Date published: 2008-08-28 2:38:11 PM

John Borrows is one of a small group of legal scholars who have begun to change the face of Canadian common law. An Anishinabek and Chippewa of the Nawash First Nation, Borrows has emerged as Canada’s leading Aboriginal legal scholar. With support from SSHRC, he has worked for more than a decade to harmonize Aboriginal laws with the broader Canadian legal system. For example, his research illustrated how Aboriginal legal principles regarding the environment could be used by the Canadian legal system to address today’s pressing environmental challenges.

While recognizing each legal system’s distinctiveness, Borrow’s focus has been to move toward a peaceful and constructive coexistence of laws, including the establishment of a harmonized common law and Aboriginal law degree at the University of Victoria where he teaches.

John Borrows, law, University of Victoria