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Ruby Dhand
Professor
Ruby Dhand, B.A., M.A., LL.B., LL.M., Ph.D., is an Full Professor in the Faculty of Law at Thompson Rivers University (TRU). She was called to the Bar in Ontario in 2008. Dr. Dhand joined the TRU Faculty of Law in 2012. She was awarded the TRU Law Teaching Excellence Prize by the Student Law Society in 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2025 and the Recognition of Excellence Award by the TRU Board of Governors in 2021. Dr. Dhand has been awarded a number of Tri-Agency research grants including the SSHRC Insight Development Grant, SSHRC Partnership Development Grant, the CIHR Fellowship in Health Law and Policy, the SSHRC Doctoral Fellowship, along with multiple Law Foundation of BC Grants. Her major areas of research are mental health law, human rights law, health law and policy, disability law, access to justice, the impact of race, culture, ethnicity and other intersectional factors upon the law, clinical legal education and science and law. Dr. Dhand has published extensively in refereed journals including the International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, the Supreme Court Law Review, Windsor Yearbook of Access to Justice, the Canadian Journal of Comparative and Contemporary Law, the Manitoba Law Journal (Criminal Law Edition) and the Canadian Journal of Disability Studies.
She is a co-author of the book Canadian Anthology on Mental Health and the Law (Lexis Nexis Canada, 2024) and Law & Mental Health in Canada: Cases and Materials (Lexis Nexis Canada, 2026, 2022). She is also the co-author for two editions of the Law & Disability in Canada: Cases & Materials (LexisNexis, Canada) and four editions of the Halsbury’s Laws of Canada: Mental Health (LexisNexis, Canada). Dr. Dhand is currently the Principal Investigator for a number of SSHRC-funded qualitative legal research projects. Her research has been used for law reform initiatives to increase access to justice across Canada.
Dr. Dhand has appeared in the Supreme Court of Canada as part of test-case litigation teams. Dr. Dhand appeared in the Supreme Court of Canada as part of a legal team led by Anita Szigeti on behalf of the Empowerment Council in British Columbia (AG) v CCD and Ontario (AG) v G. Prior to joining the TRU Faculty of Law, Dr. Dhand worked at ARCH Disability Law Centre in disability rights law. Dr. Dhand led the development and establishment of the TRU Community Legal Clinic, the faculty’s first clinical law program. Dr. Dhand teaches in the areas of Human Rights Law, Health Law, Mental Health Law & Policy in Canada and Community Lawyering. She is the Academic Director of the TRU Community Legal Clinic
Publications
Books
- Law and Disability in Canada: Cases and Materials co-authored with Laverne Jacobs, Freya Kodar, Richard Jochelson, David Ireland and Odelia Bay (2nd edition) (Lexis Nexis Canada: Toronto, 2026) (362 pgs).
- Canadian Anthology on Mental Health and the Law co-authored with Anita Szigeti, Dena Bonnet and Jill Presser (1st edition) (Lexis Nexis Canada: Toronto, August 2024) (approximately 1, 172 pages).
- Law and Mental Health in Canada co-authored with Anita Szigeti (1st edition) (Lexis Nexis Canada: Toronto, 2022 (approximately 370 pgs).
- Law and Disability in Canada: Cases and Materials co-authored with Laverne Jacobs, Freya Kodar, Richard Jochelson, David Ireland and Odelia Bay (1st edition) (Lexis Nexis Canada: Toronto, 2021) (362 pgs).
- “Halsbury’s Laws of Canada: Mental Health” co-authored with Anita Szigeti and D’Arcy Hiltz (3rd Edition) (Lexis Nexis Canada: Toronto 2019) (approx. 330 pgs).
- “Halsbury’s Laws of Canada: Mental Health” co-authored with Anita Szigeti and D’Arcy Hiltz (2nd Edition) (Lexis Nexis Canada: Toronto 2015) (approx. 330 pgs).
- Halsbury’s Laws of Canada: Mental Health” co-authored with Anita Szigeti and D’Arcy Hiltz (1st Edition) (Lexis Nexis Canada: Toronto, 2011) (approx. 330 pgs).
