Martha Jackman

Martha Jackman, B.A. (Queen’s), LL.B. (Toronto), LL.M. (Yale) is a constitutional law specialist with a particular focus on socio-economic rights, the Canadian Charter and substantive equality for women and other marginalized groups. She joined the Faculty of Law (French Common Law Program) in 1988 and was appointed professor emerita and retired from full-time teaching in 2024. She has held various positions within the law school: Director of Graduate Studies in Law; co-editor of the Canadian Journal of Women and the Law; Vice-Dean of the French Common Law Program; and Shirley E. Greenberg Chair for Women and the Legal Profession. 

She appears regularly before law reform bodies and parliamentary committees and has acted as legal counsel in Charter test cases at the trial, appellate and Supreme Court levels. She is a member of the Social Rights Advocacy Centre; a past-Chair and Trustee of the National Association of Women and the Law and NAWL Trust; a former member of Equality Rights Panel of the Court Challenges Program of Canada; and a former board member of the Canadian Health Coalition and of the Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund.

From 2004-2015, she was the academic director of two successive five-year, million-dollar research projects: “Social Rights Accountability Project” and "Reconceiving Human Rights Practice", funded under the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council's Community-University Research Alliance Program. In 2001, she was awarded the Augusta Stowe-Gullen Affirmative Action medal in recognition of her contribution to the advancement of women’s equality. In 2007, she received the Law Society of Ontario Medal for her contributions to the profession and, in 2015, was the recipient of the Canadian Bar Association’s Touchstone Award. In 2017, she was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.  In 2018, she was awarded the David Walter Mundell Medal for Legal Writing by the Attorney General of Ontario and, in 2019, the Canadian Health Coalition’s Guardian of Public Health Care Award (Academic).

• Martha Jackman CV 2026 (PDF; 488.77 ko)
• Social Rights in Canada - A Community-University Research Alliance Project (CURA)
• Social Rights Advocacy Centre

• "Protecting Health, Respecting Rights: Decriminalizing Drug Possession as a Constitutional Imperative" in Vanessa Gruben & Chelsea Cox, eds, First do Less Harm: Harm Reduction as a Principle of Law and Policy (Ottawa: University of Ottawa Press, 2025) 19-65.
  https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4032771
• Urgent and Long Overdue: Legal Reform and Drug Decriminalization in Canada (Ottawa: Royal Society of Canada, 2024) (with Vanessa Gruben, Elaine Hyshka, Co-chairs et al.).
  https://rsc-src.ca/en/research-and-reports/covid-19/harm-reduction/urgent-and-long-overdue
• “Wizened Stump or Living Tree? Section 7 Principles of Fundamental Justice”, in Howard Kislowicz, Kerri Froc & Richard Moon, eds, The Surprising Constitution (Vancouver: UBC Press, 2024) 260-285.
  https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4032740
• "Fault Lines: COVID-19, the Charter and Long-term Care (PDF, 8.98 MB)" in Colleen M. Flood, Vanessa MacDonnell, Jane Philpott, Sophie Thériault & Sridhar Venkatapurum, eds, Vulnerable: The Policy, Law and Ethics of COVID-19 (Ottawa: University of Ottawa Press, 2020) 339-354.
• "Chaoulli to Cambie: Charter Challenges to the Regulation of Private Health Funding and Care (PDF, 17.01 MB)" in Colleen M. Flood & Bryan Thomas, eds, Is Two-Tier Health Care the Future? (Ottawa: University of Ottawa Press, 2020) 37-68.
• "Un pas en avant, deux pas en arrière : l’héritage de Gosselin pour les droits socio-économiques" (2020) 61 Les cahiers de droit 427–467
  https://www.erudit.org/fr/revues/cd1/2020-v61-n2-cd05410/1070651ar.pdf (PDF, 1.96 MB)
• "One Step Forward and Two Steps Back: Poverty, the Charter and the Legacy of Gosselin (PDF, 9.08 MB)" (2019) 39 National Journal of Constitutional Law 85-121.
• "Law as a Tool for Addressing Social Determinants of Health (PDF, 306.05 KB)" in Tracey M. Bailey, C. Tess Sheldon & Jacob J. Shelley, eds., Public Health Law and Policy in Canada, 4th ed. (Markham, ON: LexisNexis Canada, 2019) 99-144.
