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This paper argues that the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms can only deliver on its promises when those who benefit from its guarantees are able to challenge government action in courts. This is true both in considering the Charter as a constitutional document and as a human rights instrument. As such, we must be concerned about whether rightsholders have effective access to the courts to bring such cases, particularly given the long-term crisis in access to justice in Canada. Finding that access is often out of reach, the paper then considers the role that the Court Challenges Program, a publicly funded not-for-profit organization that provides funding to groups and individuals seeking to bring Charter challenges, can and does play in creating pathways for accessing Charter justice.

In 2017, the first diversion program for non-native adults was introduced in Quebec. The general alternative measures program involves the participation of restorative justice professionals to orchestrate these measures. This article presents secondary analyses of qualitative data collected as part of a research study conducted by a team at Laval University. It aims to shed light on the subjective experience of restorative justice professionals in integrating the program into their professional lives, through the lens of professional identity. The results, by showing that the integration of this program has generated numerous (re)flections among mediators and a revitalization of their professional culture, also reveal issues related to the deployment of restorative justice within the program and the criminal justice system, and the access to social justice in general.

Appropriate Dispute Resolution [ADR] methods are part of an evolution in our justice systems towards greater individual involvement. The Quebec Code of Civil Procedure, which has been in effect since January 1, 2016, encourages individuals to participate in resolving their own disputes and litigation. The concept of “participatory justice” heralded such a cultural shift long before the Code came into effect. This article aims to examine whether these ADR processes foster a form of “citizen participation” within the justice realm. The concept of participation is indeed at the heart of the development of ADRs. Over time, and with various actors involved in shaping these processes, diverse conceptions of participation have emerged, some deviating significantly from the citizen logic. After distinguishing between them, we propose exploring the extent to which research on citizen participation prompts a critical view of participative justice, notably by examining the ability of individuals to participate in resolving their disputes as well as questioning the growing instrumentalization of ADRs.

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) management in the private sector is often reduced to how it is accomplished, that is, with an action plan with performance indicators. While “methods” are proliferating, the reasons and the extent of the organizational transformations required by such a change is much less addressed. Yet, if there is one sector that is fundamentally concerned with the reason why it matters, it is the social economy and community action sector. Precisely, because it makes social transformation a central concern, especially through the willingness to act by and with its members. Based on the case of the “Comité sectoriel de main-d’oeuvre de l’économie sociale et de l’action communautaire (CSMO-ÉSAC)”, which represents 18,643 groups and organizations, this article looks at both the transformations of the sector and those of the CSMO-ÉSAC as a meta-organization. Crossing the neo-institutional theory and the idea of meta-organization, our analysis, that is based on documents and interviews, shows that the CSMO-ÉSAC embarked on a process of organizational transformation some fifteen years ago on integrating the EDI paradigm. This transformation, resulting from the normative pressure from its staff, the member organizations and the main financial backer, consists mainly of a reinterpretation and enhancement of its mission in light of EDI. In particular, this has given rise to a dynamic of continuous learning in terms of diversity – in the inspiration of learning organizations – that the CSMO-ÉSAC is trying to spread throughout its sector, however with some difficulty.

Keywords: Gestion de la diversité, équité et inclusion, organismes à but non lucratif, organisations apprenantes, transformation organisationnelle