Refereed Book Chapters
- “Advancing Mental Health Law through Litigation-The Role of Interveners in Mental Health Law Appeals” co-authored with Anita Szigeti and Jennifer Chambers in Reframing Mental Health Law-Emerging Controversies, Jennifer Chandler and Sophie Nunnelley (Lexis Nexis Canada: Toronto, forthcoming).
- “Racialized Ableism and the Need for Intersectional Discourse” co-authored with Roxanne Mykitiuk and Tess Sheldon in Emancipating International Law: Confronting the Violence of Racialised Boundaries, Mohsen al Attar, Ata R. Hindi, Rohini Sen, and Claire Smith (eds) (Routledge, 2026).
- “Multidisciplinary Research in Science and the Law: COVID-19 and People with Disabilities” co-authored with Tess Sheldon and Dipesh Prema in Law and Disability in Canada: Cases and Materials, Laverne Jacobs, Ruby Dhand, F. Kodar, Richard Jochelson, David Ireland and Odelia Bay (2nd edition) (Lexis Nexis Canada: Toronto, 2026).
- “Gladue” – Indigenous People and Mental Health Issues in the Criminal Law” co-authored with Omeasoo Wahpasiw in Canadian Anthology on Mental Health and the Law, Anita Szigeti, Ruby Dhand and Dena Bonnet (1st edition) (Lexis Nexis Canada: Toronto, 2024).
- “British Columbia’s Mental Health Act: Deemed Consent is Not Consent,” co-authored with Anita Szigeti in Anita Szigeti, Ruby Dhand, Dena Bonnet and Jill Presser, The Canadian Anthology of Mental Health and the Law (Lexis Nexis, 2024).
- “Artificial Intelligence at the Intersection of Mental Health Care, Science and the Law,” co-authored with Dipesh Prema in Canadian Anthology on Mental Health and the Law, Anita Szigeti, Ruby Dhand, Dena Bonnet and Jill Presser (1st edition) (Lexis Nexis Canada: Toronto, 2024).
- “Examining the Impact of Part 3 of British Columbia’s Adult Guardianship Act,” co-authored with Anita Szigeti in Anita Szigeti, Ruby Dhand, Dena Bonnet and Jill Presser, The Canadian Anthology of Mental Health and the Law (Lexis Nexis, 2024).
- “Indigenous Peoples with Disabilities and Canadian Mental Capacity Law,” in Capacity, Participation, and Values in Comparative Legal Perspective (Bristol University Press: Bristol, UK, 2023).
- “Access to Justice for People with Mental Health Disabilities and Addictions: Navigating Mental Health and Specialized Courts,” in Laverne Jacobs, Ruby Dhand, Freya Kodar, Richard Jochelson, David Ireland and Odelia Bay, Law and Disability in Canada: Cases and Materials (1st edition) (Lexis Nexis Canada: Toronto, 2021).
- “Women and Girls with Disabilities: Gendered Disability Discrimination,” co-authored with Laverne Jacobs (1st edition) in Laverne Jacobs, Ruby Dhand, Freya Kodar, Richard Jochelson, David Ireland and Odelia Bay, Law and Disability in Canada: Cases and Materials (Lexis Nexis Canada: Toronto, 2021).
- “Indigenous Support-Decision Making: Examining Intersectional Frameworks,” in Capacity, Participation, and Values in Comparative Legal Perspective (Bristol University Press: Bristol, UK, 2023).
- "An Exploratory Study of the Legal Barriers Facing Ethno-Racial People with Mental Health Disabilities in Ontario" (Case Study) in Liora Salter, Fenner Stewart and Stephen Wilks eds. Understanding Decisions That Matter: A Guide to Research, (electronic e-resource, Osgoode Hall Law School, forthcoming).
- "Race, Culture and Ethnicity in Mental Health Law and Policy" in Colleen Flood and Jennifer Chandler, eds. Law and Mind: Mental Health Law and Policy, (LexisNexis Canada: Toronto, 2016) 449-471.
