VICTORIA – A $13-million investment by the Province will enable the University of Victoria (UVic) to build its much-anticipated National Centre for Indigenous Laws.
“The National Centre for Indigenous Laws will be home to the first Indigenous law program in the world to combine the intensive study of both Indigenous and non-Indigenous law, and will help Canada build a new nation-to-nation relationship based on the recognition – and renaissance – of Indigenous legal traditions,” said Jamie Cassels, president and vice-chancellor, UVic. “We are grateful to the provincial and federal governments that helped establish this unique Indigenous law program at UVic and to the Law Foundation of BC for its generous donations today.”
The new addition will be home to the world’s first joint degree in Indigenous legal orders and Canadian common law (JD/JID), which launched at UVic in 2018, and to the Indigenous Law Research Unit. The 2,440-square-metre (26,264-sq.-ft.) addition to the Anne and Murray Fraser (Law) Building is designed to reflect and honour the law school’s location and long-standing relationship with the Songhees, Esquimalt and WSÁNEĆ peoples on whose territory the university resides. The project will use Coast Salish designs, signage, public art and materials such as BC wood, cedar weaving and natural light.
New high-tech digital infrastructure will enable students to connect with their home communities and also enable sharing of legal traditions with one another. It will also enable UVic to host conferences, public workshops, research and partnerships for faculty, students and visitors. The new addition will include public lecture theatres, faculty and staff offices, classrooms, meeting space, an Elders’ room and spaces for gathering, ceremonies and sharing of histories and knowledge.
The $27.1-million project is being funded by the Province ($13 million), the federal government ($9.1 million) and the Law Foundation of BC ($5 million).
In 2019, BC was the first province or territory to pass legislation to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. This new legislation provides a path forward on reconciliation – one that respects Indigenous peoples’ human rights and creates clarity and predictability for all people in British Columbia.
