The Hon. Russell Brown will deliver a lecture on constitutional law at UBC Okanagan.
What: Power and its Separation
Who: The Hon. Russell Brown
When: Thursday, September 3, at 5 pm
Where: University Theatre (ADM 026), 1138 Alumni Ave., UBC Okanagan
UBC Okanagan invites the community to the 2026 UBC Constitutional Lecture featuring the Hon. Russell Brown, former Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada.
Justice Brown will discuss Power v. Canada, in which the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that, in some cases, the state can be required to pay damages for passing laws that are later found to be unconstitutional.
His lecture, Power and its Separation, will explore the separation of judicial, legislative and executive power under the Canadian Constitution.
“We are delighted to welcome Justice Brown to UBC Okanagan and give our students and the community the opportunity to hear his insights on role of the courts and the balance of powers in Canada’s constitutional system,” says Dr. Geoffrey Sigalet, Director of the UBC Research Group for Constitutional Law and Assistant Professor of Political Science at UBCO.
“It’s particularly special to welcome Justice Brown because he is an alumnus of UBC and was born in Vancouver and raised in Burns Lake, BC. He’s a true westerner.”
Justice Brown was a puisne justice of the Supreme Court of Canada from August 31, 2015 to June 12, 2023. He is the author of a treatise on claims under negligence law for economic loss, a contributing author to a textbook on public authority liability, as well as the author or co-author of over 40 published law review articles, book chapters, review essays and foreward essays on tort law, property law and civil justice.
After retiring from the bench, Justice Brown became an arbitrator, mediator and associate counsel at Hunter Litigation Chambers, one of Canada’s most elite firms. He also serves on the editorial board of the University of Toronto Law Journal and the advisory board of the Legal Writing Academy at the University of Ottawa.
Following the lecture, attendees will have the opportunity to participate in a Q&A session and engage with Justice Brown on the key constitutional issues raised during his presentation.
This event is free and open to the public. No registration is required, but attendees are encouraged to arrive early as seating is limited. To learn more, visit: events.ok.ubc.ca/event/ubc-constitutional-lecture-2