Refereed Journal Articles
- “From Rights to Justice: Perspectives on Access to Disability Justice in British Columbia (Attorney General) v. Council of Canadians with Disabilities” co-authored with C. Tess Sheldon, Karen R. Spector and Ruby Dhand, Supreme Court Law Review, Volume 115, 2024.
- “Participant Perspectives of Canadian Mental Health and Specialized Courts: Examining the Pros and Cons,” For the Defence (Criminal Lawyers’ Association) Vol. 44, No. 3, 2024.
- “Be CAREFUL Out There” – Common Pitfalls in Assessing Capacity, Health Law in Canada, co-authored with Anita Szigeti, Maya Kotob, Tanner Blomme & Humna Wasim Vol 44 (2022).
- “Racism, Police Violence and Mental Health,” co-authored with Kendra Milne (2021) 16 (3) Visions: BC’s Mental Health and Substance Use Journal 14-17.
- “Litigating in the Time of Coronavirus: Mental Health Tribunals’ Response to COVID-19”, co-authored with Anita Szigeti, Maya Kotob, Michael Kennedy and Rebecca Ye (2020) 27 Windsor Yearbook of Access to Justice: 132-160 (60 pgs).
- “The COVID-19 Pandemic, Accommodations and Legal Education” Lex Electronica, Special Issue: Law and Learning in the Time of Pandemic (2020-12) 25: 4: 175-180.
- Invited Manuscript, Involuntary Detention and Involuntary Treatment Through the Lens of Sections 7 and 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, co-authored with Kerri Joffe, Manitoba Law Journal (2020) 43 (3): 207-249.
- Inclusion and Accessibility in STEM Education: Navigating the Duty to Accommodate and Disability Rights co-authored with Dipesh Prema (2019). Canadian Journal of Disability Studies. 8(3): 121-42.
- "Creating a Cultural Analysis Tool for the Implementation of Ontario's Civil Mental Health Laws," International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, Volume 45 (2016): 25-42 (approx.63 double-spaced pgs).
- Invited Manuscript “Examining Narratives of Cultural Diversity in Mental Health Law” Annual Review of Interdisciplinary Justice Research, Volume 5, 2016: 368-393.
- Invited Guest editor, Special Issue “Legal Responses to Mental Health: Courts, Special Courts and Interdisciplinary Tribunals,” Journal of Ethics in Mental Health, co-edited with Margaret Hall (June 2016).
- "Canada’s Refugee Health Law and Policy from a Comparative, Constitutional, and Human Rights Perspective” co-authored with Robert Diab, Canadian Journal of Comparative and Contemporary Law, Issue 1, 2015: 351-406 (55 pgs)
- "Access to Justice for Ethno-Racial Psychiatric Consumer/Survivors in Ontario" Windsor Yearbook of Access to Justice, Volume 29, Issue 1, 2011: 127-162.
- "Colliding Intersections in Law: Culture, Race and Mental Health Disability," Annual Review of Interdisciplinary Justice Research, Volume 2, Fall, 2011: 1-25.
- "Unique Challenges of Representing Individuals with Serious Mental Health Issues," co-authored with Anita Szigeti, Ontario Bar Association Review, Briefly Speaking, 2012: 1-10.
- "The Gospel of Women's Reform: An Analysis of Female Moral Reform Movement in 19th Century America." The Mirror: History Journal Vol. XXIII March, 2003:1-25.
Government Reports & Commissioned Research
- Ruby Dhand, Cross-Jurisdictional Responses to the Abuse and Neglect of Adults: Report on s. 59 of British Columbia’s Adult Guardianship Act, Report for the BC Human Rights Commissioner, 2024.
- Analyzing Legal Capacity Regimes, research commissioned by Institute for Research and Development on Inclusion and Society and ARCH Disability Law Centre, 2021-2024.
- “Kamloops Community Justice Court: Final Report and Business Case Proposal for BC Provincial Specialized Court Advisory Committee,” in collaboration with the Honourable Judge Michelle Stanford and Dr. Sunette Lessing, submitted to the Provincial Advisory Committee for Indigenous and Specialized Courts, 2021, 2024. (approx. 50 pgs).
