Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice

The recent evolution in the law of evidence is a vital topic for those interested in our legal system, whether a decision- maker, advocate, litigator, academic, teacher, student and or law-maker. In the past 25 years, the Supreme Court of Canada has ushered in a set of revolutionary changes to the rules of evidence in several areas, including witness competence, privilege, hearsay and similar act evidence. It has developed a “principled approach” designed to return evidence law to fundamental first principles while conforming to the normative commitments of the Charter. The conference will address how facts are established through rules of evidence in criminal cases and how evidence law impacts the legal system in family law mediation, administrative hearings, civil cases, public inquiries and commissions through innovative, comparative and theoretical perspectives.

  1. Welcoming and Conference Overview

    Beth Symes, LSM, CM, President, CIAJ, Toronto, ON
    Ronald Murphy, Counsel, Crown Law Office - Civil Ministry of the Attorney General, Toronto, ON and Professor, Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS

  2. Keynote Speech Probability, Statistics and Justice

    Paul Schabas, Partner, Blakes, Toronto, ON
    Jeffrey Rosenthal, Professor, Department of Statistics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON

  3. Canada's Evidence Revolution

    The Honourable Lynn Smith, Faculty of Law, University of British Columbia, formerly at the Supreme Court of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC

    Professor Benjamin Berger, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, Toronto, ON

    The Honourable Ian Binnie, Counsel, Lenczner Slaght Royce Smith Griffin LLP, formerly at the Supreme Court of Canada, Toronto, ON

  4. Facts and Evidence in The Criminal Process

    The Honourable Judge Patrick Healy, Quebec Court, Montreal, QC
    The Honourable Judge Anne Derrick, Provincial Court of Nova Scotia, Halifax, NS
    Professor Lisa Dufraimont, Faculty of Law, Queen's University, Kingston, ON
    The Honourable Justice Renee Pomerance, Superior Court of Justice, Windsor, ON

  5. Evidence In Civil Justice Beyond Rules

    Paul Schabas, Partner, Blakes, Toronto, ON
    The Honourable Justice Marie St- Pierre, Quebec Court of Appeal, Montreal, QC
    Linda Rothstein, Partner, Paliare Roland, Barristers, Toronto, ON
    The Honourable Lynn Smith, Faculty of Law, University of British Columbia, formerly at the Supreme Court of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC

  6. Problems and Projects In Theory And Practice Of Evidence Law

    Ronalda Murphy, Counsel, Crown Law Office - Civil Law, Ministry of the Attorney General, Toronto, ON, and Professor, Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS
    Dr. Susan Haack, Distinguished Professor in Humanities, Cooper Senior Scholar in Arts and Science and Professor of Law and of Philosophy, Faculty of Law, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL (USA)