A national Respectful Dialogue initiative began with a Change.org petition titled An Open Letter from Canada’s Law Community, launched in October, 2023, by ALCCA's Chair, Mark Sandler.
Inspired by the Muslim and Jewish Law Students Associations at the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law, who came together to emphasize shared humanity amidst their differences, the open letter invited Canada’s law community (and allies) to promote respectful dialogue, reject antisemitism, Islamophobia and all forms of hatred, as well as intimidation, harassment or the celebration of violence or barbarity.
About 2,700 diverse community members, including former Supreme Court of Canada, Court of Appeal and trial judges, lawyers of all faiths, senior and junior lawyers, many former Treasurers and Benchers of the Law Society of Ontario, lawyers, paralegals, and students in private practice, public interest advocacy, government, business.
We are now operationalizing the national respectful dialogue – an initiative no longer confined to the law community – through both conferences that display civil discourse despite the controversies that face us, and small working groups, led by students and facilitators, on campuses across the country.
We have assembled a formidable diverse committee of those who are leading the way in establishing these dialogues on campuses, in interfaith work and more generally. Our heaviest emphasis is on schools. Students should never be indoctrinated. Instead, they should be taught how to think critically, presented a diversity of perspectives, and not be exposed to demonization.
In future ALCCA newsletters, we will tell you how you can support this important work.