- “Mental Health Law: Interplay with Work of the Immigration Division, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada” co-authored with Anita Sziget, Maya Kotob, Michael Davies and Meaghan McMahon, Report for Immigration and Refugee Board, 2021 (approx. 100 pgs).
- “Implementing the Right to Legal Capacity in Canada: Experience, Evidence and Legal Imperative,” co-authored with Michael Bach, Lana Kerzner, Faisal Bhabha, Kerri Joffe and Brendan Pooran, Institute for Research and Development on Inclusion and Society, 2018; Supported by the Government of Canada, Office of Disability Issues (approx. 400 pgs).
Research
I have been building a comprehensive publication record through the dissemination of peer-reviewed materials at regional, national and international levels, while successfully attaining TRI-Council research grants (SSHRC and CIHR). I have also attained Grants and Project Funding (as the Project Leader; Principal Investigator or Co-Investigator) from the Law Foundation of British Columbia.
Grants and Project Funding
- 2024-2025 The Law Foundation of British Columbia
- 2020-2022 Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Partnership Engagement Grant
- 2020-2022 The Law Foundation of British Columbia
- 2019-2023 Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Insight Development Grant
- 2018-2020 The Law Foundation of British Columbia
- 2016-2017 The Law Foundation of British Columbia
- 2016-2017 The Law Foundation of British Columbia
- 2016-2017 The Law Foundation of British Columbia
- 2015-2016 The Law Foundation of British Columbia
- 2015-2016 The Law Foundation of British Columbia
- 2013-2014 The Law Foundation of British Columbia
- 2012-2014 The Law Foundation of British Columbia
Principal Investigator: Legal Research Grant, “Increasing Administrative Access to Justice for People with Disabilities: An Analysis of Accommodations, the Use of Technology and Accessibility for People with Disabilities before BC’s Administrative Tribunals, $16, 000
Principal Investigator: Research Grant, “COVID-19 and Access to Justice for People with Disabilities: A Multidisciplinary Legal Analysis of the Barriers, Risks and Responses in Ontario's Congregate Care Settings” (with co-investigators, Dr. Prema, TRU Faculty of Science and Dr. Sheldon, Windsor Faculty of Law), Partnership Engagement Grants, in collaboration with ARCH Disability Law Centre, $26, 633
Principal Investigator: Legal Research Grant, “The COVID-19 Pandemic and Increasing Access to Justice for People with Mental Health and Substance Use Issues in BC’s Mental Health Facilities, Prisons and Detention Centres,” (with co-investigator, Dr. Prema, TRU Faculty of Science), $17, 560
Principal Investigator: Research Grant, “Mental Health Courts: Access to Justice for People with Mental Health Disabilities and Addictions,” Insight Development Research Grant, $58, 780
Through the support of SSHRC, this study aspires to increase access to justice for people with mental health disabilities in Canada. During the qualitative stage of the study, 120 semi-structured interviews with key participants and observations of mental health courts across Canada have been conducted thus far.
Principal Investigator: Legal Research Grant, “Creating a Mental Health Court in Kamloops, British Columbia, Grant, $17, 000
This research project analyzes interdisciplinary legal advocacy approaches with government and judiciary to increase access to justice by creating BC's First Mental Health Court for diverting people with mental health and substance use issues from the criminal justice system in Kamloops, BC. I conducted in-depth qualitative legal analysis and 60 semi-structured interviews with key participants.
Project Leader and Team Member: Co-authored with Ted Murray and Brad Morse, on behalf of TRU Faculty of Law, assisted to research and write a successful application to obtain funding to establish and implement a full-time TRU Community Legal Clinic, $225, 000 per year (ongoing to present).
Project Leader: On behalf of the TRU Faculty of Law, researched and wrote a successful application to obtain project funding to establish a “Public Interest Award” for TRU Faculty of Law Students, $20, 000
Project Leader: On behalf of the TRU Faculty of Law, researched and wrote a successful application to obtain project funding to establish “Public Interest Work Placements with NGOs” for TRU Faculty of Law Students, $33, 000.
