The Law Society of the Northwest Territories’ mandate is “to ensure the public is well served by a legal profession that is independent, responsible and responsive…It Is a self-governing Society… responsible for governing the legal profession in the public interest … It is our responsibility to ensure that the people of the Northwest Territories are served by lawyers who meet high standards of competence, learning and professional conduct; and, to uphold the independence, integrity and honour of the legal profession. We believe that the public is well served by a legal profession that is independent, responsible, and responsive to the needs of the public its serves.”

Law Society of the NWT Commitment to Truth and Reconciliation

Working Towards Reconciliation

“The Law Society of the Northwest Territories acknowledge that we must always respect and nurture our relationship with the Dene, the Metis and the Inuvialuit, and with these lands we now call the Northwest Territories. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission, in its Calls to Action, called upon law societies to ensure that lawyers receive appropriate cultural competency training, which includes the history and legacy of residential schools, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Treaties and Aboriginal rights, Indigenous law, and Aboriginal– Crown relations. The National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, in its Calls to Justice, called upon Canadian law societies to have mandatory intensive and periodic training of all who participate in the criminal justice system.

We, as a Law Society, continue to work towards meeting those calls.”

Reconciliation Committee Report.  44^th AGM December 3, 2022

Made in the North Continuing Professional Development 

The committee is committed to develop a CPD to help membership to understand and serve people and clients who are mostly Indigenous. Issues such as cultural competency and Indigenous worldview is essential. Lawyers and Judges must understand issues facing Indigenous people in the north. Hopefully it will create an awareness of how things can be done differently within justice system. 

The Restorative Justice and Reconciliation Learning Event was a 2-day conference held in December, 2022 in Dettah, Northwest Territories. The conference included a 3-hour session (in addition to the learning component) at the Arctic Indigenous Wellness Foundation’s Wellness Camp. I have attached the E-Binder for the conference if you would like to review it at your leisure. This provides a more in-depth review of the conference that is no longer available on our website. 

The Reconciliation and the Law Society Committee is offering another free session on November 18^th at the Arctic Indigenous Wellness Foundation’s Wellness Camp for members of the Society.

Call to Action # 27

We call upon the Federation of Law Societies of Canada to ensure that lawyers receive appropriate cultural competency training, which includes the history and legacy of residential schools, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Treaties and Aboriginal rights, Indigenous law, and Aboriginal-Crown relations. This will require skills-based training in intercultural competency, conflict resolution, human rights, and anti-racism.

Mandatory Course: 

The Law Society has approved three mandatory course options to choose from:

By March 31, 2023, the end of the renewal period for the 2023/24 year, all active members of the Law Society will be required to have completed either:

• The Path – Your Journey Through Indigenous Canada or
• An Introduction to Living Well Together
• The University of Alberta’s “Indigenous Canada”

The Path

The Canadian Bar Association’s “The Path – Your Journey Through Indigenous Canada”

The program consists of 6 online modules made up of videos and quizzes that focus on the First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples of Canada. The program serves as an introduction to the history of Indigenous peoples and their relationship with European settlers, the British Crown and Dominion of Canada. 

These modules set out to demystify some of the legal issues surrounding:

• the Canadian Constitution, 
• the Indian Act, 
• historical and modern treaties, 
• recent rulings by the Supreme Court of Canada and what they mean in practical terms. 
• The final module includes information on Canada’s incarceration statistics, understanding and applying Gladue principles, an overview of Canada’s existing Indigenous Courts, and an exploration of alternative justice systems.”

List of Modules:

1. Module 1: What’s in a Name? 
2. Module 2: Defining Moments in History
3. Module 3: More Defining Moments in History
4. Module 4: It’s the Law!
5. Module 5: Relationship-building with Indigenous Peoples
6. Module 6: Indigenous Peoples and the Criminal Legal System

Living Well Together 

Living Well Together is a self-directed learning program created by the Government of the Northwest Territories designed for GNWT employees. The content of the training is provided in eight modules, or series. 

• Module 1 – The Journey Ahead 
• Module 2 – Exploring the Truth 
• Module 3 – The History of Colonization
• Module 4 – The Residential School System in Canada
• Module 5 – Negotiation & Renewal
• Module 6 – Toward Reconciliation
• Module 7 – Stronger Together
• Module 8 – Indigenous Voices

University of Alberta’s Indigenous Canada

Indigenous Canada is a 12-lesson Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) from the Faculty of Native Studies that explores the different histories and contemporary perspectives of Indigenous peoples living in Canada. From an Indigenous perspective, this course explores complex experiences Indigenous peoples face today from a historical and critical perspective highlighting national and local Indigenous-settler relations.

1. Worldview
2. Fur Trade
3. Trick or Treaty
4. New Rules, New Game
5. “Killing the Indian in the Child”
6. A Modern Indian?
7. Red Power
8. Sovereign Lands
9. Indigenous Women
10. Indigenous in the City
11. Current Social Movements
12. ‘Living’ Traditions – Expressions in Pop Culture and Art

Law Society of NWT Commitment to Call to Action # 27: 5 out of 5 – 100%

1	The history of Aboriginal peoples, including the history and legacy of residential schools
Yes. See course descriptions for the three options: The Path, Living Well Together or the University of Alberta’s Indigenous Canada
2	The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
Yes. See course descriptions for the three options: The Path, Living Well Together or the University of Alberta’s Indigenous Canada
3	Treaties and Aboriginal rights
Yes. See course descriptions for the three options: The Path, Living Well Together or the University of Alberta’s Indigenous Canada
4	Indigenous law
Yes. See course descriptions for the three options: The Path, Living Well Together or the University of Alberta’s Indigenous Canada
5	Aboriginal–Crown Relations
Yes. See course descriptions for the three options: The Path, Living Well Together or the University of Alberta’s Indigenous Canada

Response to Federation of Law Societies of Canada’s Statement of Commitment to Reconciliation (#s 2 – 8)   

Recommendation Two

That the Federation urges all law societies to make a formal commitment to reconciliation and develop a framework or steps for putting that commitment into action. Law societies may consider adopting the Guiding Principles in the Federation’s Appendix C, if they do not yet have a framework in place, to guide their work on reconciliation. (See the Law Society of Alberta’s Appendix C, for eg.)

