Nunavut lawyers launch public education campaign

In Nunavut, the path to justice often leads through the Nunavut Court of Justice building in Iqaluit. The Law Society of Nunavut, the body that regulates lawyers working in Nunavut, is launching a public education campaign Feb. 7 that will eventually lead to outreach activities in the communities. (FILE PHOTO)

Anyone in Iqaluit, including elders, can learn about their legal rights — and enjoy steaming stacks of pancakes — at an upcoming event designed to improve their knowledge of, and access to, the justice system.

The Law Society of Nunavut, in partnership with Maliiganik Tukisiiniakvik, will launch its Access to Knowledge initiative Feb. 7, with a pancake breakfast at Iqaluit’s Francophone Centre.

“We call it ‘Access to Knowledge’ because we don’t want to just provide information,” Nalini Vaddapalli, chief executive officer of the law society, said in an interview Feb. 2.

“We want to be there to support people in understanding their rights, give them a bit of food for thought.”

Maliiganik’s legal aid lawyers will attend the breakfast to field any questions that Iqaluit residents may have.

“The informal aspect is important, I think, to realize that lawyers are people too, and that they’re friendly, approachable and here to help,” said Mark Mossey, executive director of Maliiganik — Baffin’s legal aid organization which recently celebrated its fortieth anniversary.

Providing greater legal access and education to Nunavummiut is part of Maliiganik’s fortieth anniversary mandate, Mossey said.

But the law society’s launch is the culmination of three years of work, Vaddapalli said, and the start of things to come.

“We’re hoping this is just a first step that is going to get bigger and bigger, so that communities know that when lawyers come to their community they’re also there to meet with them and talk to them about topics that are important to them,” Vaddapalli said.

The plan, Vaddapalli and Mossey each said, is to hold similar events in other Baffin communities in the near future, though dates and times have not yet been set.

The law society, in consultation with its stakeholders, has developed a series of priority themes to broaden the understanding of Nunavummiut on their legal rights.

The first theme, elder’s rights, will be followed by information sheets on four other themes: family law, covering a wide range of family-related topics; the rights of people with disabilities; rights surrounding consent and confidentiality; and legal rights around housing.

The information sheets are designed to help lawyers traveling to communities for circuit court to reach out to community members with questions.

Some of the law society’s senior lawyers are already talking on local radio shows and visiting local high schools while traveling on the circuit court, Vaddapalli said, to help inform community members.

But the society wants to formalize a process so that all lawyers on circuit court have the support and resources they need to reach out to the communities they visit.

The law society — which represents all lawyers working in Nunavut, Crown and defence lawyers alike, has also hired a part-time staff person fluent in Inuktitut.

An Inuktitut hotline has been set up, Vaddapalli said, for Nunavummiut to call if they have questions or need legal support.

“The law society has a statutory mandate to protect the public, but I think that under protecting the public is also finding ways to provide them with information and give them the support to understand the information,” Vaddapalli said.

And that goal of educating the public dovetails well with Maliiganik’s goal of making legal support more accessible to the public, Mossey said.

“I want people to know that we’re here, that we have nine criminal law lawyers, three family lawyers, a poverty lawyer, Inuit court workers full-time in Iqaluit and court workers in 12 communities across Baffin,” he added.

“We are a resource that people can turn to if they’ve got any sort of questions, or if they’re in trouble with the police — they can come to us for help.”

The Iqaluit breakfast launch, scheduled from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., will include a presentation at noon, as well a short talk by Jack Anawak on Maliiganik’s forty years of service.

Free transportation is available for elders courtesy of the Pairijait Tigumivik Elder’s Society, which can be reached at 979-2733 to arrange for pickup.

“Information truly is power,” Mossey said.

“The more knowledge anybody, anywhere has of their legal rights, the better it is going to be for everybody.”