Project Leader: On behalf of the TRU Faculty of Law, researched and wrote a successful application to obtain project funding to establish a “Public Interest Award” for TRU Faculty of Law Students, $20, 000.
Project Leader: On behalf of the TRU Faculty of Law, researched and wrote a successful application to obtain project funding to implement and establish a TRU Faculty of Law Clinical Legal Education Program,
$50, 000.
Principal Investigator: Awarded a law foundation research grant to pursue a study on behalf of the TRU Faculty of Law entitled, “An Examination of Clinical Legal Education Models for TRU, Faculty of Law,” $ 60, 000.
Co-Investigator: Awarded a law foundation grant with Professor Robert Diab to pursue research on “Canada’s New Refugee Health Care Law Regime: Constitutional and Human Rights Implications,” $ 9, 040.
Conferences
Conference Presentations
- Invited Keynote Speaker, “Mental Health Courts in Canada: Access to Justice for People with Mental Health Disabilities and Addictions." International Society of Therapeutic Jurisprudence Seminar Series (August 18, 2020).
- Invited Guest/ Conference Speaker, “Involuntary Detentions and Treatment: Intersections of mental health and conceptions of equality and fundamental justice,” A paper presented at the 2019 Criminal Justice and Evidentiary Thresholds in Canada: The Last Ten Years Conference, Robson Hall, University of Manitoba Faculty of Law, October 26, 2019.
- “Legal Responses to Mental Disability: Mental Health Courts in Canada and the United States,”A paper presented at the 2019 Criminal Justice/ Justice Administration Section, 9th Annual International STEM/STEAM Education Conference, Honolulu, Oahu, June 6, 2019.
- “Challenging Institutional Ableism: Accommodating Students with Mental Health Disabilities in Science Education,” A paper co-presented with Dr. Dipesh Prema at the 2019 Criminal Justice/ Justice Administration Section, 9th Annual International STEM/STEAM Education Conference, Honolulu, Oahu, June 6, 2019.
- “The Use of Forensic Chemistry in Law- Challenging the CSI Effect,”A paper co-presented with Dr. Dipesh Prema at the 2018 Hawaii University International STEM/STEAM Education Conference, hosted by the University of Hawaii in Honolulu, Oahu, June 6, 2018.
- Invited Keynote Speaker, “A Critique of BC’s Disability and Mental Health Laws,” A paper presented to the BC Ministers at the NDP Disability Caucus, BC NDP Forward 2018 featuring Premier John Horgan, Kamloops, British Columbia, June 22, 2018.
- Invited Guest Speaker "Mental Health Courts in Canada." A paper presented to the Kamloops Bar Association for Continuing Professional Development at the BC Courthouse Library in Kamloops, British Columbia, June 20, 2018.
- Invited Guest Speaker, Ruby Dhand, “Navigating Disabilities in the Legal Profession,” A paper presented at the Black Female Lawyers Network, Toronto, Ontario, November 10, 2017.
- “The Duty to Accommodate and Disability Rights: Creating a Diversity Audit Tool for Chemistry Education” A paper co-presented with Dr. Dipesh Prema at the 2017 Hawaii University International STEM/STEAM Education Conference, hosted by the University of Hawaii in Honolulu, Oahu, June 4-12, 2017.
- Invited Keynote Speaker: "Are Disability Laws Really Working? The Duty to Accommodate and Disability Rights in Canada and the United States." A paper presented at the Pacific Rim International Conference on Disability and Diversity, hosted by the University of Hawaii in Honolulu, Oahu, April 23-27, 2016.
- Conference Organizer: "Everyday Ethics in Mental Health and Substance Use." 8th Annual JEMH Conference on Ethics in Mental Health, hosted by the JEMH (Journal of Ethics in Mental Health) at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, British Columbia, June 2-3, 2016.
- "Access to Justice and Culturally Appropriate Treatment: Refugee Mental Health." A paper presented at the 8th Annual JEMH Conference on Ethics in Mental Health, hosted by the JEMH (Journal of Ethics in Mental Health) at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, British Columbia, June 2-3, 2016.
