New course proposed in response to Call to Action #28
After returning to its pre-pandemic format this year, the 1L curriculum is set to change again. The Curriculum Committee, a Faculty Council committee composed of both Faculty and Students’ Law Society representatives, recently shared their proposal to implement a new mandatory 1L course on Indigenous law starting next year. These changes do not propose to affect any students currently enrolled in the Faculty.
Following a year of deliberations, the Committee recommends the following changes: 1) creating a new three-credit graded course, tentatively called “Indigenous Peoples and the Law,” that will meet in the 1L winter term; and 2) removing Legal Process from the first year program to make room for the new course. It has yet to be decided what will happen with Legal Process; the Committee plans to ask the Dean to task next year’s Curriculum Committee with answering this question.
On Monday, March 21, Associate Dean and Chair of the Curriculum Committee Christopher Essert led a town hall to discuss the proposal in further detail and solicit students’ feedback. Over 30 students attended the session.
Associate Dean Essert began by discussing the background of the proposal. This year, Dean Jutta Brunnée tasked the Curriculum Committee with a mandate to “develop recommendations concerning the introduction of a mandatory course on Indigenous Peoples and the law in Canada.” This is in response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Call to Action #28, which calls upon Canadian law schools to require that all students take a course in Aboriginal people and the law. According to the TRC, this course should discuss a variety of topics, including the history and legacy of residential schools, and require skills-based training in intercultural competency, conflict resolution, human rights, and anti-racism. Other Canadian law schools, including McGill and Dalhousie, already have courses of this kind.
The proposed course has the following model course description: “This course aims to address the range of considerations arising out of past and present interactions between Indigenous peoples and the Canadian legal system. Topics to be covered may include the following: the history of Crown-Indigenous relations, Indigenous legal orders, the nature of Indigenous sovereignty, Aboriginal Rights and law, Treaties, UNDRIP, the history and legacy of residential schools, and other contemporary topics.”
Associate Dean Essert emphasized that the Committee does not view its role as drafting a syllabus for the course. The model description is meant to provide a general outline but individual instructors may take the course in the direction they see fit, according to their own interests and expertise, while adhering to the Faculty’s “extremely high standards for content and quality.” At a minimum, the course would cover Indigenous history and Legal Orders.
In addition to the graded course, the Committee also proposed introducing a new, ungraded one-credit course in the 1L fall term. This will act as a “basic introduction to the historical and contemporary situation of Indigenous peoples within Canada,” including some cultural competency elements. It will also integrate some of the pre-existing co-curricular elements currently associated with the Indigenous Initiatives Office. Given that students come with varying backgrounds and competency about Indigenous issues, the Committee feels this ungraded, mandatory course will “ensure everyone starts ‘on the same page’” and receives basic training, akin to Legal Methods.
The Committee noted that they met several times, soliciting perspectives from faculty members, the administration, and students. They also consulted the TRC Implementation Committee and the Indigenous Law Students Association (ILSA) when creating their proposal.
Chair of the TRC Implementation Committee Professor Douglas Sanderson commented that responsibility for developing and implementing the new course lies with the Associate Dean Office. That being said, he personally feels their consultation document looks good.
In a comment for UV, ILSA Co-President Tomas Jirousek (2L) stated that, “Successive generations of ILSA students have advocated for the creation of a mandatory course for many years. This course really is a product of many years of ILSA advocacy and consultation with the Faculty, and we’re incredibly proud to see it go forward.”
While the course content has yet to be finalized, Jirousek commented that ILSA feels the course adequately responds to the TRC Call to Action and will provide a platform to students to learn about substantive legal issues in Indigenous and Aboriginal law. He went on to state that, “whether engaging in corporate law or public interest work, students will certainly benefit from many of the cultural and legal competencies which are being built into the program.”
At the town hall, students expressed their concerns over how the course will be delivered in a way that centres Indigenous perspectives, including ensuring an Indigenous instructor teaches the class and that this course is not viewed as a comprehensive teaching of Indigenous law and issues. To the former concern, Associate Dean Essert emphasized that they are very dedicated to “making sure someone qualified is teaching” and noted that it is a “huge priority for the Dean and administration to increase Indigenous hires.” To the latter concern, Associate Dean Essert agreed that the new course is not meant to cover all material in this area, and the Committee is eager to explore ways that upper years can continue their learning.
ILSA echoed many of these comments. They also suggest that the Faculty consult with community members in choosing a permanent name for the course which better reflects its nature. Further, they hope the Faculty will be open to choosing a title in an Indigenous language. However, Jirousek said they are “largely content at this point” and “look forward to seeing the course get underway.”
Students were also concerned about eliminating Legal Process from the first year program. The Committee selected Legal Process to be on the proverbial chopping board given the results of consultations that took place last year, which indicated it was most amenable to being removed. During the town hall, Associate Dean Essert confirmed these findings, explaining that there was a strong constituency amongst the Faculty to leave the five substantive courses in the 1L curriculum (i.e., contracts, property, torts, criminal, and constitutional law) untouched, leaving Legal Process as the “natural” option. He further went on to state that Legal Process gains value once students are already taught the substantive law, even commenting on last year’s decision to have Legal Process in the first semester of the first year curriculum: “By all accounts, that was a disaster!”
On the topic, the Committee offered a few suggestions that next year’s Committee may explore further: including Legal Process as a mandatory upper year course, preferably in the fall of second year; making it an optional course; or substantively restructuring Legal Process altogether, seeing if elements can be integrated in other courses.
Associate Dean Essert concluded in his remarks to students by saying that this is an “exciting and important moment for the Faculty.” Indeed, as has been noted by others, implementing a course of this kind could help improve Canada’s relationship with Indigenous peoples by ensuring law students graduate with a deeper understanding of the legal and cultural challenges Indigenous peoples face.
The plan for the mandatory course will be presented and voted upon by Faculty Council on March 30. It remains to be seen how the final course, and the 1L curriculum in general, will look during the upcoming 2022-2023 year.
