I am writing this on December 15th. You may not read this until after Christmas but I hope it will still be timely!
If you have had enough Hallmark movies, or podcasts highlighting the latest twists in US politics, I have a suggestion for you. Tune in to the CBC’s See you in Court podcast. It tells the stories behind legal cases that changed Canada. Host Falen Johnson teams up with a journalist to dig into a case that challenged the status quo and reshaped the law.
The series begins with the story of Henry Morgantaler, and continues with the stories of Girbaj Singh Multani and his ceremonial kirpan; Donald Marshall Jr’s fight for fishing rights; David Milgaard’s wrongful conviction; Nancy Lockhart and Sunday shopping (Big M Drug Mart); Jean-Marc Richard’s dispute with Time Magazine, and Delwin Vriend, the teacher fired because of his sexual orientation. These are all familiar names to many of us in the legal community.
What makes this series different, however, is its focus on the people at the centre of these cases. We may know the legal principles and outcomes but See You in Court shows us what the process looked, and felt like, for the people at the heart of the stories.
I want to especially recommend the story of Leticia Racine, described as “the girl whose life became a battleground for Indigenous child welfare”. Setting the legal battle in the context of her complex life from infancy to adulthood provides a poignant and moving counterpoint to the legal-only story.
Leticia was born in 1976 and placed into foster care at six weeks old. Her Indigenous birth mother later sought to regain custody of her daughter who had lived since infancy with a non-Indigenous foster home. In Racine v Woods (1983) the Supreme Court of Canada ultimately ruled that Laticia should remain with the foster family, prioritizing the strong attachment formed over her Indigenous heritage.
Partly in response to this decision, Bill C92 came into force in 2020, affirming Indigenous jurisdiction over child and family services. Its constitutionality was upheld in 2024. By then Leticia was 48 years old.
It is encouraging to see that, over time, Canada’s justice system can lead to laudable changes in the law. But these stories remind us how long that process can take. Years of uncertainty and stress add trauma to lives that are already deeply affected.
Learning to pay attention to the actual experience of the humans at the heart of legal disputes is not something I was taught at law school some 45 years ago. I truly hope legal education has evolved to place greater emphasis on the lived experience of those impacted by the law and legal decision-making. This is the foundation of the people-centred justice movement and the mission of the Family Justice Innovation Lab Society.
Happy Holidays to everyone.
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