- "TRU Community Legal Clinic – Now and Into the Future." (co-presented with Ted Murray). A Continuing Professional Development Workshop (CPD) presentation for the Canadian Bar Association: Criminal Justice and Family Law Kamloops Joint Section Meeting at the Kamloops Law Courts in Kamloops, British Columbia, July 5, 2016.
- "Creating Accessible Science Laboratories." (co-presented with Dr. Dipesh Prema). A paper presented at the 12th Annual Teaching Practices Colloquium entitled, "Building Connections, Strengthening Relationships: The Art and Science of Teaching" hosted by Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, British Columbia, Fe. 15, 2016.
- "The Challenges of Implementing a New Clinical Legal Education Program: Critical and Interdisciplinary Perspectives." A paper presented at the Association for Canadian Clinical Legal Education Conference entitled, "The Place of Clinical Legal Education" hosted by the University of Saskatchewan, College of Law, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, October 23-24, 2015.
- "Creating a Cultural Analysis Tool for the Implementation of Ontario's Civil Mental Health Laws," A paper presented at the 34th Congress of the International Academy of Law and Mental Health, hosted by Sigmund Freud University in Vienna, Austria, July 12-17, 2015.
- "Incorporating Therapeutic Jurisprudence Across the Law Curriculum: Development of a Mental Health Research Centre." (co-presented with Prof. Margaret Hall). A paper presented at the 34th Congress of the International Academy of Law and Mental Health, hosted by Sigmund Freud University in Vienna, Austria, July 12-17, 2015.
- "Therapeutic Jurisprudence and Canada’s New Refugee Determination System: Addressing the Plight of Refugees with Mental Health Disabilities.” A paper to be presented at the Pacific Rim International Conference on Disability and Diversity, hosted by the University of Hawaii in Honolulu, Oahu, May 18-22, 2015.
- Confronting the "Otherness" of Criminal Justice: A Critique of Mental Health Courts in Canada and the United States." A paper presented at the Annual Conference of the Law and Society Association entitled, "Law and Inequities: Global and Local" in Minneapolis, Minn., May 29 - 31, 2014.
- "Creating a Mental Health Research Centre" (co-presented with Prof. Margaret Hall). A paper presented at the Pacific Rim International Conference on Disability and Diversity, hosted by the University of Hawaii in Honolulu, Oahu, May 18-20, 2014.
- "Advocacy on the Ground: Addressing Barriers for Persons with Mental Health Disabilities " (co-presented with Prof. Margaret Hall). A paper presented at the Pacific Rim International Conference on Disability and Diversity, hosted by the University of Hawaii in Honolulu, Oahu, May 18-20, 2014.
- “Creating a New Community Legal Clinic: A Critique of Clinical Legal Education Models in Canada.” A paper presented at the Association of Canadian Clinical Legal Education in Halifax, Nova Scotia, October 16-18, 2013.
- "Reflections on Socio-Legal Methodology: Creating Legislative Evaluative Tools for Mental Health Legislation." A paper presented at the 33rd Congress of the International Academy of Law and Mental Health in Amsterdam, Netherlands, July 14-19, 2013.
- "Advocating for Change: Using Legal Tools to Address the Mental Health of Canada’s Refugees." A paper presented with Prof. Robert Diab at the 33rd Congress of the International Academy of Law and Mental Health in Amsterdam, Netherlands, July 14-19, 2013.
- "Re-Defining Mental Health Law: A Critique of the Creation and Use of Legislative Evaluative Tools." A paper presented to the Canadian Law and Society Conference at the University of British Columbia, Faculty of Law, July 1-4, 2013.
- Invited Keynote Speaker: "Auditing Mental Health Law: Culture, Mental Health Disability and Criminal Justice." A paper presented at the University of Victoria, Faculty of Law during the LawAbility and UVic Faculty of Law Speaker Series held in Victoria, British Columbia, Nov. 29, 2012.
- Invited Keynote Speaker: "Representing Clients with Mental Health Disabilities in Civil and Criminal Matters." A paper presented to the Kamloops Bar Association at the BC Courthouse Library in Kamloops, British Columbia, Nov. 15, 2012.
