SEPTEMBER 16, 2020

Presented by

FIRST-YEAR WELCOMING CEREMONYLIVE FROM CONVOCATION HALL

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Established in 1912, the College of Law is the oldest law school in Western Canada, exemplifying a tradition of excellence in teaching,

research and innovation. The college offers Juris Doctor (JD), Master of Laws (LLM), and Doctor of Philoshphy (PhD) degrees.

As leaders in Indigenous law, criminal law, transnational commercial law, and environment and sustainable resources law, the College of Law also offers a strong clinical program, a highly-

regarded mooting program, joint degree programs and global exchange opportunities.

Over the past 100 years, the college’s graduates have become distinguished judges of courts at all levels, including the Supreme

Court of Canada; distinguished academics; learned members of the legal profession across the country; diplomats; and political leaders.

College of Law alumni have also held positions as prime minister of Canada, governor-general of Canada, premier of Alberta and

premier of Saskatchewan.

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Student Commitment

As a Law Student of the University of Saskatchewan, College of Law, I will, to the best of my ability:

Engage in a respectful way with local, national and global members of community and society.

Contribute to the creation of a respectful and inclusive university community.

Actively engage in the learning process.

Undertake all learning activities with academic and ethical integrity.

The following commitments by students, the institution and the educators, have been derived from the University of Saskatchewan’s learning charter. The charter is our commitment to opening our university to learning, engagement and opportunities for all Peoples of Saskatchewan and beyond, and in so doing, recognizes and appreciates the knowledge, diverse abilities, and the ways of teaching and learning that they bring with them.

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Institutional Commitment

As a representative of the University of Saskatchewan, the University of Saskatchewan will, to the best of its ability:

Offer high quality programs and activities for learning and discovery.

Foster reciprocal learning collaborations.

Ensure qualified educators and effective instruction.

Promote research-enhanced and community-driven learning.

Create mechanisms for ongoing quality enhancement of all programs and courses.

Define transparent programmatic milestones expected of students in all pursuits of learning.

Provide safe, secure, and inclusive environments.

Provide appropriate learning resources, facilities, and technologies.

Support the students, the educators and the community.

Educator Commitment

As a Faculty member of the University of Saskatchewan, College of Law, I will, to the best of my ability:

Embody the learning behaviours we are teaching to others.

Maintain an appropriate teacher-learner relationship.

Bring research, scholarship, artistic work and /or professional activities into teaching and mentorship.

Align learning outcomes, teaching activities and assessment.

Develop respectful and inclusive learning environments that support student learning.

Communicate and uphold clear academic expectations and standards.

Perform fair and relevant assessment for and of student learning.

Solicit and reflect on feedback from students, peers and others.

Engage in lifelong learning and continuous enhancement of teaching practice.

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Welcome remarks and introductionsMartin Phillipson, Dean, College of Law

Welcome and blessingMaria Campbell, Cultural Advisor, College of Law

Greetings from Burnet Duckworth & Palmer LLPRobert Martz, Partner

Greetings from the Court of AppealThe Honourable Robert G. Richards,

Chief Justice of Saskatchewan

Greetings from the Court of Queen’s BenchThe Honourable Madam Justice Natasha Crooks

Greetings from the Saskatchewan Provincial Court

The Honourable Judge Michelle Brass

Greetings from the Law Society of SaskatchewanGerald Tegart, QC, President

Greetings from the University of SaskatchewanPeter Stoicheff, President and Vice-Chancellor

Keynote addressBradley Berg, Partner, Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP

Presentation of first-year class

Entrance awards

Presentation of pins and recitation of student commitmentto follow in small online groups

Program

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SPEAKERSMaria Campbell

Maria Campbell received her honorary doctorates from the University of Regina in 1985, York University in 1992, and Athabasca University in 2000. She

is a Métis author, playwright, broadcaster,filmmaker, and Elder. In addition to her work in the arts, Maria is a volunteer, activist and advocate for Indigenous rights and the rights of women. She was a founder of the first Women’s Halfway House and the first Women and Children’s Emergency Crisis Centre in Edmonton. Maria sits as an Elder on the Saskatchewan Aboriginal Justice Commission, and is a member of the Grandmothers for Justice Society.

