Kathryn Chan

Kathryn Chan serves as Assistant Professor at the University of Victoria Faculty of Law while completing doctoral studies at the University of Oxford. Her research critically examines Canada's legal framework for voluntary and not-for-profit organizations, advocating for modernization beyond tax-centric regulation.

Her educational background features an award-winning Master of Laws (LLM) thesis that challenged common law interpretations of charity tax provisions as inconsistent with Canada's constitutional structure and bijural commitments. The work notably incorporated previously neglected Quebec civil law sources on charity and bienfaisance.

Research Interests: Kathryn's scholarship centers on reconstructing voluntary sector regulation through constitutional, social, and cultural lenses. Key themes include reconciling federal governance with civil society autonomy, developing non-adversarial regulatory models, and integrating Quebec's civil law tradition into national charity frameworks. Her work emphasizes producing social good through legally secure, constitutionally sound mechanisms that transcend fiscal considerations.

She received the Graduate Essay Prize from the Quebec Society of Comparative Law for her master's research.

Professional Experience: Prior to academia, Kathryn practiced as a 'charity lawyer' at a specialized firm advising voluntary organizations on governance and registration, and representing clients in judicial appeals. This experience directly informed her critique of Canada's state-voluntary sector relationship and motivated her doctoral research into alternative regulatory paradigms that balance international best practices with Canadian legal distinctiveness.