Happy New Year!

  • January 27, 2022

Happy New Year! The Executive and committee members have been working hard on several initiatives that we’d like to share with you.

Advocacy Highlights

Our Section has been responding to requests for consultations on international law issues. For instance in 2021, the Section participated in two CBA multi-section working groups responding to Global Affairs Canada’s consultations on anticipated bilateral Canada-U.K. free trade agreement (FTA) and a possible U.K. accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), and on Canada’s interest in joining the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA) between Chile, New Zealand and Singapore.

As this requires a quick response, we decided to establish a new Advocacy Committee. The role of the Committee will be to:

  • Evaluate requests for comments and submissions in order to assess whether the Section should support the issue,
  • Establish a rapid response process for Canadian Government comments and upcoming requests for Global Affairs Canada,
  • Assemble a roster of expert lawyers to approach for comments, and
  • Establish a communication process to keep the Section Executive updated.

If you are interested in joining the Advocacy Committee, please contact Ewa Gosal.

Attend or volunteer for an online conference

The Section will be organizing a ‘Speed Networking’ event on March 3, 2022 from 6:00 – 7:30 pm ET as part of the “Colonialism in Modern Times” conference, hosted by the Queen’s Human Rights Law Club. Students and lawyers will have the opportunity to meet virtually in small groups to discuss careers and opportunities in international and human rights law.

We are looking for volunteers to make this event a success! Please complete the conference registration form if you are interested in participating either as an attendee or as a volunteer to speak to students about your experience in international or human rights law.

CBA Business and Human Rights Guide

Our Section contributed to the CBA’s new Business and Human Rights Guide, an essential tool for Canadian lawyers and businesses, covering various topics related to emerging principles of practice, mitigating business risk and meeting corporate responsibility obligations.

The Guide is designed to help Canadian lawyers incorporate more Business and Human Rights Law into their legal practice. The Guide will also offer guidance to businesses on how to ensure human rights are respected. Check it out! Also refer to our LinkedIn page for updates, including an upcoming brown bag about how the BHR Guide was developed and how to best navigate it.

Stay informed and get involved

Check out our past PD events

Thank You,

CBA International Law Section Executive Committee