BCLI celebrates its nineteenth anniversary
January 6, 2016
BY Kathleen Cunningham
Today, January 6, 2016, marks the 19th anniversary of the foundation of the British Columbia Law Institute. Much has changed since those early years in the late 1990s. Our staff has grown to five full-time employees, current funding supports three full-time contract staff, and at any given our ranks are bolstered by one or more student volunteers. Our founding Executive Director, Arthur Close and his successor, Jim Emmerton, are now both retired, and I stepped into their big shoes on June 1st, 2015. Our humble accommodations in the Law Society building downtown have long been left behind and we are now located in the UBC Peter A. Allard School of Law building. And while our commitment to excellence in law reform remains a focus, the scope of our work broadened when the Canadian Centre for Elder Law with its unique focus on issues affecting older adults in Canada was established as a division of BCLI in 2003. First led by Margaret Hall, the CCEL’s reputation for its work within BC and nationally continued to grow under the leadership of Laura Tamblyn Watts, and most recently under Krista James.
Without question, our successes over the years could not have been possible without the passion and commitment of hundreds of volunteers and the continued financial support of the Law Foundation of BC, the Ministry of Justice, and our many project funders, such as the Notary Foundation of BC, the federal government, and the Vancouver Foundation. As we enter our 20th year, we acknowledge these contributions and support with gratitude.
From all of us at the British Columbia Law Institute and the Canadian Centre for Elder Law…
Thank you.
Kathleen Cunningham
Executive Director, British Columbia Law Institute | Canadian Centre for Elder Law
