Saint Mary's biomedical lab is on the frontiers of collagen exploration

Dr. Veres and his students study in great depth the structural makeup of collagen within the body to identify the unknown

Dr. Sam Veres (left) works in a research lab with Master of Science in Applied Science student Amanda Lee

What comes to mind when people think of exploration is typically outer space, or the deep ocean. But within the human body, there are many structural and functional questions that remain unanswered. 

The structural makeup of collagen within the body, and how it develops and is comprised in injury and disease, is one area still under exploration. Dr. Sam Veres and his graduate students explore this topic with great depth in Biomedical Structure-Function labs. 

Sam Veres

“We think hard about identifying things that are unknown, problems that persist and how we might solve them,” says Dr. Veres, interim Dean of Science and Professor in the Division of Engineering at Saint Mary’s University. “A more complete understanding of the collagen in our bodies, how it develops and how it can become structurally compromised, could lead to development of new treatments to help reduce disabling soft tissue injuries like sprains, strains, and overuse tendinopathies.”

Research and collaboration

Collagen provides structural integrity to tissues in human and animal bodies, including the skin, bones, tendons and ligaments, articular cartilage, even discs in our backs. 

Dr. Veres and his lab specifically study collagen fibrils, which are tiny in size—roughly 1,000 times smaller than a human hair. The size of these fibrils is why many aspects of their development remain unknown, and why the multidisciplinary lab uses knowledge and techniques from engineering, physics, chemistry, biology and medicine to study them.

“These sorts of problems are inherently multidisciplinary, and you need to have collaborative teams that come together and work on these problems together,” says Dr. Veres.

Identifying unknowns

It’s a very exciting time in the lab, with four of its graduate students publishing results within the next year. 

Kelsey Gsell is a PhD student who Dr. Veres co-supervises with Dr. Laurent Kreplak through Dalhousie University’s School of Biomedical Engineering. Her research looks at how collagen in the body respond to enzymes that help control tissue repair and renewal.

Dr. Veres is also working with master’s student Ted Lownie, whose research has shown that the specialized collagen structure of highly loaded tendons like the Achilles extends back to the earliest stages of fetal development rather than being driven by mechanical loading after birth, as previously thought.

Dr. Veres is excited to see his students take part in this innovative, multidisciplinary research and continue asking questions, and exploring in the hopes of finding answers. 

“It’s really satisfying to see students go on to do other great things and take this background with them,” he says. “Seeing my students gain an appreciation for what is unknown and still to be discovered is really so wonderful.”

To learn more about Dr. Sam Veres and his graduate students’ research, visit their lab’s website at vereslab.com.  

Saint Mary's ranked third best Canadian undergraduate university by Maclean’s

For the second consecutive year, Saint Mary's University has been ranked third in the nation among the Best Primarily Undergraduate Universities in the annual  Maclean’s university rankings.

The ranking also affirms Saint Mary’s position as the top-ranked primarily undergraduate university in Nova Scotia for the third year in a row.

"I am delighted that Saint Mary's University is again being recognized as a leading institution in our region and in Canada,” says Saint Mary's University President Dr. Robert Summerby-Murray. "We will continue to create the space for possibility for our students, offering our distinctive combination of access to world-class academics and research within an incredibly supportive and vibrant community.”

The university’s long-standing commitment to and investment in student support is also made clear in the rankings, with Saint Mary’s taking first place for scholarships and bursaries and tying for second place in student awards.  

Other investments in the student experience include a refreshed Bachelor of Commerce program–the flagship degree of the Sobey School of Business–launched in Fall 2023; the creation of new healthcare data analytics and management programs, and the opening of the Sobey Inspiration Hub, a four-storey, 43,000-square-foot building designed to create a natural intersection for the business, academic and student communities.

Notably, Saint Mary’s ranked second in medical/science grants and fifth in social sciences & humanities grants; a reflection of the university’s rising prominence and recognition of its research strength. Saint Mary’s is now Nova Scotia's second-largest research university by research income.

