Program
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2026
Public Panel Event
Why is Food So Expensive? Concentration, Control and Public Policy in the Future of Nova Scotia’s Food Systems
7:00 - 9:00pm - Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University
Hosted by Institute of Public Administration (IPAC) Nova Scotia
Moderator:
Karen Foster
Panelists:
Krista Gallagher – MLA
Sue Kelleher – Feed Nova Scotia
Leticia Smillie – HRM
Wendie Wilson – JustFOOD African Nova Scotian and Black Food Sovereignty Working Group
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2026
Schulich School of Law, 6061 University Ave, Halifax
Registration
8:00am – 8:30am
Welcome and Opening Remarks
8:30am – 9:00am
Room W105
Plenary Keynote
Inflection Point or Business as Usual?: Assessing the Current Moment
9:00am – 10:30am
Room W105
Moderator:
Sarah Berger Richardson – Faculty of Law (Civil Law Section) of the University of Ottawa
Speakers:
Katrina Coughlin – Partner, Gowling WLG LLP
Raymond Jordan Johnson-Brown – McGill Faculty of Law
Geneviève Parent - Faculté de droit de l’Université Laval (titulaire de la Chaire de recherche en droit sur la diversité et la sécurité alimentaires) et membre de la Commission de Révision Agricole du Canada
Other speakers to be announced shortly!
Read more about the panel here.
Coffee Break
10:30am – 11:00am
Concurrent Panels
11:00am – 12:30pm
Is there a “Field” of Food Law and Policy?
Room W105
Speakers:
Sarah Berger Richardson
Jamie Baxter
Amy Cohen
Nadia Lambek
Heather McLeod-Kilmurray
Regulatory Innovations and Frontiers
Room W104
Speakers:
Ludovic Sirois
Giulia Torre & Maria Carlotta Rizzuto
Kelsie Dale and Colleen Ryan
Angela Lee
Organizational Food Policies and Practices
Room W305
Speakers:
Mandi Wilson
Caroline Beddoe
Other speakers to be announced shortly!
Lunch
12:30pm – 1:30pm
Concurrent Panels and Workshops
1:30pm – 3:00pm
Policy and Governance for Indigenous Science and Food Sovereignty in Canada
Room W105
Convenors:
Megan Bailey
Treena Wasonti:io Delormier
Speakers:
To be announced shortly!
The Food Laws We Inherit: A Workshop on Relational Models to Nature
Room W305
Convenors:
Terra Duchene
Ali Mokdad
Coffee Break
3:00pm – 3:30pm
Student Panel
Sponsored by Gowling WLG
Emerging Voices in Food Law and Policy
3:30pm – 4:40pm
Room W105
Gowling WLG - Joel Taller Prize for Emerging Voices in Food Law
The Gowling WLG – Joel Taller Prize for Emerging Voices in Food Law will be awarded to the JD student or recent law school graduate with the best presentation in the area of food law and policy at the Canadian Food Law and Policy Conference.
The Gowling WLG – Joel Taller Prize for Emerging Voices in Food Law is in memory of Joel Taller, who passed away on May 13, 2017. Joel Taller was a pioneer and a well-known expert in the area food law in Canada. Joel practiced for 34 years in the Ottawa office of Gowling WLG, working with companies of all sizes. Joel was well respected by both industry and government for his legal expertise and sound judgment. He was instrumental in developing the Food & Beverage group at Gowling WLG, a significant team of lawyers and scientists who support companies doing business in Canada, Europe and other jurisdictions around the world.
Speakers
More details soon!
Moderator
Heather McLeod-Kilmurray – Faculty of Law (Common Law Section) of the University of Ottawa
Plenary Keynote
Updates in Food Law and Policy
4:50pm – 6:00pm
Room W105
Animals: Angela Fernandez – University of Toronto Faculty of Law
Food Safety/Inspection/Packaging: Glenford Jameson – GS Jameson & Company
Grocery Stores: Jenna Khoury-Hanna – Kinch Litigation
Mi’kmaw Food Systems: Chelsey Purdy - Union of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw
Trade: Mark Feduke – ArdoVLM
Read more about the panel here.
More speakers coming soon!
Evening Social
6:00pm – 7:30pm
More details soon!
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2026
Schulich School of Law, 6061 University Ave, Halifax
Concurrent Panels
8:30am – 10:00am
Teaching Food Law Through Generations
Room W105
Speakers:
Don Buckingham
Heather McLeod-Killmurray
Tasha Stansbury
Succession in Food and Farming
Room W104
Speakers:
Karen Foster
Talan Iscan and Alexa Mucyo Kayonga
Chanuka Swarnathilake
Coffee Break
10:00am – 10:30am
Plenary Keynote
Generational Thinking and the Governance of Food Systems
10:30am – 12:00pm
Room W105
Moderator:
Jamie Baxter – Schulich School of Law
Speakers:
Cheryl Simon – Schulich School of Law
Catherine Mah – School of Health Administration, Dalhousie
Glenford Jameson – GS Jameson & Company
Jessie McInnis – Springtide Farms, the National Farmers Union and La Via Campesina
Sunday Miller – Akoma Family Centre
Read more about the panel here.
Lunch
12:00pm – 1:00pm
Concurrent Panels
1:00pm – 2:30pm
Room W105
Speakers:
Laura Wilmot
Jessica Dufresne
Sarah Berger-Richardson
Constitutional Dimensions of Northern Food Security
Room W104
Speakers:
Ashoke Mohanraj
Camille Cameron
Raymond Johnson-Brown
Corporate Finance and Political Economy
Room W305
Speakers:
Madelaine Shoemaker
Kartik Mann
Other speakers to be announced shortly!
Coffee Break
2:30pm – 3:00pm
Concurrent Panels
3:00pm – 4:30pm
Food Governance Between Local and Global Scales
Room W105
Speakers:
Patricia Galvao Ferreira
Johanna Wilkes
Sindh Gadai
Mohammad Habibi
The Law and Policy of Food Waste
Room W104
Speakers:
Lina Maria Gómez Cortés
Melika Habibi
Other speakers to be announced shortly!
Public Policies to Support Alternative Farmland Tenure Systems
Room W305
Speakers:
Brian Newcombe
Niruppama Senthilkumar
Bryn Baneberry and Nikē/Vic Baneberry
Plenary
Conference Closing
(including announcement of Joel Taller Prize and next year’s conference location)
4:40pm – 5:30pm
Room W105