Supreme Justice: The Story of Vriend v. Alberta

March 22 | 12:00 - 1:00 pm | McLennan Ross Hall (231/237)

Douglas Stollery

The University of Alberta Faculty of Law and OUTLaw invite you to join alumnus and former U of A chancellor Douglas R Stollery, CM, KC, as he shares insights on the Vriend v. Alberta decision.

This is a story about the people, the politics, and the aftermath of the first successful gay rights case before the Supreme Court of Canada, told on the 25th anniversary of that decision.

A highlight of Stollery’s legal career includes pro bono work on the landmark case Vriend v Alberta, which led to the amendment of Alberta’s human rights legislation to include sexual orientation as a protected class. This monumental human rights case is regarded as one of the Top 10 Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms decisions.

Register

Douglas R Stollery, CM, KC, '76 LLB, has known the University of Alberta Faculty of Law at all levels - as a student, a lecturer, a member of the Faculty of Law Advisory Committee and as a director of the Alberta Law Reform Institute.

He served as the 21st chancellor of the U of A from 2016 to 2020.

Stollery was a practising lawyer for more than 30 years, specializing in Construction Law, Corporate and Commercial Law, and Constitutional Law with Reynolds Mirth Richards & Farmer LLP. He also served as director of the Legal Education Society of Alberta and the president of the Alberta branch of the Canadian Bar Association. From 2006 to 2013, he was general counsel with PCL Constructors Inc.


Appointed as Queen's Counsel in 1994, Stollery's exceptional achievements have earned him numerous recognitions, including the Order of Canada, the lifetime achievement award from the Canadian General Counsel Association, and honorary doctorate degrees from the University of Alberta and MacEwan University.