"At Saint Mary's, we are inspired and motivated by a true sense of community," says President Summerby-Murray. "Our top-level ranking is a testament to the excellence, dedication and care of our faculty, staff, alumni and donors. I would like to extend my sincere gratitude for all that you do for our students and community, and I know we will continue to distinguish ourselves as a leading institution.”

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Interested in seeing what Saint Mary’s can offer?

Attend our Open House on October 28. Visit the Future Students page for more information.

Saint Mary’s University unveils Sobeys Inspiration Hub as flagship of innovation and entrepreneurial excellence

43,000-square-foot expansion designed to foster innovative multidisciplinary collaboration

On October 11, Saint Mary’s University celebrated the new Sobeys Inspiration Hub, a four-storey, 43,000-square-foot building dedicated to supporting entrepreneurship and innovation at the university. The Sobeys Inspiration Hub is named in recognition of a $5-million investment in the building, part of an $18-million gift from the David & Faye Sobey Foundation, The Sobey Foundation and Sobeys Inc., as well as the personal donations of Paul and Marsha Sobey, and Janis Sobey-Hames and Chris Hames, all longtime supporters of the university.

The Sobeys Inspiration hub is designed to create a natural intersection for the business, academic and student communities. Its incubators, accelerators and technology labs will provide a catalyst for innovation where students can seamlessly participate in classes, workshops, internship opportunities, seminar series, conferences and business plan competitions. The Hub is adjacent to and integrated with the Sobey School of Business, home to one of Canada’s leading Commerce programs, which has attracted business minds from around the globe.

Students work on the DSC retail robot project

The building is the new home of the David Sobey Centre for Innovation in Retailing and Services (DSC). Established through the generous support of the late David F. Sobey, the Centre focuses on cutting-edge retail research, innovation and education and will feature a mock store for testing new retail concepts and technologies, a biometric lab for neuroscience research and a digital lab for developing apps and AI solutions. Students, researchers and industry partners work together at the David Sobey Centre to lead innovation in Canada’s retail sector.

“In today’s world, we must all think differently to make great things happen; where we not only seek, but embrace, new approaches to the old way of doing things,” says Michael Medline, CEO of Empire Company Limited. “That is why we are so excited to see the Sobeys Inspiration Hub come to life. This environment is about tapping into potential, the incubation and growth of ideas, the space to challenge, take chances–and yes, even fail–and in turn, create greatness. Most importantly, it is a space where students are certain to thrive.”

A centrepiece of the Sobeys Inspiration Hub is the Arthur L. Irving Entrepreneurship Centre, supported by a $5-million gift from Arthur L. Irving, Sandra Irving DCL’10, Sarah Irving, the Arthur L. Irving Family Foundation and Irving Oil Limited. The Arthur L. Irving Entrepreneurship Centre addresses the needs of the modern student, fostering an ‘entrepreneurial mindset’ across all faculties. It features a collider space, discovery zone, digital prototyping lab, meeting spaces and a podcasting production studio. Most notably, this campus expansion arrives at a time when the university is engaging more students than ever across the region and Saint Mary’s students are consistently achieving high-level results in national entrepreneurship competitions.

“We are proud to support Saint Mary’s University in their pursuit to provide the very best in business education, instilling the values of hard work, respect and passionate commitment to community," says Arthur Irving. “We are honoured to have the Arthur L. Irving Entrepreneurship Centre as part of The Sobeys Inspiration Hub, inspiring the next generation of entrepreneurs in Atlantic Canada.”

The Sobeys Inspiration Hub is a catalyst space that energizes the connection between the Sobey Building and the Loyola Academic Building, fostering innovative multidisciplinary work, and strengthening the connectivity and engagement of Saint Mary’s University’s more than 6,600 students, professors and researchers across all faculties, including Arts, Science, Graduate Studies and Research, and the Sobey School of Business. The hub will also play a vital role in the activities of the David Sobey Centre for Excellence in Retailing and Services.

