Welcome Remarks: Towards Justice as a Common Good
Opening reception at the Supreme Court
May 26, 2026 – 5:30PM
Good evening everyone. Thank you for being here with us for this evening. As Chair of the Action Committee on Access to Justice, I am excited to welcome you to our first conference. And as a justice of the Supreme Court, I welcome you to one of the very last receptions in our iconic Supreme Court of Canada building, which is set to close this summer for a 10 year renovation.
It is a great honour to be with you here today to speak about a topic that we all care deeply about: access to justice.
This conference is grounded in two closely connected ideas. First, that advancing people-centred justice requires us to work across our roles and institutions. And second, that meaningful progress depends on strengthening our culture of research and learning.
Over the next two days, we will welcome 90 speakers from across Canada and beyond. We have brought together voices that do not always share the same spaces — self-represented litigants and judges, health sector and justice leaders – and that bring local and international perspectives. This was by design. We hope to create new opportunities for listening and collaboration, and to make space for deeper, more multifaceted conversations about the future of access to justice.
This conference, reflects a growing recognition across the country that building more responsive, inclusive, and people-centred justice is our shared responsibility.
This is a pivotal moment.
It’s been over a decade since the Action Committee’s Roadmap for Change recognized the crisis of access to justice in Canada. And we have made progress: an important shift has begun, a shift towards people-centred justice. We have also celebrated emerging practices rooted in collaboration and prevention. But the crisis remains. The challenge is urgent. At a time when democratic institutions are facing growing pressures and public confidence in them is under strain, this moment calls not only for continued effort, but for renewed vision and action.
A healthy democracy grounded in the rule of law depends on public confidence that institutions are fair, accessible, and responsive. Justice is how rights are realized in daily life. It is how fairness is experienced. And it is how trust in institutions is sustained.
As Chief Justice Richard Wagner has said, “Access to justice is not just a fundamental right; it is a basic human need; it is crucial to our democracy and rule of law.”
We have increasingly recognized that legal problems are deeply connected to social and economic realities. Unresolved legal problems are linked to serious social consequences – financial hardship, health challenges, and prolonged instability. We understand that access to justice is not only a legal issue but a broader societal one.
We have learned that solutions for access to justice must be grounded in the experiences of its users. These solutions must expand roles for non–traditional actors, and include community organizations, intermediaries and interdisciplinary partners. And – as we shall discuss at this conference – solutions must be evidence–based and outcomes-oriented.
But major barriers remain: rising costs and delays, fragmented and confusing pathways, digital and cultural barriers, widening inequities, and declining trust in public institutions. The paradigm shift towards people-centred justice has begun, but its implementation is inconsistent and incomplete.
In the case of Hryniak v Mauldin, I called for a “culture shift”. My opening words were: “Ensuring access to justice is the greatest challenge to the rule of law in Canada today.” That was 2014. It remains true today.
So how do we focus our work towards meaningful access to justice for all?
The Action Committee on Access to Justice serves as a national convener to advance people-centred justice, through strengthening collaboration, amplifying diverse voices, informed by the lived experience and needs of people and communities.
Over the past couple of years, we’ve travelled across the country as part of a Listening Tour to hear firsthand how access to justice varies from one community to another. We have met with Provincial and Territorial Access to Justice Collaboratives and are creating a support network. We’ve listened and participated in OECD[1] summits. We have learned directly from the people and organizations working to build people-centred justice systems. And we look forward to the discussions over the next two days at this conference to inform a vision and framework for the next stage of access to justice.
We have heard that access to justice is not just about putting people with legal problems at the centre of our justice system. It is also about the health of our communities. About the kind of country we want to live in. What has emerged in these discussions is not a single model or prescription. It is a broader vision shaped by common denominators: all working towards justice a common good.
