Dr. Cindy Blackstock to deliver Chief Justice Thane A. Campbell Lectureship in Law at UPEI
The University of Prince Edward Island and the Law Foundation of Prince Edward Island invite the public to the upcoming Chief Justice Thane A. Campbell Lectureship in Law, featuring renowned human rights advocate Dr. Cindy Blackstock. The lecture will take place on Tuesday, November 17, 2026, at 5:00 pm in Schurman Market Square, Don and Marion McDougall Hall, on the UPEI campus.
Dr. Blackstock, Executive Director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society, will deliver a talk titled, “After First Nations children won: the struggle to remedy Canada’s systemic discrimination.”
In 2016, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal issued a landmark ruling (First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada et al. v. Attorney General of Canada, File No. T1340/7008, 2016 CHRT 2), finding that the Canadian government discriminated against First Nations children in the provision of child and family services and in its implementation of Jordan’s Principle. In a 2019 ruling (2019 CHRT 39), the Tribunal further characterized this discrimination as “wilful and reckless” and a “worst-case scenario.”
Despite public acceptance of the 2016 decision, the Tribunal has since issued more than 30 non-compliance and procedural orders. Dr. Blackstock’s address will examine the ongoing struggle to hold Canada accountable to these orders, detailing what is at stake for First Nations children, youth, families, and the broader human rights framework.
About the Chief Justice Thane A. Campbell Lectureship in Law
Co-sponsored by UPEI and the Law Foundation of Prince Edward Island, the lectureship series was established in 1991 through an endowment created to host thought-provoking legal discussions across the province. The series honours Thane A. Campbell, a Rhodes Scholar, former Premier of Prince Edward Island, and the founding Chancellor of UPEI.
Since its inaugural event in 1993, the lectureship has featured distinguished legal minds and public figures, including Chief Justice Antonio Lamer, Justice Joseph Ghiz, Justice Gerard LaForest, Justice Anne Derrick, Supreme Court Justice the Honourable Thomas Cromwell, Marie Henein, Professor Anne LaForest, Noa Mendelsohn Aviv, and James Lockyer.
For more information, please email artsadmin@upei.ca.
