The Path (Law Society of Alberta) is an educational course developed by Indigenous consulting firm, NVision Insight Group, Inc., based in Ottawa, Ontario. The course was designed to help Canadians increase their Indigenous cultural understanding in a Canadian context. Topics covered in the course include:

• • • the cultural and historical differences between First Nations, Inuit, and Métis;
    • the evolution of the relationship between Canada and Indigenous people from pre-contact to yesterday’s headlines;
    • stories of social and economic success, reconciliation and resilience;
    • understanding intercultural communication in the workplace;
    • and much more.

The course includes Inuit, First Nations and Métis stories from coast to coast to coast. All course content has been vetted by First Nations, Inuit and Métis advisors and an Indigenous lawyer. The course addresses various Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (TRC) Calls to Action, in particular, #27 which calls upon Canadian law societies to ensure all lawyers have received appropriate cultural competency education, “which includes the history and legacy of residential schools, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Treaties and Aboriginal rights, Indigenous law, and Aboriginal – Crown relations. This will require skills-based training in intercultural competency, conflict resolution, human rights, and anti-racism.”

The Path is well-regarded across Canada and has the endorsement of the Canadian Bar Association (CBA).

The Path was vetted by Indigenous lawyers and by our Indigenous Advisory Committee. Within the Law Society, it was also vetted by the Lawyer Competence Committee, and the Law Society’s Indigenous Initiatives Counsel. As with all programming that we either purchase or develop in-house, we consider the resource implications and whether the work is in accordance with our strategic goals.

There is a How-To Guide that walks you through how to create an account and begin the course.

The link on the first page of the How-To Guide will take you to the general NVision registration page. There are several different versions of The Path available on the website. Please ensure you register for the course titled The Path – Law Society of Alberta. This course is near the top of page three on the available course list page.

The Path (Law Society of Alberta) is a five-to-six-hour series of online modules with videos and quizzes. You need a computer or mobile device with speakers or headphones. Closed captioning is also available.

Lawyers can complete the course in segments, allowing for flexibility of learning pace, but must complete the program within a nine-month time frame after becoming active. You can pause anytime and resume later by logging into your account.

The modules and topics are detailed here, along with the length of each respective video. Please keep in mind that you will need additional time within each module to take the quizzes. The entire course should take approximately five to six hours to complete.

Page content — Yes. On returning to the module, you will be asked whether “you want to start at the last page you saw?”

Video — No. You cannot bookmark a specific spot in the video. However, you can restart a video and fast forward to the spot where you left off.

To the right of each lesson is a box with dotted lines. When a lesson is completed successfully, a checkmark displays in the box.

Note: For security purposes, your session will timeout if inactive on the website after three hours. You will need to log back in to resume from the last page you saw.

NVision has reviewed the course for accessibility with those using assistive devices. Video segments include closed captioning, as well as a downloadable narration file.

The written content and quiz questions are accessible with text to voice and screen readers. There are also downloadable resources such as a glossary of terms. These resources are usually PDF files but are also available as Microsoft Word files, upon request. There is also a written transcript that describes the full course.

A certificate of completion is issued through the NVision website. Keep the certificate to verify course completion. You should not have to produce this certificate unless requested by the Law Society.

There is an area in the CPD section of the Lawyer Portal for active lawyers that displays your status related to completion of the education. Complete the following steps to view your completion status:

1. Login to the Lawyer Portal.
2. Select CPD from the drop-down menu.
3. Select Mandatory Education.
4. If Indigenous Cultural Competency Education is not showing in the table at the bottom of the page, use the toggle for Show History.

Your status will not be changed to completed automatically, however we do regular updates. If you need further help checking your status, you can contact Customer Service.

Before certifying you are eligible for an exemption, check with your law firm or organization as we were advised that some firms/organizations are not permitting exemptions.

Individual lawyers are responsible for assessing their prior education and experiences in Indigenous cultural competency. Details about exemption eligibility are provided in Question 21–22. If you believe you qualify for an exemption, certify this through the Lawyer Portal.

To certify an exemption, complete the following steps:

1. Login to the Lawyer Portal.
2. Select CPD from the drop-down menu.
3. Select Mandatory Education.
4. In the table at the bottom of the page, select the three lines under options.
5. From the sub-menu, select Certification.
6. Choose the reason for Exemption.
7. If you certify that you have completed education or knowledge sufficient to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Call to Action 27, you are required to provide more information in the textbox provided.
8. Select OK.

Please note, if Law Society has further questions regarding your exemption request, a member of the Education department will follow-up to request more information.

Your exemption status is automatically approved and registered in the Lawyer Portal. However, please note that exemptions are subject to follow-up to confirm eligibility.

A Law Society staff member may contact you to verify details.

If, as a result of the follow-up, the Law Society determines you are required to take The Path (Law Society of Alberta), you must still complete the education in the nine-month timeframe since you became active. For this reason, if you intend to certify that you are exempt, you are encouraged to do so as soon as possible. If you do not complete the course on time, you will face administrative suspension.