The society’s “Working Towards Reconciliation above describes their commitment towards realization of the aims of the “Truth and Reconciliation Commission, in its Calls to Action”. The society does not clarify whether they are using the Federation’s guide or if they plan to use the Federation as an information hub.

Recommendation Three

That the Federation urge law societies to critically examine their regulatory processes and structures to consider how they may be more inclusive of the needs and perspectives of Indigenous peoples, as well as how they may adversely impact Indigenous peoples.

Partially. “Three members of the committee are on the planning committee of the Restorative Justice and Reconciliation learning event. The committee agreed to allocate its funding to the “Restorative Justice and Reconciliation learning” event as the conference is clearly within the mandate of the reconciliation committee with the question: “What can we do differently? The goal is not only to educate, but also to bring people together with a view to improving the justice system’s relationship with [I]ndigenous peoples.” (December 2022, p.55)

Recommendation Four

That the federation urge law societies to provide ongoing opportunities for competency and awareness training for law society leadership and staff.

The society currently delivers 3 options: * the CBA sponsored “The Path – Your Journey Through Indigenous Canada, a 6 module online learning series; * Living Well Together: an 8 module series designed by the NWT government and * the University of Alberta’s Indigenous Canada, a 12-part online series. The Northwest Territories’ AGM report from Dec. 2022 states: * “Made in the North Continuing Professional Development p. 54:The committee is committed to develop a CPD to help membership to understand and serve people and clients who are mostly Indigenous. Issues such as cultural competency.” * The committee is committed to develop a CPD to help membership to understand and serve people and clients who are mostly Indigenous. Issues such as cultural competency and Indigenous worldview is essential. Lawyers and Judges must understand issues facing Indigenous people in the north. Hopefully it will create an awareness of how things can be done differently within justice system” * The Northwest’s society’s report says it is working towards the MMIWG report’s call for mandatory training.

Recommendation Five

That the Federation urge law societies to continue building relationships with local Indigenous organizations, the Indigenous bar, and other appropriate groups including the legal academy, through formal and informal opportunities for collaboration.

The Northwest Territories’ AGM report from Dec. 2022 states: Engaging the Community p. 55: The committee had initially held meetings outside of the office to give community members a chance to observe committee meetings and meet committee members. Once the committee is up and running again, there is a hope for meeting outside the office and suggestions from the public on how to best appeal to the public. This is key as law society is seen as a privileged and elite group who is to serve and protect lawyers. They public must feel its interested are protected” Bar and Bench Learning Event p. 55:  Three members of the committee are on the planning committee of the Restorative Justice and Reconciliation learning event. The committee agreed to allocate its funding to the event as the conference is clearly within the mandate of the reconciliation committee with the question: “What can we do differently? The goal is not only to educate, but also to bring people together with a view to improving the justice system’s relationship with indigenous peoples” Speaker Series p. 56 The hope of the committee is to continue with the series with question: “What does reconciliation mean to me?”. Hopefully the series will be a regular event. We hope the membership will share thoughts and recommend on speakers they would like to hear on various topics.

Recommendation Six

That the Federation urge law societies to collaborate with Indigenous organizations, members of the bar and law students to explore opportunities for providing additional supports to Indigenous students and members of the bar.

The society has a youtube series called “What Reconciliation Means to Me” and  “Bill C-15 – UNDRIP” under the user name Law Society of the NWT ( You Tube channel).

Recommendation Seven

That the Federation urge law societies to:

• Consider mandatory Indigenous cultural competency training.
• Ensure that legal professionals in their jurisdictions are provided with access to educational opportunities to enhance their knowledge and understanding of Indigenous peoples, the legacy of colonization and the existence of Indigenous legal orders.
• Ensure the availability of a continuum of educational opportunities and resources to recognize the diversity of legal practices and Indigenous peoples and legal orders within a given jurisdiction.
• Collaborate with Indigenous organizations in the development and delivery of cultural competency training or rely on training already developed by such organizations.

See Recommendation # 4 above and course descriptions under Mandatory courses. The Northwest Territories’ AGM report from Dec. 2022 p. 55 states: “The committee agreed to allocate its funding to the ‘Restorative Justice and Reconciliation learning’ event. The conference was clearly within the mandate of the reconciliation committee with the question: “What can we do differently? The goal is not only to educate, but also to bring people together with a view to improving the justice system’s relationship with indigenous peoples.”

Recommendation Eight

That the Federation urge law societies to review their admissions curriculum and licensing requirements and make necessary modifications to reflect the spirit and intent of the TRC Calls to Action. 

Not specifically addressed.

Land Acknowledgement

Located on Law Society of the Northwest Territories – Home -Page

The Law Society of the Northwest Territories respectfully acknowledges that we live and work on Chief Drygeese Territory in the Akaitcho region, the traditional territory of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation.

The Reconciliation and the Law Society Committee allotted funding to have a “welcome” greeting translated into Indigenous Languages for their website (Tlicho, Dëne Sułıne, South Slavey, North Slavey, Inuvialuktun, Gwitchen) that is currently under development.