Martha Jackman, B.A. (Queen鈥檚), LL.B. (Toronto), LL.M. (Yale), specializes in the area of constitutional law, with a particular focus on issues relating to women and other marginalized groups. She joined the Faculty of Law (French Common Law Program) at the University of Ottawa in 1988. She has held various positions within the law school: Director of Graduate Studies in Law; co-editor of the Canadian Journal of Women and the Law; Vice-Dean of the French Common Law Program; and Shirley E. Greenberg Chair for Women and the Legal Profession. She publishes primarily in the areas of socio-economic rights, equality and the Canadian Charter. She appears regularly before law reform bodies and parliamentary committees and has acted as legal counsel in Charter test cases at the trial, appellate and Supreme Court levels. She is a National Steering Committee member and past-Chair of the National Association of Women and the Law (NAWL/ANFD) and a former member of Equality Rights Panel of the Court Challenges Program of Canada and of the Board of Directors of the Women鈥檚 Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF/FAEJ). From 2004-2015 she was the academic director of two successive five-year, million dollar research projects: 鈥淪ocial Rights Accountability Project鈥 and "Reconceiving Human Rights Practice", funded under the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council's Community-University Research Alliance Program. In 2001, she was awarded the Augusta Stowe-Gullen Affirmative Action medal in recognition of her contribution to the advancement of women鈥檚 equality. In 2007, she received the Law Society of Ontario Medal for her contributions to the profession and in 2015, was the recipient of the Canadian Bar Association鈥檚 Touchstone Award. In 2017 she was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. In 2018 she was awarded the David Walter Mundell Medal for Legal Writing by the Attorney General of Ontario and, in 2019, the Canadian Health Coalition鈥檚 Guardian of Public Health Care Award (Academic).
Martha Jackman

Profile
Martha
Jackman
Emeritus Professor
B.A. (Queen鈥檚)
LL.B. (Toronto)
LL.M. (Yale)
Room
57 Louis Pasteur St. Room 383
Phone
Office: 613-562-5800 ext. 3299
Office: 613-562-5124
Email
Biography
Academic Publications
- "Protecting Health, Respecting Rights: Decriminalizing Drug Possession as a Constitutional Imperative鈥 in Vanessa Gruben, ed., First do Less Harm: Harm Reduction as a Principle of Health Policy and Law (Ottawa: University of Ottawa Press, forthcoming).
- Urgent and Long Overdue: Legal Reform and Drug Decriminalization in Canada (Ottawa: Royal Society of Canada, 2024) (with Vanessa Gruben, Elaine Hyshka, Co-chairs et al.).
- 鈥淲izened Stump or Living Tree? Section 7 Principles of Fundamental Justice鈥, in Howard Kislowicz, Kerri Froc & Richard Moon, eds, The Surprising Constitution (Vancouver: UBC Press, 2024) 260-285.
- "Fault Lines: COVID-19, the Charter and Long-term Care (PDF, 8.98 MB)" in Colleen M. Flood, Vanessa MacDonnell, Jane Philpott, Sophie Th茅riault & Sridhar Venkatapurum, eds, Vulnerable: The Policy, Law and Ethics of COVID-19 (Ottawa: University of Ottawa Press, 2020) 339-354.
- "Chaoulli to Cambie: Charter Challenges to the Regulation of Private Health Funding and Care (PDF, 17.01 MB)" in Colleen M. Flood & Bryan Thomas, eds, Is Two-Tier Health Care the Future? (Ottawa: University of Ottawa Press, 2020) 37-68.
- "Un pas en avant, deux pas en arri猫re : l鈥檋茅ritage de Gosselin pour les droits socio-茅conomiques" (2020) 61 Les cahiers de droit&苍产蝉辫;427鈥467
- "" (2019) 39 National Journal of Constitutional Law 85-121.
- "Law as a Tool for Addressing Social Determinants of Health (PDF, 306.05 KB)" in Tracey M. Bailey, C. Tess Sheldon & Jacob J. Shelley, eds., Public Health Law and Policy in Canada, 4th ed. (Markham, ON: LexisNexis Canada, 2019) 99-144.
