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Jesse Thistle, a 2016 Trudeau scholar, has become the youngest member of the Board of Directors of Raising the Roof. Launched in 1996 by members of the Canadian Non-Profit Housing Foundation, Raising the Roof provides national leadership on long-term solutions to homelessness. “It's a pretty big deal for a student, at least to me who works in the housing sector,” said Thistle. Jesse Thistle is also the current Resident Scholar of Indigenous Homelessness at the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness, where he recently drafted the National Definition of Indigenous Homelessness in Canada. Jesse’s lived experience of homelessness and addiction has shaped the way he approaches homeless studies, Indigenous history, social work, and addiction studies.

Benjamin Gagnon Chainey, a 2017 Trudeau scholar, is one of five finalists in the final round of the 2017 Moebius Public’s Prize, an award given to the best text published in Mœbius, a journal of Quebec literature, in the last year. As Marie-Pier Tremblay of the Librairie Boutique Vénus in Rimouski commented, Gagnon Chainey’s audacious piece, “Full Moon,” is a "shattered patient-practitioner dialogue." More than that, it is a “fascinating delirium” that creates “a vaporous and troubling atmosphere” reminiscent of Beckett and Ionesco’s seminal texts. Read "Full Moon" online and vote for Benjamin here! (Text and information in French only.)

In December 2017, Governor General Julie Payette announced 125 new appointments to the Order of Canada. Six members of the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation community were listed among the new members of the Order.

As Canadians prepare to mark the first anniversary of the Quebec mosque attack, there is a crucial and pressing need for an alternative narrative highlighting the benefits of diversity, openness and inclusiveness in 21st century Canada. The inaugural Victoria Forum, held on 17-19 November 2017 under the theme “Canada@150: Promoting Diversity & Inclusion,” gathered global and national policy-makers, business leaders, academics, and civil society representatives to discuss national successes and challenges on diversity and inclusion.

By supporting the Forum, the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation was an essential partner of the event’s organizers – the University of Victoria and Global Affairs Canada. 2015 fellow Bessma Momani designed one of the forum’s six tracks, while 2015 scholar Erin Aylward and 2014 scholar Geoffrey Cameron led two of the discussions. 2015 mentor Jillian Stirk spoke on a panel on inclusive socio-economic progress.

Last November, the dissertation of 2010 Trudeau scholar Leila Qashu was awarded the Canadian Association for Graduate Studies (CAGS) 2017 Distinguished Dissertation Award for Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. Her dissertation, “Toward an Understanding of Justice, Belief and Women’s Rights: Ateetee, an Arsi Oromo Women’s sung Dispute Resolution in Ethiopia,” was praised by for its interdisciplinarity. “The ways in which [Leila] has applied her curiosity, out-of-the-box thinking and passion for the field of indigenous studies to her research underscores everything we look for and hope to inspire in our graduate students,” CAGS President Dr. Brenda Brouwer concluded. Congratulations! Click here for more information.

2009 scholar Jonas-Sébastien Beaudry has been jointly appointed by the Faculty of Law at McGill University and the Institute for Health and Social Policy as assistant professor. Currently at the Peter A. Allard School of Law of the University of British Columbia, Beaudry specializes in human rights, legal theory, disability studies, and bioethics. 2003 scholar and Faculty of Law Dean Robert Leckey lauded Beaudry’s “exceptional talents as a scholar” and rejoiced at his future “leadership role in relation to disability studies at McGill.”

Beaudry will join McGill University in September 2018. Click here to learn more about the appointment.

Congratulations to 2012 Foundation scholar Carla Suarez, who joins 2013 scholar Sara Pavan as one of five 2017 Killam postdoctoral fellows. Carla joined the University of British Columbia’s School of Public Policy and Global Affairs in January 2018 and examines the role of social ties in influencing combatants to demobilize and return to their communities in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Killam Postdoctoral Research Fellowships support advanced education and research at five Canadian universities and the Canada Council for the Arts.

Read the University of British Columbia’s announcement.

From the Teslin Tlingit Peacemaker Court in Yukon to the Akwesasne Mohawk Court in Ontario-Quebec-New York, Indigenous communities are increasingly formalizing their own judicial practices and institutions. Despite the diversity among Indigenous legal norms across Canada, there are commonalities in the values and approaches they embody as well as a shared aspiration towards self-governance. 2015 fellow René Provost is planning a two-day forum at the Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism of McGill University, in Montreal, in May 2018 on the emergence of Indigenous self-administered justice and its implications for the future of Indigenous citizenship in Canada. The forum – the Foundation's newest targeted-area-of-inquiry project – will provide a space for First Nations to reflect on their experiences and challenges in taking ownership of their territories’ administration of justice.

On 6 March 2018, the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) named 2011 Foundation mentor Rita Deverell the 2018 ACTRA National Woman of the Year. Just two days ahead of International Women’s Day, this nomination rewards Deverell’s numerous artistic and advocacy achievements as well as her decades-long passion for supporting women and the under-represented in the Canadian audiovisual industry. “In addition to being a gifted artist, Rita is a trailblazer and role model who continues to inspire,” said ACTRA National President David Sparrow. Congratulations, Rita!

Rita Deverell is a 2011 Foundation mentor, a theatre artist, and an independent television producer/director. Read ACTRA’s press release here.

Congratulations to 2010 Foundation fellow Alain-G. Gagnon, who will head the Centre d’analyse politique sur la constitution et le fédéralisme (CAP-CF) (information in French only) created on 12 March 2018 at Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM). The first of its kind in Canada, the creation of the CAP-CF is part of Gagnon's third term (2017-2024) as Canada Research Chair in Quebec and Canadian Studies. Gagnon asserted that "the constitutional silence characterizing the Canadian federation cannot be healthy for the establishment of a fair democracy," and that it was accordingly necessary to mobilize researchers and affirm the value of a Quebec perspective on research in Canadian federalism.

Alain-G. Gagnon is a 2010 Foundation fellow and a full professor of political science at UQAM, and he has held the Canada Research Chair in Quebec and Canadian Studies since 2003. Read UQAM’s press release here.