Jonnette Watson Hamilton
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Professor
Faculty of Law
Phone number
Office: 403.220.7253
Location
Office: MFH4335
Media Contact:
Ali Abel
Manager, Marketing & Communications
amabel@ucalgary.ca
O: 403.210.8720
C: 403.630.1232
Background
Educational Background
LLM Columbia University, 1992
LLB Dalhousie University, 1978
BA (with Distinction) English, University of Alberta, 1974
Biography
After receiving her LLB in 1978, Jonnette practiced law in Wetaskiwin, Alberta until 1991. Her practice was focused on family law, commercial law, and dependent adult law. She was also a member of the Alberta Farm Debt Review Board from 1986 to 1991 and mediated over 50 disputes between insolvent farmers and their creditors.
After attending Columbia Law School in New York City, Jonnette began teaching in the faculty in the fall of 1992. In the intervening years, she has taught 20 different law school courses, including Legal Communication and Research, Banking Law, Sale of Goods, Negotiable Instruments, Alternative Dispute Resolution, Commercial Arbitration, Legal Ethics, Feminist Legal Theory, Graduate Seminar in Legal Research and Methodology, Legal Perspectives, Property Law, Law and Literature, Property Theory, and Wills and Estates. She also served as Associate Dean (Research) (2001-2004, 2013-2014) and Graduate Program Coordinator (2001-2005).
Jonnette's current research centers on Charter equality rights, residential tenancy law and discourse analysis. With her colleague, Jennifer Koshan, she has written over a dozen journal articles and book chapters on equality rights, many of which have been cited by the Supreme Court of Canada, as have several of her articles on alternative dispute resolution. Jonnette has also worked with The Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF) in developing arguments for equality rights litigation, most recently in Fraser v Canada (2020, SCC). She is also a founder of and frequent contributor to ABlawg, the faculty's blog on recent developments in Alberta law. She has received the Distinguished Service Award for Legal Scholarship from the Law Society of Alberta - Canadian Bar Association.
Research
Areas of Research
Courses
Course number | Course title | Semester |
---|---|---|
LAW 579.01 | Legal Theory - Property | Fall 2022 |
Awards
- Teaching Excellence Award, University of Calgary Students' Union. 2018
- Distinguished Service Award for Legal Scholarship, Canadian Bar Association – Alberta Branch/Law Society of Alberta. 2017
- Howard Tidswell Memorial Award for Teaching Excellence, 2012
- Howard Tidswell Memorial Awards for Teaching Excellence, 2008
Publications
- "Cautious Optimism: Fraser v Canada (Attorney General)". Jonnette Watson Hamilton. 30:2 Constitutional Forum. 1-14. (2021)
- “Reforming Residential Tenancy Law for Victims of Domestic Violence”. Jonnette Watson Hamilton. 8 Annual Review of Interdisciplinary Justice Research. 245-276. (2019)
- “Equality Rights and Pay Equity: Déjá Vu in the Supreme Court of Canada”. Jonnette Watson Hamilton and Jennifer Koshan. 15 Journal of Law & Equality. (2019)
- “Alberta v Hutterian Brethren of Wilson Colony, Women’s Court of Canada”. Jonnette Watson Hamilton and Jennifer Koshan. 30:2 Canadian Journal of Women and the Law. 292-322. (2021)
- “Colour as a Discrete Ground of Discrimination”. Joshua Sealy-Harrington and Jonnette Watson Hamilton. 7:1 Can J Hum Rts. 1-33. (2018)
- "The Role of Choice in Women's Freedom of Religion Claims in Canada". Jonnette Watson Hamilton and Jennifer Koshan. 36(2) Religious Studies and Theology. 171-185. (2017)
- "Kahkewistahaw First Nation v. Taypotat – Whither Section 25 of the Charter?". Jonnette Watson Hamilton and Jennifer Koshan. 52:2 Constitutional Forum. 39-44. (2016)
- "Kahkewistahaw First Nation v. Taypotat: An Arbitrary Approach to Discrimination". Jonnette Watson Hamilton and Jennifer Koshan. 76 Supreme Court Law Review (2d). 243-262. (2016)
- "Adverse Impact: The Supreme Court's Approach to Adverse Effects Discrimination Under Section 15 of the Charter". Jonnette Watson Hamilton and Jennifer Koshan. 19:2 Review of Constitutional Studies. 191-236. (2014)
- "The Recognition of Aboriginal Title and Its Relationship with Settler State Land Titles Systems". Jonnette Watson Hamilton, Nigel Bankes and Sharon Mascher. 47:3 UBC L Rev. (2014)
- "The Continual Reinvention of Section 15 of the Charter". Jonnette Watson Hamilton and Jennifer Koshan. 64 University of New Brunswick Law Journal. 19-53. (2013)
- "The Distinctive Nature of Academic Integrity in Graduate Legal Education". Jonnette Watson Hamilton. in Academic Integrity in Canada: An Enduring and Essential Challenge, Sarah Elaine Eaton & Julia Christensen Hughes, eds (Springer, 2022). 333-350. (2022)
- "Women’s Freedom of Religion Claims in Canada: Assessing the Role of Choice". Jonnette Watson Hamilton and Jennifer Koshan. in Explorations in Women, Rights, and Religions, Morny Joy, ed. 240-259. (2020)
- “Acknowledging and Accommodating Legal Pluralism: An Application to the Draft Nordic Saami Convention”. Jonnette Watson Hamilton. in The Proposed Nordic Saami Convention: National and International Dimensions of Indigenous Property Rights, Nigel Bankes and Timo Koivurova, editors. 45-78. (2013)
In the News
- Alberta bill aimed at blockades becomes law amid debate over legal issues. The Globe & Mail. (2020)
- University of Calgary law professors call critical infrastructure bill unconstitutional. Global News. (2020)
- Is there a systemic problem with Alberta foreclosure proceedings?. Canadian Lawyer. (2020)