Drought and high temperatures are killing people, crops and livestock – we must speak up by Maha Mansoor and Hilal Elver Troubles in the Middle East and Europe have distracted world leaders from tackling the growing hunger in Ethiopia caused by the country’s worst drought in at least thirty years. For example, at the most recent UN World Humanitarian Summit that took place in May the...
Ghomeshi Acquittal A Watershed Moment for Sexual Predators and Their Apologists I remember my skepticism when colleagues and acquaintances waxed optimistic about how this trial would be a watershed moment for the criminal justice system’s treatment of sexual assault. I recall thinking that even if Ghomeshi was found guilty, nothing would fundamentally change. I knew that Marie Heinen would whack...
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...
By Canadian Lawyers for International Human Rights – Osgoode Students interested in international law often ask what it takes to find a career in this highly competitive and amorphous area of law. What is the recipe for success and where do I find the ingredients? At last month’s International Law Career Panel, hosted by Canadian Lawyers for International Human Rights – Osgoode (CLAIHR-Osgoode)...
Reflections on Law School from an Already-Nostalgic 3L My friends tell me that I am the only person whom they have heard utter the following refrain: I am devastated that law school is almost over. I know, I know. A job will allow me to pay off my debt (of course, if I stay in school forever, I can continue to accrue debt I never have to pay off), and I have been working towards becoming a...
Opposing Pneumonia Vaccine Patents in India On 11 March, Doctors Without Borders (DWB) officially launched a ‘patent opposition’ in India in order to better guarantee access to pneumonia vaccines for children. Pfizer, a US pharmaceutical company, is attempting to file a patent on PCV13, so-called because the product is a pneumococcal conjugate vaccine that involves conjugating thirteen serotypes...
The Obiter’s review of Osgoode’s penultimate hiring experience. Today’s publication marks the penultimate edition of the 2015/2016 Obiter Dicta. As we approach the end of another year, this issue also fittingly serves as our first foray into one of Osgoode’s most exciting, and notorious, opportunities: On-Campus Interviews. OCI’s mark for many of us the last hiring process before we seek out...
Creating the Path to an International Career Throughout the school year, Canadian Lawyers for International Human Rights (Osgoode Chapter) has been working to highlight career possibilities for those interested in pursuing international human rights work. In this article, we interview Katie Flannery, the Team Leader for Refugee Status Determination and Durable Solutions at the Egyptian Foundation...
Antonin Scalia’s death highlights the enormous political divide in the US United States Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia passed away suddenly in a hunting ranch in Texas on 13 February. Justice Scalia was a brilliant scholar and the leading originalist jurist in the United States, and by all accounts, a very personable guy. I didn’t know him though, and I was never a fan of Justice Scalia’s...
Presidential Elections in Uganda Marred by Procedural Irregularities and Opposition Suppression Authors: Justin Toh, with edits and title by Sophie Chiasson The 2016 presidential and parliamentary elections in Uganda have been criticized for failing to uphold democratic standards set out in domestic and international law. According to Uganda’s Electoral Commission, incumbent candidate...
The Safety of Hospitals and Civilian Targets On 28 February, an accord lead by the United States and Russia started the first day of a “cessation of hostilities” in Syria. The accord was accepted by President Bashar al-Assad’s government and many of his opponents, giving some analysts in the United Nations hope that the accord can pave meaningful diplomatic ground between the parties. The...
A Cold Night Filled with Warm Company and Conversation On Thursday, February 25th, I had the pleasure of attending the fourth annual OWN Your Career event, the Osgoode Women’s Network’s culminating event of the school year, held at Toronto’s Rosehill Venue, a warm, comfortable space a few minutes walk from St. Clair subway station. The evening is designed for two main purposes: to provide a...
The Case for Piercing TCHC’s Corporate Veil On 5 February 2016, a fire in a Scarborough residence run by Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC) claimed the lives of three seniors and injured several others, including twelve people who had to be hospitalized. The Toronto Fire Marshal announced that it would be filing non-criminal charges under section 2.4(2) of the Ontario Fire Code against...
Mentally Ill in Law School The Obiter Dicta generally does not publish anonymous articles. A strict, limited exception allows students to publish anonymously exclusively for articles about their mental health experience in law school. This exception exists only for cases where there are concerns directly regarding the risk of exposure or stigma. The Obiter Dicta Executive Board has full and final...
“The traditional professions will be dismantled, leaving most (but not all) professionals to be replaced by less expert people and high-performing systems.” This is the central message of The Future of Professions, a new book from Richard and Daniel Susskind. Machines, they argue, will take over much professional work. Even when the machines cannot do so alone, the Susskinds expect that they will...
Examining Alcohol and Zika Virus Policies The Centre for Disease Control (CDC) created a small controversy on 2 February after it released a report that recommended sexually active women should abstain from drinking alcohol. The CDC’s report intends to reduce the risk of accidental but harmful complications to pregnancies. However, some organizations have criticized the CDC’s recommendations. For...
This past week, I had the fortunate opportunity to interview a Toronto-based legal innovator. Amer Mushtaq, a lawyer at Formative LLP and an Osgoode alum, recently launched www.YouCounsel.ca, an online course to help self-represented litigants make their way through the small claims court system. I had the chance to speak with Amer about his background, the inspiration for You Counsel, and what...
Unfortunately Not an Archaic Procedure of the Past We as Canadians have a dark history of oppression and violence enacted upon marginalized populations. Unfortunately, some of this oppression and violence lives on, often occurring under the radar of many Canadians’ knowledge. The sterilization of vulnerable and marginalized groups was used as a process of eugenics in a much more direct and...
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...
Gender still influential in perceptions of “fair process” On 7 January, it was announced that Alberta Attorney General Kathleen Ganley has moved for the Canadian Judicial Council to skip the review panel phase of its investigation into the conduct of Federal Court Judge Robin Camp and move directly into the formal inquiry phase. Camp made headlines last autumn when criticism began to mount over...
“Monkey see, monkey sue is not good law—at least not in the Ninth Circuit” I consider myself incredibly fortunate to be taking copyright this semester; it seems like 2016 is quickly shaping up to be a tumultuous year for this area of law. The year started off with controversy after the copyright to Hitler’s manifesto Mein Kampf expired on 31 December 2015. The copyright had been held since his...
In 2015, the Canadian Forum on Civil Justice (CFCJ) at Osgoode Hall Law School published Civil Non-Family Cases Filed in the Supreme Court of BC – Research Results and Lessons Learned. This study is one piece of a larger, five year, “Cost of Justice” research initiative being undertaken by the CFCJ with the goal of defining the economic and social costs of justice on two fronts: the cost of...
Getting to know a low-commitment way to participate in Ontario’s environmental decisions As someone who is fairly set on a career in environmental law, I was surprised when the Environmental Law course didn’t immediately grab my attention. Not that the course isn’t a good one, it is. It just didn’t click with me until over a month in, when I saw the course in a different way. Rather than...
Nineteenth Annual JD/MBA Students’ Association Conference Anti-Terrorism legislation. Spyware. Big Data. Never in history have Western civilians been as aware of the eyes on them, and in their personal information. With the advent of organizations such as Facebook and Google, information about people is becoming a commodity in ways it could never have been imagined in the past. Understanding how...
The Osgoode Feminist Collective (OFC) Traces the Legacy of Misogyny in Canadian Courts The OFC has been spending time in the abandoned corridors of pre-renovation Osgoode uncovering a litany of archival resources from our feminist past as Osgoode’s Women’s Caucus. In our first edition of this monthly series, we have chosen to highlight the pervasive sexist attitudes that continue to plague the...