The University of Victoria has announced plans to expand its law school building to include Canada's first National Centre for Indigenous Laws. The $27-million project, jointly funded by the province, the federal government, and the Law Foundation of B.C., will bring a 26,000-square-foot addition to the Anne and Murray Fraser law building. Val Napoleon, director of the school's current joint degree in Canadian and Indigenous law program, and the centre's co-founder, said the new building will house and expand upon the program, the Indigenous law research unit, and the environmental law centre, in "a way that reaches out to people across Canada." 's Minister of Advanced Education Melanie Mark added that the centre is a major step toward reconciliation on a national level. She said it will specifically address the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's 50th call to action, which is to "fund the establishment of Indigenous law institutes for the development, use, and understanding of Indigenous laws."

Source: CBC News September 03, 2020 23:37 UTC