Jonnette Watson Hamilton
Contact information
Background
Educational Background
LLM Columbia University, 1992
LLB Dalhousie University, 1978
BA (with Distinction) 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 in law centers on Charter equality rights and the intersection of human rights and residential tenancy law. With her colleague, Jennifer Koshan, she has written fifteen 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.
Jonnette's MA thesis in history will focus on the role of SE Saskatchewan farm women in debt restructuring and debt relief efforts during the Great Depression, building on her background with the Alberta Farm Debt Review Board and her maternal family connections with the Moose Mountain area.
Research
Areas of Research
Courses
| Course number | Course title | Semester |
|---|---|---|
| LAW 579.01 | Legal Theory - Property | Fall 2023 |
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
- Sharma: The Erasure of Both Group-Based Disadvantage and Individual Impact. Co-authored with Jennifer Koshan. (2024) 114 Supreme Court Law Review. 113-137. (2024)
- “Women’s Charter Equality at the Supreme Court of Canada: Surprising Losses or Anticipated Failures?”, . Co-authored with Jennifer Koshan. The Surprising Constitution: Expectations, Disappointments, Potential. 162-176. (2024)
- 'Clarifications' or 'Wholesale Revisions'? The Last Five Years of Equality Jurisprudence at the Supreme Court of Canada. Co-authored with Jennifer Koshan . (2024) Supreme Court Law Review . 15-33. (2024)
- Chapter 23: Equality Rights . Jonnette Watson Hamilton and Jennifer Koshan. Canadian Constitutional Law, 6th edition (Emond Publishing). 1225-1318. (2022)
- "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)
- "Cautious Optimism: Fraser v Canada (Attorney General)". Jonnette Watson Hamilton. 30:2 Constitutional Forum. 1-14. (2021)
- "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)
- “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. 1-29. (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". Nigel Bankes, Sharon Mascher & Jonnette Watson Hamilton. 47:3 UBC L Rev. (2014)
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