- 鈥淟e droit 脿 l'alimentation au Canada : Un entretien avec la professeure Martha Jackman鈥 (2018) 50:1 Ottawa Law Review; University of Ottawa Faculty of Law Legal Studies Working Paper Series 2019-04 (SSRN) 1-27.
- "The Unfulfilled Promise of s. 15" in Heather MacIvor & Arthur Mills, eds, Canada at 150: Building a Free and Democratic Society (Toronto: LexisNexis Canada, 2017) 195.
- 鈥Charter Review of Health Care Access (PDF, 283.54 KB)鈥, in Joanna Erdman, Vanessa Gruben & Erin Nelson, eds, Canadian Health Law and Policy, 5th ed. (Markham, ON: LexisNexis Canada, 2017) 71-93.
- 鈥溾, in Peter Oliver, Patrick Maklem & Nathalie DesRosiers, eds, The Oxford Handbook of the Canadian Constitution (New York: Oxford University Press, 2017) 843-861 (with Bruce Porter).
- 鈥淭丑别 Future of Health Care Accountability: A Human Rights Approach鈥 (2015-2016) 47 Ottawa Law Review 437-472.
. - 鈥淚ntroduction: Advancing Social Rights in Canada,鈥 in Martha Jackman & Bruce Porter, eds., Advancing Social Rights in Canada (Toronto: Irwin Law, 2014) 1- 31 (with Bruce Porter)
. - 鈥淩ights Based Strategies to Address Homelessness and Poverty in Canada: the Charter Framework,鈥 in Martha Jackman & Bruce Porter, eds., Advancing Social Rights in Canada (Toronto: Irwin Law, 2014) 65-106 (with Bruce Porter).
. - 鈥淟aw as a Tool for Addressing Social Determinants of Health,鈥 in Nola Ries, Tracey Bailey & Timothy Caulfield, eds., Public Health Law and Policy in Canada, 3rd ed. (Markham: LexisNexis Canada, 2013) 91-130.
. - "Rights-Based Strategies to Address Homelessness and Poverty in Canada: The Constitutional Framework" (2013) University of Ottawa Faculty of Law Legal Studies Working Paper Series 2013-10 (SSRN) (with Bruce Porter).
. - International Human Rights and Strategies to Address Homelessness and Poverty in Canada: Making the Connection (2013) University of Ottawa Faculty of Law Legal Studies Working Paper Series 2013-09 (SSRN) (with Bruce Porter).
. - 鈥淐onstitutional Castaways: Poverty and the McLachlin Court鈥 in Sanda Rodgers and Sheila McIntyre, eds., The Supreme Court of Canada and Social Justice: Commitment, Retrenchment or Retreat (Markham: LexisNexis Canada, 2011) 297-328.
. - 鈥淐onstitutional Castaways: Poverty and the McLachlin Court鈥 (2010) 50 Supreme Court Law Review 297-328.
. - 鈥淐harter Review as a Health Care Accountability Mechanism in Canada鈥 (2010) 18 Health Law Journal 1-29.
. - 鈥淐harter Remedies for Socio-economic Rights Violations: Sleeping Under a Box?鈥 in Robert J. Sharpe & Kent Roach, eds., Taking Remedies Seriously (Montreal: Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice, 2010) 279-301.
. - 鈥淪ocio-Economic Rights under the Canadian Charter,鈥 in M. Langford, ed., Social Rights Jurisprudence: Emerging Trends in International and Comparative Law (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008) 209-29 (with Bruce Porter).
. - 鈥淗ealth Care and Equality: Is There a Cure?鈥 (2007) 15 Health Law Journal 87-141.
. - 鈥淪ocio-Economic Rights Under the Canadian Charter鈥 (Fall 2007) Canadian Issues/Th猫mes canadiens 26-31 (with Bruce Porter).
. - 鈥淩eality Checks: Presuming Innocence and Proving Guilt in Charter Welfare Cases,鈥 in M. Young, S. Boyd, G. Brodsky, S. Day eds., Poverty: Rights, Social Citizenship, and Legal Activism (Vancouver: U.B.C. Press, 2007) 23-39.
