The Justice Sector Constellation was established in 2012 as one of twelve constellation groups established by Vibrant Communities Calgary (then known as the Calgary Poverty Reduction Initiative) who is the steward of Calgary's poverty reduction strategy Enough for All.
The Canadian Poverty Institute (CPI), vulnerability to poverty is the result of various intersecting factors including individual attributes, life stage, social connection and systemic factors and research has found that people living in poverty are more susceptible to encountering legal issues. With the creation of the Justice Sector Constellation, Calgary became the first city in Canada to integrate a justice-sector partnership into its poverty-reduction efforts.
The Justice Constellation: Collective Impact at the Intersection of Poverty and the Law
The Justice Sector Constellation used the Collective Impact framework to guide and shape how it engaged multiple perspectives to advance an agenda that was instrumental in shifting and shaping conversations around justice and poverty and made significant contributions in educating and engaging Albertans in the many ways poverty and the legal system intersect.
The Constellation’s work impacted city bylaws, helped with systems navigation through client journey maps, and provided important educational opportunities through the creation of a Poverty and the Law Module, which has been incorporated into courses at post-secondary institutions. Parts of the module have also been included in the bar exam for lawyers in Alberta and other provinces. Though the group formally disbanded in 2022, after almost a decade, much of their work continues through member organizations.
Join Tamarack’s Sylvia Cheuy for a conversation with Janice Pasay who was the Co-Chair of the Justice Sector Constellation from 2012 to 2021. Together we will dive into the story of the Justice Constellation and its accomplishments to learn how the Collective Impact Framework informed its structure and processes. We will also talk about some of the Constellation’s challenges and lessons learned as it work spanned close to a decade.
Speakers
Janice Pasay, Barrister and Solicitor for Justice-Focused Collaboratives
Janice Pasay practices law in Calgary, providing legal services to charities primarily in respect of corporate and contractual matters, with a focus on collaboratives. Prior to her legal career, she was an Economist with the Canadian Energy Research Institute and later CERI Energy Research Ltd. From 2012 to 2021, Ms. Pasay was the Co-Chair of the Justice Sector Constellation, a collaborative of justice-sector agencies seeking to intervene at the intersection of poverty and the legal system. She served on the Access to Justice Committee of the Law Society of Alberta from 2009 to 2014.
Sylvia Cheuy, Consulting Director of Collaboration
Sylvia is the Consulting Director of Collaboration at the Tamarack Institute. She has spent more than 20 years as a changemaker and champions of multi-sector, citizen-led change efforts. She is inspired by the capacity of communities to innovate and advance creative solutions to their most pressing issues. Sylvia is a skilled and seasoned community change facilitator whose work has included designing and delivering capacity-building sessions, both in person and virtually, to clients across North America as well as in Singapore, New Zealand, the UK, and Singapore. She has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Toronto and completed her Graduate Diploma in Social Innovation at the University of Waterloo in 2013 where she explored opportunities to create change within regional food systems.