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Training that never stops

For the sake of transparency, since 2018, the Council annually publishes a list of courses and seminars available during the previous fiscal year. The following is a list of courses, seminars and other learning activities attended by federally appointed judges to continue their learning and enhance their knowledge.

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Programs (118)
  • May 18 2023 - May 19 2023

    Supreme Courts of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island Education Seminar

    The seminar began by exploring the phenomenon of intergenerational trauma from the standpoints of neuroscience, the experiences of Black and Indigenous Nova Scotian communities, and that of two judges. Two concurrent sessions then dealt respectively with techniques for distinguishing credible science from junk science, and with natural justice and proportionality issues. A further panel provided guidance on how to effectively conduct credibility assessments and draw inferences in criminal, family, and civil proceedings. The program continued with a presentation on judgement writing, focusing specifically on the issue-driven format and point-first writing. Concurrent sessions followed on private international law, private records in sexual assault cases, and a review of the year’s family law jurisprudence. The seminar ended with a plenary session which explored resilience and improving judicial responses to stress-laden work environment.

    View more - Supreme Courts of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island Education Seminar
  • May 7 2023 - May 12 2022

    Judges and Jails: The Realities of Incarceration

    This program provided skills-based learning on sentencing and correctional issues through a combination of lectures, plenary discussions, a review of the programming offered within correctional facilities, and visits to correctional facilities. Led by judges, legal academics, practising lawyers, and experts from within and outside the correctional system, this seminar covered the following topics: managing prisoner documentation during sentencing; parole board hearings; myths and assumptions about sentencing and corrections; proportionality and individualization in sentencing; mental health in prisons and sentencing; best practices around using pre-sentence reports, consideration of the Gladue factors and applying Impact of Race and Culture Assessments; and the practical realities and legal framework of probation. Participants were also given the opportunity to learn from the experiences and “best practices” of their peers. Tools were provided to help judges craft sentences that take into account the relevant circumstances of the offender and the impact of the sentence, to make appropriate determinations of whether to impose a provincial or a federal sentence, to better understand the effect of carceral sentences on recidivism, and to recognize the role that the pandemic has played with respect to incarceration.

    View more - Judges and Jails: The Realities of Incarceration
  • April 16 2023 - March 21 2024

    Seminar for New Federally Appointed Judges: Joint CIAJ and NJI Spring and Fall Programs (Common Law and Civil Law)

    The seminars were led by experienced judges, with the assistance of seasoned lawyers and academics. Several learning methods—including lectures, courtroom role-playing videos, and small group discussions—were used to impart the knowledge and develop the skills judges need to perform their new duties effectively. Some of the sessions were designed for all judges, while others were specifically for common law or civil law judges, or for judges sitting on the Federal Court or Federal Court of Appeal. All participants jointly attended sessions on judicial independence, conduct and ethics, judgment writing, civility and effective communication in the courtroom, unconscious bias, strategies to ensure equal access to justice for persons with disabilities, and the relationship between the judge’s role and the social context, with particular emphasis on sexual assault law, racial discrimination, and cases involving Indigenous people. Judges from all jurisdictions also participated in sessions on family law, injunctive relief, oral judgments, judicial review of administrative actions, evidence law, civil procedure, self-represented litigants, courtroom management and case management. A series of sessions for common law judges focused on criminal law topics, from jury selection to sentencing to specific issues in sexual assault trials. Civil law judges, meanwhile, worked on issues of statutory criminal law, applications for care, and the practical aspects of being a judge. Finally, Federal Court judges attended separate sessions on the scope of the Federal Court’s jurisdiction, citizenship, immigration and refugee law, Indigenous law, and intellectual property.

    View more - Seminar for New Federally Appointed Judges: Joint CIAJ and NJI Spring and Fall Programs (Common Law and Civil Law)
  • March 22 2023 - March 24 2023

    Criminal Law Seminar

    Led by experienced judges and other criminal law experts, the seminar used a combination of presentations and interactive discussions to cover the latest jurisprudence on sexual offences, police questioning and police powers, sentencing and incarceration, the relationship between courts and the press, digital evidence, and best practices for high-profile cases. Participants had the opportunity to engage with fact scenarios, answer interactive polling questions, and engage in small-group discussions with their peers.

    View more - Criminal Law Seminar
  • January 16 2023 - January 20 2023

    Judging in Your First Five Years: Criminal Law (Federally Appointed Judges)

    The program was led by a multi-disciplinary faculty of experienced judges, practitioners, and academics and was addressed to judges having between one and five years of experience. Participants engaged in a mix of presentations and breakout exercises based on a sexual assault fact scenario from pre-trial through to sentencing, with emphasis placed on the skills of trial management. Throughout the seminar, participants also learned about myths and stereotypes in sexual assault cases, the statistical realities and social dynamics of intimate partner violence, testimonial accommodations for vulnerable witnesses, and the experiences of Indigenous women and girls in the criminal justice system.

    View more - Judging in Your First Five Years: Criminal Law (Federally Appointed Judges)
  • November 30 2022 - December 2 2022

    Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador Education Seminar - Fall 2022

    This seminar provided training on a variety of substantive law, social context and judicial skills related topics. The sessions included an examination of recent and significant cases in sexual assault law, interviewing children, guardianship of the person, the jury selection process and managing difficult litigants.

    View more - Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador Education Seminar - Fall 2022