Queen’s University doctoral law student Kerri Froc has been awarded a Trudeau Foundation Scholarship for her research into women's rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The three-year scholarship, one of the most prestigious doctoral awards of its kind in Canada, is worth $60,000 annually.

“The Trudeau Foundation has a reputation for supporting innovative research within a community of scholarship and public engagement. I am extremely honoured to be nominated as a Trudeau scholar, and grateful that it is supporting my research in an area that requires urgent attention,” says Ms Froc.

Her research focuses specifically on section 28 of the Charter, guaranteeing rights “equally to male and female persons.” It has the potential to change how rights are interpreted by requiring that courts give equal priority to women’s fundamental interests under each Charter right, but she says it is a section that has not been taken seriously by the courts.

Ms Froc is one of 15 doctoral students from a variety of disciplines across Canada to receive the scholarship from the foundation named after the former Canadian prime minister.

More information about The Trudeau Foundation