Happy Spring, CBA Child and Youth Law colleagues!
Here’s a round-up of news from your CBA Child and Youth Law section executive.
Recent advocacy
Your section executive is hard at work keeping children’s rights and interests in the spotlight. Some of our recent advocacy to federal decision-makers includes:
- Bill S-209 – An Act to restrict young persons’ online access to pornographic material
- Bill S-212 – An Act respecting a national strategy for children and youth in Canada
- Letter to the Hon. Anna Gainey, Secretary of State for Children and Youth
- Bill C-14 – Bail and Sentencing Reform Act
Upcoming events
Here’s where you’ll find or can join your Child and Youth Law section executive this Spring:
- April 16 – Webinar: Hearing from Children in Family Dispute Resolution
- April 23 – Meeting: CYL Executive & Department of Justice, Ottawa, Ontario
- April 24-25 – Meeting: Child Rights Academic Network, Ottawa, Ontario
- May 26-28 – Conference: Advancing People-Centred Justice in Canada: Data Sharing and Knowledge Building, Ottawa, Ontario
- June 16-18 – Course: The 13th edition of the International Summer Course on Children’s Rights, with the theme of Children’s Rights in the Age of Artificial Intelligence, Moncton, New Brunswick and online.
Colleagues in the news
Join us in a round of applause for our colleagues!
- Michael Zimmerman (Past CYL Chair) was elected as a Bencher for the Law Society of British Columbia.
- Cheryl Milne (Past CYL Chair) was awarded the OBA Award of Excellence in Constitutional, Civil Liberties and Human Rights Law.
- Mary Birdsell (Past CYL Chair) received the inaugural OBA Award of Excellence in Child and Youth Law at a reception in her honour.
Get involved
There are lots of ways to make your mark as part of the Child and Youth Law Section.
- Join the Section executive committee by running in the CBA 2026-2027 Elections. Nationally, we’re looking for a Communications Officer and Members at Large. Also, be sure to join your Branch’s child and youth law executive by running in local elections.
- Become a judge for the Child and Youth Law Essay Contest and be sure to encourage students in your orbit to submit their work for consideration.
- Contribute to the Child Right Toolkit update by sending content suggestions to rebecca.bromwich@carleton.ca by May 1, 2026.
- Follow our LinkedIn page to stay connected and help us build a visible, engaged community of practitioners.
- Tell us your child and youth law stories at CBAChildYouthLaw@cba.org to help us highlight the great work being done across Canada.
- Talk about section events and opportunities with your colleagues – and invite them to join the CBA and our section – as we continue to strengthen the network of child and youth law practitioners across Canada.
Jean-Frédéric (J-F) Hübsch
Communications Officer, CBA Child and Youth Law Section