Robert Martz (BA’01, JD’10) Rob Martz is from Saskatoon and graduated from the University of Saskatchewan College of Law in 2010. After law school, Rob clerked

for the Honourable Chief Justice Richards at the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal and the Honourable Justice Rothstein at the Supreme Court. He practices in the areas of commercial litigation and anti-corruption at Burnet, Duckworth & Palmer LLP in Calgary. Rob recently appeared for a group of Alberta craft brewers at the Supreme Court of Canada on R. v. Comeau (or the “free the beer case”). Rob is married to Adrienne Roy who is also a law graduate from USask and is the father to two boys and a girl.

The Honourable Chief Justice Robert G. Richards (BComm’75,LLB’79)

The Hon.Chief Justice Robert G. Richards was appointed Chief Justice of the Court of Appeal for Saskatchewan on June 30, 2013. He was appointed to the

Court of Appeal in 2004. Chief Justice Richards completed a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Saskatchewan in 1979 and a Master of Laws from Harvard University in 1982. He was a Law Clerk, Supreme Court of Canada (1979-1980); Parliamentary Intern, House of Commons (1980-1981); associate lawyer with Gowling and Henderson (1982-1984); Chief of Staff to the Rt. Hon. Ramon Hnatyshyn (1984-1985); Director of Constitutional Law, Saskatchewan Department of Justice (1985-1990); and a partner at MacPherson Leslie and Tyerman (1990-2004). He appeared as counsel in over 40 Supreme Court of Canada appeals. Chief Justice Richards has been the Chair, Supreme Court of Canada – Canadian Bar Association Liaison Committee; Co-chair national Canadian Bar Association Constitutional and Human Rights Law section; Vice-chair and Council member of the International Commission of Jurists (Canadian Section); and a Director of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Legal Studies. He is a long-time lecturer and presenter at the College of Law and the Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy.

The Honourable Madam Justice Natasha Crooks (JD’04)

Madam Justice Crooks received a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Regina in 1999 and a Juris Doctor

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(with distinction) from the University of Saskatchewan in 2004. She articled at the Department of Justice Canada and began her law career there in the area of civil litigation. Justice Crooks was appointed to the Parole Board of Canada in 2013 and served as a Board Member until March 2018. During that time, she was a member of the Parole Board of Canada’s Executive Committee and Chairperson of the Indigenous Circle, a national committee of the Parole Board of Canada that provides advice on issues that impact Indigenous offenders, victims and communities. Justice Crooks was appointed to the Provincial Court of Saskatchewan in March 2018 and to the Court of Queen’s Bench for Saskatchewan in May 2019.

The Honourable Judge Michelle R. Brass (LLB’97)

Judge Michelle Brass is originally from the Peepeekisis First Nation of the Treaty 4 Territory of Saskatchewan. She was appointed to the Saskatchewan

Provincial Court on November 22 of 2018 and sits in Estevan and on the court circuit points including Weyburn and Carlyle. Prior to her appointment, Judge Brass practiced law for 20 years. She completed her articles with Saskatchewan Justice in 1997 and was called to the Saskatchewan Bar in 1998. Judge Brass graduated from the University of Saskatchewan, College of Law with her LLB in 1997 and University of Regina, Department of Philosophy with her BA in 1991. Following her articles, Judge Brass joined the Constitutional Law Branch of Saskatchewan Justice. She then joined Justice Canada in Ottawa, Ontario where she worked primarily on Indigenous Law issues, Crown Law, and Environmental Law dealing with water.

Judge Brass left Justice Canada in 2014 to return home and joined the Saskatchewan Water Security Agency. In 2015, she opened Brass Law Office and worked there until her 2018 appointment.

Gerald Tegart, QC (JD’76) Gerald Tegart is a proud graduate of the University of Saskatchewan (Bachelor of Civil Engineering 1973; Bachelor of Laws 1976). He articled

with the what is now the Saskatchewan Ministry of Justice and spent 37 years with the ministry, during which he served as a Crown prosecutor, provided civil legal services to multiple agencies in the provincial government and was a senior legal manager, including four years as Saskatchewan’s Deputy Minister of Justice and Deputy Attorney General. He now practices law as a sole practitioner, specializing in arbitration and other adjudicative work. He presently sits as a vice-chair of the Saskatchewan Labour Relations Board on a part-time, temporary basis and is President of the Law Society of Saskatchewan.

