Chief Justice delivers Pensa Lecture in Human Rights
May 16, 2016
Canada’s Chief Justice spoke on “Canadian Constitutionalism and the Ethic of Inclusion and Accommodation” at the annual Pensa Lecture in Human Rights.
In her talk to over 300 attendees at Western Law on March 31, Beverley McLachlin outlined a narrative of Canada’s inclusive approach to diversity, which she says is rooted in our past.
“Our history is not a history of exclusion, subjugation or exile, but a history of coming together in full recognition of our differences and working out those differences in the spirit of mutual respect,” she said. “In a multicultural global world where other nations are struggling to deal with diversity, we have set a high mark.”
Chief Justice McLachlin went on to discuss how our Constitution and laws have developed to support a response of inclusion and accommodation. She then analyzed the boundaries of accommodation – the limits that the law and our legal system must inevitably must impose.
She highlighted the right to assisted dying (Carter v. Canada, 2015), the balancing of rights in the “niqab” case (R. v. N.S., 2012) and the recognition of First Nations’ place in Canadian society (R. v. Sparrow, 1990) as examples of constitutional decisions by the Supreme Court of Canada that have shaped our judicial approach towards diversity, respectful accommodation and reconciliation.
“By striking the balance between the rights and their limits, the Constitution has shaped the values to which we are committed, and in the process forged our identity,” McLachlin said. “Sometimes the process is difficult, often it is imperfect. But it is the only process we have.”
This was the final lecture of this important series which was established in 2006 to honour Harrison Pensa LLP founding partner, Claude Pensa and the commitment he and his late wife, Elaine, shared in the area of human rights.
“Chief Justice McLachlin’s lecture is a stirring reminder of the importance of a dynamic human rights and constitutional culture as tools to build an accommodating and diverse society that works. It is entirely fitting that she would deliver the last lecture in the Pensa human rights series: a visionary speech by one of Canada’s greatest jurists,” said Professor Michael Lynk, one of the organizers of the evening.
The inaugural Pensa Lecture was delivered by Michael Ignatieff, the former leader of the federal Liberal Party, on the topic “Speaking Up for Human Rights: The Canadian Challenge.” Other speakers in the series include: Supreme Court Justice Ian Binnie; Justice Richard Goldstone, former Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda; Philippe Sands, a Professor of international law at University College London; Chief Phil Fontaine, the former National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations and Senator Roméo Dallaire.
