Eight legal research initiatives receive 2019 Law for the Future Fund grants

  • September 13, 2019

OTTAWA – The Canadian Bar Association’s Law for the Future Fund has announced grants totalling more than $190,000 this year going to a total of eight initiatives involving everything from legal literacy to an examination of who in Canada is stateless, and why.

Organizations receiving grants this year include the University of Ottawa’s Refugee Hub, Community Legal Education Ontario, the Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund, and the Canadian Centre for Child Protection.

“Every year the Law for the Future Fund finances research projects that further our knowledge and understanding of facets of the legal profession, that promote legal research, law reform or legal education,” says LFFF Director Karen Dyck. In the past the fund has financed research into systems of justice, racial and environmental issues, and court reform, among others.

“This year we’re funding proposals for initiatives like public legal education, the protection of refugees and immigrants, as well as a study of unreported child pornography cases that it is hoped will contribute to a more accurate understanding of issues related to the production of child pornography in Canada. As a board, we look forward to seeing not only the outcomes of the funding provided, but also the longer-term impacts of the work we’re helping to fund.”

Since its foundation in 1984, the Law for the Future Fund has provided financial support for more than 185 innovative Canadian research projects in the field of law. With an annual granting budget of approximately $200,000, the LFFF has delivered more than $3.9 million in assistance to date. The deadline for applications each year is May 1. Application information may be found on our website.

This year’s recipients:

  • Community Law School (Sarnia-Lambton) Inc. for a project that will create materials for literacy students that will help them learn about laws and systems including the Canada pensions, employment insurance and human rights.
  • Refugee Hub, University of Ottawa, which will pilot a new, technology-enabled form of service delivery for the Refugee Sponsorship Support Program.
  • University of Ottawa Faculty of Common Law, for a study of statelessness in Canada – determining who the stateless are, and the barriers to their obtaining permanent residence or citizenship.
  • Integral Org. will research and create a resource that provides an overview of the lobbying registration and regulatory environment for charities and non-profits.
  • Community Legal Education Ontario will work with the University of Ottawa to develop an online repository of legal information resources that students and volunteers working with incarcerated people will be able to access to help their clients.
  • Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund will conduct research and do consultations to develop a legal framework for fighting cybermisogyny.
  • University of Toronto Scarborough/Coalition des organismes communautaires Québécois de lutte contre le sida will document the barriers faced by prospective immigrants who have been ruled medically inadmissible, with a goal of reforming immigration law surrounding medical inadmissibility.
  • Canadian Centre for Child Protection Inc.’s project will collect reported cases and media articles about child pornography, and analyze the reported decisions from 2001 to the present to contribute to a more accurate understanding of issues related to the production of child pornography in Canada.

About the CBA

The CBA is dedicated to support for the rule of law, and improvement in the law and the administration of justice. Some 36,000 lawyers, notaries in Quebec, law teachers and law students from across Canada are members.