Deadline: 17 January 2025
The Law Commission of Canada (LCC) and the Canadian Bar Association (CBA) are pleased to announce the inaugural LCC-CBA Journalism Fellowship, a unique opportunity for journalists to explore and report on pressing Canadian law and justice issues.
The fellowship supports the creation of in-depth reporting projects in print or online media that focus on how the law impacts people’s lives, with a view to raising public understanding of Canada’s justice system and the role and future of their laws and legal institutions.
The LCC and CBA have deep commitments to public legal education, law reform, and thought leadership on emerging law and justice issues. Recognizing the vital role investigative journalism plays in informing public discourse, this fellowship seeks to promote greater public awareness of how the legal system works, shapes and reflects Canadian society.
Themes
- Applicants are encouraged to propose projects that explore critical legal issues affecting Canadian society into the future. While applicants may pursue any paths related to law and justice in their proposal, they are invited to consider how the public will benefit from a better understanding of some of the following challenges:
- The constructive coexistence of Indigenous legal traditions with common and civil law
- Law and its effect on communities
- Technology developments and the law
- Canada’s roles and relations within international legal frameworks
- Access to justice
Funding Information
- The $40,000 stipend will be paid quarterly upon submission of each completed article.
Eligibility Criteria
- Journalists with a minimum of 5 years full-time work experience, based in Canada and who are committed to expanding their knowledge of the justice system and producing comprehensive reports on legal issues, are invited to apply.
Application Requirements
- Curriculum vitae
- Samples of work
- Two reference letters
- A project proposal (max 750 words) that identifies:
- How the project addresses under-reported issues and enhances public legal awareness
- The importance of the issues to Canadians and their potential public impact
- How the project can inform systemic responses to law and justice challenges
- Key information sources for the project
- A description of accompanying multimedia components (photos, videos, podcast, etc.) A publication and content distribution plan for the project (e.g. print publications, digital publications, websites, Substack, blogs, etc.)
For more information, visit CBA.
