Against the Odds documents the remarkable achievements of Thomas R. Berger in the legal field, including his pioneering work in advocating for Indigenous rights that courts in Canada and the US had previously overlooked. Mid-career, Justice Thomas Berger accepted the challenge of leading the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline Inquiry in Canada’s Northwest Territories. He organized the Inquiry to give northern First Nations an equal voice in the proceedings by holding thirty community hearings in wh...

Too often, history and knowledge of Indigenous-settler conflict over land take the form of confidential reports prepared for court challenges. To Share, Not Surrender offers an entirely new approach, opening scholarship to the public and augmenting it with First Nations community expertise.The authors take us back to when James Douglas and his family relocated to Fort Victoria on Vancouver Island in 1849, critically tracing the transition from treaty-making in the colony o...

Sometime in 1866, a Spaniard named Josep Soler (1840–1906) arrived in Whanganui, Aotearoa New Zealand. Born in Constantí in the Camp de Tarragona winemaking region south of Barcelona, Soler came from a winemaking family and was a winemaker himself before leaving Spain. He planted his first New Zealand vineyard shortly after arriving in Whanganui, and his business life was one of uninterrupted success. In 1880, the New Zealand Herald proclaimed him its “New Zealander of the Year” for “his f...

This sixth volume in the Osgoode Society's distinguished series on the history of Canadian law turns to the a central theme in the history of British Columbia and the Yukon - law and order. In the early days of British sovereignty, the frenzied activity of the fur trade and the gold rush, along with clashes between settlers and Natives, made law enforcement a difficult business. Later, although law and order were more firmly established, tensions continued between the dominant populations ...

Against the Odds chronicles Thomas R. Berger's significant contributions to Indigenous rights advocacy in Canada and the United States. Mid-career, Berger led the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline Inquiry, conducting over thirty community hearings in the Northwest Territories to ensure that First Nations' voices were heard. Later, he also led public hearings on the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. The accompanying pdf is "Northern Album," a gallery featuring previously unpublished col...

Two men were shot and killed in the office of the Montreal Cotton Company in Valleyfield, Quebec, on a night in 1895. A third victim, shot through the head, managed to survive. Charged with the murders was Valentine Shortis, a young Irish immigrant. His trial, the longest on record at the time in Canada, was played out against one of the most dramatic periods in Canadian political history. Before the case closed it had involved some of the most important names in the country.Did Va...

From “the Kid” on the Varsity Blues football team to “the Chief” at Osgoode Hall, R. Roy McMurtry has had a remarkably varied and influential career. As reformist attorney general of Ontario, one of the architects of the agreement that brought about the patriation of the Canadian Constitution, high commissioner to the United Kingdom, and chief justice of Ontario, he made a large and enduring contribution to Canadian law, politics, and life.These memoirs cover all these facets of hi...

Recent debate around the potential decriminalization of marijuana, along with a growing perception that illicit drug use is on the rise, has brought the role of the state in controlling intoxication to the forefront of public discussion. Until now, however, there has been little scholarly consideration of the legal and social regulation of drug use in Canada. In The Real Dope, Edgar-Andre Montigny brings together leading scholars from a diverse range of fields—including history, l...

Every day tells a storyCanada 365 is a beautifully illustrated book that shows what happened on this day in Canada—from January 1 to December 31—from historical turning points to the odd and unusual, to milestones in sports, business, politics and entertainment.Featuring over 400 photographs with multiple entries for every day, Canada 365 forms a fascinating and unique look at our home and native land. On January 17, 1974, Pauline McGibbon was appo...

In Christopher Moore’s lively and engaging history of the Court of Appeal for Ontario, he traces the evolution of one of Canada’s most influential courts from its origins as a branch of the lieutenant governor’s executive council to the post-Charter years of cutting-edge jurisprudence and national influence.Discussing the issues, personalities, and politics which have shaped Ontario’s highest court, The Court of Appeal for Ontario offers appreciations of key figures in Can...

Fragile Settlements compares the processes by which colonial authority was asserted over Indigenous people in south-west Australia and prairie Canada from the 1830s to the early twentieth century. At the start of this period, there was an explosion of settler migration across the British Empire. In a humanitarian response to the unprecedented demand for land, Britain’s Colonial Office moved to protect Indigenous peoples by making them subjects under British law. This book highligh...

Throughout the British colonies in the nineteenth century, judges were expected not only to administer law and justice, but also to play a significant role within the governance of their jurisdictions. British authorities were consequently concerned about judges' loyalty to the Crown, and on occasion removed or suspended those who were found politically subversive or personally difficult. Even reasonable and well balanced judges were sometimes threatened with removal.Using the care...