“The way students learn as well as how and where they learn is a strong consideration for us. This transformational addition to our campus is a demonstration of how we are responding to the needs of our curious, forward-thinking scholars who need the environment and resources for those natural collisions to happen–so different perspectives can come together to create innovations for the times ahead,” says Saint Mary’s University President and Chancellor, Robert Summerby-Murray.

In an early effort to spur entrepreneurship and innovation for the province, the Government of Nova Scotia made a significant contribution to this project with its funding of $11 million in 2018. The Government of Canada is contributing $8 million to support green energy and green infrastructure on campus, which includes the Sobeys Inspiration Hub. 

“The Government of Canada is proud to have contributed to the Sobeys Inspiration Hub, a space on campus that will provide programming designed to help under-represented groups, as well as supporting small business owners, those with an interest in entrepreneurship and those seeking employment services. This outstanding addition to Saint Mary’s campus will make the possibility of entrepreneurship a reality for more community members,” says Andy Fillmore, Member of Parliament for Halifax.

Innovative retail store will revolutionize how we shop

Saint Mary’s University, recognized as a top Canadian university, is teaming up with some of Canada’s most influential retail companies to create one of the foremost retail laboratories on the continent. It’s all part of the ground-breaking research at SMU’s David Sobey Centre for Innovation in Retailing and Services.

Visitors will soon become part of a living experiment designed to transform the future of shopping and reshape the retail landscape. Students and visitors to the south end of campus will walk into a deceptively simple convenience store that is actually a cutting-edge laboratory.

The retail robot is programmed to glide through stores tracking price tags, missing items and other information, which it relays to employees.

Inside, a retail robot glides through the aisles, logging items that have run low and sending messages to the stockroom. The robot is designed for large stores where it tracks inventory on shelves and assesses planogram and price compliance, explains Ramesh Venkat, Director of the David Sobey Centre. “The robot, equipped with cameras, matches price tags to the computerized lists, checks price tags for compliance for the latest discounts, spots misplaced or missing items, generates a report and sends a real-time alert to an employee.”

And if a shopper wants to take an item home? No need to look for a cashier; there isn’t one. Instead, when you exit the store your credit or debit card is charged automatically. But wait, maybe you want to try on something before purchasing? Step in front of 3D digital screen to model clothing using virtual fitting technology.

SMU researchers are building a futuristic “frictionless customer experience” without inconveniences such as line-ups and check-outs, where customer privacy and protection of information are priorities. “We don't collect any video footage or store any credit card or debit card information. We will provide best-in-class privacy and security, which will set us apart from companies that are doing computer vision in retail environments,” adds Venkat.

The David Sobey Centre for Innovation in Retailing and Services brings together university researchers and Canadian retailers to test new technologies such as artificial intelligence, augmented reality, and robotics. Vivek Sood MBA’98, Executive Vice President, Related Businesses, Empire Company Limited and Sobeys Inc., and Chair of the David Sobey Centre notes, “The retail sector is one of the main drivers of Canada’s economy and an incredibly exciting place of major innovation right now. Each time I visit campus I am eager to see the advances being made by the professors and their top research students.”

Students gain hands-on experience building tech solutions for retail

The retail store and its related labs offer SMU students unparalleled opportunities for hands-on learning and collaboration. Saint Mary’s University professors and students are building leading-edge tech from scratch: computer vision systems, augmented reality and robots.

The digital lab and mock store will allow researchers to track shoppers as they interact with digital platforms, including websites and advertisements. In the biometrics lab, graduate students will use advanced tools such as EEG (Electroencephalography), eye-tracker glasses and GSR (Galvanic Skin Response) sensors to understand customer behaviour and decision-making. Faculty and student researchers from several disciplines–marketing, psychology, information systems, engineering, and computer science all benefit.

Jason Rhinelander

Engineering Professor Jason Rhinelander, Head of Technology and Innovation for the David Sobey Centre, understands that the David Sobey Centre presents him and SMU students with a huge opportunity. “Retail has so many challenges and that is key for engineers and computer scientists. We don’t invent algorithms for the sake of it. We need problems to solve.”

