CFLS Lecture Series: Dr. Kim Stanton

Dr. Kim Stanton is a lawyer, called to the bar in BC and Ontario, whose legal practice has focused on equality law, constitutional law, Indigenous rights law, and addressing gender-based violence. She was a Commissioner on the Mass Casualty Commission (the joint federal/provincial inquiry into the April 2020 Nova Scotia mass casualty). The Commission issued its comprehensive final report in March 2023 and addressed issues including gender-based violence, policing, access to firearms, mental health, public alerting and community safety. In 2024, the BC government appointed Dr. Stanton to conduct an independent systemic review of the BC legal system’s treatment of intimate partner violence and sexual violence. She released her final report in June 2025. Her book Reconciling Truths: Reimagining Public Inquiries in Canada (UBC Press, 2022) was shortlisted for the Writers' Trust Balsillie Prize for Public Policy. Dr. Stanton is a senior fellow of Massey College at the University of Toronto, where she completed her Masters and Doctorate degrees in law.

Vicky Law is the executive director of Rise Women’s Legal Centre. She joined Rise in 2017 where she conceptualised and implemented the Virtual Legal Clinic. Vicky was the supervising lawyer for the Virtual Legal Clinic before becoming Rise’s executive director. She has worked in the fields of immigration law and family law for women experiencing intimate partner violence. In her career as a legal advocate and a lawyer, she has supported many families in navigating their immigration status in Canada, and the complexity of the family law system.

Kory Wilson (Kwakwaka’wakw), BSc. JD, is the Chair of the BC First Nations Justice Council and she is the Executive Director of Indigenous Initiatives and Partnerships for British Columbia Institute of Technology. Kory has over 20 years of experience in post-secondary education, community development, and legal profession. She was instrumental in the creation of six open-sourced BC Campus Indigenization Guides. A sought-after speaker and strategist on advancing and ‘truth-telling’ about the past and moving forward towards Reconciliation. With a deep commitment to education, both formal and informal, she knows innovative and creative solutions are a must to move Reconciliation into ReconciliACTION. Education and access to knowledge are key to move everyone forward. When people know better, they do better. Diversity is a reality, but inclusion is a choice. Inclusion requires bold and courageous conversations and confidence to ensure systemic change and outside the box solutions. We can and must do better – Canada can and must do better. Together we are stronger. 

Dr Emma Cunliffe is a Professor in the Allard School of Law.  Dr Cunliffe studies how courts decide the facts of contested cases.  She is particularly interested in expert evidence, the operation of implicit bias, and legal processes regarding gendered and racialized violence, particularly those regarding Indigenous people. Dr Cunliffe is also a member of the evidence-based forensic initiative, which is based at the University of New South Wales.