This report provides a glimpse of research activities and achievements at the Common Law Section covering the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 fiscal years, or more precisely, the period from April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2022.
This period is noteworthy because it coincides with the COVID-19 pandemic, a time marked by some very real challenges for our community. But this was also a period of renewal at the Common Law Section. We welcomed the new Susan and Perry Dellelce Dean, Kristen Boon, an expert in public international law and international organizations. And the new faculty members who joined our ranks in 2020, 2021 and 2022 have bolstered our expertise in Indigenous laws and LGBTQ+ rights. Our law school continues to attract a significant amount of research funding, situating us among the top law schools in Canada for tri-council grant income. We also continue to lead at the forefront of innovative research in law, adding new chairs in law and technology, Indigenous governance, human rights and global knowledge governance.
This time period also witnessed massive social uprisings, anti-racist protests, and disturbing reminders of Canada’s dark colonial past. Research Office initiatives like the 4th Autumn School on the Methodology of Research in Law and the (equity, diversity and inclusion) EDI in Research resource reflect efforts to bring issues of equity, diversity and inclusion to the forefront of our research discussions. Throughout the report we also feature stories of research built on EDI principles. These efforts strengthen our research community and the ways we interact with the world around us.
Across all of our thematic areas of research, leaders are stepping up to make important contributions and mobilize their knowledge in creative and exciting new ways. So while we reflect on the past two years, it’s impossible not to see how bright and promising the future is.
Happy reading!