Speaker: Kandice Ardiel, Legal Communications Officer, Supreme Court of Canada Topic: Plain Language and the law Date & Time: THURSDAY October 18, 2018; 12:00 to 1:30pm Location: Supreme Court of Canada, 301 Wellington St., Ottawa Description: Kandice Ardiel is the Legal Communications Officer in the Chambers of Richard Wagner, the Chief Justice of Canada. She is in charge of the Court’s plain language case summaries known as “Cases in Brief”. She will speak to us about “Plain language” and the law. “Plain” language is generally understood to be language written at a Grade 8 level or lower, and writing “plainly” is easier said than done. (According to Microsoft Word’s built-in calculator, that last sentence comes in at Grade 11.9 – not very “plain” at all.) This short talk will cover what the plain language movement is, where it stands in Canada and abroad, and why it is important. It will also touch on how plain language principles can be applied in practice, focusing on the court context, where accuracy is critical and ideas can be very complex. There will be a brief business meeting to start.