks with Élisabeth Routhier, PhD, CIAJ’s Director of special projects and plain language specialist, to explore an issue at the intersection of social, political, and legal spheres. 

#116 | Justice Without Barriers Series — Disability, Accessibility, and the Courts

Access to Justice – Jun 03, 2026
In this episode, Sarah Rowe, Legal Counsel at CIAJ, speaks with the Honourable Justice Joshua B. Hawkes of the Court of Appeal of Alberta about the lived realities of people with disabilities within the justice system and the legal profession. 

#108 | Democracy Under Attack: The Rise of Online Hate

Access to Justice – Sep 18, 2025
In this episode, Host Anthony Giroux (Law Student at the University of Montreal) speaks with Sabreena Delhon (CEO of the Samara Centre for Democracy) and Dr. Heidi Tworek (Canada Research Chair and Professor of History and Public Policy at the University of British Columbia). Together, they explore how disinformation, targeted and identity-based harassment, and algorithm-driven amplification are reshaping democratic participation in Canada.

Episode 101 | The TAP Project: Chief Justice Marc Richard on Justice, Ethics, and Reform

Technical Assistance Partnership Project (TAP), Access to Justice – Feb 13, 2025
In this episode, CIAJ's Executive Director Christine O’Doherty welcomes The Honourable Chief Justice J.C. Marc Richard (of New Brunswick) to talk about his involvement in the Technical Assistance Partnership (TAP) Project. Drawing from his experience in Mongolia and Moldova, he discusses the importance of judicial independence and ethics. He addresses questions about Canada’s role in strengthening global justice, the challenges of eradicating corruption, and the value of international judicial cooperation. He reflects on what motivates his involvement and how these experiences shape his perspective on global judicial cooperation.

Episode 87: 7 Changes for Access to Justice

Access to Justice, Family Law – Jun 13, 2024
In this episode, Nathan Afilalo, Argyri Panezi and Daniel J. Escott reflect on the writing of their co-authored report “Access to Justice Summit: The New Brunswick Report - Digital Transformation: Putting People at the Heart of the System.”

Episode 74: Building a Black (Canadian) Law Journal

Access to Justice – Feb 22, 2024
In this episode, CIAJ’s host Nathan Afilalo is welcoming the founding editor of the Black (Canadian) Law Journal Mohammed Odusanya and acting editor-in-chief Dana-Kaye Matthews to learn more about this academic, peer-reviewed, bilingual journal founded in 2021. 

Episode 68: People-Centred Approach to Justice

Access to Justice – Aug 29, 2023
In this episode, host Daniel Escott is joined by Janet McIntyre, former Director of Justice Canada's Access to Justice Secretariat, for a discussion on the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal 16, the role of the secretariat domestically and internationally, and the gradual shift to a people-centred approach to justice.

Episode 67: Defining Access to Justice

Access to Justice – Aug 24, 2023
In this episode, host Daniel Escott is joined by Trevor C.W. Farrow, a renowned access to justice researcher and incoming Dean of Osgoode Hall Law School, for a discussion on the pre-, during, and post-pandemic views of traditional access to justice. Dean Farrow provides a wealth of information on the problems that arise from a lack of access to justice, and discusses what meaningful access to justice looks like in the modern, post-pandemic period.

Episode 66: Access to Justice Collaboration Across Canada

Access to Justice – Aug 17, 2023
In this episode, host Daniel J. Escott explores the transformative landscape of access to justice in Canada in the company of his guests, esteemed legal experts Mark Benton, K.C. and Brea Lowenberger. Together, they discuss the impact of the Action Committee on Access to Justice in Civil and Family Matters at both national and local levels and explore how collaborative efforts between stakeholders can help improve access to justice across Canada.

Episode 65: Rooted Constitutionalism

Access to Justice, Indigenous Peoples – Jun 15, 2023
In this episode, CIAJ Lawyer Nathan Afilalo is welcoming Aaron Mills, a member of the Anishinaabe, Couchiching First Nation and Assistant Professor and the Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Constitutionalism and Philosophy at McGill University Faculty of Law. Together, they discuss, among other things, professor Mills' theory of rooted constitutionalism.

