Foundation News: Spring 2025 Newsletter
Course Primer (sampling of the pre-course work for the full course)
By completing the Primer before attending the course, you will be ready to actively participate in group activities and classroom discussions. The Primer allows the instructor to devote more time to developing the skills and competencies that are essential takeaways from the course.
Microlearning Presentations:
- Decision-Making
- Breaking Apart Dense Text
- Preliminary Matters
- Does pronunciation really matter?
- Setting Boundaries: Tools for Maintaining Order in the Hearing Room
- Writing for your Audience
- How to improve your grammar, spelling, and punctuation
Plain Language Resources
- Writing Good Decisions by John B. Hall
- Ombudsperson British Columbia, Quick Tips: The Reasons for the Reasons, https://bcombudsperson.ca/assets/media/Quick-Tip-Reasons.pdf
- Writing Awards by David Elliott
- Legal Writing in Plain English: A Text with Exercises, 3rd ed. (University of Chicago Press, 2023), https://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/garner/
- ‘As Smooth as a Grape’: Style in Decision Writing, Slaw (May 10, 2016): https://www.slaw.ca/2016/05/10/as-smooth-as-a-grape-style-in-decision-writing/
- Human Resources Development Canada, Plain Language: Clear and Simple (PWGSC, 1996), https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2017/ircc/Ci53-3-3-1991-eng.pdf. This booklet is a free download, available in English and French, and it’s an excellent overview of plain language principles.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Resources
- Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion
- Diversity and Inclusion in the Public Service
- Workplace Accessibility and Inclusion Centre
- NACM DEI Guide
- Pronoun Usage Guide
- Take Action on Commitments to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
- 4 Actions HR can take to Drive Inclusion in a Hybrid World
- 5 Key Moments that Matter
- 11 Ways to Bring Your DEI Strategy to LIfe
- Diversio DEI Best Practice Report
- Land Acknowledgement Website Resources – The Advacate Society (TAS)
Reference Materials
The following resources provide valuable information on administrative justice concepts. Although some of the papers may be dated, they still offer relevant insights on general principles.
- Practice Direction: Use of artificial intelligence (AI) in tribunal proceedings – Canadian Human Rights Tribunal
- Guidelines for Video Arbitration by Anne Wallace, K.C.
- Decision-Writing – Guiding Principles for Administrative Decision-Makers by Julie Gagnon, Reynolds, Mirth, Richards & Farmer LLP
- Electronic Disclosure of Personal Information in The Decisions of Administrative Tribunals: What should administrative tribunals consider when contemplating internet publication of their decisions? By the Privacy Commissioners of Canada and Saskatchewan
- LET’S ALL FORGET THE “RULES” AND JUST CONCENTRATE ON WHAT WE’RE DOING by James L.H. Sprague*
Websites