In my day job as a justice of this Court, I am called on to think about the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and our shared justice values; about the kind of society it seeks to protect; and about the values that hold our society together. At its core, the Charter reflects a vision of a just society. A society where people can live with dignity and equality. Where they are treated fairly. . Those values – dignity, equality, and fairness – are not abstract ideas. They shape how people experience daily life. And one of the notions emerging from the Action Committee’s work is that access to justice should be understood in that same way. As something foundational to both individual and collective well-being in Canada.
Meaningful justice for all means a society that permits people to live their best lives, free from unjust legal barriers. And we know that people do not have equal access to justice. Those most vulnerable in society are far more likely to encounter legal problems. And far more likely to face barriers when they try to resolve them.
Black Canadians, for example, are significantly more likely to face discrimination-related legal problems. Indigenous peoples need justice processes and supports that are culturally safe, appropriate, and trauma-informed. And women continue to face financial and systemic barriers when seeking justice and safety for themselves and their children.
So when we speak about dignity, equality, and fairness, those values must exist in people’s real lives — not only in legal texts or constitutional principles. Rights must be meaningful in practice. People must be able to act on these values that support their wellbeing. Because equality means little if the processes designed to protect it are inaccessible. Dignity cannot be realized if people cannot challenge decisions that affect their security, health, housing, or family. And fairness requires more than rules on paper. It requires systems people can actually use to pursue outcomes that sustain stability, safety, and belonging.
Rights that cannot be exercised are, effectively denied. And the legitimacy of the rule of law depends on people being able to engage meaningfully with the systems that safeguard their rights. For every right, there must be a remedy. And for there to be remedies, there must be access to justice. Access to justice allows people to identify their options, understand what the law expects of them, and navigate processes that are fair and proportionate.
Thus, meaningful access to justice is the mechanism through which the rule of law shapes daily life. It is how rights are realized, how fairness is experienced, and how trust in justice systems is sustained.
When the justice system reflects these values of a just society, grounded in Charter values of respect for human dignity, equality and fairness, people can rely on just laws, clear rules, and fair processes. When justice works, people have fewer legal barriers, settle conflicts peacefully, and participate in the social and economic life of their communities. In that sense, access to justice is both a fundamental right and part of the foundation that allows people and communities to live well.
Emerging from the Action Committee’s work is this idea that the paradigm shift towards people-centred justice is pointing to something broader.
Towards justice as a common good.
What do we mean by that? First, it means recognizing that everyone deserves meaningful access to justice in their lives to promote well-being. But it also means understanding justice as essential public infrastructure. Something that should be accessible. Prevention-oriented. Focused on outcomes. And sustained through collective responsibility.
Today I want to share with you the Action Committee’s proposed vision of how we might focus our efforts to make access to justice a reality for Canadians.
The Action Committee is working towards a renewed vision for access to justice in Canada by framing justice as a common good. A shared public foundation essential to democratic life, the rule of law, and people’s well-being. Building on the growing movement toward people-centred justice, we believe access to justice must enable individuals to meet their basic needs, exercise their rights, and participate fully in society. Grounded in Charter values – dignity, equality and fairness – we believe access to justice is how these values become meaningful in everyday life.
The Action Committee wants to generate discussions on how we move to a system where justice is designed and delivered as a common good. We hope to explore the principles and practices for action. And the design choices that are helping systems move from aspiration to implementation, reflecting the diversity that is Canada. Drawing on national and international learning, we want to highlight emerging practices and invite reflection across all justice actors on their role in accelerating this shift.
We see justice as a common good as the higher goal towards which the people-centred justice paradigm is moving. It recognizes that everyone deserves justice in their life. It is also a way of understanding justice as essential public infrastructure – accessible, prevention-oriented, outcome-focused, and sustained through collective responsibility. It promotes a framework that recognizes that access to justice reflects a justice system that supports people across their full life journey. From providing clear and fair laws, to preventing legal problems, to resolving them fairly.
Justice as a common good is not only about individual disputes or legal answers. Because when people cannot resolve problems affecting their housing, safety, family, health, or livelihood, the impacts are rarely isolated. They ripple outward into communities and institutions. Justice, in that sense, is part of the public infrastructure that allows people and communities to flourish.