Episode 63: Trust and Dignity: What Do Citizens Want and Need in a Modern Justice System?

Access to Justice, Dignity, Human Rights – Feb 02, 2023
In this excerpt from CIAJ's 2022 Conference on dignity, CIAJ Lawyer Nathan Afilalo welcomes Rheanne Scott (Director, Justice and Community Safety, PwC Canada) for a special interactive session including testimonials.

Episode 62: Accessibility and Accommodations in Law Schools

Access to Justice, Dignity, Human Rights – Dec 01, 2022
In this episode, Lan Keenan, President of the Schulich Disability Alliance and JD candidate at Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie University, provides an overview of accessibility and accommodation issues and solutions in law schools.

Episode 61: The Concept of Dignity in Canadian Case Law: Ethical and Practical Aspects

Access to Justice, Dignity – Oct 20, 2022
In this episode, Professor Cheryl Milne and CIAJ Legal Researcher Nathan Afilalo discuss the practical aspects of the use of the concept of dignity in Canadian case law, and the ethical and practical implications of practising law consistent with the concept of dignity.

Episode 55: The Honourable Robert J. Bauman’s Address From CIAJ’s 45th Annual Conference on Indigenous Peoples and the Law

Access to Justice, Indigenous Peoples – Jul 07, 2022
This is an excerpt from CIAJ's 45th Annual Conference on Indigenous Peoples and the Law. CIAJ is pleased to share the address made by the Conference Chair, The Honourable Chief Justice of British Columbia Robert J. Bauman, on November 17, 2021.

Episode 53: The Honourable Murray Sinclair’s Address From CIAJ’s 45th Annual Conference on Indigenous Peoples and the Law

Access to Justice, Indigenous Peoples – Jun 21, 2022
This is an excerpt from CIAJ's 45th Annual Conference on Indigenous Peoples and the Law. CIAJ is pleased to share the address made by the Conference Honorary Chair, The Honourable Murray Sinclair, on November 17, 2021.

Episode 50: Family Law Reform Part III: It's All About the Children

Access to Justice, Brain Skills, Family Law – Mar 31, 2022
In Canada and many common law jurisdictions, there has been a longstanding concern about the family justice system. People who work in the system, families who turn to the family justice system for help, and reports about system reform speak about the crisis in family justice. We are hearing that it is not working for families and in fact, can do more harm than good.

Episode 48: Family Law Reform Part I: The Right to a Good Life

Access to Justice, Brain Skills, Family Law – Mar 10, 2022
In Canada and many common law jurisdictions, there has been a longstanding concern about the family justice system. People who work in the system, families who turn to the family justice system for help, and reports about system reform speak about the crisis in family justice. We are hearing that it is not working for families and in fact, can do more harm than good.

Episode 47: Judicial Internships: Lessons from the Heart of the Justice System

Access to Justice, Student Section – Feb 24, 2022
Internships are an essential step in a student's career development. They allow students to get a taste of what it's like to work in the heart of the justice system and to gain experience that will give them a boost in their future career. In this episode, Nathan Afilalo welcomes three students who have participated in this program to discuss how this experience helped them in terms of preparation for their future careers.

Episode 37: With the Best of Intentions: Are Courts and Tribunals Really Providing Accessible Service to People With Disabilities?

Access to Justice, Human Rights – Nov 04, 2021
Are courts and tribunals really providing accessible service to people with disabilities? Michael Gottheil, Chief of the Commission and Tribunals of the Alberta Human Rights Commission, and Michael McNeely, Family Lawyer at Rogerson Law Group and first deaf-blind lawyer to graduate from Osgoode Hall Law School at York University, are seeking to answer this question in the third and last episode of our series on disability.

Episode 35: Disability Inclusion: Access to Administrative Justice, Post-Secondary Education and Community Activism

Access to Justice, Human Rights – Oct 21, 2021
In this episode, Laverne Jacobs, a professor at the University of Windsor Faculty of Law and a person with physical disabilities, interviews Michael McNeely, who is the first deaf-blind lawyer to graduate from Osgoode Hall Law School at York University.