“We can benefit small and medium-sized Atlantic Canadian companies recovering from the pandemic and battling stressors like inflation. By placing their products in our store which acts as a ‘living lab,’ we can provide data about how customers feel about their packaging, service and overall quality. We can also test the retail environment for accessibility: lighting levels, noise levels, and colour schemes.”

Watch: Jason Rhinelander loves solving problems with technology

Vinod Bachhao

Vinod Bachhao came to SMU as a Master’s student in 2015, graduated to PhD studies and is now the university’s first AI engineer. “I could have gone to Toronto, but I love Halifax and the environment here. I grabbed the opportunity to work on the SMU robot and state-of-the-art AI and computer vision. There is nothing better than this.”

The labs, mock store and the cashier-less store all provide the infrastructure for exploring new ideas and innovations that can shape the future of Canadian retail. “The purpose of the David Sobey Centre is to develop and share innovations, expertise and skills that help build a vibrant retail sector–domestically and globally. This new infrastructure and the collaboration between researchers, retailers and technology companies vitally enable us to achieve that vision. It's really exciting,” says Venkat.

Mental Health Series: Information for staff and faculty

Faculty and staff play a crucial role in supporting student mental health and wellness. The Counselling Centre is here to support you navigate these conversations!

Our Mental Health Series is a 4-part training opportunity that equips you with the knowledge, resources, and tools to better support student mental health. The Fall 2023 dates for the Mental Health Series are below. Please Register here!
 
Mental Health 101: Recognizing and Responding to Students in Distress
Monday, October 16,1:30–3:30 p.m. (in-person)
 
Mental Health 202: Practical Approaches for Supporting Students Who Are Stressed, Anxious and/or Depressed
Monday, October 30,1:30–3:30 p.m. (hybrid!)
 
Mental Health 303: Suicide Risk and Facilitating Referrals for Students
Monday, November 20,1:30–3:30 p.m. (in-person)
 
Mental Health for International Students
Monday, November 27, 1:30–2:30 p.m. (in-person)
 
You can now access Mental Health 101 on demand! This course is now offered virtually through Brightspace, in addition to in-person sessions. Email counselling@smu.ca to register or if you have any questions. 

Saint Mary's community gathers for Campus Reflection Walk

On Thursday, September 28, members of the Saint Mary’s community gathered for a Campus Reflection Walk in advance of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

Dr. Robert Sumerby-Murray, Saint Mary’s President, and Dr. Rohini Bannerjee, Associate Vice-President (Diversity Excellence), welcomed more than 80 students, staff and faculty as they gathered for an opportunity to connect with and acknowledge Mi’kma’ki, the ancestral and unceded territory of L’nu, on which Saint Mary’s is located.

The collaborative event consisted of an accessible route, marked with ten posters, each prompting questions or statements for reflection, as Treaty people, in considering the 94 Calls to Action brought forward by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. “Everyone took their time on the walk,” says Dr. Bannerjee. “There were moments of silence and moments of deep conversation.”

In particular, Dr. Bannerjee made note of the student participants who joined from The Language Centre, noting, “their presence embodied curiosity and a commitment to better understanding T&R from the point of view of visitors to the land.”

At the end of the route, members of the Residence Life team hosted a final reflections table, with orange t-shirt paper cut-outs for people to write their thoughts, express their gratitude toward the land or highlight something from the walk that resonated with them. The reflections will be on display on the bulletin board across from Loyola Residence (LR) 108 for the month of October, with new pieces being added throughout the month.

Can’t find a parking spot? Here's why.

Anyone who drives to campus might have noticed that parking is trickier than usual at Saint Mary’s.

At the September 28 University Town Hall, Michelle Benoit, VP Administration and Finance shed some light on the situation, noting there are several factors impacting parking availability.

“A significant factor is changes to neighborhood street parking. Many areas around campus that were once 2-hour parking now require a permit,” she said.

Construction around the campus area is also having an impact. “Road construction on Inglis Street has reduced the availability of street parking, with about 20 construction crew typically arriving at 6 a.m. to park on adjacent streets for the day,” she added.

