Jocelyn Downie

Canadian legal scholar

Jocelyn Downie

Born| 1962 (age 60-61)

Kingston, Ontario, Canada

Academic background
Education| B.A., M.A., Queen's University
LLB., University of Toronto
LLM, SJD, University of Michigan
Thesis| Dying justice: an argument for law reform with respect to voluntary assisted death in Canada. (1999)
Academic work
Institutions| Schulich School of Law
Main interests| end-of-life law, policy, and care

Jocelyn Grant Downie OC FRSC is the James S. Palmer Chair in Public Policy and Law at Schulich School of Law. She was the first Dalhousie scholar to be named a Pierre Trudeau Foundation Fellow.

## Early life and education[edit]

While studying at Queen's University, Downie volunteered at Kingston General Hospital as a candy striper. While there, she saw an advertisement for palliative care volunteers and trained to become one.[1] After earning her Bachelor of Arts and Master's degree, Downie earned her M.Litt at the University of Cambridge. Upon her return to Canada, Downie accepted a position as a research associate at the Westminster Institute for Ethics and Human Values.[2]

## Career[edit]

After law school, Downie clerked for Chief Justice Lamer at the Supreme Court of Canada, and after graduate school she was the director of Dalhousie Health Law Institute.[3] In 2004, she published "Dying Justice: A Case for Decriminalizing Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide in Canada."[4] In her role as director, she was selected to be a Canada Research Chair in Health Law and Policy[5] and sat on the Experts Committee for Human Research Participant Protection in Canada.[6] In 2010, Downie was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.[7]

In 2015, Downie was involved in the result of Carter v Canada. She served as a Special Advisor to the Canadian Senate Committee on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide and worked with the pro bono legal team in the case.[8] In the same year, Downie became the first scholar in Nova Scotia to be named a Pierre Trudeau Trudeau Foundation Fellow.[9] She used this fellowship to gather data regarding assisted dying in Canada.[10] She also sat on the Provincial-Territorial Expert Advisory Group on Physician-Assisted Dying.[11] The next year, she received the 2016 CIHR Barer-Flood Prize in Health Services and Policy Research.[12] On July 1, 2016, Downie was appointed to University Research Professor for a five-year period.[13]

In 2018, Downie was appointed the James S. Palmer Chair in Public Policy and Law at Schulich School of Law.[3] She was also named a member of the Order of Canada.[14]

## References[edit]

1. ^ Douchet, Jane (October 14, 2016). "Caring Deeply for the Dying". halifaxmag.ca. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
2. ^ Sherwin, Susan (1998). The Politics of Women's Health: Exploring Agency and Autonomy. Temple University Press. pp. 307–308. ISBN 9781566396332. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
3. ^ a b Doucet, Jane (August 20, 2018). "KUDOS! Professor Jocelyn Downie appointed inaugural James S. Palmer Chair in Public Policy and Law". dal.ca. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
4. ^ Martel, Joane. "Dying Justice: A Case for Decriminalizing Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide in Canada, Jocelyn Downie". Alberta Law Review. 42 (4): 1147.
5. ^ "ProActive Disclosure for the Canada Research Chairs (2008)" (PDF). chairs-chaires.gc.ca. 2008. p. 4. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
6. ^ "HUMAN RESEARCH PARTICIPANT PROTECTION IN CANADA". dal.ca. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
7. ^ Smulders, Marilyn (November 30, 2010). "DAL PROFS INDUCTED INTO ROYAL SOCIETY". dal.ca. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
8. ^ "The Future of Assisted Death in Canada- Ottawa- February 23rd 2016". dyingwithdignity.ca. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
9. ^ "Dalhousie University Professor Jocelyn Downie receives prestigious Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation fellowship for end‑of‑life care research". dal.ca. October 22, 2015. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
10. ^ Doucet, Jane (October 20, 2015). "LAW'S JOCELYN DOWNIE TO CONDUCT GROUNDBREAKING END‑OF‑LIFE RESEARCH WITH TRUDEAU FELLOWSHIP". dal.ca. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
11. ^ "Provincial-Territorial Expert Advisory Group Convened On Physician-Assisted Dying". news.ontario.ca. August 14, 2015. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
12. ^ Doucet, Jane (October 23, 2017). "KUDOS! Professor Jocelyn Downie receives 2016 CIHR Barer‑Flood Prize in Health Services and Policy Research at a ceremony in Edmonton". dal.ca. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
13. ^ Doucet, Jane (April 19, 2016). "KUDOS! Recognizing four Schulich School of Law colleagues' recent achievements". dal.ca. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
14. ^ Matt Reeder; Jane Doucet (January 5, 2018). "LAW PROF JOCELYN DOWNIE NAMED TO ORDER OF CANADA". dal.ca. Retrieved November 8, 2019.

## External links[edit]

* CV, via Canadian Studies, Dalhousie University

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF

National|

* Germany
* Netherlands