- "Mental Health Tribunals and The Social Model of Disability: Conceptual and Practical Quandaries." A paper presented at the Canadian Law and Society Association Panel during the Congress of Humanities and Social Sciences held in Waterloo, Ontario, May 27–29, 2012.
- "Reconceptualizing the Social Model of Disability: Culture, Identity and Mental Health Law." A paper presented at the International Conference on Law and Society held in Honolulu, Hawaii, June 5–8, 2012.
- "Theoretical Quandaries: Creating A Cultural Analysis Tool for the Administration of Ontario's Mental Health Laws." A paper presented at the Association for Transnational Law Schools Agora Program 2011 held in Bilbao, Spain, June 20-30, 2011.
- "Colliding Intersections: Race, Culture and Mental Health Law." A paper presented at the Canadian Law and Society Association Panel during the Congress of Humanities and Social Sciences held in Fredericton, New Brunswick, May 29-31, 2011.
- "Striving for Change: Addressing Equity, Race and Culture in Mental Health Law." A paper presented at the Annual Osgoode Hall Graduate Law Students’ Association Conference held in Toronto, Ontario, May 9-10, 2011.
- "Mental Health Law and Policy Training." A training workshop presented to the lawyers and staff at the South Asian Legal Clinic of Ontario in Toronto, Jan. 20., 2011.
- "A New Model for Medical Malpractice Law." A presentation for the Waseda Transnational Law Program held in Tokyo, Japan, March 6-14, 2010.
- "Auditing Mental Health Legislation: International Perspectives." A paper presented at the American Society for Disability Studies held in Philadelphia, June 2-5, 2010.
- "International Human Rights and Mental Health Law." A paper presented at the Research Matters Symposium on Human Rights, International Law and Global Health Policy held at York University, Toronto, April 19, 2010.
- "Interdisciplinary Research in Health Law." A workshop organized and presented at the National Health Law Conference held in Montreal, Oct. 1-3, 2010.
- "Challenging Exclusion: A Critique of the Legal Barriers Faced by Ethno-Racial Psychiatric Consumer/Survivors in Ontario." A paper based on research for my LL.M thesis. This was presented at the CIHR Training Program in Health Law and Policy, 7th Annual Colloquium held in Halifax, May 4-5, 2009.
- "Challenging Exclusion: A Critique of the Legal Barriers Faced by Ethno-Racial Psychiatric Consumer/Survivors in Ontario." A paper based on research for my LL.M. thesis. This was presented at the Canadian Law and Society Association Panel and the Canadian Disability Studies Association Panel during the Congress of Humanities and Social Sciences held in Ottawa, May 23-26, 2009.
- "Advocacy and Human Rights: Diverse Approaches for Environmental Sustainability." A workshop co-presented with Soni Dasmopatra at the "We are Many Festival" held in Saskatoon, Sask., Aug. 22-24, 2008.
- "SAARC: Moving Towards Cooperative Security." A paper presented at the CANCAPS conference held in Ottawa, Dec. 2-4, 2005.
- "The Outer Limits of the Duty to Accommodate: Accommodating Mental Disabilities in the Workplace." A paper presented at the Toronto Mental Health Coalition Workshop held in Toronto, Sept. 27, 2007.
Links
- TRU Law Professor Advocates in the Supreme Court of Canada
- Creating a Kamloops Community Justice Court
- On a Mission for a Kamloops Community Justice Court
- TRU Community Legal Clinic
- Health Justice BC
- Federal of Asian Canadian Lawyers (BC) Society
- Law and Mental Disorder Association
- South Asian Legal Clinic of BC
- Canadian Law and Society Association
- Kamloops Bar Association
- Association for Canadian Clinical Legal Education
- Canadian Association of Law Teachers (CALT)
Contact
Office:
OM 4773
Email:
rdhand@tru.ca
Phone:
778-471-8457
Courses
- Community Lawyering
(LAW 3782) - Health Law
(LAWF 3660) - Human Rights
(LAWF 3730) - Mental Health Law and Policy in Canada
(LAWF 3662)