• “Le droit à l'alimentation au Canada : Un entretien avec la professeure Martha Jackman” (2018) 50:1 Ottawa Law Review; University of Ottawa Faculty of Law Legal Studies Working Paper Series 2019-04 (SSRN) 1-27.
  See the publication on SSRN
• "The Unfulfilled Promise of s. 15" in Heather MacIvor & Arthur Mills, eds, Canada at 150: Building a Free and Democratic Society (Toronto: LexisNexis Canada, 2017) 195.
• “Charter Review of Health Care Access (PDF, 283.54 KB)”, in Joanna Erdman, Vanessa Gruben & Erin Nelson, eds, Canadian Health Law and Policy, 5th ed. (Markham, ON: LexisNexis Canada, 2017) 71-93.
• “Social and Economic Rights (PDF, 227.69 KB)”, in Peter Oliver, Patrick Maklem & Nathalie DesRosiers, eds, The Oxford Handbook of the Canadian Constitution (New York: Oxford University Press, 2017) 843-861 (with Bruce Porter).
• “The Future of Health Care Accountability: A Human Rights Approach” (2015-2016) 47 Ottawa Law Review 437-472.
  See the publication on SSRN.
• “Introduction: Advancing Social Rights in Canada,” in Martha Jackman & Bruce Porter, eds., Advancing Social Rights in Canada (Toronto: Irwin Law, 2014) 1- 31 (with Bruce Porter) 
  See the publication on SSRN.
• “Rights Based Strategies to Address Homelessness and Poverty in Canada: the Charter Framework,” in Martha Jackman & Bruce Porter, eds., Advancing Social Rights in Canada (Toronto: Irwin Law, 2014) 65-106 (with Bruce Porter).
  See the publication on SSRN.
• “Law as a Tool for Addressing Social Determinants of Health,” in Nola Ries, Tracey Bailey & Timothy Caulfield, eds., Public Health Law and Policy in Canada, 3^rd ed. (Markham: LexisNexis Canada, 2013) 91-130.
  See the publication on SSRN.
• "Rights-Based Strategies to Address Homelessness and Poverty in Canada: The Constitutional Framework" (2013) University of Ottawa Faculty of Law Legal Studies Working Paper Series 2013-10 (SSRN) (with Bruce Porter).
  See the publication on SSRN.
• International Human Rights and Strategies to Address Homelessness and Poverty in Canada: Making the Connection (2013) University of Ottawa Faculty of Law Legal Studies Working Paper Series 2013-09 (SSRN) (with Bruce Porter).
  See the publication on SSRN.
• “Constitutional Castaways: Poverty and the McLachlin Court” in Sanda Rodgers and Sheila McIntyre, eds., The Supreme Court of Canada and Social Justice: Commitment, Retrenchment or Retreat (Markham: LexisNexis Canada, 2011) 297-328.
  See the publication on SSRN.
• “Constitutional Castaways: Poverty and the McLachlin Court” (2010) 50 Supreme Court Law Review 297-328.
  See the publication on SSRN.
• “Charter Review as a Health Care Accountability Mechanism in Canada” (2010) 18 Health Law Journal 1-29.
  See the publication on SSRN.
• “Charter Remedies for Socio-economic Rights Violations: Sleeping Under a Box?” in Robert J. Sharpe & Kent Roach, eds., Taking Remedies Seriously (Montreal: Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice, 2010) 279-301.
  See the publication on SSRN.
• “Socio-Economic Rights under the Canadian Charter,” in M. Langford, ed., Social Rights Jurisprudence: Emerging Trends in International and Comparative Law (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008) 209-29 (with Bruce Porter).
  See the publication on SSRN.
• “Health Care and Equality: Is There a Cure?” (2007) 15 Health Law Journal 87-141.
  See the publication on SSRN.
• “Socio-Economic Rights Under the Canadian Charter” (Fall 2007) Canadian Issues/Thèmes canadiens 26-31 (with Bruce Porter).
  See the publication on SSRN.