Peter Stoicheff, President and Vice-Chancellor

Peter Stoicheff was born in Ottawa, Canada, in 1956 and received degrees from Queen’s University and the University of Toronto, where he completed his PhD in literature

in 1983. He began his 33-year career at the University of Saskatchewan in 1986. After serving as a professor and then dean of Arts & Science, Peter Stoicheff

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was appointed the 11th President of the University of Saskatchewan in 2015. He has led it to be one of Canada’s top research-intensive medical-doctoral universities, with global impact in water and food security, synchrotron science, medical imaging and agricultural technology. Recognizing the importance of postsecondary education to Indigenous peoples, Peter has supported the University of Saskatchewan to be a Reconciliation leader in the country, increasing its Indigenous student enrolments and ensuring its close connections with local and national Indigenous communities and organizations. He has also increased the university’s partnerships with other world-leading institutions around the world.

Bradley Berg (LLB’92)Brad is a past president of The Advocates’ Society, the principal association of litigation counsel in Canada, and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute

of Arbitrators (London). He taught trial advocacy at Osgoode Hall Law School for six years and is currently a contributing editor to Canadian Legal Practice (Butterworths/LexisNexis). Among other things, Brad was co-chair of a 2015 joint task force of The Indigenous Bar Association, The Advocates’ Society and the Law Society of Ontario to develop Guidelines for Lawyers Working with Indigenous Peoples, a national project in response to the Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Growing up at a fishing camp north of Dorintosh, Brad summered and articled with Cariou, Partyka & Francis in Meadow Lake before clerking at the Court of Appeal for Saskatchewan. His time at law school

included several moot court successes, including as part of the Canadian and World championship team at the Jessup International Law Moot (1991) and the Canadian championship team at the Gale Cup Moot (1992) where he also won best oralist. Brad is a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council for the College of Law and a proud USask alumnus. Among other things, Brad and his husband Brian Rolfes (also a College of Law alumnus) have established an annual scholarship at the College of Law recognizing upper year achievement by LGBTQ+ students and allies.

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ALUMNI REPRESENTATIVESThomas Collopy (JD’07)

Tom Collopy practises corporate and commercial law, with a focus on energy and natural resources. His practice primarily involves commercial

transactional work and providing general legal advice to upstream and midstream oil and gas, oilfield services, corporate, receiver-manager/trustee and secured lending clients. He has experience in both domestic and international energy matters, ranging from due diligence and title review to interpretation, negotiation and preparation of energy-related agreements. Tom has been involved in a number of energy-related transactions, from those focused on renewable energy sources, including solar, wind and biomass, to those focused on non-renewable resources, including coal, oil and natural gas.

Dusty Ernewein (JD’16)Dusty is an associate in the McKercher LLP Saskatoon office practicing primarily with the Indigenous Law Practice group. His

focus is First Nation litigation, Treaty rights protection, and First Nation governance and development matters. Dusty also has an interest in criminal law. He has appeared at various level of court, including the Provincial Court of Saskatchewan, Queen’s Bench of Saskatchewan, the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal, Federal Court of Canada,

and Federal Court of Appeal. Dusty earned his BA in Aboriginal Public Administration with Honours in 2010 and his Juris Doctor in 2016 from the University of Saskatchewan. Prior to joining McKercher LLP, he was a summer case worker at CLASSIC Inc. (2014 and 2015) and was President of the Aboriginal Law Students’ Association (2015-16).

Lindsey Knibbs (JD’18)Lindsey is currently an associate at Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP in Calgary, Alberta. Lindsey practises in all areas of labour and

employment law. She regularly advises employers in respect of all issues relating to the employment relationship, human rights, privacy and labour relations. She also frequently advises organizations about how such issues can impact corporate transactions. In addition, Lindsey is developing an active privacy practice, advising employers on matters such as cybersecurity issues, access to information requests, data breach response protocols and the impact of anti-spam legislation.

