Sébastien Jodoin honoured for major impact of disability rights advocacy

The Faculty of Law is pleased to announce that Professor Sébastien Jodoin received McGill University’s Changemaker Prize on 28 March.  

Under the aegis of the Principal’s Prize for Public Engagement through Media, this prize is awarded to an individual whose dedication to sharing their knowledge with the media and public has had a major impact on society. Awarded at the jury’s discretion on an exceptional basis, the Changemaker Prize recognizes a scholar who serves as a role model in public engagement across the university.  

Professor Jodoin was honoured for his efforts to draw attention to the impacts of climate change on the disabled population. “This ongoing work has fostered the emergence of disability as a topic in the field of climate policy in Canada, among G7 countries and at the United Nations, and has informed the work of policymakers, advocates, and practitioners in the field,” wrote Provost and Vice-Principal (Academic) Christopher Manfredi, then interim principal and vice-chancellor, in the letter notifying Professor Jodoin of the award. 

Sébastien Jodoin is an associate professor at the Faculty of Law and holds the Canada Research Chair (Tier 2) in Human Rights, Health, and the Environment. His research focuses on the relationship between human rights and the climate crisis, transnational and comparative climate law and policy, and the role of disability rights in addressing complex environmental and health issues. He is a member of the Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism and an associate member of the Bieler School of Environment, the McGill Institute of Health and Social Policy, and the Max Bell School of Public Policy.  

Professor Jodoin is the founding director of the Disability-Inclusive Climate Action Research Program (DICARP). In 2022, DICARP released a series of reports showing that persons with disabilities were systematically overlooked in climate mitigation policies in Canada and abroad, spurring new discussions among advocates and policymakers.  

A remarkable testament to McGill Law’s commitment to public engagement, this is the second time the Changemaker Prize goes to one of its professors; in 2020, Dean Robert Leckey, Ad E, was its inaugural recipient.  

“I’m pleased to see McGill recognize how our colleague’s staunch advocacy for disability rights is transforming climate change discussions locally and internationally,” said Dean Leckey. “Professor Jodoin exemplifies how leading legal scholarship can directly inform our response to pressing global challenges.”