As a society, our attitudes and standards continue to evolve as we come to terms with the darker periods in our history. A constructive way to build awareness and education around such events involves the creation of special days, declared in recognition of past wrongs that should be acknowledged, not ignored or swept under the national carpet.

One such example is Emancipation Day on August 1, which celebrates the end of enslavement in Canada. Yes, slavery played a role in our country’s past, though many Canadians are unaware that Black and Indigenous people were enslaved within the lands we now call Canada.

On March 24, 2021, the House of Commons voted unanimously to officially designate August 1 as Emancipation Day. This marks the date in 1834 when the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 came into effect throughout the British Empire, ending enslavement for some 800,000 people in Canada and parts of the Caribbean, Africa and South America.

Emancipation Day gives Canadians an opportunity to reflect, learn and engage in the ongoing fight against racism and discrimination. You can get involved by finding information online (Heritage Canada’s website is a good start), engaging in conversation about the history of enslavement and its ongoing cultural repercussions, and supporting the many organizations working to eradicate racism.

For more information and additional resources, visit our website.

Registration is now open for both mentors and mentees in the 2022–2023 Mentor Express program.

Mentor Express is a non-traditional mentorship program. Mentees browse an online listing of mentors and choose one-hour sessions with those they are interested in meeting. The self-match system allows mentees to seek guidance and insight relevant to their own career development with a variety of mentors in different work settings.

View this video to hear firsthand from a previous mentor and mentee in the program on the benefits that they saw from participation, including professional development, flexibility in meetings, expanding their networks, learning new skills and more.

Register as a mentor or a mentee on our website. Please note that due to the overwhelming interest in our program last year, we are limiting the number of mentors this year to better use our mentors’ time and expertise. We still need mentors from a variety of work settings, practice areas and backgrounds, so we encourage everyone interested to apply. Mentor applicants will be added to a waitlist and advised in August if they have a spot in the 2022–2023 program. The program will run from October to March.

Also, a reminder that all new lawyers called to the bar in 2022 will be automatically enrolled as mentees in the 2022–2023 Mentor Express program. For more information on automatic enrolment in Mentor Express, visit our website.

For more information on the program, visit our website or contact Customer Service.

In keeping with the annual tradition of getting together with the local bar in the regions throughout Alberta, the Court of Queen’s Bench is pleased to be presenting an information session for lawyers and students-at-law this summer. This year’s seminar covers procedural updates and cases of interest decided over the past 12 months in the criminal, family and civil practice areas. They will also have an update on SafeRoads judicial review decisions, some information on the surrogate practice reforms and the Court’s French language policy.

Read more about the upcoming seminars in the full announcement.