And perhaps we have seen this kind of a shift in public thinking. Before the adoption of universal public healthcare in Canada, many people could not access basic care because they could not afford it. Over time, Canadians came to understand healthcare as something fundamental — a collective good necessary for a healthy society, a healthy economy. And now decades later, hasn’t the idea of accessible healthcare become one of the defining values Canadians share?
Recognizing justice as a common good asks us to see justice differently. Not only as help for individuals in moments of crisis, but as a shared system that benefits everyone. And that shift carries implications for all of us. For courts and tribunals. For governments. For the legal profession. For community organizations. For educators, researchers, and funders. And for the public itself. It invites us to think differently about responsibility, coordination, and the design of systems and services.
No single institution can make justice work on its own. Justice works as a common good when responsibility is shared across a broader ecosystem — one that is coordinated, responsive, and capable of supporting people throughout the challenges of daily life.
And when justice is understood in that way, people are better able not only to resolve legal problems, but to navigate life with dignity, equality, and fairness.
Why focus on Justice as a common good?
In Canada, we have a vibrant democracy, trust for the rule of law, and strong public institutions. We are a beacon in a turbulent world. Mais nous ne pouvons pas oublier que la confiance est fragile, que nous devons être vigilants et relever les défis d'aujourd'hui pour accomplir les promesses de demain.
Examples around the world show that passion can displace reason, and power, once captured, does not surrender easily. That fragility is precisely why democracies must be anchored not only in ballots, but also in law — in rules that bind rulers and protect the governed. The rule of law is that anchor. It holds power accountable, protects rights, and fosters societal stability. It is the bedrock of modern liberal democracies, giving legitimacy to all that exercise public authority. The rule of law allows us to live together in freedom and in harmony.
My view of the relationship between law and justice has evolved over time. I believe that the legitimacy of law depends on its capacity to serve justice. While laws provide structure, justice requires fairness, ethical reasoning, and social vigilance.
Hitler’s Germany was governed by law. So was the racial segregation of Jim Crow South. And Apartheid in South Africa. In Canada, wartime internment camps and residential schools for Indigenous children were legal. The law was instrumental in these failures of humanity. Legitimized through law, but bereft of justice. They are a stark reminder of what happens when law is a tool of exclusion rather than inclusion. We should never forget that the rule of law has not always been just.
The lesson is that legality alone is not enough. We must strive for a just rule of law. Law without justice is order without a soul.
For me, the rule of law is not only about rules. It is not only about laws. It is about justice. We all seek a more just society, that contributes to a better life for everyone. The law is a common good and a fundamental human need.
This is an invitation. An invitation to join the Action Committee in imagining what the next chapter of access to justice in Canada could look like. An invitation to contribute to a living vision that is meant to continuously evolve through dialogue and collaboration.
This conference matters. Over the next two days, you will hear from people across the country who are already advancing this work in different ways. You will hear about new ideas, difficult questions, promising practices, and lived experiences.
Take this invitation into the conference. Reflect on these ideas together. Challenge them. Find what resonates. And most of all, I hope you take this invitation back home, long after this conference ends, and give the vision of justice as a common good life and meaning in your own work.
I am hopeful. So much of the work needed to advance people-centred justice is already happening. Over the next two days, you will hear about reforms that are changing how people experience justice. You will hear colleagues celebrate success. Let them inspire you.
You will also hear difficult questions. Questions about participation and power. About trust. About systemic barriers. About whether our institutions are truly responsive to the realities people face in their daily lives. Allow your assumptions to be challenged.
And hold on to the sense of the possibility for a better future. This is about the legal system we want to leave for future generations. This is about the values that will shape the Canada of tomorrow. In the words of Martin Luther King Jr., we have gathered here to “[bend] the moral arc of the universe towards justice”.
Thank you.
[1] Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development