Toronto — The Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History is honouring four scholars at a special ceremony on June 14, in recognition of the recent contributions they have made to furthering Canadians’ understanding of the country’s legal history.
At the Osgoode Society’s Annual Meeting, the following three awards will be presented: the R. Roy McMurtry Fellowship in Canadian Legal History, the Peter Oliver Prize in Canadian Legal History, and the John T. Saywell Prize for Canadian Constitutional Legal History.
“We applaud the award recipients for enriching Canadians’ understanding of the country’s legal history,” said Professor Jim Phillips, editor-in-chief of the Osgoode Society.
“Through their work, this year’s award recipients have helped promote the public’s interest in the history of law and the legal profession.”
The R. Roy McMurtry Fellowship in Canadian Legal History was created following the 2007 retirement of The Honourable R. Roy McMurtry. The award honours Chief Justice McMurtry’s various contributions to Canadian legal history as the province’s Chief Justice, attorney general and founder and current president of the Osgoode Society.
The fellowship supports PhD candidates or those with a recently-completed doctorate, in their research, for one year. Scholars working on any topic in the field of Canadian legal history are eligible for the award.
The 2018 co-winners of the R. Roy McMurtry Fellowship in Canadian Legal History are Chandra Murdoch, a PhD student in the History Department at the University of Toronto, who is working on the application of the first Indian Act (1876) in Ontario.
The other co-winner is Daniel Murchison, a PhD student in the History Department at York University, who is working on the effects of legal change on land-holding and family structure among the indigenous peoples of the Red River valley.
The Peter Oliver Prize in Canadian Legal History was established in 2006 to honour the late Professor Peter Oliver, the Osgoode Society’s founding editor-in-chief. The prize is awarded annually for a student’s published journal article, book chapter or book about Canadian legal history. Students in any discipline at any stage of their career are eligible.
The 2018 winner of the Peter Oliver Prize in Canadian Legal History is David Sandomierski for his article ‘Tension and Reconciliation in Canadian Contract Law Casebooks,’ in (2017) 54 Osgoode Hall Law Journal 1181.
The John T. Saywell Prize for Canadian Constitutional Legal History will also be awarded at the Osgoode Society’s annual meeting. The Saywell Prize is an award created by the generosity of the family and friends of the late Professor John T. Saywell, and is given biennially for the best new book about Canadian legal history, broadly defined, that makes an important contribution to an understanding of the Constitution and/or federalism.
The 2018 winner of The John T. Saywell Prize for Canadian Constitutional Legal History is Peter Russell, Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the University of Toronto, for his 2017 book, Canada’s Odyssey: A Country Based on Incomplete Conquests. The book is a wonderfully readable constitutional history of Canada, written by this country’s foremost political scientist/historian of our constitution.
Guest speaker:
The Annual Meeting will also feature a talk by Professor Philip Girard of York University, on the forthcoming book to be published by the Osgoode Society — A History of Law in Canada Vol 1 Beginnings to 1866.
Annual Meeting, Award Ceremony and Reception details:
Date: June 14, 2018
Time: 5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Location:
Museum Room, Second floor
Osgoode Hall
130 Queen St. West, Toronto
(Enter through east doors facing Toronto City Hall)
The Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History was founded on the initiative of R. Roy McMurtry, a former Chief Justice of Ontario and a former attorney general for Ontario. The Osgoode Society studies and promotes public interest in the history of the law, the legal profession and the judiciary in Canada and stimulates research and publication on these subjects.
For more information, please contact: Amanda Campbell, Administrator, The Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History, at 416-947-3321 or amanda.campbell@osgoodesociety.ca