. - 鈥Charter Equality at Twenty: Reflections of a Card-carrying Member of the Court Party (PDF, 6.34 MB)鈥 (2006) 20 National Journal of Constitutional Law 115-127.
- 鈥淭丑别 Last Line of Defence for [Which?] Citizens鈥: Accountability, Equality and the Right to Health in Chaoulli (2006) 44 Osgoode Hall L.J. 349-75.
. - 鈥淐ommentary: Section 15 can help bring legitimacy to our democracy,鈥 (18 August 2006) 26:14 The Lawyers Weekly 11.
. - 芦&苍产蝉辫;Sommes-nous dignes? L茅galit茅 et l鈥檃rr锚t Gosselin 禄 (2006) 17 Canadian Journal of Women and the Law/Revue Femmes et Droit 161-176.
. - 鈥淢isdiagnosis or Cure? Charter Review of the Health Care System鈥 in C.M. Flood, ed., Just Medicare: What鈥檚 In, What鈥檚 Out, How We Decide (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2006) 58-79.
. - 芦&苍产蝉辫;L鈥櫭ゞalit茅 r茅elle dans le contexte des droits linguistiques (PDF, 2.58 MB) 禄 in A. Bra毛n, P. Foucher & Y. LeBouthillier, eds., Languages, Consitutionalism and Minorities/Langues, constitutionnalisme et minorit茅s (Toronto: Butterworths, 2006) 629-634.
- 鈥Canadian Charter Equality at 20: Reflections of a Card-carrying Member of the Court Party鈥 (Dec.2005-Jan.2006) 27:1 Policy Options 72-77.
. - 鈥淪ection 7 of the Charter and Health-Care Spending鈥 in G.P. Marchildon, T. McIntosh & P.-G. Forest eds., The Fiscal Sustainability of Health Care in Canada (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2004) 110-136.
- 芦&苍产蝉辫;L鈥檃rticle 7 de la Charte et les d茅penses en soins de sant茅 禄 dans G.P. Marchildon, T. McIntosh & P.-G. Forest r茅ds., L鈥檃venir fiscal du syst猫me de sant茅 canadien, Ottawa, Les Presses de l鈥橴niversit茅 d鈥橭ttawa, 2004, 124-153.
. - The Implications of section 7 of the Charter for Health Care Spending in Canada: Discussion Paper No. 31 (Saskatoon: Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada, 2002) 24pp.
. - Report of the Independent Panel on Access Criteria (Ottawa: Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, 2002) 99pp. (with Arthur Kroeger, Paul LeBlond, Gordon Munro and David Newhouse).
. - 鈥淭丑别 Application of the Canadian Charter in the Health Care Context鈥 (2001) 9 Health Law Review 22-26.
. - 鈥淐onstitutional Jurisdiction Over Health in Canada鈥 (2000) 8 Health Law Journal 95-117.
. - 鈥淲hat鈥檚 Wrong With Social and Economic Rights鈥 (2000) 11 National Journal of Constitutional Law 235-246.
. - 鈥淲omen鈥檚 Substantive Equality and the Protection of Social and Economic Rights Under the Canadian Human Rights Act, in Status of Women Canada鈥, Women and the Canadian Human Rights Act: A Collection of Policy Research Reports (Ottawa: Status of Women Canada, 1999) 43-112 (with Bruce Porter).
. - 鈥淔rom National Standards to Justiciable Rights: Enforcing International Social and Economic Guarantees Through Charter of Rights Review鈥 (1999) 14 Journal of Law & Social Policy 69-90.
. - 鈥淪ocial Rights and the Question of a Social Charter鈥 in P. Browne, ed., Finding our Collective Voice: Options for a New Social Union (Ottawa: Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, December 1998) 55-57.
- 鈥淕iving Real Effect to Equality鈥: Eldridge v. B.C. (A.G.) and Vriend v. Alberta (1998) 4 Review of Constitutional Studies 352-371.
. - 鈥淪eparate but not Apart: The Role of the Courts in Canada鈥檚 Post-Charter Democracy鈥, in D. Magnusson & D. Soberman, eds., Canadian Constitutional Dilemmas Revisited (Kingston: Queens University/Institute of Intergovernmental Relations, 1997) 31-42.
