Special speaker series highlights Osgoode Professional Development’s 20th anniversary

TORONTO, February 4, 2016 – Osgoode Professional Development (OsgoodePD) is proudly celebrating 20 years as Canada’s leading legal educator for professionals with the launch this month of a three-part speaker series on some of the most pressing, and sometimes controversial, legal topics affecting Canadians. “As I think back on the last 20 years, OsgoodePD has really been at the forefront of leading legal education in Canada for both legal and non-legal professionals,” said OsgoodePD Executive Director Victoria Watkins. “This speaker series offers a glimpse of what our programs cover – high-quality, timely and relevant content from the experts. We wanted to bring some of that thought-provoking discussion to a wider audience and hope that this will be the first of a continuing series of events designed for that purpose.” The series of three panel discussions will be held in February and April, and cover topics in energy, healthcare and advocacy. Each event will be held at OsgoodePD’s downtown Toronto location and is available over webcast for viewers across Canada. Registration is $25 per event. Full details about the presentations (listed below) and the panelists as well as OsgoodePD’s 20th Anniversary celebrations can be found here. Thursday, February 18, 2016, 6 p.m. State of the (Oil) Nation: What’s in the Pipeline? With oil prices plummeting and Keystone dead, panelists reflecting Aboriginal and industry perspectives discuss the outlook for energy and infrastructure development, and key challenges and opportunities ahead. Monday, February 29, 2016, 6 p.m. Physician-Assisted Dying in Canada: Where do we stand one year after Carter? February 6, 2016 marks the anniversary of Carter v. Canada, yet the way forward is unclear. This panel discussion will be led by the people who are shaping the debate. Tuesday, April 26, 2016, 7 p.m. Advocacy and Political Dissent: How do we safeguard the independence of Canada’s watchdog institutions? Hear from three distinguished speakers who have held very public, and sometimes acrimonious, roles as “public watchdogs”. What have they learned that can help us protect the independence of these roles? What are the risks going forward? -30- About Osgoode Professional Development Osgoode Professional Development (OsgoodePD) is part of York University’s Osgoode Hall Law School, and is Canada’s leading provider of legal education to professionals. OsgoodePD offers a wide range of Continuing Legal Education courses as well as a Professional Master of Laws degree for working professionals. OsgoodePD programs are conveniently located at Yonge and Dundas in downtown Toronto, and are also available via videoconferencing and webcast for participants across Canada. About York University York University is known for championing new ways of thinking that drive teaching and research excellence. Our 52,000 students receive the education they need to create big ideas that make an impact on the world. Meaningful and sometimes unexpected careers result from cross-discipline programming, innovative course design and diverse experiential learning opportunities. York students and graduates push limits, achieve goals and find solutions to the world’s most pressing social challenges, empowered by a strong community that opens minds. York U is an internationally recognized research university – our 11 faculties and 24 research centres have partnerships with 200+ leading universities worldwide. Media Contact: Virginia Corner, Manager, Communications, Osgoode Hall Law School of York University, 416-736-5820, vcorner@osgoode.yorku.c