Fact-based journalism that sparks the Canadian conversation

Articles Business Environment Health Politics Arts & Culture Society

Special Series Hope You’re Well For the Love of the Game Living Rooms In Other Worlds: A Space Exploration Terra Cognita More special series >

For the Love of the Game

In Other Worlds: A Space Exploration

More special series >

Events The Walrus Talks The Walrus Video Room The Walrus Leadership Roundtables The Walrus Leadership Forums Article Club

The Walrus Video Room

The Walrus Leadership Roundtables

The Walrus Leadership Forums

Subscribe Renew your subscription Change your address Magazine Issues Newsletters Podcasts

Renew your subscription

The Walrus Lab Hire The Walrus Lab Amazon First Novel Award

Amazon First Novel Award

Inside the Halls of Power: Stories from Canada’s Supreme Court

Season 4/Episode 6 – English Transcript

Founded in 1875, the Supreme Court of Canada has shaped the country for 150 years—yet the stories behind its decisions, its building, and the people who have walked its halls often remain out of view. To mark this milestone, Canadian Time Machine goes beyond the headlines and into the quieter, more surprising corners of Canada’s highest court.

Host, Angela Misri, sits down with filmmaker and lawyer Étienne Trépanier, whose new project reimagines how Canadians might experience the Court at a moment of major change. Then, former Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin reflects on the institution she helped guide for nearly two decades, offering rare insight into what makes the Supreme Court both uniquely Canadian and profoundly human.

Listen to the episode:

Angela Misri: This year marks the 150th anniversary of the Supreme Court of Canada, a milestone that invites us to step back and reflect on the court’s role in shaping our country. For most Canadians, the Supreme Court is a distant, formal place where weighty decisions are made that touch our lives in ways we may never see firsthand.

Angela Misri: Welcome to Canadian Time Machine, a podcast that explores key milestones in our country’s history. I’m Angela Misri.

Founded in 1875, the Supreme Court of Canada has served as the highest court in the country, interpreting laws and the Constitution and shaping the legal framework that governs everyday life. Over 150 years, it has been at the center of landmark rulings from individual rights and freedoms to indigenous land claims. Its decisions reflect the evolving values and diversity of Canadian society. And I had to teach a law and ethics class this semester, and I read so much about all the landmark decisions this summer, I feel like I got the grade eight, like full time download into my brain, and it was fantastic, but there is so much to cover. So in this episode, we’ll explore the Supreme Court’s legacy and hear how its stories are being shared in new ways, and later, we’ll meet Canada’s longest serving Chief Justice, the right honorable Beverly McLaughlin, and learn what it was like for her to help make decisions that shaped the nation. But first, let’s meet someone who banded together a motley crew of Canadian creators this year to bring the Supreme Court’s halls and history to life.

Étienne Trépanier: So my name is Étienne Trépanier. I’m a lawyer slash filmmaker slash producer. I’m now based at the University of Ottawa, but I was a practicing lawyer for 25 years at the Department of Justice.

Angela Misri: In 2020 during the early days of the pandemic, Etienne pitched the idea that would become juravision.ca based at the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Law. It’s an audio visual platform that uses video interactive content and even gaming to make legal knowledge more accessible. Instead of wading through dense court documents, Canadians can now engage with the law in ways that are clear, practical and even a little fun. I wish I’d had that this summer.

Étienne Trépanier: I started to work with professors who have great knowledge, great ideas, but sometimes cannot implement them, you know, because they don’t have either the technical skills or the time or even their financial resources, so I kind of acted as a vector a producer, basically to help them connect their ideas with creators who have the skills, you know. So the in Canada, we have a fantastic and a very rich community of creators and video and audio and gaming. So how can we take that knowledge in the university and in the legal practice, and make it available in new formats.

Angela Misri: With a deep ongoing connection to the Supreme Court. The University of Ottawa is uniquely able to bring projects like this to life. It’s got access that other universities could only dream of.

Étienne Trépanier: Because our faculty here at the University of Ottawa, first, as in Ottawa, has very good relationship with the judges. You know that every time there’s a new judge named at the court, there’s an event here at the faculty Ola where we welcome that new judge. So it’s a tradition. It’s been ongoing for years.

Angela Misri: So as the 150th anniversary of the Supreme Court inched closer, it just felt natural for the University of Ottawa to collaborate with the court on some sort of legacy project.

Étienne Trépanier: It’s a true Canadian project, because we had, we had a team from from Quebec, from Ontario, we had the original music. It’s an indigenous company that did their from when they came back, who did all the graphic design, our filmmaker Julie corbeil, and a team of those who did, also all the marketing, are based in Toronto. So it was a massive team, you know, for me, it’s probably the biggest, you know, project I’ve worked on.

Angela Misri: And thus, the Supreme Court experience was born. It has two key components. The first, an interactive Docu course called Keys to the court. The second, an immersive video game called Echoes of the court.

Étienne Trépanier: You’re a janitor at night, there’s nobody in the building, and you have some tasks, some normal janitor, you have to clean, empty garbages, but you’re also a writer. At the beginning of the game, the Chief Justice tells you, “Oh…

Excerpt: “… I just found out that in your spare time, you’re writing a novel inspired by the stories of those who have passed through this court. I think that’s a remarkable idea. I’m certain you’ll find inspiration on your night shifts. If you listen closely, if you pay attention, you will notice that the walls speak. They carry the echoes of those who have passed through the court.”

Angela Misri: The game is played in a first person perspective. So you start off standing in the Supreme Court’s grand entrance hall. You’re alone, and it’s quiet, and if you look out the window, you can tell it’s late on a snowy night, the only sounds are your footsteps and the game’s original music, a gentle, wandering piano piece that changes tone as you move through the building. You’ve got the Supreme Court of Canada to yourself, and you walk, jump, look around and interact with hidden objects like pamphlets, letters and photos as you explore every night.

Étienne Trépanier: There are some little pieces that you can find that are hidden. Coasters, for example, coasters at the Supreme Court. When we did the digital scanning of the court, the technical team that was with us were very impressed by all those coasters in the room and everything, so we decided to create a digital version and hide it in different places.

Angela Misri: In fact, every detail throughout the game was digitally scanned from the real thing, making it as accurate as your phone screen can possibly depict.

Étienne Trépanier: You can even find the loonie. The Canadian Mint has released a new loonie, especially for the Supreme Court 100 and 50th anniversary. So there are digital version hidden there and there.

Angela Misri: And as you discover new objects and move through the cork, mop the salt stains off the floor and slowly write your novel, you truly do hear echoes of the court.

Excerpt 1: It came down to whether I wanted to go to the Supreme Court. If I said no, I didn’t want to go to the Supreme Court, then we weren’t going to the Supreme Court.

Excerpt 2: There will be some challenges when we will be fighting this case is there will be constant media around you, there will be questions, there will be a lot of things. There will be financial issues.

Excerpt 3: Keeping in mind this........

© The Walrus