“Additionally, up the street, the IWK has reduced parking due to construction, which means that more of their employees are parking in the neighborhood.”

Part of ensuring availability is the ability to use parking enforcement tools like ticketing and parking boots. Facilities management and the Security team are actively monitoring parking throughout the day, and issuing tickets as needed to unauthorized vehicles, which has led to some improvement.

Regulations for use of parking boots have changed, and currently SMU is not permitted to use them. The university is working with the HRM to obtain required designation.

Some good news: the parking lot in front of Inspiration Hub should be paved within the next two weeks and be turned over for use shortly after, opening up 12 to 15 parking spots.

ICCM celebrates 20 years of co-operative management education and research excellence

Graduates of the 2023 MMCCU class

This year marks 20 years since the launch of the International Centre for Co-operative Management’s (ICCM) flagship Master of Management, Co-operatives and Credit Unions program. Today, ICCM has grown to offer a suite of online, part-time graduate programs, short courses, a credit union leadership program, international co-op study tours and special topics webinars.

Since their creation, ICCM’s education programs have engaged more than 1,100 co-operative professionals in over 360 organizations from 41 nations. Additionally, ICCM is acknowledged as a global leader in co-operative research, which has culminated in symposia, books, journal articles and reports.

Read the 2023 ICCM Impact Report

On September 21 and 22, 2023, more than seventy founders, faculty, staff, students, alumni, partners and friends gathered at Saint Mary’s University to mark ICCM’s 20-year anniversary. This event focused on learning, networking, visioning and celebrating and featured:

• A day of storytelling, reflexivity, visioning and knowledge-sharing;

• Local co-operative tours with Glitter Bean Café Co-operative, Bus Stop Theatre Co-operative, Healthy Minds Cooperative and Halifax Circus Co-operative;

• A harbour boat tour and networking social;

• Convocation ceremony for the 2023 class followed by an evening of revelry.

“During my time with ICCM, I can see the impact of our work within the co-operative sector,” says Karen Miner, ICCM Managing Director and Adjunct Professor. “We have built a global network of partners, been meaningfully involved in key areas of research, and provided a wide spectrum of education opportunities for working professionals. We continue to innovate and adapt to meet the needs of co-operative enterprises of all sizes, types, sectors, and locations. Marking 20 years is a significant achievement.”

ICCM exists to elevate the global co-operative sector through education and research that is by, for and about co-operatives.

Celebrating Mi'kmaq History Month at Saint Mary's

October is Mi’kmaq History Month! This year marks the 30th anniversary of this important celebration of Mi’kmaq culture and heritage.

This year, there is a special focus on highlighting traditional sports, games and pastimes central to Mi’kmaw culture. These activities help young people develop their understanding of Mi’kmaw culture and carry those teachings into adulthood.

Visit mikmaqhistorymonth.ca to learn more and to download a copy of the 2023 poster!

Saint Mary's University acknowledges that the university is located on the traditional land of the Mi’kmaq Nation. This territory is covered by the "Treaties of Peace and Friendship" which Mi’kmaq and Wolastoqiyik peoples first signed with the British Crown in 1725.

Resources and related links:

The Patrick Power Library's Mi'kmaq History Month collection is on display throughout the year. Access the collection on campus or online this month to learn more about Mi'kmaw culture and history. The Library is also proud to host an exhibit of Mi'kmaw cultural artifacts on loan from the Nova Scotia Museum. These important artifacts represent a range of landscapes, sites, traditional activities and cultural periods in Mi'kma'ki. Everyone is welcome to visit the exhibit!

The library has also created an online Indigenous Studies guide. This guide is a resource for research and study in the interdisciplinary aspects of Indigenous studies. It particularly focuses on Nova Scotia and Atlantic Canada.

• Saint Mary’s Indigenous Community

• Learn more about Mi’kmaq History Month, and the 2023 theme!

