The Path

The Path is an online educational course developed by, NVision Insight Group, Inc., a majority Indigenous-owned firm with offices in Ottawa, ON and Iqaluit, NU. The course was designed to help Canadians increase their Indigenous cultural understanding, focusing on Canadian history and contexts. Topics include:

• Cultural and historical differences between First Nations, Inuit, and Métis;
• The evolution of the relationship between Canada and Indigenous peoples from pre-European contact to today;
• Impacts of colonization on Indigenous peoples across Canada;
• Stories of social and economic success, reconciliation and resilience;
• Manitoba-specific lessons related to the topics above and much more.

All course content has been vetted by First Nations, Inuit and Métis advisors and an Indigenous lawyer. The course addresses various Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (TRC) Calls to Action, in particular, #27 which calls upon Canadian law societies to ensure all lawyers receive appropriate cultural competency training, which includes learning about “the history and legacy of residential schools, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Treaties and Aboriginal rights, Indigenous law, and Aboriginal – Crown relations.”

The Law Society’s Indigenous Advisory Committee worked with NVision to create four additional Manitoba lessons to enhance the course for Manitoba lawyers. These lessons provide a brief summary of the history of Indigenous peoples in Manitoba, highlight some key historical moments, significant precedent-setting legal cases and key pieces of legislation and inquiries, and describe the impact of colonization on Indigenous peoples in the province. They also look at the ways that Indigenous nations, communities and governments are engaging in reconciliation efforts with different levels of government in Canada.

A basic understanding of Indigenous history and issues is essential to be able to practice competently in Manitoba; one in five Manitobans will be Indigenous by 2041 according to Statistics Canada’s estimates. At some point, all lawyers will likely have an Indigenous client(s) or be involved in a matter with an Indigenous person or organization on the other side.

Law has been used as a tool to oppress Indigenous peoples in Canada and the legacy of this oppression persists. Members of the legal profession have a responsibility to be active participants in reconciliation and help redress these injustices. Lawyers have an ongoing obligation to educate themselves on the issues that are relevant to the communities where they live and practice law.

The Path is an approximately six-hour series of six online modules with videos and quizzes. You need a computer or mobile device with speakers or headphones. Closed captioning is also available. A Resources tab has additional links to websites and documents, including a narration script for each module.

Lawyers can complete the course in segments, allowing for flexibility of learning pace, but must complete the program within the time frame allotted. You can pause anytime and resume later by logging into your account.

Yes. The complete version of The Path is eligible for a total of seven CPD hours, all of which is considered EPPM.

CPD hours for The Path will only appear in your tracker once you have completed the entire course. The process of adding these hours to your CPD tracker is a manual one completed by Law Society staff on a monthly basis. The date you complete the course determines the year for recording these CPD hours.

There are important steps included to help you receive your Certificate of Achievement and ensure your course completion is logged in the Member Portal so you receive MCPD credit. Upon the course launching on October 2, 2023 practising members received an email from the Law Society with a How-To-Guide providing detailed instructions on registration and beginning the course.

There is no cost to practising Manitoba lawyers to take The Path through the Law Society. To access the course for free, use the applicable license key provided in the Law Society instructional email sent on October 2, 2023.

For technical assistance with The Path, including course navigation contact NVision technicalhelp@nvisionthepath.ca. If you forgot your password for The Path, visit the NVision website to reset your password.

Your progress is tracked by the learning management system. On logging back in, you can Resume from where you left off. Self-tracking can be done in multiple ways:

Completion status appears in each module and may include all the following three items

– View
– Go through the activity to the end
– Receive a grade

When a module has been completed, all completion items will show as Done.

Within the module, the Menu can be opened by clicking

The menu icon

  A check mark indicates screens completed.

Grades can be viewed from your Dashboard.

Videos –  You cannot bookmark a specific spot in the short videos. However, you can restart a video and fast forward to the spot where you left off.

Note: For security purposes, your session will timeout if inactive for a period of time. You will need to log back in to resume from the last page you saw.

NVision has reviewed the course for accessibility by those using assistive devices. Written content is narrated, including quizzes. If there is narration without written content on the screen, Closed Captions (CC) can be turned on. By default, CC for videos is in the on position. All videos use closed captioning, for which there is also a downloadable narration file. The only exception may be a video linked to externally that does not have Closed Captioning.

All pages/screens are screen reader friendly. When a screen opens, screen readers describe all the content on the page, so it is important to provide as much alternative text as possible. To prevent narration from interfering with how a screen reader starts, the play button on each page must be activated. When a participant is ready to hear the narration, they click on the play button.

There are downloadable resources such as a glossary of terms. These resources are usually PDF files but are also available as Microsoft Word files, upon request. While all core content is covered in the audio narration of the videos, there are also written scripts for each Module that describe any visual breaks in narration or text in videos that is not narrated.

