The NSBS Equity & Access office is delighted to announce the 2026 winner and runners up for the Race and the Law Paper Prize.
Congratulations to this year’s winner William Tiwana for his paper Neutral on Paper, Racial in Practice: Decriminalization of the Opioid Crisis in Vancouvers Downtown Eastside
William Tiwana is a summer articling student at Torkin Manes LLP in Toronto, where he is completing a corporate and business law rotation. He is a JD candidate at Dalhousie University’s Schulich School of Law. He holds an undergraduate degree in Sociology from Queen’s University, where he pursued an interest in race relations and the use of scholarship to advance discourse around equity and justice.
William’s academic background in Sociology shaped the lens through which he approached his legal education, leading him to explore how law operates in practice for marginalized communities. At Dal, William volunteered with the Wills Project, providing pro bono legal assistance to community members in need. William hopes to develop his practice in corporate and business law and is committed to bringing thoughtful, equity-informed perspectives to his work.
Congratulations to this year’s runner up for their respective papers:
- Hannah Balba, “Subservience is part of their culture”: Critical Race Theory, Flags of Convenience, and the Labour Exploitation of Filipino Cruise Workers
- Kashya Young, Equal consideraion: Addressing Anti-Black Racism in Section 718.2(e) of the Criminal Code
- Sheri Ikladious, Driving While Black Behind Bars: Racial Profiling, Correctional Discretion, and the Hidden Continuum of Carceral Surveillance in Canada
- Andrew Atwood, In Search of Success: An Overview of the Success Rate of African Nova Scotian Race-Based Claims at the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission
About the Race and the Law Paper Prize
The Race and the Law Paper Prize was started as an initiative of the NSBS Race Equity Committee in 2009 and remains a well-supported initiative.
The Race and the Law Paper Prize is a paper submission competition that challenges law students to submit papers that demonstrate ‘race’ literacy insight. Submissions demonstrate confidence, ease and skill in addressing race. The essay must also consider race in a broad legal context and explicitly communicate novel insights that contribute to the emerging scholarship on race and the law.
We are thankful for the support of Stewart McKelvey for their annual sponsorship of the Race and the Law Paper Prize.