The Bastarache Award

• The student’s contribution to the advancement of official languages in Ontario's legal system may have been made through academic research or writing, public advocacy or community activities (the Submission).
• Submissions may be made in French, English or English and French and all activities associated with a Submission may be conducted in French, English or English and French. 
• Submissions can be co-authored or co-presented and, if successful, the co-authors or co-presenters will share the prize equally.  
• Submissions based on academic research or writing 
  • Submissions will be assessed on the following criteria: relevance to the topic of the advancement of official languages in Ontario’s legal system, thoroughness and accuracy of supporting research, clarity in writing, originality of analysis. 
  • No essay, or portion of an essay, that has been previously submitted or accepted for publication will be eligible for consideration. There is no minimum or maximum required length. As a guideline, the Committee anticipates essays of approximately 20 to 35 double-spaced pages in length, including footnotes (preferred) or endnotes and bibliography (required). Authors should follow consistent format appropriate for a research paper such as that set forth in the Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation, 9th edition, published by the McGill Law Journal.
• Submissions based on public advocacy or community activities
  • Submissions will be assessed on the following criteria: relevance to the topic of the advancement of official languages in Ontario’s legal system, originality of conception, clarity of any materials created, effectiveness in raising public awareness of official language rights in Ontario’s legal system or in encouraging a targeted community to exercise those rights. Submissions in this category can be supported by audio-visual as well as written materials which serve to explain the activities engaged in. 

All Submissions must be accompanied by an abstract not exceeding 250 words and confirmation of enrolment at an Ontario Faculty of Law. The Submission and accompanying documents must be submitted in electronic format before August 31st each year to the Official Languages Committee, Ontario Bar Association, at the following email address: prixbastarache@oba.org 

Notice: Please note that the submission deadline has been extended to April 25, 2025 at 5:00pm.

Any member of the OBA who was a registered student at any level of an Ontario Faculty of Law in the preceding academic year may apply for or, with his/her consent, be nominated for the Award.

The name of the recipient of the Award will be announced at an event organized by the OBA’s Official Languages Committee.  

The name of the recipient will be mentioned in the OBA magazine "Just". 

The Award is an amount of $500 plus a one-year renewal of the membership to the OBA.

• The Official Languages Committee of the OBA will determine the recipient of the Award each year. Only one Award will be given in any year and will be granted at the sole discretion of the Official Languages Committee.   
• The selection of the recipient shall be made no later than November 1 of the year in which the Award is to be granted.
• The Selection Committee shall consider OBA policies, rules and guidelines on Diversity and Inclusion when selecting the winner of the Award.