Criminal Justice and Public Policy Events
2026-27 Event Schedule
| Date | Event | Who's Invited? |
|---|---|---|
| October 6, 2026 | Wrongful Conviction Day | Students and community members |
| October 20, 2026 | Criminal Justice in Practice Lecture | CJPP students – Registration required |
| November 2026 | Grad School Info Night | Students – Registration required |
| November 19, 2026 | Policing Pathways & Opportunities Fair | Students |
| February 2027 | CJPP Career Night: Pathways to Success | Students |
| March 2027 | Truscott Lecture in Justice | Students and community members |
| March 2027 | Criminal Justice in Practice Lecture | CJPP students – Registration required |
| March 2027 | CJPP Research Workshop | Students and community members |
Past CJPP Events
Wrongful Conviction Day, which is recognized each year on October 2, brings attention to the injustices faced by the wrongfully convicted. CJPP events in support of this day help to educate the campus and wider communities about the causes of wrongful convictions and the experiences of the wrongfully convicted.
- Public presentation with special guest exoneree Brian Anderson (2025)
- Public presentation with special guest exoneree Jamie Nelson (2024)
- Public presentation with special guest exoneree Ron Dalton (2023)
- Public presentation with special guest exoneree Maria Shepherd (2022)
- Public presentation with special guest exoneree Glen Assoun and defence lawyer Sean MacDonald (2021)
- Panel discussion with special guest exoneree Robert Baltovich (2020)
- Panel discussion with special guest exoneree O'Neil Blackett (2019)
- Panel discussion with special guest exonerees William Mullins-Johnson and David Milgaard (2018)
The Truscott Lecture in Justice series is part of the Truscott Initiative launched at the University of Guelph in 2009, to commemorate the struggles of Guelph resident Steven Truscott and his family.
Truscott was wrongly convicted at the age of 14 and spent years in prison before his release in 1969. He was acquitted by the Ontario Court of Appeal in 2007. His decades-long battle to prove his innocence after the 1959 murder of his schoolmate Lynne Harper is well known across Canada.
The Truscott Initiative aims to improve our understanding of Canada's complex criminal justice system and to highlight how criminal justice intersects with other policy areas and broader conceptions of justice.
- The Rule of Law and Public Confidence with Chief Justice of Ontario, the Honourable Michael H. Tulloch (March 2026)
- Reimagining Canada's Prisons: Balancing Security, Rights and Reform with former Correctional Investigator of Canada, Howard Sapers (2025)
- 40 Years at Correctional Service Canada: A Commissioners Perspective on Corrections in Canda with Commissioner Anne Kelly (2024)
- How Can We Improve Criminal Justice? Reflections on the State of the Canadian Criminal Justice System with Supreme Court of Canada Justice Michael Moldaver (2023)
- Covering Crime – Canadian Reporters Tell the Inside Story (2020)
- What Does the Future of Justice Look Like? Presented by Senator Kim Pate (2019)
- Challenging the Status Quo, presented by the Honourable Yasir Naqvi, Attorney General of Ontario (2017)
- Weather the Storm: 21st Century Criminal Justice Policy, presented by Anthony N. Doob (2016)
- Lessons Learned from an Inquiry into Wrongful Convictions, presented by the Honourable Stephen T. Goudge, Q.C. (2015)
The Criminal Justice in Practice (CJiP) event series aims to expose students to the practical realities of the criminal justice system. By inviting practitioners who work in various roles in the criminal justice system, the talks will foster connections between students and the local community. It will also emphasize the multidisciplinarity of careers in criminal justice.
- Sexual Violence and the Law: A Conversation with a Crown Attorney, with Julia Forward (Trial Actors, 2025)
- Community Includes People in Prison (Lived Experiences of the Justice System, 2026)
- Pathways In and Out of Custody: From Incarceration to Empowerment, with Emily O'Brien (Lived Experiences of the Justice System, 2025)
- Police Responses to Mental Health Crises: Lessons Learned from the Intergrated Mobile Police and Crisis Team (IMPACT), with Constable Paul Hinchlife (GPS), Rory McLellan (IMPACT) and Aedyn Cressman (IMPACT) (Policing & Law Enforcement, 2024)
- Indigenous-led Community Supports for Housing and Release from Custody with representatives from Atlohsa Family Healing Services (Live Experiences of the Justice System, 2024)
- Is Canada's Bail System Broken? With criminal defence lawyer Boris Bytensky (Trial Actors, 2023)
- Indigenous Policing in Ontario: Reflections from a Retired Chief of Police with John Domm (Policing & Law Enforcement, 2022)
- Enforcing Compliance: Challenges and Opportunities of Community Supervision with probation officer Tracy Nguyen (Corrections & Community Sanctions, 2022)
- Drug Treatment Court: One Judge’s Experience with the Honourable Justice Elliott Allen (Trial Actors, 2021)
- Community Impacts of Substance Abuse: a Police Perspective with Guelph Chief of Police Gord Cobey, Sergeant Brad Saint and Inspector Steve Gill (Policing & Law Enforcement, 2021)
- Prisoner's Rights Abuses – Reflections on Life Behind Bars with Lawrence Da Silva (Lived Experiences of the Justice System, 2021)
- Justice for Whom? A Youth Perspective with David Mitchell (Corrections & Community Sanctions, 2021)
- Social Exclusion and the Criminal Justice System with Gail Smith (Trial Actors, 2020)
- Pathways In and Out of Custody with Emily O'Brien (Lived Experiences of the Justice system, 2020)
- Gangs, Inmate Hierarchy and Culture with Sgt. Marlene Lariviere (Corrections & Community Sanctions, 2020)
- Changing Roles in the Criminal Justice System with Justice Lorelei Amlin (Trial Actors, 2019)
- Engaging Youth in the Community with Guelph Chief of Police Gord Cobey (Policing & Law Enforcement, 2019)
