You’re bound to disagree with someone on something I wish to address a growing trend in social and political discourse that’s troubling, if not disturbing. I should begin by noting that the internet’s good for a great number of things: news, research, sports scores, cute animal photos, discrete hook-ups, and humourous videos of people getting injured attempting something...
What the Heck, Let’s Give Sportswriting a Try As a baseball fan and statistics geek, I figure there’s no harm in writing a quick analysis of the series between the Toronto Blue Jays and Cleveland ‘Indians’. Granted, the series will probably be at its halfway point by the time this gets to print, but here’s hoping it will be interesting to see how reality challenges expectation. I will try...
As Managing Editor of Obiter Dicta, I am apparently obligated to write an editorial for every third issue of our publication. Considering I editorialize so often that the words I heard most growing up were “don’t editorialize”—my parents are both intellectuals and I had an extensive vocabulary even as a child—I could probably just write one of my usual articles and no one would notice. Draft...
Only one side of this issue has any right to be upset 2016 has been an awkward year for race relations. After decades upon decades of watching their rights to due process getting filled with bullets and forced to pay for the spent ammunition, the black communities of North America seem to have collectively said “no more”, and began to protest on a large scale. Although I don’t...
To say law school is a stressful environment would be both an understatement and a statement so ridiculously, blatantly obvious that you’d probably dislocate your jaw trying to say “duhhhhh” emphatically enough. I overheard someone say “everyone in law school has an anxiety disorder: it’s called law school”. We end up balancing about 500 pages of readings a week with social and family...
There isn’t a class titled “How to Keep a Straight Face When Someone Lies to You” There are a lot of things you likely won’t learn in law school. This is not a dig at any of our professors, their pedagogy, or even the Canadian legal education system as a whole. The issue is that education can’t replace real world experience. You don’t learn key networking skills poring though a textbook and...
In the End, He was Only Human On 22 March 2016, Rob Ford – former mayor of Toronto and city councillor for Etobicoke North – died of cancer. My condolences to his family, particularly his children. Rob Ford was a surprisingly complicated man, considering he was actually something of a simpleton with no capacity for subtlety or nuance. He was a demagogue who was allegedly awkward and...
I have a problem. Okay, I have lots of problems, but this article is going to focus on just one of them. I’m an information junkie. Sometimes, that leads me to learn about beliefs, attitudes and behaviours that are downright disturbing. Call it a morbid fascination with the deranged, or a waste of time for someone who almost certainly has better things to do. In any case, I’ve habitually gazed...
Yes means yes and ask again anyway As awkward a subject as it may be, I want to discuss the Jian Ghomeshi trial. Since I’m about as subtle as a cinder block thrown through a plate glass window, I guess I’ll start with something that’s been particularly contentious: Marie Henein’s impassioned defence of Mr. Ghomeshi, and her often brutal approach to examining the complainants. I know a number of...
Awkward Confessions from a Mostly-Reformed Dope Fiend Justin Trudeau’s plan to legalize marijuana possession has created quite the stir in the last year or so, and frankly, it’s about time we unscheduled the stuff. I don’t actually have much of a dog in this particular fight. I’m not going to be a blatant liar and say I don’t ever partake, but to say legalization would have any impact on my day...
A Make or Break Moment for Sanity in Politics 2016 looks like it’s going to be a pretty weird year for politics; if current trends continue, it’s only going to get weirder. Canada’s mostly avoided the worst of the lunacy that seems to be taking hold of the United States, but between Kevin O’Leary thinking about running for the federal Conservative leadership and Doug Ford salivating at the...
Your Life Can and May be Used Against You Just in time for the first week of our Ethical Lawyering classes, Lori Douglas recently spoke out about the humiliating experiences that led to her premature retirement. For those of you who don’t recall, Lori Douglas is the Manitoba judge whose career was ruined after nude photographs of her became public knowledge. The photos were posted online without...
To say law school is a stressful environment would be both an understatement and a statement so ridiculously, blatantly obvious that you’d probably dislocate your jaw trying to say “duhhhhh” emphatically enough. I overheard someone say, “everyone in law school has an anxiety disorder: it’s called law school.” We end up balancing about 500 pages of readings a week with social and family...