. - 鈥淧rotecting Rights and Promoting Democracy: Judicial Review Under Section 1 of the Charter鈥 (1996) 34 Osgoode Hall Law Journal 661-680.
. - 鈥淭丑别 Constitutional Basis for Federal Regulation of Health鈥 (1996) 5 Health Law Review 3-10.
. - 鈥淭丑别 Reallocation of Disputes from Courts to Administrative Agencies" in Ontario Law Reform Commission, Rethinking Civil Justice: Research Studies for the Civil Justice Review, Volume 1 (Toronto: Ontario Law Reform Commission, 1996) 347-379.
. - 鈥淐onstitutional Rhetoric and Social Justice: Reflections on the Justiciability Debate鈥, in H.J. Steiner & P. Alston, eds., International Human Rights in Context: Law, Politics, Morals (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1996) 301-304.
. - 鈥淲omen and the Canada Health and Social Transfer: Ensuring Gender Equality in Federal Welfare Reform鈥 (1996) 8 Canadian Journal of Women and the Law/Revue Femmes et Droit 371-410.
. - 鈥淲omen, Poverty, and Welfare Reform: Can the Charter Make a Difference?鈥 in Les Femmes et le droit criminel - Actes de la conf茅rence (Moncton: Comit茅 femmes et droit, 脡cole de droit, Universit茅 de Moncton, 1996) 15-27.
- 鈥淭丑别 Right to Participate in Health Care and Health Resource Allocation Decisions Under Section 7 of the Canadian Charter鈥 (1995/96) 4:2 Health Law Review 3-11.
. - 鈥淥pen Justice or 鈥淛ust Us鈥? : The Poor, the Courts and the Charter鈥 in Y.-M. Morrissette, W. MacLauchlan & M. Ouellette, eds., Open Justice/La transparence dans le syst猫me judiciaire (Montreal: Canadian Institute for the Advancement of Justice/Les 脡ditions Th茅mis, 1995) 281-294.
. - 鈥淭丑别 Regulation of Private Health Care Under the Canada Health Act and the Canadian Charter鈥 (1995) 6:2 Constitutional Forum 54-60.
. - 鈥淭丑别 Status of the Foetus under Canadian Law鈥 (1995) 15:3 Health Law in Canada 83-86.
. - 鈥淐onstitutional Contact with the Disparities in the World: Poverty as a Prohibited Ground of Discrimination Under the Canadian Charter and Human Rights Law鈥 (1994) 2 Review of Constitutional Studies 76-122.
. - The 1995 Federal Pre-budget Consultation: Taking Gender into Account - Submission of the National Association of Women and the Law to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance (Ottawa: National Association of Women and the Law, November 1994) 19pp.
. - The Federal Social Security Reform: Taking Gender into Account - Submission of the National Association of Women and the Law to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Human Resources Development (Ottawa: National Association of Women and the Law, November 1994) 63pp. (with Lisa Addario).
. - 鈥淭丑别 Constitution and the Regulation of New Reproductive Technologies" in Overview of Legal Issues in New Reproductive Technologies, Volume 3 of the Research Studies of the Royal Commission on New Reproductive Technologies (Ottawa: Supply and Services Canada, 1994) 1-84.
. - 鈥淭丑别 Charter as a Barrier to Unwanted Medical Treatment of Pregnant Women in the Interests of the Foetus鈥 (1993) 14:2 Health Law in Canada 49-58.
. - 鈥淧oor Rights: Using the Charter to Support Social Welfare Claims鈥 (1993) 19 Queens Law Journal 65-94.
. - 鈥淣ew Rights or More Wrong?鈥 (October 1992) Canadian Forum 18-19.
- 鈥淐onstitutional Rhetoric or Social Justice? Reflections on the Justiciability Debate鈥 in J. Bakan & D. Schneiderman, eds, Social Justice and the Constitution - Perspectives on a Social Union for Canada (Ottawa: Carleton University Press, 1992) 17-28.
- 鈥淐onstitutional Rhetoric or Social Justice? Reflections on the Social Charter Debate鈥 (Fall 1992) 1 Inroads 36-43.
