{"id":11254,"date":"2026-01-19T11:16:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-19T16:16:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ontariocourts.ca\/coa\/?page_id=11254"},"modified":"2026-01-19T11:27:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-19T16:27:15","slug":"bertha-wilson-symposium","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.ontariocourts.ca\/coa\/bertha-wilson-symposium\/","title":{"rendered":"A Call for Papers \u2013 The Bertha Wilson Symposium"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Court of Appeal for Ontario is marking\u00a0the 50<sup>th<\/sup>\u00a0anniversary of the appointment of Bertha Wilson to the Court, effective January 2, 1976. The Honorable Bertha Wilson was the first woman ever appointed as a Canadian appellate judge and the first woman appointed to sit as a judge on the Supreme Court of Canada.<\/p>\n<p>There is much to celebrate when it comes to this extraordinary jurist, and we intend to do just that. On March 27, 2026, the court, together with the Law Society of Ontario, will host a symposium to honour her. It will take place in the Law Society\u2019s Lamont Learning Centre. Registration for this exciting event will open on February 3 through the Law Society.<\/p>\n<p><strong>In the meantime, we are calling for law students to participate by submitting papers that highlight Bertha Wilson\u2019s legacy in the law. One paper will be selected to be showcased at the Symposium. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Theme &amp; Scope<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Papers are welcome on Justice Wilson\u2019s ongoing influence\u2014through her jurisprudence, extra-judicial writing and speeches, or her work on reviews\/inquiries. In addition to papers written specifically on Bertha Wilson, papers written as part of coursework in fields connected to her contributions (e.g., constitutional law, human rights, feminist legal theory, jurisprudence, law &amp; social change) are also welcome.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0Eligibility<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Open to all students enrolled in a law degree program, undergraduate or graduate<\/li>\n<li>Previously graded papers <strong>and<\/strong>\u00a0papers not yet submitted for coursework are eligible<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><strong>Length<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Flexible; typically, <strong>5,000\u20137,000 words<\/strong> (including footnotes)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Cover Note (if applicable)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>If your paper is not specifically about Justice Wilson, include a <strong>brief cover note (\u2264250 words)<\/strong>\u00a0explaining how the topic connects to her legacy<\/p>\n<p><strong>Submission &amp; Deadline<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Submit as a single PDF (paper + cover note if applicable), with your name, school, and contact information<\/li>\n<li>Email to <strong>Lauralee Bielert<\/strong>\u00a0at <a href=\"mailto:Lauralee.Bielert@ontario.ca\"><strong>Lauralee.Bielert@ontario.ca<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<li><strong><u>Deadline:<\/u><\/strong><strong> Friday, February 27, 2026 (11:59 p.m. local time)<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Submissions may be sent earlier; rolling acknowledgements will be provided.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review &amp; Recognition<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A committee will review all entries and <strong>select one paper to be showcased at the Symposium<\/strong>, including a brief presentation by the student author.<\/p>\n<p>Questions may be directed to <a href=\"mailto:Lauralee.Bielert@ontario.ca\"><strong>Lauralee.Bielert@ontario.ca<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Court of Appeal for Ontario is marking\u00a0the 50th\u00a0anniversary of the appointment of Bertha Wilson to the Court, effective January&#46;&#46;&#46;","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"full-width-page-template.php","meta":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.10 - 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