Philippe Boucher

Research Project

Decolonizing Justice? Indigenous Healing, Exclusion, and Ambivalence in Canada’s Criminal Courts

Biography

Philippe Boucher is a queer Québécois who grew up in Tiotià:ke/Montréal and is pursuing a PhD in Legal Studies at Carleton University in Ottawa, on Anishinabeg territory. Having worked with Indigenous communities for nearly ten years, his collaborative doctoral research focuses on transforming criminal justice by centering Indigenous legal traditions and the experiences of Indigenous people in court. 

Passionate about social justice and languages, Philippe serves as a lecturer, researcher, and justice advisor to Indigenous organizations. He holds a master's degree in criminology from the Université de Montréal, where his master’s thesis explores Indigenous men's healing journeys to end domestic violence. His bachelor's degree from Concordia University combined First Peoples Studies and Sociology, along with a student exchange in Arctic Studies at the University of Lapland in Finland. 

His community involvement and academic excellence have earned him prestigious distinctions, including a doctoral scholarship from the Fonds de recherche du Québec and the Québec Lieutenant Governor’s Medal. Philippe is currently the Secretary-Treasurer of the First Peoples Justice Centre of Tiotià:ke/Montréal and Co-Chair of the 18th Annual Conference of the Graduate Legal Studies Association.