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OVERVIEW

CIAJ’s biennial Legislative Drafting Conference tackles the most important challenges in modern legislation.

This 22nd Edition (in-person and online) continues a long tradition of exploring the many facets of legislative drafting with a particular focus on the Canadian context. The 2024 conference will bring together practitioners and academics to discuss various aspects of the work of preparing legislative texts. The conference will address a broad range of topics including practical challenges drafters face in their work, developments in statutory interpretation and questions of diversity and inclusion in statutes. The 2024 conference will also pay tribute to the late Ruth Sullivan who had a profound influence on the field of legislative drafting.

Participation in this program is accredited in provinces where CLE requirements for lawyers are mandatory.

Schedule:

• September 16: 1:00 am to 5:00 pm
• September 17: 9:00 am to 5:00 pm
• September 18: 9:00 am to 2:30 pm

GUEST SPEAKERS

Keynote Speaker

The Honourable Justice David W. Stratas, Federal Court of Appeal LL.B. (Queen’s University, 1984); B.C.L. (Oxford University, 1986); LL.D. (Queen’s University, 2012, honoris causa). Born in Toronto, Ontario. Law clerk to Justice Bertha Wilson of the Supreme Court of Canada (1986-1987). Called to the Bar of Ontario (1988). Litigation partner in firms in Toronto, Ontario. Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers (2008). Appointed Special Advocate by the Minister of Justice (2008). Adjunct member, Faculty of Law, Queen’s University (1994 to the present), winning multiple faculty teaching awards. Instructor and presenter at over 60 judicial education sessions across Canada, most frequently in the area of administrative law. Author of over 200 articles or conference papers on various legal topics, particularly in the areas of administrative law, constitutional law, and legal writing. Appointed Judge of the Federal Court of Appeal, and a member ex officio of the Federal Court on December 11, 2009. Appointed Judge of the Court Martial Appeal Court of Canada, May 3, 2012. Acting Chief Justice from July to November 2023.

Speakers

• Michael Audet, Senior Counsel, Legislation Section, Department of Justice Canada
• Elena Bosi, Assistant Deputy Attorney General, Legislative Services (Branch), Justice & Public Safety, New Brunswick
• Éliane Boucher, Legislative Counsel, Legislative Services Branch, Public Law and Legislative Services Sector, Department of Justice Canada
• Catherine Côté-Bussières, Legislative Counsel, Legislation Section, Department of Justice Canada
• Pierre J. Dalphond, Senator, Senate of Canada
• Mathieu Devinat, Professor, Faculty of Law, Université de Sherbrooke
• Sherina Dhala, Chief Legislative Counsel, Justice and Solicitor General, Government of Alberta
• Isabelle D’Souza, Legislative Counsel, House of Commons
• Michelle Egan, Legislative Counsel, House of Commons
• Wendy Gordon, Former Deputy Law Clerk & Parliamentary Counsel, Legislative Services, House of Commons
• Elisabeth Graff, Legislative Counsel, Ministry of Attorney General, British Columbia
• Philip W. Grassie, Legislative Counsel, Office of the Legislative Counsel, Nova Scotia
• Geneviève Harvey, Senior Solicitor, Legal Services Division, Nova Scotia Department of Justice
• Cameron Hutchinson, Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Alberta
• Aleksander Hynna, General Counsel, Legislation Section, Legislative Services Branch, Public Law and Legislative Services Sector, Department of Justice Canada
• John Mark Keyes, Sessional Professor, Faculty of Law – Common Law Section, University of Ottawa
• Louise Langevin, Professor, Faculty of Law, Université Laval
• Jeanne Lee, Chief Legislative Counsel, Attorney-General’s Chambers (Singapore)
• Lionel Levert, Special Adviser, Legislative Drafting
• Sandra Markman, Deputy Chief Legislative Counsel, Legislative Services Branch, Public Law and Legislative Services Sector, Department of Justice Canada
• Ian Rennie, Legislative Counsel, Legislation Division, Department of Justice, Government of the Northwest Territories
• Jean-Félix Robitaille, Legislative Lawyer, Direction des orientations et des affaires législatives, Sous-ministériat des orientations et de l’accès à la justice, ministère de la Justice du Québec
• Craig Rosario, Legislative Counsel, Office of Legislative Counsel, British Columbia
• Elizabeth Sanderson, author of Government Lawyering: Duties and Ethical Challenges of Government Lawyers
• Benjamin Shaer, Policy Analyst, Lawyer, and Adjunct Research Professor in Linguistics and Language Studies and Law and Legal Studies, Carleton University
• Stephen Slessor, Jurilinguist, Jurilinguistic Services Unit, Legislative Services Branch, Public Law and Legislative Services Sector, Department of Justice Canada
• Mark Spakowski, Chief Legislative Counsel, Ministry of the Attorney General, Ontario
• William Stephenson, Legislative Counsel, House of Commons
• Lise Villeneuve, Jurilinguist/Advisor, Jurilinguistic Services Unit, Legislative Services Branch, Public Law and Legislative Services Sector, Department of Justice Canada
• Christina Wasyliw, General Counsel & Deputy Legislative Counsel, Manitoba Justice
• Laurie Weir, Legislative Counsel, Justice and Solicitor General, Government of Alberta

REGISTRATION FEES

REGISTER NOW

CONTACT

For further information, please contact the Project Manager of Multidisciplinary Programs, Mary Plagakis: 
Tel.: 514-731-2855
Email: mary.plagakis@ciaj-icaj.ca

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

• Payment in full of the registration fee is due before the Event. Should a registrant have an outstanding balance, a credit card will be requested at the Event before the beginning of the program.
• Inability to attend may result in a registration being transferred to a colleague of the same organization up to 7 days before the Event. The request must be made in writing.
• Cancellation incurs processing fees as follows: $100 for cancellations 30 days or more before the event and 50% of the registration fee for cancellations 7 days or more before the event. No refund will be extended for cancellations made less than 7 days before the event.