• “Reality Checks: Presuming Innocence and Proving Guilt in Charter Welfare Cases,” in M. Young, S. Boyd, G. Brodsky, S. Day eds., Poverty: Rights, Social Citizenship, and Legal Activism (Vancouver: U.B.C. Press, 2007) 23-39.
  See the publication on SSRN.
• “Charter Equality at Twenty: Reflections of a Card-carrying Member of the Court Party (PDF, 6.34 MB)” (2006) 20 National Journal of Constitutional Law 115-127. 
• “The Last Line of Defence for [Which?] Citizens”: Accountability, Equality and the Right to Health in Chaoulli (2006) 44 Osgoode Hall L.J. 349-75.
  See the publication on SSRN.
• “Commentary: Section 15 can help bring legitimacy to our democracy,” (18 August 2006) 26:14 The Lawyers Weekly 11.
  See the publication on SSRN.
• « Sommes-nous dignes? Légalité et l’arrêt Gosselin » (2006) 17 Canadian Journal of Women and the Law/Revue Femmes et Droit 161-176.
  See the publication on SSRN.
• “Misdiagnosis or Cure? Charter Review of the Health Care System” in C.M. Flood, ed., Just Medicare: What’s In, What’s Out, How We Decide (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2006) 58-79.
  See the publication on SSRN.
• « L’égalité réelle dans le contexte des droits linguistiques (PDF, 2.58 MB) » in A. Braën, P. Foucher & Y. LeBouthillier, eds., Languages, Consitutionalism and Minorities/Langues, constitutionnalisme et minorités (Toronto: Butterworths, 2006) 629-634.
• “Canadian Charter Equality at 20: Reflections of a Card-carrying Member of the Court Party” (Dec.2005-Jan.2006) 27:1 Policy Options 72-77.
  See the publication on SSRN.
• “Section 7 of the Charter and Health-Care Spending” in G.P. Marchildon, T. McIntosh & P.-G. Forest eds., The Fiscal Sustainability of Health Care in Canada (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2004) 110-136.
• « L’article 7 de la Charte et les dépenses en soins de santé » dans  G.P. Marchildon, T. McIntosh & P.-G. Forest réds., L’avenir fiscal du système de santé canadien, Ottawa, Les Presses de l’Université d’Ottawa, 2004, 124-153.
  See the publication on SSRN.
• The Implications of section 7 of the Charter for Health Care Spending in Canada: Discussion Paper No. 31 (Saskatoon: Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada, 2002) 24pp.
  See the publication on SSRN.
• Report of the Independent Panel on Access Criteria (Ottawa: Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, 2002) 99pp. (with Arthur Kroeger, Paul LeBlond, Gordon Munro and David Newhouse).
  See the publication on SSRN.
• “The Application of the Canadian Charter in the Health Care Context” (2001) 9 Health Law Review 22-26.
  See the publication on SSRN.
• “Constitutional Jurisdiction Over Health in Canada” (2000) 8 Health Law Journal 95-117.
  See the publication on SSRN.
• “What’s Wrong With Social and Economic Rights” (2000) 11 National Journal of Constitutional Law 235-246.
  See the publication on SSRN.
• “Women’s Substantive Equality and the Protection of Social and Economic Rights Under the Canadian Human Rights Act, in Status of Women Canada”, Women and the Canadian Human Rights Act: A Collection of Policy Research Reports (Ottawa: Status of Women Canada, 1999) 43-112 (with Bruce Porter).
  See the publication on SSRN.
• “From National Standards to Justiciable Rights: Enforcing International Social and Economic Guarantees Through Charter of Rights Review” (1999) 14 Journal of Law & Social Policy 69-90.
  See the publication on SSRN.
• “Social Rights and the Question of a Social Charter” in P. Browne, ed., Finding our Collective Voice: Options for a New Social Union (Ottawa: Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, December 1998) 55-57.
• “Giving Real Effect to Equality”: Eldridge v. B.C. (A.G.) and Vriend v. Alberta (1998) 4 Review of Constitutional Studies 352-371.
  See the publication on SSRN.
• “Separate but not Apart: The Role of the Courts in Canada’s Post-Charter Democracy”, in D. Magnusson & D. Soberman, eds., Canadian Constitutional Dilemmas Revisited (Kingston: Queens University/Institute of Intergovernmental Relations, 1997) 31-42.
