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Contests, Competitions and Partnerships

Relationships in Transition

2005 - Customary Practices and Law in Canada

Results of the 2005 Relationships In Transition
Cultural Practices and Law in Canada

The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and the Law Commission of Canada are pleased to announce the results of the Relationships in Transition Initiative.

The theme for the 2005 competition was "Cultural Practices and the Law in Canada".  A selection committee examined the proposals and grants were awarded to the individuals listed below.

1. Jean-Luc Bacher
    École de criminologie, Université de Montréal
    Hawala: Informal practices and criminal opportunities

2.  Sébastien Lebel-Grenier
     Faculté de droit, Université de Sherbrooke
     Norms and Concealment: Arranged Marriages in Canada

Customary Practices and Law in Canada

The pace and depth of social change have rendered large areas of law obsolete, ineffective or inadequate. The urgent need to renew the law is revealed not only in the courtroom, but also in the marketplace, the workplace, schools and universities, scientific laboratories, hospitals, social welfare centres and the home. To this end, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) and the Law Commission of Canada (LCC) have joined forces in a Strategic Joint Initiative, the Relationships in Transition program.

Each year, this program focuses on one of four themes: economic relationships, personal relationships, social relationships and governance relationships. The theme for the 2005 competition is Customary Practices and Law in Canada.

Canada values its diversity. The concept of legal pluralism acknowledges that the law does not solely exist in the formal system but that laws and norms are established to control people's behaviour in many different areas of their lives-in communities, the workplace, families and religion, to name a few. Canada, under the auspices of multiculturalism and its human rights systems, has worked to accept and accommodate cultural practices that differ from the dominant ones. To date, this has been accomplished in an ad hoc way, with much of the burden resting upon individuals and groups to challenge the formal legal system.

The Law Commission of Canada is currently examining how indigenous legal traditions can be accommodated or integrated within the formal legal system, such that both systems can benefit from the best that each has to offer. In this program, the partners would like to continue this work by looking at how other customary practices and traditions co-exist with the formal legal system, and the extent to which they can be accommodated in keeping with the values of human rights, equality, freedom of religion and multiculturalism.

For comprehensive program information and application materials, please consult the program description in the SSHRC Grants Guide.