Keynote Speaker:
The Hon. Justice Len Marchand, Court of Appeal for British Columbia

The Honourable Leonard S. Marchand is the Chief Justice of British Columbia, Chief Justice of the Court of Appeal for British Columbia, and Chief Justice of the Court of Appeal of Yukon. He was appointed Chief Justice on December 7, 2023.

Chief Justice Marchand was appointed to the Provincial Court of British Columbia on September 5, 2013. As a Provincial Court judge, Chief Justice Marchand had the privilege of presiding in Cknucwentn Court in Kamloops, where, with input from Elders, healing plans are developed for Indigenous offenders. Chief Justice Marchand was appointed to the Supreme Court of British Columbia on National Indigenous People's Day, June 21, 2017. He was appointed to the Courts of Appeal for British Columbia and of Yukon on March 24, 2021.

Prior to becoming a judge, Chief Justice Marchand articled and practised at Fulton & Company LLP in Kamloops from 1994 to 2013. His practice focused on the liability of public authorities and he appeared before all levels of court in British Columbia and before many administrative tribunals.

Chief Justice Marchand dedicated a substantial portion of his career as a lawyer to pursuing reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples, including by advancing civil claims on behalf of residential school survivors. In 2005, he helped negotiate and was a signatory to the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, which, at the time, was the largest class action settlement in Canadian history. He then served on the Oversight Committee for the Independent Assessment Process and the Selection Committee for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Chief Justice Marchand is Syilx and a member of the Okanagan Indian Band. He grew up in both Kamloops and Ottawa. After completing a Bachelor of Applied Science in Chemical Engineering at the University of British Columbia in 1986, he worked in the oil industry for several years. He then attended law school at the University of Victoria, graduating in 1994. He was called to the British Columbia bar in 1995 and to the bars of the Yukon and Northwest Territories in 2006.

Chief Justice Marchand divides his time between Kamloops and Vancouver with his wife, Laurie. Together their family also includes three grown children, their children’s partners, and two much-loved grandchildren.