AN EVENING WITH JOE ARVAY

Our Keynote Speaker for the 2002 Breaking the Silence Conference:

Mr. Joseph Arvay, Q.C.
Arvay Finlay Barristers
Victoria, BC

Joseph Arvay, Q.C. holds law degrees from the University of Western Ontario Law School and Harvard Law School. He spent five years as an Assistant and then Associate Professor at the University of Windsor Law School before relocating to British Columbia in 1981, where he assumed the position of Senior Counsel and later General Counsel for the British Columbia Ministry of the Attorney General. In that capacity he appeared in all courts in the province and frequently in the Supreme Court of Canada and was engaged in both civil and criminal litigation with an emphasis on constitutional and administrative law matters. He was involved in almost every constitutional case of importance in British Columbia. This included both federalism cases and Charter cases.

For example, he successfully defended the Little Sisters Book and Art Emporium against the federal government (which involved a challenge to the power of Canada Customs to prohibit the import of books) and Egan and Nesbitt (the same-sex spousal benefits case).

Of great interest to us is the announcement by the Supreme Court of Canada on October 4, 2001 that it will hear the case of James Chamberlain et al v. The Board of Trustees of School District #36 (Surrey) (The Surrey Book Banning Case).

His topic:

Banned in British Columbia: Three Little Books About Same Sex Families; What Will the Supreme Court of Canada Do?”

When and where:

Friday, March 15, 2001
College of Commerce, Georgia Goodspeed Theatre (Room 18)
University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon, SK S7N 0X1

For Breaking the Silence registration information, click here.

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