CategoryNews

NEARLY 350 OFFICERS DISCIPLINED The police have high expectations placed upon them, as they are ideally a group of protectors, defenders, and enforcement of the law. While the majority of police may still meet these high expectations, a Toronto Star investigation recently uncovered some “hidden truths” in how the minority of police officers who do act badly are being disciplined and reprimanded...

A Health Injustice for Congolese The humanitarian aid organization, Médecins Sans Frontiers (MSF), reports the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is currently fighting its largest measles epidemic since 2011. This past year, MSF reported over 30,000 measles cases and over 320 deaths in the DRC, with numbers steadily increasing due to a lackluster response from local and international communities...

Being a summer caseworker at Parkdale Community Legal Services (“PCLS”) has historically brought with it experiences and opportunities that are interesting, exciting, and challenging. Students are expected to carry at least 20 active files and taught necessary lawyering skills, while also dedicating time to community legal work and campaigns for systemic change. This summer, my experience at PCLS...

Last September, I was fortunate to be offered the opportunity to speak at the 2nd annual Pay It Forward legal networking event. At the time, I was working on my first business, the Legal Information Network of Canada, and just starting to solidify my career path. I was contacted by event founders Rena Sangha and Pawan Sahi and asked to talk about my experience growing a legal start-up and my...

2015-16 Positions with the Obiter Dicta Hey Osgoode! The Obiter Dicta is Osgoode’s source for news, stories, and opinions about your school and the legal community. If you want to become involved with one of Osgoode’s most well­recognized, independent student organizations, you can apply now by emailing obiterdicta@osgoode.yorku.ca We are looking for students interested in the following...

OSGOODE HALL LAW SCHOOL 2012 – 2015 It is a beautiful coincidence that two of the last three film reviews published in the Obiter Dicta during the 2014-2015 academic year are Wild Tales and It Follows. The latter reinforces the significant impact that Osgoode will have on our future lives and careers moving forward, while the former rather accurately captures our experience over the past...

On 1 April, the Toronto Public Library will launch their first ever Law at the Library series, which focuses on helping Torontonians solve common legal problems. According to CFCJ Executive Director Nicole Aylwin who sits on the Law at the Library Steering Committee, the goal of Law at the Library is to “empower people by expanding access to knowledge and resources that may help Torontonians more...

To Faculty Council: We are very pleased to learn that the University and CUPE 3903 appear to have reached an agreement that meets the membership’s demands. As law students burdened with debt and facing uncertain futures, we recognize CUPE 3903’s needs—for affordable tuition, for equitable employment practices, for job security—as consistent with our own. CUPE 3903 struck to create better...

Societies are judged by the manner in which they treat their most vulnerable. How will ours be judged? Over the course of less than one week in January, two homeless men died out in the cold. They died because they were exposed to the elements with no place to go, not in a far-flung developing nation, but here in Toronto. In an epoch when nearly everyone has a phone that can count steps walked...

 “We have to overcome distrust and hostility, make things compatible, and become agreeable. For this to happen, from the Inuit perspective, many things need to be considered.” – Amagoalik, Jon. 2012 The Arctic is changing. The thawing of permafrost and icecaps induced by climate change has shaken Inuit livelihood and led to an international push for resource exploration and development...

It’s not our fault; saving the world from climate change just isn’t in our nature There’s nothing terribly sexy or salacious to be found in talks of environmental degradation or resource depletion—and rest assured, you likely won’t be the life of the party as you enlighten your guests on the disastrous effects of oil spills, acid rain, and urban runoff. In fact, for many people, environmental...

As the composition of the law school student body has evolved, so too, have the rules of the game. Some have welcomed these changes, while others demand more; others still lament what they consider to be hyper-sensitivity and the stifling of free speech. These changes probably seem radical to those who have never been exposed to critical perspectives on topics such as gender and race. A thorough...

Why are we so apathetic about environmental injustice and indigenous suffering, Canada’s two most famous shames? “Going green” is not just a seasonal recommendation for Canadians; it is a moral imperative. “Continuance of life depends on sustenance and it is the duty of everyone to nurture and protect the land. As women we have a special relationship to Our Mother the Earth because we also give...

A plan without enforcement is no plan at all Alberta has released a new set of rules that it says are designed to limit water use from the Athabasca River. In addition, companies will be expected to diminish the growth of tailings ponds (pools of wastewater from bitumen extraction) and ensure that these ponds have been reclaimed within ten years of the end of a mining project. While these new...

Osgoode’s environmental law mooting program is alive and well. As a member of Osgoode Hall’s 2015 Willms & Shier Environmental Law Moot team, I am pleased to report that the 7 March competition went (almost) as well as we could have hoped for. While nine law schools from coast to coast were represented at the competition (from the University of Victoria all the way to Dalhousie University)...

Shaking up the Business Community’s Climate Change Complacency Climate change—although a hot-button issue for environmentalists and a concern of many Canadians—has taken a political backseat in recent years. This has allowed the fossil fuel industry and investors to delay thinking about transitioning to a low-carbon economy. The wait is over. The growing understanding of the carbon bubble is set...

Scarcity, Precarity, and the Untenable Living Conditions of Our First Nations in the North It is not without hesitation that I use the term “third world”—a term long fallen out of favour. In the next few lines, I hope to prove that my choice was justified. Dirty floors, little, if any, access to healthcare, and food staples priced out of reach. This is the reality for many rural Aboriginal...