Research associate – Access to justice for official language minority communities in Canada

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Hiring Unit: School of Continuing Studies, Global and Strategic Communication

Hiring Period: October 14, 2025 – October 13, 2025

Hours per Week: 35 (full-time)

Salary: As per Collective Agreement

Location: School of Continuing Studies, 680 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Supervisor: Dr. Marie-Hélène Girard

Deadline to Apply: Until filled.

Research associate – Access to justice for official language minority communities in Canada

Based at McGill University, the research group Activator is welcoming applications for research associate positions. The selected candidate will join the research group for a period of one year. Full compensations and benefits are provided. Those selected will be required to work at our offices at least part of the time.

We seek applications from early-career researchers of all regions of Canada interested in pursuing a research project related to access to justice for official language minority communities in Canada. Researchers may come from a wide variety of fields, including law, sociology, linguistics, political sciences, education, economy, social work, anthropology, etc.

About the research group Activator

The successful candidates will join a newly formed research group (the “Activator”) on access to justice for official language minority communities (OLMCs) in Canada. “Access to justice for OLMCs in Canada” refers to the capacity of individuals and communities whose first official language is not that of the majority population in their province or territory (i.e., Francophones outside Quebec and Anglophones in Quebec) to understand, use, and fully participate in the justice system in their own language. This area of research explores the legal, institutional, sociolinguistic, and policy-related dimensions that affect equitable treatment, linguistic rights, legal service delivery, and systemic inclusion of OLMCs within Canada’s bilingual framework. It encompasses issues of language rights, service accessibility, quality and training of legal professionals, as well as the broader sociopolitical dynamics of legal empowerment, marginalization, and systemic inequality.

The group’s research is based on impact research (collaborative). Working in close collaboration with the Access to Justice stakeholders (Justice departments, lawyers’ societies and other professionals’ associations, institutional and educational organizations, jurilinguistics centres, other research groups and stakeholders), the Activator’s objectives are to:

Creation of favourable circumstances for the development of a field of research and a community of research on access to justice for OLMCs Production of scientific data for and with the access to justice stakeholders (impact research) Ensure that research on access to justice for OLMCs continues beyond the Activator initiative and the duration of the position

During their affiliation with the research group, the candidate will:

• Participate in the Activator’s ongoing research projects, working in close collaboration with the Access to justice stakeholders.
• Lead their one research project on Access to justice for OLMCs.

Here is a non-exhaustive list of areas of research and research questions that could be explore by the research group:

Access to services

• What are the gaps between legal frameworks and their implementation regarding language rights in the justice system?
• To what extent are legal services available in both official languages across Canada’s regions?
• What barriers do OLMCs face when trying to access legal aid or navigate the courts in their preferred official language?
• What are the impacts of unilingual legal proceedings on justice outcomes for OLMCs?
• How do legal information platforms and technologies serve (or fail) OLMCs in their language?

Professionals and language capacity

• How is linguistic competence evaluated and developed among legal professionals working with OLMCs?
• What is the availability and distribution of bilingual judges, lawyers, notaries, and court staff in Canada?
• What is the role of legal interpreters and translators in ensuring procedural fairness for OLMCs?

Training and education

• How do Canadian law schools incorporate training related to bilingualism and OLMCs legal realities?
• What educational pathways and incentives exist to train bilingual legal professionals?
• How do legal education and continuing professional development programs support access to justice for OLMCs?

Community perspectives and experiences

• How do OLMCs individuals perceive their access to justice and the fairness of legal proceedings?
• What are the lived experiences of OLMCs litigants navigating legal processes in a minority language context?
• How do language and identity intersect with other social determinants (e.g., race, immigration status, Indigenous identity, disability) in shaping justice access?

Systemic and structural issues

• How do funding models and institutional practices affect the delivery of bilingual legal services?
• What are the structural causes of linguistic inequalities in the justice system?
• How do public policies and administrative structures support or hinder OLMCs’ access to justice?

Innovation, technology, and reform

• What role can AI and language technologies play in improving access to justice for OLMCs?
• How can legal innovation be inclusive of OLMC needs and realities?
• What are promising models or international best practices for ensuring multilingual justice access in bilingual or multilingual countries?

Empirical research and data gaps

• What data exists on OLMCs’ access to justice, and where are the critical gaps?
• How can we measure the effectiveness of bilingual legal services?
• What methodologies are best suited to studying access to justice from a language rights perspective?