  See the publication on SSRN.
• “Protecting Rights and Promoting Democracy: Judicial Review Under Section 1 of the Charter” (1996) 34 Osgoode Hall Law Journal 661-680.
  See the publication on SSRN.
• “The Constitutional Basis for Federal Regulation of Health” (1996) 5 Health Law Review 3-10.
  See the publication on SSRN.
• “The Reallocation of Disputes from Courts to Administrative Agencies" in Ontario Law Reform Commission, Rethinking Civil Justice: Research Studies for the Civil Justice Review, Volume 1 (Toronto: Ontario Law Reform Commission, 1996) 347-379.
  See the publication on SSRN.
• “Constitutional Rhetoric and Social Justice: Reflections on the Justiciability Debate”, in H.J. Steiner & P. Alston, eds., International Human Rights in Context: Law, Politics, Morals (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1996) 301-304.
  See the publication on SSRN.
• “Women and the Canada Health and Social Transfer: Ensuring Gender Equality in Federal Welfare Reform” (1996) 8 Canadian Journal of Women and the Law/Revue Femmes et Droit 371-410.
  See the publication on SSRN.
• “Women, Poverty, and Welfare Reform: Can the Charter Make a Difference?” in Les Femmes et le droit criminel - Actes de la conférence (Moncton: Comité femmes et droit, École de droit, Université de Moncton, 1996) 15-27. 
• “The Right to Participate in Health Care and Health Resource Allocation Decisions Under Section 7 of the Canadian Charter” (1995/96) 4:2 Health Law Review 3-11.
  See the publication on SSRN.
• “Open Justice or “Just Us”? : The Poor, the Courts and the Charter” in Y.-M. Morrissette, W. MacLauchlan & M. Ouellette, eds., Open Justice/La transparence dans le système judiciaire (Montreal: Canadian Institute for the Advancement of Justice/Les Éditions Thémis, 1995) 281-294.
  See the publication on SSRN.
• “The Regulation of Private Health Care Under the Canada Health Act and the Canadian Charter” (1995) 6:2 Constitutional Forum 54-60.
  See the publication on SSRN.
• “The Status of the Foetus under Canadian Law” (1995) 15:3 Health Law in Canada 83-86.
  See the publication on SSRN.
• “Constitutional Contact with the Disparities in the World: Poverty as a Prohibited Ground of Discrimination Under the Canadian Charter and Human Rights Law” (1994) 2 Review of Constitutional Studies 76-122.
  See the publication on SSRN.
• The 1995 Federal Pre-budget Consultation: Taking Gender into Account - Submission of the National Association of Women and the Law to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance (Ottawa: National Association of Women and the Law, November 1994) 19pp.
  See the publication on SSRN.
• The Federal Social Security Reform: Taking Gender into Account - Submission of the National Association of Women and the Law to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Human Resources Development (Ottawa: National Association of Women and the Law, November 1994) 63pp. (with Lisa Addario).
  See the publication on SSRN.
• “The Constitution and the Regulation of New Reproductive Technologies" in Overview of Legal Issues in New Reproductive Technologies, Volume 3 of the Research Studies of the Royal Commission on New Reproductive Technologies (Ottawa: Supply and Services Canada, 1994) 1-84.
  See the publication on SSRN.
• “The Charter as a Barrier to Unwanted Medical Treatment of Pregnant Women in the Interests of the Foetus” (1993) 14:2 Health Law in Canada 49-58.
  See the publication on SSRN.
• “Poor Rights: Using the Charter to Support Social Welfare Claims” (1993) 19 Queens Law Journal 65-94.
  See the publication on SSRN.
• “New Rights or More Wrong?” (October 1992) Canadian Forum 18-19.
• “Constitutional Rhetoric or Social Justice? Reflections on the Justiciability Debate” in J. Bakan & D. Schneiderman, eds, Social Justice and the Constitution - Perspectives on a Social Union for Canada (Ottawa: Carleton University Press, 1992) 17-28.
• “Constitutional Rhetoric or Social Justice? Reflections on the Social Charter Debate” (Fall 1992) 1 Inroads 36-43.
