Course Chairs
Kaitlyn Chewka — Lovett Westmacott, Victoria
Alison M. Latimer, KC — Barrister & Solicitor, Vancouver
About the Course Chairs
Kaitlyn Chewka is a partner with the firm Lovett Westmacott. Prior to joining Lovett Westmacott, Kaitlyn was legal counsel with the Ministry of Attorney General's Constitutional and Administrative Law Section.
Kaitlyn provides advice to various administrative decision-makers and regularly acts as counsel on judicial review applications and any resulting appeals. Kaitlyn's recent public and administrative law cases include Casavant v. British Columbia (Minister of Environment), an appeal regarding the discretionary nature of relief on judicial review, British Columbia v. 992704 Ontario Limited, an appeal regarding the adequacy of a de novo appeal to cure alleged procedural defects, and Servatius v. Alberni School District No. 70, a s. 2(a) Charter challenge to a decision to incorporate Indigenous worldviews in a public-school classroom.
Kaitlyn is also an Adjunct Professor at the University of Victoria where she has lectured on the topics of administrative law, civil procedure, criminal procedure, advocacy, ethics, and energy law. She is also a co-coach for the University of Victoria's Wilson moot team, which focuses on appellate advocacy skills.
Alison Latimer, KC is an experienced trial and appellate lawyer whose practice includes civil, criminal, and administrative law. She is called to the bar in both BC and the Yukon. Alison has appeared as counsel on several landmark constitutional cases, including cases establishing a right to physician assisted dying and limiting the use of solitary confinement in federal prisons. Alison also regularly advises and represents clients in areas of administrative law, acting both for tribunals and for individuals and entities appearing before administrative tribunals or seeking judicial review of administrative decisions. Alison has presented papers at a variety of law conferences including this very conference.
Featured Speaker
The Honourable Michelle O'Bonsawin — Supreme Court of Canada, Ottawa
The Honourable Michelle O'Bonsawin is a widely respected member of Canada's legal community with a distinguished career spanning over 20 years.
Justice O'Bonsawin was appointed to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Ottawa in 2017. Prior to her appointment, she was General Counsel for the Royal Ottawa Health Care Group for eight years. In this role, she developed a thorough understanding of legal issues related to mental health and performed significant research regarding the use of Gladue principles in the forensic mental health system, appearing before various administrative tribunals and levels of courts, including the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, the Consent and Capacity Board, the Ontario Review Board, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, the Ontario Court of Justice, and the Ontario Court of Appeal. She began her legal career with the legal services at the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and was then Counsel with Canada Post, specializing in labour and employment law, human rights, and privacy law.
Justice O'Bonsawin has taught Indigenous law at the University of Ottawa's Common Law Program and was previously responsible for the Indigenous Relations Program at the Royal Ottawa Health Care Group. She is a frequent guest speaker on Gladue principles, Indigenous issues, as well as mental health, labour, and privacy law. Justice O'Bonsawin is also the author of various publications such as: Access to Justice and Gladue Reports: We All Have a Role to Play in Lawyer's Daily (2020); A Principled Approach: Applying Gladue Principles at the Ontario Review Board in the National Judicial Institute Indigenous Law Subject Collection (2018); Canada's Bill C-14 [NCR] A Knee Jerk Reaction to Sensationalized Not Criminally Responsible Cases in the Canadian Criminal Law Review (2016); Mental Health Checklist: A Guide for Members of the Judiciary (2016).
Justice O'Bonsawin previously served on the Board of Governors of the University of Ottawa, as well as its Executive Committee, and as a Board member for the Aboriginal Legal Services of the University of Ottawa Legal Aid Clinic. She was an observer member of the Membership Committee of Odanak First Nation and a Board member of the Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice. She is currently a Partner Judge for Afghanistan Women Judges with the International Association of Women Judges.
Justice O'Bonsawin holds a Bachelor of Arts from Laurentian University, a Bachelor of Law from the University of Ottawa, a Master of Law from Osgoode Hall Law School, and a Doctorate in Law from the University of Ottawa.
Born in Hanmer, Ontario, a small Francophone town near Sudbury, she now resides in Ottawa with her family. A fluently bilingual Franco-Ontarian, Justice O'Bonsawin is an Abenaki member of the Odanak First Nation.
She was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada on September 1, 2022.