Dossier

Applicants are invited to submit a dossier including:

• a cover letter, including the target period for the position and how the applicant plans to contribute to the goal of developing a new generation of academic researchers focused on access to justice for OLMCs in Canada
• their resume
• a summary of their PhD dissertation (1 page)
• a research proposal (2 pages) with explicit mention of:
  • a summary of the current findings
  • research questions, objectives and methodology
  • the link to access to justice for OLMCs and the Activator’s areas of research
  • the steps and timeline for the research
• a short description of the value of the research for the access to justice stakeholders, including the type of evidence or the type of, and a plan for the knowledge mobilization (1 page)

Dossier produced with AI will be discarded without further considerations.

Qualifications:

• PhD (awarded less than five years ago) in a relevant field (e.g., law, sociology, linguistics, political sciences, education, economy, social work, anthropology, etc.)
• Relevant knowledge and/or experience of the OLMCs and official-language issues
• Advanced verbal and written communications skills in both English and French
• Excellent communication, organizational and collaboration skills

Selection committee and evaluation criteria:

The selection committee will be composed of both academic scholars and key stakeholders from the field of access to justice (representatives from OLMCs, legal practitioners, policy experts, and public sector partners). This interdisciplinary and community-informed committee will ensure a rigorous, fair, and contextually grounded assessment of each application.

The evaluation will be guided by the following principles:

• Knowledge of the area of research: Applicants demonstrated a clear understanding of the specific challenges, legal frameworks, and socio-institutional dimensions related to access to justice for OLMCs in Canada. Proposals that reflect a nuanced, critical, or interdisciplinary grasp of the topic will be highly valued.
• Inclusion of impact-oriented research components: Applicants outlined the potential real-world impact of the research, particularly in improving access to justice, informing policy, supporting service delivery, or empowering OLMCs. Projects that include community engagement, knowledge mobilization strategies, or collaboration with justice-sector actors will be considered particularly strong.
• Relevance to stakeholders in the access to justice ecosystem: The proposed research respond to the needs and priorities of access to justice stakeholders, including OLMC organizations, legal aid providers, public institutions, and policy-makers. Projects that show evidence of partnership or alignment with community-identified issues will be given priority.
• Feasibility of the project within the employment period: The research plan is realistic and achievable within the proposed period and allows sufficient time for the individual to participate fully in other research activities and to collaborate with the access to justice community. This includes clear and actionable objectives, timelines, and deliverables, as well as appropriate methodologies and resource considerations.
• Representation from OLMCs: In keeping with the principles of equity, diversity, and inclusion, preference will be given to candidates who self-identify as members of OLMCs. The lived experiences and perspectives of OLMC researchers are critical to the advancement of relevant and impactful knowledge in this field.

Before applying, please note that to work at McGill University, you must be both authorized to work in Canada and willing to work in the province of Quebec at the campus where the position is based.

McGill University hires on the basis of merit and is strongly committed to equity and diversity within its community. We welcome applications from racialized persons/visible minorities, women, Indigenous persons, persons with disabilities, ethnic minorities, and persons of minority sexual orientations and gender identities, as well as from all qualified candidates with the skills and knowledge to productively engage with diverse communities. McGill implements an employment equity program and encourages members of designated groups to self-identify. Persons with disabilities who anticipate needing accommodations for any part of the application process may contact, in confidence, accessibilityrequest.hr@mcgill.ca.

McGill University is committed to equity and diversity within its community and values academic rigour and excellence. We welcome and encourage applications from racialized persons/visible minorities, women, Indigenous persons, persons with disabilities, ethnic minorities, and persons of minority sexual orientations and gender identities, as well as from all qualified candidates with the skills and knowledge to engage productively with diverse communities.

At McGill, research that reflects diverse intellectual traditions, methodologies, and modes of dissemination and translation is valued and encouraged. Candidates are invited to demonstrate their research impact both within and across academic disciplines and in other sectors, such as government, communities, or industry.

McGill further recognizes and fairly considers the impact of leaves (e.g., family care or health-related) that may contribute to career interruptions or slowdowns. Candidates are encouraged to signal any leave that affected productivity, or that may have had an effect on their career path. This information will be considered to ensure the equitable assessment of the candidate’s record.

McGill implements an employment equity program and encourages members of designated equity groups to self-identify. It further seeks to ensure the equitable treatment and full inclusion of persons with disabilities by striving for the implementation of universal design principles transversally, across all facets of the University community, and through accommodation policies and procedures. Persons with disabilities who anticipate needing accommodations for any part of the application process may contact, in confidence, accessibilityrequest.hr@mcgill.ca.

All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply; however, in accordance with Canadian immigration requirements, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.

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