Lawyers may request an extension to the nine-month completion requirement of The Path (Law Society of Alberta) through the Lawyer Portal. Extensions may only be requested in the event of maternity/parental leave or medical leave/illness. The extended due date cannot be more than one year after the current due date.

To request an extension, complete the following steps:

1. Login to the Lawyer Portal.
2. Select CPD from the drop-down menu.
3. Select Mandatory Education.
4. In the table at the bottom of the page, select the three lines under options.
5. From the sub-menu, select Extension.
6. Choose the reason for extension and input a date.
7. Select OK.

Throughout The Path (Law Society of Alberta), there are topics covered that occurred in Canada that are disturbing to some viewers. If you need to talk to someone, or need support, we encourage you to reach out to the Alberta Lawyers’ Assistance Society (Assist).

The toll-free Hope for Wellness Help Line, at 1.855.242.3310, is available 24/7 to all Indigenous people across Canada and the online chat link can be found on their website. The toll-free 24-hour National Indian Residential School Crisis Line is 1.866.925.4419 to receive immediate emotional assistance.

The course was created by NVision and the Law Society has paid to provide this material to Alberta lawyers. Questions about the content of the course or technical questions about navigating The Path should be directed to NVision at technicalhelp@nvisionthepath.ca.

If you want to provide the Law Society with feedback about the course, you may contact the Education department.

Follow the password recovery steps available within The Path website or contact NVision at technicalhelp@nvisionthepath.ca.

Your information is stored within the learning management system (LMS) database, which is as secure as the password you create. Only course administrators can access any content such as email addresses.

Lawyers becoming active in Alberta are given nine months from the day they become active to complete the course or certify eligibility for an exemption. Your deadline will be displayed in your Lawyer Portal.

This applies to all active statuses (e.g., part-time, pro bono, out of province, over 50 years) and practice areas, with the exception of lawyers who have the status of active – non-practising.

There is no additional cost to active or inactive Alberta lawyers to take The Path (Law Society of Alberta) through the Law Society.

Yes, the requirement to complete The Path (Law Society of Alberta) within nine months applies to all active statuses, with the exception of lawyers who have the status of active – non-practising.

You will be required to take The Path (Law Society of Alberta) within nine months of becoming a member of the Law Society of Alberta. While we appreciate some are eager to complete this education, you are not eligible to take the course until you are a member of the Law Society of Alberta. We are unable to track completion of transferring lawyers before you have a Member ID. If you have taken a similar course mandated by another Law Society, you may be eligible for an exemption. 

The Law Society has confirmed that the content covered in the Practice Readiness Education Program (PREP) sufficiently addresses the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Call to Action #27. Rather than ask each lawyer who completed PREP in Alberta to take steps to certify an exemption through the lawyer portal, the Law Society will automatically change the status for these lawyers so that they are exempt from the requirement to complete The Path. The automatic change in status does not apply to lawyers who completed PREP outside Alberta; these lawyers who choose to certify they are exempt will need to take steps to certify their exemption through the lawyer portal. See question 10 for the steps on how to certify an exemption.

Lawyers who have completed PREP in Alberta but choose to take The Path will have their statuses changed to “completed” once NVision notifies the Law Society of the course completion.

Lawyers becoming active in Alberta who have completed another course on Indigenous history of Canada and its societal impacts may be eligible to certify that they are exempt from taking The Path (Law Society of Alberta) through the Law Society.

We understand that lawyers could receive Indigenous education in many other ways. We know others have experiences with Aboriginal law and Indigenous law or legal traditions. This experience may also be gained through personal cultural experiences and Indigenous identity or ancestry.

Lawyers who certify they are exempt must ensure that their previous education or knowledge covered topics such as intercultural competency, conflict resolution, human rights and anti-racism. As well, it should be sufficient to address Truth and Reconciliation Call to Action #27 which includes:

• History and legacy of residential schools
• United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
• Treaties and Aboriginal rights
• Indigenous law (Indigenous legal traditions)
• Aboriginal-Crown relations

Lawyers may want to review the modules and topics addressed in The Path when self-assessing whether they have previous education or knowledge that sufficiently addresses the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Call to Action #27.

As per the Rules of the Law Society of Alberta (see Rules 67.4), lawyers who do not complete the Indigenous education or certify an exemption by their deadline will be administratively suspended.

The Law Society has additional resources for education and self-reflection available on our website.

The decision to mandate education is integral to our commitment and obligation to respond to the 2015 Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Calls to Action, in particular, #27 which calls upon Canadian law societies to ensure all lawyer receive Indigenous cultural awareness education.

While in many contexts we do believe lawyers should exercise their own judgement when choosing education for their own professional development, there are some competencies where it is appropriate that the Law Society mandate education. Indigenous cultural competency is one of those unique areas where mandatory education is important.

Whether a lawyer’s practice involves Indigenous clients or not, lawyers have an ongoing obligation to educate themselves on the issues that are relevant to the communities where they live and practise law.

We know Indigenous people are over-represented in the justice system. Alberta has one of the largest Indigenous populations in the country. The Path (Law Society of Alberta) will allow lawyers becoming active in Alberta to gain a basic understanding of Indigenous history and issues in Canada.