10:00 am – 11:30 am

Session 1: Emerging Consensus on FASD in Canadian Courts

This panel discussion will offer an interdisciplinary conversation between jurists and clinicians in relation to ways in which FASD diagnoses challenge fundamental assumptions of the criminal justice system. The session will introduce the new guidance from the Committee on the Rights of the Child recommending against the prosecution of children with neurodevelopmental delays. Participants will hear expert clinical advice explaining the etiology and incidence of FASD and underscoring why and how important it was for clinicians and legal experts to come together in 2012 to develop the consensus statement on legal issues of FASD. Recent efforts to train front line justice sector staff, from policing to corrections in working with youth with FASD, will also be explored as will the legal practitioner's perspective on representing youth with FASD.

Speakers:
Dr Nicole Leblanc, Pediatrician, Director of the New Brunswick FASD Centre of Excellence
Dr. Kaitlyn McLachlan, Forensic Psychologist, University of Guelf, CANFASD Justice Research Lead 
Jane Stewart, Staff Lawyer, Justice for Children and Youth (Toronto, ON)
 

Moderator: Christian Whalen, Chair of the CBA Child and Youth Section (Fredericton, NB)

11:30 am – 12:00 pm

Lunch

12:00 pm – 1:30 pm

Session 2: Emerging Best Practices and Trends in Providing Access to Justice to Youth with FASD in Canada

Neurodiverse youth who are diagnosed with FASD are at risk of coming in contact with the law, particularly if they are undiagnosed. Many jurisdictions have developed various responses to identifying and processing FASD youth who come into the youth criminal justice system, including the Main dans la Main program in Quebec and the FASD Youth Justice Program and Court in Manitoba. This panel will discuss the various programs and judicial responses within their various jurisdictions as well as the Best Practices that have developed over time to prevent FASD affected youth from entering and remaining within the youth criminal justice system. Finally, the panel will look forward and provide insight and recommendations for improving upon responses and programming.

Speakers:
Judge Mary Kate Harvie, Manitoba Provincial Court
Carmen Edwards, Manager, FASD Justice Program, Youth Justice Branch, Manitoba Corrections
Me Caroline  McKenna, Chair fo the Child and Youth Law Section ABC-Québec Division/CBA-Quebec
Dr. Melissa Tremblay, Department of Psychology, University of Calgary, CANFASD Indigenous Research Lead

Moderator: Wendy Martin White, K.C., Secretary, CBA National Child and Youth Law Section

2:00 pm – 3:30 pm

Session 3: FASD case law from a children’s rights perspective

A discussion with Mary Birdsell, Executive Director of Justice for Children Youth (Toronto ON), about how existing case law and court practices around FASD in the criminal justice system can be applied and interpreted in matters involving children and youth under the YCJA and in other contexts.

Speaker: Mary Birdsell, Executive Director, Justice for Children and Youth

Moderator: Jean-Frédéric (J-F), Vice-Chair, CBA National Child and Youth Law Section