Western Law hosts ninth annual Canadian Commercial Law Symposium
September 22, 2025
Image LTR: Professors Alfonso Nocilla, Dean Mohamed Khimji, Phil King, Thomas Telfer, and Joanna Langille
Leading commercial law scholars from across the country gathered at Western Law on September 13 for the ninth Canadian Commercial Law Symposium. The symposium brings Canadian academics together annually to discuss current issues and research in commercial law as a field of study distinct from the broader subject of business law.
This year’s symposium was organized by Professors Thomas Telfer and Alfonso Nocilla from Western Law, along with Professor Gail Henderson from Queen's University and Professor Frankie Young from the University of Ottawa.
The ninth edition of the conference covered topics including commercial arbitration, the duties of directors, sustainable finance, corporate insolvency and consumer credit. Keynote speaker Marilyn Leblanc, Director - Secretariat, Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) discussed the FCAC’s mandate and current initiatives, including monitoring payday loans, tracking consumer financial resilience and conducting public opinion research on Canadians’ understanding of open banking.
The symposium attracted over 30 participants, including several junior scholars who presented their research and acted as commentators for the first time. In addition, Western Law faculty members Joanna Langille and Phil King brought their expertise on international commercial dispute resolution and secured lending and commercial transactions respectively as commentators, underscoring the breadth of our faculty’s expertise in business and commercial law.
“Through the Western Business Law Program, we are proud to support a wide spectrum of business law scholarship - from corporate governance and international commercial dispute resolution to restructuring, insolvency, and secured lending,” said Dean Mohamed Khimji.
“Our faculty’s contributions to the Canadian Commercial Law Symposium showcase Western Law’s leadership in the field - preparing the next generation of lawyers and shaping the legal and commercial frameworks that support Canadian and international markets.”
The symposium originated at a 2016 academic conference organized by the University of Saskatchewan College of Law to honour the distinguished 50-year teaching career of Professor Ronald (Ron) Cuming. Next year’s symposium will be held at the University of New Brunswick Faculty of Law.