Practicing lawyers must complete The Path before April 1, 2025. This includes lawyers who practice part-time and are participating in the part-time fees pilot program.

When a new, non-practising, inactive or suspended member who has not completed the full training program begins or resumes active practice, they have until December 31 of the following calendar year from when they first begin or resume active practice to successfully complete The Path.

Upon completion of The Path, you are prompted to input your Member ID, your first and last name, and your email address. This is followed by some short questions about the course. This step must be completed to receive your certificate and to have your course completion recorded correctly in the Member Portal. It is important that you complete this step so the Law Society can confirm you completed The Path. Please use the same email address you used to register for the course.

Upon completion of the questions, a Certificate of Achievement is issued through the NVision website. Keep the certificate to verify course completion. You should not have to produce this certificate unless requested by the Law Society.

Please note that the CPD hours will not appear in your CPD tracker instantly upon your completion; upon receipt of monthly completion reports from NVision, Law Society staff will enter the hours into your tracker (recorded the year that the course is completed).

Yes.  If you have already taken the CBA version of The Path, you are only required to take the new Manitoba content.  When you login, there will be an option for you to the select the Manitoba-specific lessons only.

However if it has been some time since you took the CBA course and you would like to take the entire course again, we encourage you to do so.  The original course has been enhanced and deeper learning occurs with repeated opportunities to absorb and reflect.

a) What if I can demonstrate I have already taken Indigenous intercultural awareness and competency training through another provider?

The Law Society and the Indigenous Advisory Committee recognize that many lawyers have taken other Indigenous intercultural awareness and competency training.  Our belief is the more education, the better; there is much to learn and it cannot all be learned in a single course or program.  Having all practising Manitoba lawyers take The Path ensures the profession has a common foundation of knowledge on which to build.  It is also necessary for the Law Society to comply with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Call to Action #27, which we have committed to doing. We encourage lawyers to continue to look for opportunities to increase their knowledge and understanding in this area as it is a  journey.

b) What if I am an Indigenous lawyer with lived experience and a history with the issues covered in the course, and the course would be triggering for me?

The Indigenous Advisory Committee gave extensive consideration to whether the Law Society should provide an exemption to Indigenous lawyers from the requirement to take The Path. The Committee recognizes that many Indigenous lawyers have both lived experience with and knowledge of the issues covered in The Path and portions of the course may be triggering. In appropriate circumstances, members may request reasonable accommodation (see next question).

The Committee wanted to avoid a pan-Indigenous approach in which assumptions are made that all Indigenous peoples possess particular knowledge of or experience with this history. Additionally, the Committee does not expect all Indigenous lawyers to know all there is to know about all the topics listed in the TRC’s Call to Action #27. The Path covers a wide range of topics and is meant to be engaging for all learners, including those with lived experience and previous knowledge. For example, Métis lawyers may learn about the history and perspectives of First Nations and Inuit peoples and vice versa. The members of the Committee reported learning new things about other Indigenous groups from The Path. The Committee also thinks it is important for Indigenous lawyers to know what their non-Indigenous colleagues are learning.

In addition to the available supports listed in the Resources section below, the Law Society will also offer optional, facilitated sessions where Indigenous lawyers can gather in a culturally supportive space with the presence of an Elder to discuss their experiences taking The Path. More details will be made available once these arrangements have been finalized.

If you require reasonable accommodation due to a disability, please email the Law Society at path@lawsociety.mb.ca, and ask to have someone contact you to discuss the matter confidentially.

No, you are not required to complete The Path if you are non-practising. However, if you return to active practice, you will be required to complete The Path by December 31 of the following calendar year from when you resume active practice.

As per the Rules of the Law Society of Manitoba (see Rule 2-81.1(7), a failure to complete The Path without reasonable excuse may constitute professional misconduct.

There are topics covered in The Path that may be disturbing to some viewers. If you need to talk to someone, we encourage you to reach out to one of the following resources that can offer support:

All practicing lawyers and articling students can access free and confidential support through Manitoba Blue Cross Employee Assistance and Wellness Solutions. Support is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week by calling: Winnipeg 204-786-8880; Toll Free 1-800-590-5553; Hearing Impaired Line 204-775-0586. Manitoba Blue Cross offers culturally relevant counselling services.

If you are a Residential School Survivor, you can contact the Indian Residential Schools crisis line at 1-800-721-0066.

For Indigenous peoples, the Hope for Wellness Helpline is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week for counselling or crisis intervention at 1-855-242-3310 or chat online at www.hopeforwellness.ca

Non-Indigenous people seeking a mental health professional can receive support from Wellness Together Canada at 1-866-585-0445 or by texting Wellness to 741741 for adults or 686868 for youth. Support is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Feedback about the content of The Path can be provided in the survey questions at the end of course. You can also contact the Law Society directly at path@lawsociety.mb.ca.

The Law Society has additional resources for education and self-reflection available on our website.