From the OJEN Blog

Introducing Owain Davies

Hello! My name is Owain Davies, and I am a Project Leader in OJEN’s Educator Support Department.  My interest in law began in high school. In Grade 11, my class participated in a mock trial, with a practicing lawyer serving as the judge. I was immediately captivated by the experience and, so, my passion for […]

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Accessible legal information is essential for youth 

Hi! My name is Serena, and I am a recent alum of McGill University, having graduated with an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, and an upcoming 2027 JD Candidate at the Lincoln Alexander School of Law. Justice education for youth has always been an area of interest to me, especially given the low […]

Youth-led climate change case goes back to court

After a 6-year legal journey that has seen many twists and turns, the 7 young Ontarians behind the landmark Mathur, et al. v. His Majesty the King in Right of Ontario go back to court this spring.     Earlier this month, Ecojustice announced that the Court of Appeal for Ontario will hear the youths’ motion to […]

Spotlight on OJEN’s strategic plan: PLEI for racialized youth

OJEN’s Public Legal Education programming for racialized justice-involved youth is an example of our strategic commitment to engage directly with youth.   Over the last year, OJEN delivered 12 PLEI programs throughout Ontario to 100 racialized youth in open and closed custody facilities and in one diversion program.  The program meets youth where they are and invites […]

The 19th Annual Sistahs-in-Law Retreat

By: Crystal-Claire Simmonds The 19th Annual Sistahs-in-Law Retreat coincided with the first major snowfall of Toronto’s 2025 winter season. Although I braved the weather to make my way to the Queen’s Quay district downtown, I fully expected the event to be sparsely attended – perhaps just myself and the organizers. Instead, I was shocked to […]

Summer Law Institute 2025 – The Teacher Experience 

By Marija Apostolovski  For educators across Ontario, the end of summer looks different for everyone. Some spend the last weeks setting up classrooms, imagining the students who will soon fill them. Others savour slow mornings and warm coffee, enjoying the final days without alarm clocks. For a few, the pace of summer school has just […]

Reimagining the Justice System 

Reimagining the Justice System was a multi-session program supported by the Law Commission of Canada and hosted by Downtown Legal Services (DLS). A group of youth from the Law in Action Within Schools (LAWS) program met with lawyers from DLS and took part in discussions exploring issues of law and justice. In the first half […]

The importance of justice education: Karina’s summer at OJEN

I am a student from Bayview Glen and this coming September I am starting grade 12. I come from the co-op program offered by my school and have been doing a joint placement with OJEN and Justice Javed. This placement has opened my eyes to the field of law, and I’ve learned so much in […]

Expanding my legal knowledge: Alexander’s summer at OJEN

I am an incoming grade 12 student at Bayview Glen Independent School, and I started working at OJEN through the cooperative education program offered by my school. For the past four weeks, I have been doing a joint placement with OJEN and the Ontario Court of Justice alongside Justice Javed. This placement has truly been […]

2025 Summer Law Institute highlights 

During the last week of August, OJEN welcomed more than 70 law teachers to our annual Summer Law Institute (SLI).  Over the two-day conference, teachers attended 9 workshops, heard from more than 20 speakers including the Chief Justice of Ontario, celebrated the exemplary achievements of one of their own and enjoyed networking opportunities with colleagues […]

Nadine Tawdy – Volunteer with “Tout droit vers le droit”

Volunteering with the “Tout droit vers le droit” program was Nadine Tawdy’s first volunteer experience with OJEN. She helped deliver this career modelling program to racialized, French-speaking middle school students during the 2024-25 school year. As the school year wrapped up, we asked her to share her impressions of the program. “I think this program […]