Saint Mary's University shines at Atlantic Schools of Business Case Competition

Ashish Ganapathy, Lauren Golding, Professor Jeff Muton, Ramji Srinivasan, Shiva Kakkar

Team 1: Lindsey Nalunga, Katherine Hanscom, Mark Mitton

Team 2: Ashish Ganapathy, Lauren Golding, Ramji Srinivasan, Shiva Kakkar

On September 24, Sobey School of Business Bachelor of Commerce students Lauren Golding, Shiva Kakkar, Ramji Srinivasan and Ashish Ganapathy walked away with a second-place win at the Atlantic Schools of Business (ASB) Case Competition sponsored by Grant Thornton LLP (Canada), hosted by Mount Saint Vincent University. The competition was part of the annual ASB Conference—one of Canada’s longest-running academic business conferences. 

“I had a wonderful, enriching and insightful experience at the ASB Case Competition,” said Ganapathy, a third-year BComm student majoring in Accounting and Finance. “I prepared forecasts using financial analysis techniques and improved my public speaking and financial analysis skills.” 

Teams representing universities across the Atlantic provinces participated in a competition where students were asked to analyze and create a solution to a business case (a narrative about a real-life company and the problems it’s facing) and present it to a judging panel. This year’s business case was centered around a Newfoundland-based Childcare Cooperative in need of expansion to meet the overwhelming demand for such services.

“It was a proud moment for our team. Our case was based on real challenges faced by Atlantic Canadians—immigration and population growth. We were tested on an array of skills like critical thinking, quantitative and analytical skills.” said Shiva Kakkar, a second-year BComm student majoring in Finance. “Jeff Muton, professor for the BCOM 4481 Business Case Competition course, provided excellent mentoring throughout our preparation for the competition. The learning experience was exceptionally valuable, as we acquired a solid framework for effectively tackling business cases.”

The Bachelor of Commerce Business Case Competition course takes students from classroom learning to real-world challenges. Students get to test their abilities to think on their feet and compete against other students, in consultation with industry leaders. 

At the Sobey School of Business, students will not only learn how to do business well, they’ll learn how to do business for good. 

Re-cap: Fall Convocation 2023

The university community celebrated more than 300 graduates at Fall Convocation on September 22 and 23. Among the graduates were several award winners and an inspiring speech by the honorary degree recipient, Dr. Kim Thúy.

Thúy shared stories of her family’s arrival to Canada, and the kindness that has helped shape her success, to an auditorium of Arts and Science graduates on Saturday afternoon where she was awarded a Doctor of Letters, honoris causa. The Vietnamese author has made a significant impact on Canadian literature, earning the Governor General’s Literary Award in 2010 for her novel about her experience as a refugee.

Read more about Kim Thúy

Representing fall graduates were Valedictorians Myles Davidson, Ammar Shakoor and Stephanie Kansiime.

“Let us always continue to do the things we love, and fight for the things we believe in. Let us give back to our community by sowing seeds of kindess and compassion,” said Shakoor as he addressed an eager group of Bachelor of Commerce graduates. Each valedictorian received the John BA’81 DCL’17 and Heather Fitzpatrick Valedictorian Award.

Other award winners included Richard Abbass and Christopher Fanning, who received Master of Finance Gold Medals, and Stephen Gill, who received the Pobihuschy Medal for the Master of Management - Co-operatives and Credit Unions, a program which celebrated its’ 20th anniversary over the weekend. PhD graduates Abdlmutaleb Boshanna and Kerry Ann Watson were recognized with the Durland Family Doctoral Convocation Award.

Two faculty members, Dr. Bruce Anderson and Dr. Cathy Driscoll, were granted the status of Professor Emeritus at convocation.

Dr. Bruce Anderson began teaching at Saint Mary’s in 2001, during which time he taught political science courses and then business law to over 5,000 undergraduate and graduate students in the Sobey School of Business. He served as Chair of the Department of Accounting, the Bachelor of Commerce Program Coordinator and a member of Saint Mary’s Faculty Union’s Grievance Committee. He received the SMUSA Teaching Excellence Award in 2007. Bruce’s research is interdisciplinary and includes work in legal theory/legal philosophy, economics, ethics and visual art. He is one of the leaders in investigating legal reasoning. His scholarship includes three books, forty book chapters and scholarly articles, review articles, magazine articles, book reviews for publishers, conference and seminar presentations and sculpture installations.

