9 September 2026
September 9, 2026
Dear friends, partners, and supporters,
On behalf of the National Steering Committee, we are pleased to share NAWL’s 2025–2026 Annual Report. This year’s work reflects the strength, urgency, and impact of feminist law reform at a time when the rights, safety, and economic security of women and gender-diverse people continue to demand sustained attention and action.
Over the past year, NAWL expanded its advocacy across our core priority areas: ending violence against women, advancing women’s economic security and prosperity, and strengthening the feminist infrastructure needed to achieve lasting change. Through parliamentary submissions, expert testimony, strategic litigation, public education, campaigns, coalition work, and direct engagement with decision-makers, NAWL helped move critical issues onto the national agenda and contributed to concrete progress in law and policy.
Among the year’s most significant achievements was the continued growth of NAWL’s national campaign to end the harmful use of parental alienation accusations in family courts. Survivors from across Canada shared their experiences, informing NAWL’s research and the development of new tools. Our advocacy contributed to growing parliamentary recognition of the need to strengthen protections for women and children affected by family violence. The introduction of Bill C-223, Keeping Children Safe Act, marked an important milestone in this work.
In the area of economic justice, NAWL brought together partners and experts to advocate for reforms to Employment Insurance, the Canada Disability Benefit, and a Guaranteed Livable Basic Income that reflect the realities of women’s lives, including caregiving responsibilities, housing insecurity, economic abuse, poverty, disability, and the compounding effects of discrimination.
This year also demonstrated the importance of strategic interventions before the courts and sustained coalition building. NAWL’s work before the Supreme Court of Canada, including in Québec v. Kanyinda and the challenge to Quebec’s Act respecting the laicity of the State, supported the development of robust, intersectional interpretations of equality rights. At the same time, The Chanterelle Alliance for Feminist Law Reform continued to serve as a vital space for collaboration, shared learning, and collective advocacy across the feminist movement.
As we look ahead, NAWL’s new strategic plan (2026-2030), Strengthening Our Capacity for Transformative Change, will guide our efforts to deepen relationships with communities, legislators, and partners; amplify the voices of those most affected by inequitable laws and policies; and strengthen the organizational foundations that make this work possible.
We extend our sincere thanks to NAWL’s staff, volunteers, members, partners, funders, and National Steering Committee directors for their expertise, care, and commitment. Most importantly, we thank the survivors, advocates, community leaders, and people with lived expertise whose courage and knowledge shape NAWL’s work. Together, we will continue to press for laws and policies that protect dignity, advance substantive equality, and build a more just Canada for all women.
Sincerely,
Elin Miller and Sarah Sinclair
Co-Chairs, National Steering Committee
National Association of Women and the Law
about NAWL
The National Association of Women and the Law is a not-for-profit feminist organization that promotes the equality rights of women through legal education, research and law reform advocacy.
