Our Headlining Speakers

The Honourable Justice Anna Loparco
​Justice Loparco, was appointed to the Bench on March 8, 2019. Following a Bachelor of Commerce degree, she completed both Common and Civil Law degrees from McGill University, and a Masters in Business Administration. She was admitted to the bar and practiced in several jurisdictions, including Alberta, Quebec, and New York.

Justice Loparco practiced in a variety of litigation areas before joining the Bench. Her areas of expertise extended to administrative law, family law, estate disputes, professional liability, contracts, insurance, product liability, personal injury, constitutional law, and privacy law.  She served as counsel to the Office of the Child and Youth Advocate for over 15 years and helped to establish a new framework for child representation to improve the child’s right to participate in proceedings that affect them. She also represented children in sexual and physical abuse cases, acted as a liaison to the Courts and the province, provided advice on investigations of deaths and serious injury of children in care, and recommended legislative changes to improve children’s services in Alberta​. 

​Justice Loparco is currently the chair of the Restorative Justice Committee, which recently launched its court pilot project.  The Committee also hopes to introduce restorative practices in family law matters. She also chairs the French Language and Interpretation committee, which is preparing for the changes to the French language provisions in the Divorce Act.  She is bilingual and has presided over two French criminal jury trials as well as a number of family proceedings in French.
Myrna McCallum
Myrna McCallum, LLB is a Métis lawyer from Green Lake in Treaty Six territory and the host of "The Trauma-Informed Lawyer" Podcast. Prior to founding Miyo Pimatisiwin Legal Services in 2019, Myrna served as an adjudicator in the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement claims process, and Crown Prosecutor with the Ministry of the Attorney General in Saskatchewan.

​When she is not visiting with her three grandchildren, educating or podcasting, Myrna is advising, advocating, or conducting workplace investigations and reviews. In 2020, the Federal Department of Justice awarded Myrna their first ever Excellence in Legal Practice and Victim Support Award. She lives in North Vancouver, B.C. 
Professor Nicholas Bala 
​Nicholas (Nick) Bala ​​J.D., LL.M., is a leading Canadian expert on legal issues related to children, youth, and families in the justice system; much of his research work is interdisciplinary.

​He also teaches and writes about Contract Law. Nick has been on the Faculty of Law at Queen’s since 1980, and he has been a visiting professor at Osgoode Hall Law School, McGill, and Duke Law School.
Dr. Rachel Birnbaum 
Rachel Birnbaum, Ph.D., RSW, LL.M, is a Professor at King’s University College at Western University in London, Ontario. Her clinical practice, teaching, research, and scholarship are interdisciplinary with colleagues in law, social work, psychology, and psychiatry.
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​She has presented nationally and internationally on parenting assessments, child legal representation, children’s participation in family disputes, and on the intersection between law and social work.  ​
John-Paul Boyd, KC
​​John-Paul Boyd, KC is an accredited family law arbitrator, family law mediator and parenting coordinator, a member of the bars of Alberta and British Columbia, and counsel to the Calgary family law firm Wise Scheible Barkauskas.​

​He serves as a mentor for the Law Society of Alberta in the area of family law. John-Paul is a member of the advisory board of the Canadian Journal of Family Law.

He is a juror of the Walter Owen Book Prize, awarded by the Canadian Foundation for Legal Research, and the Allan Falconer Memorial Essay Contest, awarded by the Canadian Journal of Family Law.  

Conference Host: Terri Pelton

Welcome Greeting from the Youth Panel

About the Office of the Child and Youth Advocate

We represent the rights, interests and viewpoints of Alberta children and youth who receive intervention services or who are involved with the youth justice system. The Child and Youth Advocate Act provides the mandate for our work with vulnerable young people in Alberta.
​Advocacy at the OCYA includes a number of activities that are aimed at ensuring the rights, interests and viewpoints of Alberta’s vulnerable children and youth are affirmed and acted upon. These activities include:
  • Providing education on the rights, interest and viewpoints of children and youth,
  • Reporting to Alberta’s Legislature on any matter related to the rights, interests and well-being of children and youth involved in designated services,
  • Communicating on the work of the office, including systemic issues that are affecting vulnerable children and youth,
  • Engaging with children and youth, their communities and others to collaborate on ways in which to address issues affecting children and youth,
  • Conducting research related to improving designated services,
  • Conducting investigations into systemic issues arising from the serious injury to or death of a child or youth receiving designated services,
  • Advocating on behalf of individual children and youth receiving designated services,
  • Providing legal representation to children and youth receiving services under the Child, Youth and Family Enhancement Act or the Protection of Sexually Exploited Children Act.