• Women and Constitutional Change: A Response by the National Association of Women and the Law to Federal Proposals for Amending the Constitution of Canada (Ottawa: National Association of Women and the Law, August 1992) 30pp. (with the NAWL Constitutional Committee).
  See the publication on SSRN.
• When a Social Charter Isn’t (April 1992) Canadian Forum 8-10.
  See the publication on SSRN.
• Le “nouveau partage des pouvoirs”: l’efficacité ou l’équité? (1991) 23 Ottawa Law Review 421-429.
  See the publication on SSRN.
• “Litigating Equality for Women; Review: Canadian Charter Equality Rights for Women - One Step Forward or Two Steps Back?” Gwen Brodsky & Shelagh Day (Summer 1991) 98 Queens Quarterly 458-460.
• “Rights and Participation: the Use of the Charter to Supervise the Regulatory Process” (1990) 4 Canadian Journal of Administrative Law and Practice 23-56.
  See the publication on SSRN.
• “Cabinet and the Constitution - Participatory Rights and Charter Interests: Manicom v. County of Oxford” (1990) 35 McGill Law Journal 943-956.
  See the publication on SSRN.
• “Fundamental Interests and Fundamental Justice - the Right to Participate in Decision-Making in Canadian Prisons: Piche v. Solicitor General of Canada” (1990) 24 University of British Columbia Law Review 361-379.
  See the publication on SSRN.
• « L’histoire de trois couples: le partage des biens matrimoniaux en droit canadien » (avril-mai 1989) 18 Femmes d’action 19-20.
• “The Protection of Welfare Rights Under the Charter” (1988) 20 Ottawa Law Review 257-338.
  See the publication on SSRN.
• “Développements récents en matière de partage des biens matrimoniaux" in Avoid the Pitfalls: Solicitors Considerations for Family Law Practitioners (Fredericton: Continuing Legal Education Committee, Barristers Society of New Brunswick, 1986) 268-279.
• “Interprovincial Mobility Rights under the Charter” (1985) 43 University of Toronto Faculty of Law Review 16-44.
  See the publication on SSRN.

• 2025-2026 Counsel for the Charter Committee on Poverty Issues in Québec (Attorney General) v Kanyinda 
  Supreme Court of Canada
• 2025 - Counsel for the Charter Committee on Poverty Issues and the National Right to Housing Network in Regional Municipality of Waterloo v. Persons Unknown
  Ontario Superior Court of Justice
  Ontario Court of Appeal
• 2020 - Counsel for the Charter Committee on Poverty Issues, the Canadian Health Coalition and the FCJ Refugee Centre in Toussaint v Canada (Attorney General)  
  Ontario Superior Court of Justice
• 2014 - 2015 Counsel for the Charter Committee on Poverty Issues, Pivot Legal Society and Justice for Girls in Tanudjaja v. Canada
  Ontario Court of Appeal
  Ontario Superior Court of Justice
• 2004- 2007 Counsel for the Charter Committee on Poverty Issues in Council of Canadians et al. v. Canada
  Supreme Court of Canada
  Ontario Court of Appeal
  Ontario Superior Court of Justice
• 2003-2005 Counsel for the Charter Committee on Poverty Issues and the Canadian Health Coalition in Chaoulli c. Québec (Procureur général)
  Supreme Court of Canada
• 2000-2001 Counsel for the Charter Committee on Poverty Issues and the Canadian Health Coalition in Gosselin v. Procureur général du Québec
  Supreme Court of Canada
• 1999 Counsel for the Woman's Legal Education and Action Fund, the Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants and the DisAbled Women's Network Canada in Irshad v. Ontario (Ministry of Health)
  Ontario Court of Appeal
• 1998 Counsel for the Charter Committee on Poverty Issues in J.G. v. Minister of Health and Community Services (N.B.) et al.
  Supreme Court of Canada
• 1996 Counsel for the Charter Committee on Poverty Issues in Eldridge v. British Columbia (A.G.)
  Supreme Court of Canada
• 1996 Counsel for the Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund in Falkiner et al. v. Ontario
  Ontario Divisional Court

• Droit constitutionnel I (CML 1613)
• Feminist Law Reform/Réforme féministe du droit (CML4914)
• Droit de la santé (CML3509)
• Théorie et pratique en droit et justice sociale (CML3512/DCL5738)