Dr. Cathy Driscoll developed and taught the first business ethics courses in the BComm and MBA programs and has integrated community-based service learning into her MBA courses since 1994. Beginning in 1996, she initiated, developed, and managed the MBA Internal Case Competition, which later became the annual Bob Shaw Case Competition. In 2017, she received the Atlantic Schools of Business Award of Excellence for Outstanding Service to Business Scholarship. Cathy has an international reputation as a scholar who has bridged business studies with religion and spirituality. Her recent work has focused on institutional moral disengagement in the context of clergy sex abuse. Cathy has also been an active contributor to many university, school, and departmental committees over the past 30 years and has been committed to outreach in the business community through board memberships, speaking engagements, and training seminars.

Recordings of the convocation ceremonies are available to watch at smu.ca/graduation. See the full photo album on the SMU Halifax Facebook page.

Dr. Joshua Nichols to deliver the 2023 Marshall Lecture in Public Philosophy

Dr. Joshua Nichols

Questions of truth and reconciliation in law will be the focus of the 2023 Marshall Lecture in Public Philosophy, taking place September 28 at Saint Mary’s University.

Dr. Joshua Nichols of McGill University’s Faculty of Law will deliver this year’s lecture, titled “Undoing the Colonial Double-Bind: Interpretation and Justification in Aboriginal Law”. Dr. Nichols is Métis from Treaty 8 Territory in British Columbia. His research centers on the legacy of British Imperialism and the conflictual constitutional relationship between Canada and Indigenous peoples.

Nichols is the author of A Reconciliation without Recollection: An Investigation of the Foundations of Aboriginal Law in Canada (University of Toronto Press, 2020), which has been lauded as a “truly significant contribution” to the understanding of reconciliation today.

In the book, he "investigates the idea of reconciliation through a brilliant exploration of its use and misuse in Canadian legal discourse," says a review by Mark D. Walters, Dean and Professor of Law, Queen’s University. "In eloquent and powerful terms, he argues that genuine reconciliation demands that we remember our shared histories and see in law redemptive possibilities based on the kind of intercultural dialogue and respect that shaped treaty relationships in the past.”

In his lecture in Halifax/Kjipuktuk, Nichols will discuss the idea that Aboriginal law in Canada is caught in a colonial double-bind. On the one hand, the courts have acknowledged the pre-existing sovereignty of Indigenous peoples. On the other hand, the courts have accepted the sovereignty and legislative power of the Crown as against and over Indigenous peoples. By appealing to legal reasoning found within relevant case law, including the Quebec Court of Appeal’s recent reconsideration of Van der Peet in the C-92 Reference, Nichols aims to provide a way to deal with the double-bind using legal tools the courts already possess.

“The Marshall Lecture in Public Philosophy has been a great forum for bringing academics to campus to discuss topics of interest to the general public,” says Dr. Todd Calder, a faculty member in the Department of Philosophy and Chair of the Marshall Lecture Committee.

“We are particularly excited this year to have a speaker whose presentation is directly relevant to questions of truth and reconciliation, in the days just prior to the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.”

The annual lecture series tackles complex contemporary questions through a philosophy lens. Last year, Dr. Hallie Liberto of the University of Maryland discussed “Three kinds of victim blame: and what is wrong with each?” Previous speakers have explored such topics as climate change ethics, the dilemmas of protecting religious freedoms, and the delegation of human decision-making to machines.  

This free public lecture is presented by the Department of Philosophy, with support from The Rowland Marshall Public Philosophy Lecture Fund. It begins at 7 p.m. in the Scotiabank Conference Theatre in the Sobey School of Business, with a reception to follow. All are welcome to attend.

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Related links:

• Commemorating the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

• “I wanted to have an impact”: A feature story on Dr. Rowland Marshall

• Event posting: The 2023 Marshall Lecture in Public Philosophy