News

Congratulations to Schulich School of Law Professor Jocelyn Downie, who has been appointed a Member of the Order of Canada for her contributions to Canadian health law and policy.

Downie's primary focus has been on end-of-life law, policy, and care – voluntary euthanasia, assisted suicide, terminal sedation, and unilateral withholding or withdrawal of potentially life-sustaining treatment. She has worked extensively on the protection of human participants in research (particularly in the context of increasing commercialization of public universities and hospitals) and the protection and promotion of women’s health (particularly in the context of abortion and assisted human reproduction).

In 2015, Downie, who is cross-appointed in the Faculty of Medicine, was the first Dalhousie faculty member – and, indeed, the first in Nova Scotia – to receive a prestigious Trudeau Fellowship from the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation.

Another notable new Order of Canada recipient is the Honourable Thomas Cromwell, who has been appointed a Companion of the Order of Canada for his illustrious service as a Supreme Court justice and his leadership in improving access to justice for all Canadians. Cromwell taught law at Dalhousie from 1982 to 1992 and again from 1995 to 1997.

Also on the recipient list is Elizabeth Cromwell, who has been invested as a Member of the Order of Canada. At Dalhousie's Spring 2017 Convocation, she received a Doctor of Laws (honoris causa) for her contributions to Black heritage preservation and education in Nova Scotia.

The new Order of Canada recipients are among good company. In 2005, Schulich School of Law Professor Emeritus Wayne MacKay was invested as a Member of the Order of Canada in recognition of his commitment and passion to human rights, equality, and diversity in Canadian society.