Volume 94
V
Prepare for nuclear strike: Fiction or reality?
P
Amid North Korea’s recent cruise missile test, United States and South Korean officials held a simulated tabletop discussion over the possibility of a North Korean nuclear strike on 23 February 2023. In January 2023, North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un ordered the “exponential” expansion of his country’s nuclear arsenal and the furtherance of the deliverability of intercontinental ballistic...
The Baby Jessup reborn
T
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...
Advancements in artificial intelligence
A
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...
Chinese interference in Canada’s 2021 election
C
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...
History remains at its end (Part II)
H
Liberal democracy as the synthesis The Vanguard of Illiberalism Buckles With the dawn of a new decade, it appeared that the sun of the liberal democratic order was finally setting, and the phoenix of populism was rising. Then came 2022. The failure of the Freedom Convoy It began in Canada, with the Freedom Convoy protests in early February. What was supposed to be a revolutionary moment of...
Mentally Black
M
The importance of highlighting Black mental health in law school In 2017, I was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), moderate depression, and general anxiety disorder. I was at the beginning of my second year of my undergraduate studies, and I felt like a failure in my life. The people closest to me thought I was exaggerating; “How could I get PTSD when I had not been to war...
Clearance sale: All hobbies must go
C
The growth of “side hustle” culture and the desire to monetize hobbies What is the value of a hobby? Ask yourself that question and think about the way you frame your answer. If your first instinct is something along the lines of “it brings happiness or fulfillment” or “it satiates the feeling of ennui in my life,” then you will find yourself met with an exasperated sigh from judgmental on...
Reviving your creative self
R
Law school is replete with creatives. From STEM to PHLEGMs, any ordinary person walking down Gowlings Hall on a busy weekday will come across at least five different kinds of students, each of whom comes from a different field in their pre-law life. This diversity is what makes us unique. Our past experiences are often the fires that fuel our desire to enter the legal profession in the first...
The issues with medically-assisted death for mentally ill people
T
In June 2016, the federal government passed legislation that allows adults to request medical assistance in dying (MAID). On 2 February 2023, the federal government introduced legislation to extend the temporary exclusion of eligibility where a person’s sole medical condition is a mental illness for an additional year. In other words, people solely suffering from mental illness will be able to...
We ain’t deserving of democracy
W
I was going to review the Economic Constitution of Canada—but I forgot. I guess I watched too many episodes, mooting, and of course, the grand prize, 1L. So that will be coming in the next issue. Instead, I will focus on something controversial that hopefully angers you, excites you, or at the very least causes some chaos. I say that we as a society have become in many ways undeserving of...
My recidivism At Folsom Prison
M
The legendary Johnny Cash album turns fifty-five in May of this year. Isn’t the live album something of an oddity? It makes one yearn for that incomparable experience of being serenaded by the shattering acoustics of an artist (or artists) on stage and in the flesh. On a record, however, the loud cheers, the back-and-forth chatter between audience and band, and that lively dynamism become...
Copenhagen? Meh
C
I recently had the opportunity to travel to Copenhagen, Denmark for a week. Now, to preface the rest of this article, I want to say that Copenhagen is a very beautiful, clean, friendly, efficient, and well-run city. The transit system is great, the roads are lined with centuries-old houses, and I didn’t hear someone raise their voice while I was there. And might I say, the smørrebrød was simply...
Book Review: The haunting, multi-layered, and winding ride that is An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon
B
“History wanted to be remembered. Evidence hated having to live in dark, hidden places and devoted itself to resurfacing. Truth was messy. The natural order of an entropic universe was to tend to it.” Last issue, I reviewed a novella written by Rivers Solomon (they/them) in collaboration with LA experimental hip-hop group clipping. As I hope that review adequately expressed, I find Solomon...
2023 Best Picture ranking
2
For the past twelve years in a row, I have dedicated the month of February to watching and ranking all of the films nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards, also known as the Oscars. I am unsure as to how or why I started this silly little tradition, but it has become very near and dear to my heart. My opinion of a film can be shaped by the bias of how my life is going when I watch it...
Reviving the historic Osgoode Hall hockey team
R
Unbeknownst to many staff and students currently walking the halls, Osgoode Hall Law School has a long and illustrious history of playing ice hockey. The Osgoode Hall “Legalities” legacy began over 130 years ago, and this year, after a two and a half year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the revival of the Osgoode Hall hockey team continues to...
Leave us alone
L
I love watching professional football/soccer. Personally, the beautiful game evokes tremendous levels of emotional passion, desire, excitement, anger, and despair. It is truly one of the greatest forms of entertainment that the world has to offer. When life is hard, people often turn to activities that comfort them. For many around the globe, that activity is enjoying soccer matches. However...
2023 NBA trade deadline
2
Usually, the NBA trade deadline is horrible. The NBA has perfected the use of social media to create tremendous levels of hype that consistently lets fans down. However, this year’s deadline brought huge fireworks that have completely shifted the balance of the league. In my opinion, here are the five most important moves. Kevin Durant to the desert KD was eviscerated by NBA fans for joining the...
Controversies in UFC judging and scoring
C
Sports generally fall in one of two broad categories: those anyone can score and those only experts can score. It is easily discernible who wins in a freestyle relay, but it is harder to recognize ...
The recent Kitchener encampment decision is worth celebrating: Here’s why
T
In December 2021, a group of unhoused persons began setting up tents on a vacant piece of municipally-owned property in downtown Kitchener. Over the next ten months, the encampment grew to over fifty persons, and in October 2022, the Region of Waterloo filed an application to injunct the residents from camping on the land for breaching its bylaws. In the ordinary course of events, this would have...
Federal government proposes increase in health care funding to the provinces
F
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...
Drug possession exemption in BC: First of its kind in Canada
D
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...
Hamilton vigilantes
H
Car-window smashing in Hamilton: A microcosm of archaic approaches to community problem solving At the risk of sounding like a familiar graphic t-shirt or hoodie: Hamilton is my home. I moved to the city in 2017, drawn to the blackened, flaming chimneys that straddle Nikola Tesla Boulevard, and line the shore of the harbour. Though the sight of the factories touched a deep-seated awe for human...
Robo FOMO
R
The present intrigue around AI and its potentially detrimental effects on the future In 1984, pop culture staple The Terminator was released in theatres to what I would imagine was largely fanfare and positive reception premised on its interesting concepts of what the future may look like. The chiseled frame of Schwarzenegger enacting sweet violence against another sentient robot touches on a key...
History remains at its end (Part I: Liberal democracy as the thesis)
H
The events of 2022 have served to vindicate Francis Fukuyama and his now famous dictum on history Revisiting the End of History “What we may be witnessing is not just the end of the Cold War, or the passing of a particular period of post-war history, but the end of history as such … That is, the end point of mankind’s ideological evolution and the...