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The Commission for the Legal Empowerment of the Poor, chaired by Madeleine Albright and Hernando de Soto, released in 2008 a comprehensive Report on Legal Empowerment of the Poor (LEP). The Commission was launched in 2005 by a group of developing and developed countries, including Canada. Following the Report, the United Nations General Assembly acknowledged the importance of LEP in terms of its poverty eradication goals and initiatives. An important emphasis of the LEP Commission Report is that over 4 billion people are “robbed of the chance to better their lives and climb out of poverty, because they are excluded from the rule of law.” LEP, conceptualized broadly in terms of access to justice, property rights, labor rights and business rights, can provide opportunities for those living in poverty to improve their quality of life and secure more sustainable development.This Legal Discussion Paper sets out, mainly in a descriptive manner, a conceptual context for a Canadian Dialogue on LEP, as a background paper for a discussion on the most promising ways in which Canadian stakeholders can engage with the LEP agenda internationally. After this short introduction, the second part of this Legal Discussion Paper presents a brief overview of 2008 LEP Commission Report, emphasizing its background, framework and agenda for implementation. The third part of the Legal Discussion Paper presents a few brief case studies of how LEP can also help to address global emerging challenges that are significantly undermining sustainable development in selected sectors, such as Health, HIV & Legal Empowerment, Green Economy, Access to Climate Finance & Legal Empowerment, and Agriculture, Land Rights & Legal Empowerment. These case studies are meant to serve as examples of how LEP can be operationalized as a useful and effective tool in a variety of development endeavors. The fourth part of Legal Discussion Paper addresses, by simply raising a few initial thoughts for discussion, two sets of key issues for Canadian policy leaders, legal scholars and practitioners that are interested in advancing a Canadian agenda in promoting LEP for sustainable livelihoods.