- Women and Constitutional Change: A Response by the National Association of Women and the Law to Federal Proposals for Amending the Constitution of Canada (Ottawa: National Association of Women and the Law, August 1992) 30pp. (with the NAWL Constitutional Committee).
. - When a Social Charter Isn鈥檛 (April 1992) Canadian Forum 8-10.
. - Le 鈥渘ouveau partage des pouvoirs鈥: l鈥檈fficacit茅 ou l鈥櫭﹒uit茅? (1991) 23 Ottawa Law Review 421-429.
. - 鈥淟itigating Equality for Women; Review: Canadian Charter Equality Rights for Women - One Step Forward or Two Steps Back?鈥 Gwen Brodsky & Shelagh Day (Summer 1991) 98 Queens Quarterly 458-460.
- 鈥淩ights and Participation: the Use of the Charter to Supervise the Regulatory Process鈥 (1990) 4 Canadian Journal of Administrative Law and Practice 23-56.
. - 鈥淐abinet and the Constitution - Participatory Rights and Charter Interests: Manicom v. County of Oxford鈥 (1990) 35 McGill Law Journal 943-956.
. - 鈥淔undamental Interests and Fundamental Justice - the Right to Participate in Decision-Making in Canadian Prisons: Piche v. Solicitor General of Canada鈥 (1990) 24 University of British Columbia Law Review 361-379.
. - 芦&苍产蝉辫;L鈥檋istoire de trois couples: le partage des biens matrimoniaux en droit canadien 禄 (avril-mai 1989) 18 Femmes d鈥檃ction 19-20.
- 鈥淭丑别 Protection of Welfare Rights Under the Charter鈥 (1988) 20 Ottawa Law Review 257-338.
. - 鈥淒茅veloppements r茅cents en mati猫re de partage des biens matrimoniaux" in Avoid the Pitfalls: Solicitors Considerations for Family Law Practitioners (Fredericton: Continuing Legal Education Committee, Barristers Society of New Brunswick, 1986) 268-279.
- 鈥淚nterprovincial Mobility Rights under the Charter鈥 (1985) 43 University of Toronto Faculty of Law Review 16-44.
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Litigation
- 2020 - Co-counsel for the Charter Committee on Poverty Issues, the Canadian Health Coalition and the FCJ Refugee Centre in Toussaint v Canada (Attorney General)
- 2016 - Counsel for the Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation in Tanudjaja v. Canada
United Nations Human Rights Committee - 2015 Counsel for the Proposed Interveners Charter Committee on Poverty Issues and the Canadian Health Coalition in Canada (Attorney General) v. Canadian Doctors for Refugee Care
- 2014 - 2015 Counsel for the Charter Committee on Poverty Issues, Pivot Legal Society and Justice for Girls in Tanudjaja v. Canada
- 2004- Counsel for the Charter Committee on Poverty Issues in Council of Canadians et al. v. Canada
Ontario Superior Court of Justice - 2003-2005 Counsel for the Charter Committee on Poverty Issues and the Canadian Health Coalition in Chaoulli c. Qu茅bec (Procureur g茅n茅ral)
- 2000-2001 Counsel for the Charter Committee on Poverty Issues and the Canadian Health Coalition in Gosselin v. Procureur g茅n茅ral du Qu茅bec
- 1999 Counsel for the Woman's Legal Education and Action Fund, the Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants and the DisAbled Women's Network Canada in Irshad v. Ontario (Ministry of Health)
- 1998 Counsel for the Charter Committee on Poverty Issues in J.G. v. Minister of Health and Community Services (N.B.) et al.
- 1996 Counsel for the Charter Committee on Poverty Issues in Eldridge v. British Columbia (A.G.)
- 1996 Counsel for the Women鈥檚 Legal Education and Action Fund in Falkiner et al. v. Ontario
Courses
- Droit constitutionnel I (CML 1613)
- Feminist Law Reform/R茅forme f茅ministe du droit (CML4914)
- Droit de la sant茅 (CML3509)
- Th茅orie et pratique en droit et justice sociale (CML3512/DCL5738)