Justice in Motion: National All-Courts Seminar 2022

Overview

Justice in Motion was a seminar conceived by French-language judges from across Canada. Its main theme, Justice in Motion, was inspired by an official visit of the Supreme Court of Canada to Québec City in September 2022.

Objective

Throughout the two-day program, which featured various learning methods such as lectures, clicker questions, small group discussions, and pre-recorded lectures, participants acquired not only new knowledge about a wide range of subjects but also new competencies and tools they can apply in their daily practice. They were also made aware of the social context surrounding a number of these subjects.

Summary

Justice in Motion was an opportunity to address current trends in justice, the first one being a justice system that seeks to make itself more accessible to citizens, especially marginalized and/or vulnerable people. The program examined the forms that this trend is taking, and should take, with respect to Indigenous peoples, victims of sexual violence, members of the LGBTQ2S+ community, and finally, the Francophone minority outside Québec and the Anglophone minority in Québec. The focus then turned to trends relating to procedural matters. Particular attention was paid to the growing importance of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and technological tools—two trends driven by, but also constrained by, the need for access to justice. These and other trends were discussed from a present-day perspective as well as a forward-looking one.