Wednesday June 24, 2026

Chateau Nova, 3^rd Floor, Caribou Room, Yellowknife, NT

Note to members: if attending the full day, 6 total hours (4 hours of Legal Ethics) of CPD can be reported for LSNT mandatory CPD hours.

8:30 a.m. (MT)

Registration Opens

9:15 – 9:30 a.m. (MT)

Welcome and Opening Remarks

The Honourable Chief Justice Shannon Smallwood, Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories

The Honourable Chief Judge Jeannie Scott, Territorial Court of the Northwest Territories

9:30 – 10:45 a.m. (MT)

Working and Living with Trauma: Key Concepts

Moderator – The Honourable Judge Stephanie Whitecloud-Brass, Territorial Court of the Northwest Territories

Speakers:

Vincent Belanger, Registered Psychologist

Rainer Erasmus, Professional Counsellor and Life Coach

 10:45 – 11:05 a.m. (MT)

Refreshment Break

 11:05 – 12:20 a.m. (MT)

It Doesn’t Have to be This Way: Eliminating Unnecessary Trauma from the Fact-Finding Process

Moderator: The Honourable Chief Justice Shannon Smallwood, Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories

Speakers:

The Honourable J. Michael MacDonald, Stewart McKelvey, Halifax, N.S.

 12:20 – 1:30 p.m. (MT)

Lunch Break

 1:30 – 2:40 p.m. (MT)

Grief, Trauma and the Law: Practical tools to calm the storm

Moderator: Sandra P. Mackenzie, Lawson Lundell LLP, Yellowknife, NWT

Speakers:

Roy and Jean Erasmus, Dene Wellness Warriors, Yellowknife, NWT

 2:40 – 3:00 p.m. (MT)

Health Break

3:00 – 4:30 p.m. (MT)

Intimate Partner Violence in the North – Panel Discussion

Moderator: The Honourable Chief Judge Jeannie Scott, Territorial Court of the Northwest Territories

Speakers:

Nicola Langille, Lawyer, Addario Law Group LLP

Paulina Ross, Lawyer, Government of the Northwest Territories

Jared Kelly, Crown Counsel, Public Prosecution Service of Canada, NWTRO

Sukham Dhindsa, Lawyer, SKD Law

Hawa Dumbuya-Sesay, Executive Director, YWCA

 4:30 – 4:45 p.m. (MT)

Closing Remarks