From May 28 - June 3, 2016, thousands of scholars from across Canada descended on the University of Calgary to attend the 85th annual Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences. Approximately 70 scholarly associations hold their individual annual conferences at the Congress, bringing together more than 8,000 academics, policy makers, and practitioners from various branches of the humanities and social sciences. The University of Alberta Faculty of Law was well represented, with four of our faculty members presenting their research at various conferences.
Professor Barbara Billingsley presented at the Canadian Association of Law Teachers (CALT) conference. Her presentation detailed the challenge of teaching civil procedure in the wake of Hryniak v. Mauldin, a Supreme Court of Canada case that called for a culture shift away from trial to more expedient ways of resolving legal disputes.
Professor Gail Henderson and Dr. Anna Lund also participated in the CALT conference, organizing and participating in a roundtable of scholars discussing possible responses to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada's Calls to Action when teaching corporate and commercial law. Prof. Henderson also presented on a panel discussing whether permitting non-lawyer equity holders in law firms can enhance access to justice. Her presentation focused on the BC government's adoption of community contribution companies, a new hybrid corporate model intended to bridge the gap between for-profit and non-profit organizations.
The Faculty of Law also made contributions outside the legal academy. Professor Eric Adams presented his research to the Canadian Historical Association in a talk entitled "Equality Applicable to Scotsmen: Immigration, Racism, and Equality for Japanese Canadians in Interwar Canada".
Supreme Court of Canada Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin (LLB '68) also spoke at the Congress as part of the Big Thinking Lecture Series, addressing the challenge of preserving diversity in Canada's multicultural society.