David Konkin (JD’16)David is an associate at Dentons Canada LLP in Calgary and member of the Class of 2016. David’s practice consists of a variety of corporate

and commercial disputes, regulatory and administrative matters, privacy, fraud, anti-corruption and class actions. While at the College of Law, David was active

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in the Law Students’ Association, the Saskatchewan Law Review and a mooter on the Jessup International Law Moot Court team. Following graduation, David clerked to the Honourable J.D. Denis Pelletier of the Federal Court of Appeal.

Sarah-jane Nussbaum (JD’14)Sarah-jane Nussbaum is a PhD candidate and SSHRC doctoral fellow at Osgoode Hall Law School, where she researches in the areas of criminal law

and theory, feminist theory, critical race theory, and legal education. Sarah-jane holds an LLM degree from the University of Cambridge and JD and BA degrees from the University of Saskatchewan. She served as a law clerk at the Court of Appeal for Saskatchewan and joined the bar of Saskatchewan in 2015 (presently inactive member). In July 2021, Sarah-jane will be joining the Faculty of Law at the University of New Brunswick as an assistant professor.

Benjamin Ralston (PhD Candidate)Benjamin Ralston is a practising lawyer, a PhD student, and a sessional lecturer at the University of Saskatchewan College of Law. He was called

to the British Columbia bar in 2011 and he transferred to the Saskatchewan bar in 2015. Benjamin also began teaching at the College of Law that same year. He completed his Master of Laws with Distinction at the University of Otago in New Zealand (2014), and his Juris Doctor (2010) and Bachelor of Arts (2007) at the University of British Columbia in

Vancouver before relocating to Saskatoon with his partner Shoshanna in 2014.

Benjamin has previously held term positions as an assistant professor at the College of Law, including a year-long term teaching in the Nunavut Law Program in Iqaluit. He has also worked as a research officer, legal editor, and publications manager for the Indigenous Law Centre and he continues to publish through the Centre. Benjamin also practises law part-time as a sole practitioner, assisting other counsel in litigation over Aboriginal rights and title in British Columbia, chairing assessment review boards for First Nations in Saskatchewan who administer property tax under the First Nations Fiscal Management Act, and providing legal review and editing for Gladue reports for sentencing proceedings. Benjamin hopes to officially join the ranks of the College of Law’s esteemed alumni by completing his PhD dissertation in 2021.

Nicole Sarauer (JD’09)Nicole Sarauer grew up in Regina, attending St. Josaphat and Michael A. Riffel High School before studying at the University of Regina and finally the

University of Saskatchewan, where she completed a Juris Doctorate in Law with Honours in 2009. She returned to Regina and practiced law at Kanuka Thuringer LLP until 2011, when she began to practice at Pro Bono Law Saskatchewan. Her volunteer and pro bono work were recognized recently when, at the age of 27, she was named one of the CBC and Metro’s Future 40, which highlighted the top local community leaders under the age of 40. Nicole has served as the MLA for Regina Douglas Park since April 2016

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and is currently the Deputy Leader of the Official Opposition as well as the Critic for Justice, Corrections and Policing, the Provincial Capital Commission, and SLGA. She became the first female leader of the Saskatchewan New Democrats when she served as interim leader from 2017-2018.

Ian Wagner (BEd’88, LLB’95)Ian Wagner primarily practices criminal defence in Saskatoon and is the President of the Saskatchewan Trial Lawyers Association. Mr.

Wagner is also a second term Bencher of the Law Society of Saskatchewan and a Member At Large on the Canadian Bar Association Criminal Section National Executive. Although he was a DOJ Canada Crown Counsel from 2002 to 2011 most of his career has been in private practice. Mr. Wagner was a sessional lecturer at the College of Law from 2011-2020, and is a frequent volunteer with the college’s moot teams.

Christopher Weitzel (JD’03)Christopher Weitzel graduated from the University of Regina in 2000 with a BA and then went on to law school at the University

of Saskatchewan College of Law and Capital Law School earning his JD in 2003 from USask. Since 2004 he has practiced in various law firm and in house counsel roles and is currently the Associate General Counsel - Corporate at Saskatchewan Government Insurance. His practice involves

contract, procurement, litigation and trademark issues as well as leadership responsibilities.

