An inside scoop into how an old moot was given new life. The Eureka Moment On a hot June summer day, as I was furiously working away on a legal memorandum that was poised to be blacklined into oblivion by one of my supervising partners, I decided to take a quick break in the Lax O’Sullivan Lisus Gottlieb LLP lunchroom. As I downed my third Diet Coke of the day, I received an email from the...
Have you tried OpenAI’s ChatGPT lately? OpenAI, an artificial intelligence (AI) research company originally founded by Sam Altman amongst others, have the mission to develop AI tools to, as stated on their website, “ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity.” ChatGPT—which is an AI-powered chat robot—was launched by OpenAI in November 2022, and its success has led many...
On 17 February, The Globe and Mail released their investigation of Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) documents which revealed China’s strategy to influence the 2021 election. Since assuming office in 2012, President Xi Jinping has taken a more aggressive foreign policy approach, yet the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) still claims it adheres to the international custom of non...
Premiers and territorial leaders across Canada may be able to finally take a collective sigh of relief as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tables a funding offer to help Canada’s struggling health care system. The provinces are already scheduled to get a 9.5-per-cent increase in healthcare transfers this year, amounting to $49.4 billion from the $45.2-billion in projected payments in the 2022-23...
As of 31 January 2023, the British Columbia government plans to decriminalize possession of up to 2.5 grams of certain drugs by those over 18, which is the first exemption of its kind in Canada. Given the overdose and drug crisis that is occurring in the province, the government’s response in decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of these drugs is aimed to reduce barriers and stigma...
Irreversible environmental harm, nonsensical urban planning and accusations of corruption After a mere thirty-day public consultation period, the Ontario government has officially decided to go ahead with its plan to remove 7,400 acres from the protected Greenbelt. This announcement came just last month, ten days after the public consultations on the initial proposal had closed. The government...
With the House of Representatives returned to the hands of the Republicans, almost two dozen GOP governors have imposed the long overdue ban on TikTok over the past five weeks, ranging from restricting government employees’ access to the application to removing it altogether from government internet networks. While the majority of the left-wing Democrats are still living in their illusory vision...
In 2016, Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) was legalized in Canada. This allowed for doctors and nurse practitioners to use medication to cause a person’s death at their request. When the bill was first introduced, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated that the Liberal government was focused on, “respecting Canadians rights, defending their choices…while at the same time, protecting the most...
Should the money be going elsewhere? Now that the municipal elections are over, one of the main issues to be addressed is what to do regarding the huge $857 million deficit in Toronto. While a lot of the deficit can be attributed to the COVID-pandemic costs, it is important to think about how the mayor will attempt to balance the budget. Will they increase taxes? Will they cut services? Perhaps...
Over 50,000 people marched in London, England to campaign for climate change ahead of COP21 in Paris, France (Photograph: Matthew Kirby) Loss and damage breakthrough at COP27 As the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) comes to a close, the same question is again at the forefront of climate talks, but the answer may be different: Who will pay for the impacts of climate change? Well...
On 22 October 2022, the Parkdale Legal Services held a symposium to commemorate its fifty-year anniversary. Osgoode students offered their time and energy to help plan and run the symposium. The “Parkdale Community Legal Services at 50: Defining Our Future” symposium brought together alumni, activists, lawyers, professors, community members, and current Osgoode students for a day of art...
Scientists discover genetic variation that offers largest evolutionary advantage found in humans A study published in Nature two weeks ago identified a genetic variation that gave certain people a 40% chance of surviving the Black Death—the largest evolutionary advantage found in humans. The Black Death, a plague that spread throughout Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa ravaged the...
A congressional letter that urges President Biden to negotiate directly with Vladimir Putin to end the war against Ukraine, signed by thirty liberal democrats, was withdrawn by the Congressional Progressive Caucus on 25 October 2022. The House Democrats pointed out that the incrementally painful consequences are becoming increasingly far-reaching and are reflected not only in Ukraine but...
The Canadian housing market has been retreating due to increased interest rates over the past year. What was once a dominant sellers’ market has slowly become buyer-friendly as current homeowners cannot keep up with the rising interest rates. However, within this mayhem and the worrying housing price bubble, a niche area of housing financing is booming, particularly for a specific religious...
The Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) has been making headlines this week following the announcement from French President Emmanuel Macron that his country would withdraw from the investment treaty because it did not align with the Paris Agreement. This follows announcements from Poland, Spain, and the Netherlands that they were pulling out of the agreement as well. The ECT is a multilateral investment...
On 7 September 2021, El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, made a huge announcement: They would become the first country to adopt bitcoin as a legal tender alongside their current currency, the US dollar. The government said this would be a great way to attract foreign investment, generate jobs, and reduce reliance on the US dollar. There are many benefits of having decentralized currency...
>tw: Violence and trauma connected to recent and ongoing conflict in Iran On 13 September 2022, 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, a native of the Kurdish region in western Iran, was with her brother at a subway station in Tehran when she was stopped by the Iranian government’s morality police. She was accused of not complying with the state’s compulsory hijab laws. Amini’s brother was told she would be...
Are the current laws unconstitutional? Back in 2013, my Law and Morality professor had a sex worker speak to the class about the issues that she and her colleagues faced due to the sex worker laws that were in place at that time. Those next few weeks, our tutorials were discussions about the morality of being a sex worker, and a classmate asked something along the lines of, “Laborers sell their...
The Bank of Canada (“BoC”) has been aggressively increasing interest rates, with another anticipated rate hike on the way. When the pandemic first hit, the BoC responded by lowering the interest rates to stimulate economic activity. By lowering the interest rates, businesses and consumers benefited by having lower payments on their loans. The BoC prioritized making credit more readily available...
Every year, the biggest prizes in research are announced prior to the December 10 award ceremony commemorating the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death. Alfred Nobel was an inventor, entrepreneur, scientist and businessman—most notably the inventor of dynamite—who also wrote poetry and drama. In his will, he established prizes in fields corresponding to his interests: physics, chemistry...
Can Europeans stay warm this winter without Nord Stream 1? Over the past few weeks, the staggering rate of inflation (which has been exacerbated by the energy crisis in Europe) has fuelled social unrest that has led to protests across the continent. Citizens are coming out in droves to protest the cost of living and to hopefully prompt their governments to act to ameliorate the situation before...
North Korea, the world’s most isolated, secretive, and ruthless communist regime, has passed a new law that not only declares itself as a nuclear state but effectively allows pre-emptive nuclear strikes. The brutal dictator of North Korea, Kim Jong Un, resolutely announced that the nuclear status of his country was now “irreversible.” For decades since the end of the Korean War, North Korea...
If you live in Ontario, then undoubtedly you are aware of the issues that plague our health care system. When asked by a journalist about whether Doug Ford was looking into privatizing health care, he responded, “Everything is on the table.” He followed that up with a guarantee: “You will always be covered by OHIP, not the credit card.” Is he following through with that promise? One can argue...
Something appears to be in the rarified air that billionaires breathe. Last week, it was announced that Patagonia’s founder and former owner, Yvon Chouninard, and his family are giving away ownership of the outdoor apparel company, to donate any profit not reinvested in the business to fight climate change. This week, at an event held in Vancouver’s Stanley Park, we have our very own Canadian...
And may have saved billions of dollars in Alzheimer’s research funding Over the summer, a criminal investigation was opened against Cassava Sciences Inc., a Biotech company accused of fabricating pre-clinical data and clinical trial results. Their problems began in 2021 when two scientists, David Bredt and Geoffrey Pitt, noticed inconsistencies in the published data surrounding the billion-dollar...