#YLL2025
ACCESS TO JUSTICE
The Access to Justice contest is held annually by Calgary Family Law Associates. YLL extends it gratitude to CLFA for judging the event and acting as our national sponsor!
Access to Justice
How does the law impact current global events?
Hosted by YLL and sponsored by Calgary Family Law Associates, Access to Justice is a contest open to all high school students in Canada that is held annually alongside the YLL national conference.
Each year, a prompt related to a current, prominent sociopolitical event is released and participants have the opportunity to submit an interpretive entry of the prompt in any form of expression that they wish.
Possible submissions: Essay, poem, story, script, art or video
We encourage entries to be investigative and to consider the impact of the law in relation to the prompt. Entries will then be judged by a panel of lawyers from Calgary Family Law Associates for a chance to win cash prizes.
This year, ATJ was held synchronously across all branches of YLL.
The ATJ prompt for 2024/2025 was:
"How do cultural norms, beliefs, or values impact an individual’s or community’s participation in the criminal, family or other aspect of the justice system and what steps
can be taken to address such participation, or lack of participation, to improve access to
justice in Canada?"
Contest Details
How do cultural norms, beliefs, or values impact an individual’s or community’s participation in the criminal, family or other aspect of the justice system and what steps can be taken to address such participation, or lack of participation, to improve access to justice in Canada?
The ATJ 2025 Competition has concluded; with that being said, we are pleased to announce the winners.
Every entry demonstrated exceptional creativity, insight, and passion. Their work reflects a deep engagement with the complex challenges surrounding access to justice and helps us understand the importance of diverse perspectives in shaping a more equitable legal system.
Access to Justice
2024/2025
"How do cultural norms, beliefs, or values impact an individual’s or community’s participation in the criminal, family or other aspect of the justice system and what steps can be taken to address such participation, or lack of participation, to improve access to justice in Canada?"
scroll
Women with a Sword
- Visual Entry by Pearl Zhong
LAST YEARS
3rd Place ($50)
PREVIOUS YEARS OF THE ACCESS TO JUSTICE CONTEST
ATJ 2022: Restorative Justice and Access to Justice
One definition of Restorative Justice defines it as providing an opportunity for those directly affected by a crime -- a victim, offender, and community - to identify and address their needs in the aftermath of a crime and seek a resolution that promotes restoration, reparation, and reintegration and prevents future harm.
In Canada, the federal Parliament is responsible for the enactment of criminal law, while the provinces and territories are responsible for the administration of justice. This means that federal, provincial, and territorial governments work closely together on matters relating to criminal justice, including restorative justice. In December 2018, Federal Provincial Territorial Ministers Responsible for Justice and Public Safety approved a minimum target of a 5% increase in restorative justice referrals and processes for victims and
offenders.
The Criminal Code and the Youth Criminal Justice Act enable restorative justice processes to occur within the criminal justice system. Internationally, the Department of Justice, in collaboration with Global Affairs Canada, coordinated the adoption of key resolutions on restorative justice at the United Nations Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ) in 1999, 2002, 2016, and 2018.
The Department of Justice lists 448 restorative justice programs across Canada. The Calgary Indigenous Court, Tsuu T’ina First Nation Court in Alberta, Cree Court in Saskatchewan, First Nations/Indigenous Courts in British Columbia, and Gladue/Indigenous Courts in Ontario are examples of restorative justice in practice.
Competition entries can focus on broad restorative justice principles and/or a specific restorative justice program or court.
Access to Justice Competition 2022 Winners
First Place ($300 CAD): J G Makade - Calgary
Second Place ($150 CAD): M. Maramat (Calgary) and S. Sivasathiyanathan (Ottawa)
Third Place ($50 CAD): P. Zare (Toronto), A. Grover (Edmonton), A. Ng (Richmond), and A. Hossain (Calgary)
ATJ 2021: Systemic Racism and Access to Justice
Canada’s access to civil justice has been ranked ninth out of 12 European and North American countries. We still have a long way to go in many aspects. Canada’s Department of Justice released a report in 2019 that shares the four biggest problems regarding access to justice: underreporting due to scared victims, trial delays, bad treatment within the system, and the lack of affordable and timely support/resources.
According to a 2019 study done by the Canada Race Relations Foundation, Indigenous Peoples and Black people are the most common targets of discrimination and unfair treatment in Canada, followed by Muslims and people from the Middle East.
This discrimination may mean that people have less access to some services, such as healthcare, jobs, and justice.
This year, Youth Leaders In Law wants your submissions for the following prompt: How does systemic racism impact an individual’s ability to access justice?
Access to Justice Competition 2021 Winners
First Place ($300 CAD): A. Cheung and E. Gossen of John Knox Secondary, British Columbia
Second Place ($150 CAD): R. Haji-Mahmoodzadeh of Centennial Secondary, British Columbia AND M. Bailey of Crescent Heights High School, Alberta
Third Place ($50 CAD): D. Mehta of University of Toronto Schools, Ontario AND G. Licardo of Old Scona Academic, Alberta