Kellie Wuttunee (JD’17)Kellie Wuttunee is from the Red Pheasant Cree Nation. Kellie graduated from the University of Saskatchewan College of Law in

2017. Following graduation she articled at CHS LAW in Saskatoon, assisting the firm with Indian Residential School claims, as well as, learning Administration Law and Aboriginal Law. Kellie is currently a sole proprietor at Wuttunee Law Office located in Saskatoon, SK. Kellie’s practice’s mainly in Residential and Commercial Real Estate and Aboriginal Law. The thing she enjoys most about her job is assisting clients from diverse backgrounds with their unique circumstances most about her job.

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First-Year ClassZeyad AboudheirSaleem Abou KoubeAfsohneh AmirzadehAshleigh ArcandBera ArslanJustin AzevedoJina BaeStephen Barrington-FooteMadeline BatesKaleb BeauchesneAdam BendigTanzeel BhaidaniAmna BibiMorgan BlythNikki BoggsJillian BorrowmanReed BoychukWilliam BreckenridgeBailee BrewsterAlexander BrilzKindra BrooksKyla BrownKennedy BuchananNikiefer BuhotPaul CavinSeemab ChaudharyAinsley ChivertonAlexander ClarkeShawn Ng (Clouthier)Jason CollardDrew CollinsWendy CordenNicola CoxJennifer DannDanielle DavydukeLarissa DoerrJames DonaldsonMathew EisenbarthJonathan EvansAlexander FerwerdaBrandon ForbisterGabriella FortugnoGrace GardnerNeil GarloughNavdeep GillKarlie GurskiJoel Hacker

Jorie HalcroRyan HamiehNicholas HatchChristopher HinchcliffeJesse HinesPhoenix HoweChristopher HubensIbrahim KhanJeremy KlassenOlivia KlassenSophia LagimodiereJared LaneLogan LangRalph LangSylvan LangeJames LarocqueErin LashtaKelsey LeikFarrah LinklaterAnna LittleDarian LonechildZuzanna LorekDana LucasTroy MackJessica MacleanMuhammad MalikJocelyn MarquetteGarhet MazeLiam McDonaldGraham McKenzieKaylen MerastyNathan MetivierCoyo MichaelAmy MillerCarter MoeBridget MorrisonMark OldershawPreston OlsonJacob PaczkoHannah PasloskiThea PearceLevi PerraultTasia PresberFredner PrevalusSteven PrysunkaSimran RaiCassidy Rath

Victoria ReevesZabeeh RehmanKyle ReidySamuel RezazadehMegan RipplingerGabrielle RobitailleSophia RothRobeah SaeeSerena SainiAdam SantoroSadie SchaefferIan SchatzTaylor SchlampWyatt SeidlikMeghan ShewchukAnna SigurdsonChristopher SinclairBrandon SmithRamiah SmithMatthew SpeirsTravis SpriggsKristian St. OngeJulia StonechildQuinn SullyMatthew TarasWitney TeedHong TengJayden TothEric TurcotteJared UffelmanChristopher UtigardMariah VenkatramanCameron WaltersLu WangDavid WernerBrionna WheatonEmily WhyteLily WiebeKenneth WilliamsJordanna WilsonYue (Tiffany) XuTodd YaremcioAmanda YeagerJack YuanChristine Zhang

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The Gary & Tammy Bugeaud Centennial Entrance Award

Law Society of Saskatchewan Scholarship

William Elliott Scholarship

MLT Aikins LLP Scholarship in Law

Harris & Lauretta & Raymond Earl Parr Memorial Scholarships

Brian Crane/Gowling WLG Scholarship in Indigenous Law

Morris and Jacqui Shumiatcher Scholarship in Law

Miller Thomson National Entrance Scholarship

Law Foundation of Saskatchewan 25th Anniversary Scholarship

J. Barrie Thomson Scholarship

Mohinder Chadha Award in Law

Justice John H. Maher Memorial Scholarship

P.E. Mackenzie Entrance Scholarship

Thomas P. & Peter S. Deis WWII Memorial Scholarship

Pete Trotchie Memorial Award

James M. Stevenson Entrance Scholarships

Eldon Woolliams Scholarships

Entrance Awards

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