Volunteering is widely seen as an act of kindness, something that people do out of the goodness of their hearts for the benefit of others. And for good reason! At its core, volunteering is something we do willingly and without an expectation of reward. Often motivated by intrinsic reasons such as personal conviction, curiosity, or a desire to help others, volunteers contribute numerous hours to...
The debate surrounding whether AI can develop intuition about the physical world is not just philosophical—it has implications for ethics and our understanding of consciousness itself. AI is fundamentally different from humans in significant respects, even though it can replicate human-like reactions. Human emotion is a combination of biological, neurological, and psychological processes...
Censorship is a shapeshifter. It arrives draped in the robes of morality, national security, or social harmony, but beneath these justifications, it is often a tool of control. In the modern Canadian landscape, where free expression is enshrined in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the question is not whether censorship exists (it does) but rather whether it is necessary and to what extent it...
Gentle flutters of wind brush past us as husky straws of grass rustle around our feet. The earthy smell of the damp soil—our final reminder of the remnants of winter’s icy crust—fills the air with freshness and new beginnings. Barren branches are lively again, with tiny sprouts awaiting their time to blossom. Hibernating fauna awakening from their long slumber scurrying around as they begin anew...
Photo Credit: Alexander Murchison / Aird & Berlis Over the summer, I was all alone in Central Canada. There was no one to hold me accountable for anything, no motivators, and no expectations. It was a life-defining experience. Most days started just past 5:30 a.m. CST in Regina, Saskatchewan, for coffee chats starting at 8 a.m. EST. Not because I’m a morning person (I’m not), but...
Photo Credit: FPG / Getty Images In the chance that you, dear reader, live under a rock, the edition of the Obiter Dicta that you are currently reading is the penultimate issue with myself as the head opinion editor. A veritable tragedy! To ease you through what I am sure will be a difficult loss for Osgoode’s student body and the Obiter’s treasured readership, I have penned this article. As is...
Growing up, I would wander through pet stores and become drawn to the tanks of neon-coloured fish, unaware that they (known by their trade name GloFish) are not marvels of nature but instead patented, genetically engineered organisms. The existence of GloFish is just one of many organisms at the heart of a current debate over the patentability of higher life forms and the legal and ethical...
Photo Credit: Indiana State Library The law permeates the production of the media we consume. Usually, it works to our advantage—contracts, intellectual property rights, and the laws that enforce them give creatives incentive to produce an entertaining product that can sustain the livelihood of its creator. On occasion, however, the exercise of these rights results in some media never seeing the...
From 11 to 12 February 2025, the Supreme Court of Canada heard oral arguments in Ahluwalia v Ahluwalia to determine if a tort of family violence should be recognized. In 2022, a tort of family violence was recognized by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Ahluwalia v Ahluwalia, a case in which Ms. Ahluwalia was subjected to physical violence, economic abuse, and coercive control at the...
In the field of copyright law, a question often pondered is the extent to which copyright promotes the efficient allocation of resources and the greatest social welfare. The traditional and widely accepted understanding of copyright law operates under the assumption that granting authors exclusive rights to their works will encourage the production of new content. By doing so, copyright law...
› The old family Caprice, from days gone Photo Credit: Author’s Own all it by whatever moniker, the urbanist movement is strong among young people worldwide. I share many sympathies with it, of course: who doesn’t want better, more walkable spaces with readily accessible and convenient transit? I’m a frequent passenger of provincial commuter rails, coaches, and the good old TTC myself. I’m glad...
Democracies and the rule of law are under threat from domestic demagogues and foreign dictators. First, we face foreign interference threats and hostile action from authoritarian regimes such as Russia, China, and Iran. Second, we face an authoritarian neighbour who has ignored our longstanding friendship to declare economic war. At the same time, Trumpism has empowered sophisticated right-wing...
In a little Cantonese restaurant in Markham, a large fish tank caught my eye as I waited for my wontons to arrive. I was instantly captivated by a small turtle swimming back and forth, waving its little legs. It was the most active turtle I’ve ever seen in this setting. I couldn’t explain it at the time, but I felt a strong urge to set it free. Then, I started to think of all the other turtles in...
Photo Credit: Rasheeque Ahnaf/Pexels In mid-January, winter’s gusts blow us a taste of icy, frigid breath. The crisp, white blanket of fluffy snow that covers every dip and peak of our scape glistens when a sharp glimmer of sun hits it. The magical glow that beams from the light reminds us of the beauty of winter. The barren branches of trees that were once green and flourishing, are now...
PBRs, farmers markets, man buns, fixed gear bicycles—all marks of the hipster, a genus whose extinction has heralded cultural monotony, social deterioration, and, above all, tastelessness. Growing up in a city in the 2000s/early 2010s, my exposure to the hipster was frequent, but it is only with the benefit of hindsight that I have come to appreciate the hipster as a final attempt to emulate the...
In this week’s Ethical Lawyering in a Global Community class, students discussed the lawyer’s duty to not act for a client in a situation of conflict of interest. The professor described a situation where a lawyer tells a potential client that the lawyer cannot represent them because the other party in the dispute already discussed the case with the lawyer. The ensuing controversy among my...
On a hazy evening in that first, frigid week of January, I drag a sage green laundry basket stiff with piles of folded knit sweaters across the concrete jungle of Passy. Past the stairs and benches blocked off by a combination of rope and duct tape, and into my too-warm apartment littered with familiar and forgotten details: a photograph of my best friend and me during a girl’s weekend three...
Not home or work, but rather the “third place”—that café, library, park, or diner—is one of the most overlooked necessities of modern life. These are the spaces where we exist without agenda, where we don’t have to justify our presence with productivity. Yet, as cities grow denser and our lives busier, the third place is quietly disappearing. The third place is special precisely because it...
That tingle of satisfaction derived only from an embodiment of great human creativity manifests itself quite differently for each of us. I know some close to me for whom this occurs in the witnessing of a vast, sprawlingly colourful film scene filled with nonsensically perfect dialogue; still, others witness it in a perfect play on the football field, the impossible note in an orchestral...
‘Many forms of Government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.…’ – Winston Churchill There are only 24 legitimate democracies in the world; it appears that we forget what...
In Fall 2024, Osgoode’s annual tuition stood at an eye-watering $26,0156.16.1 In exchange, Osgoode purports to offer a world-class education via a diverse course selection, clinical offerings, and academic partnerships with other law schools. However, what many may not realise is that our tuition dollars may be going towards Osgoode’s possible partnerships with Israeli universities—namely Bar...
Photo Credit: Julia Dorian It’s Monday morning. You’re heading out for school and you’re running a little tight on schedule, but Google Maps is telling you that your bus is coming on time. Surely you’ll get to class on time, right? Potentially. Or you see two “not in service” buses, the subway slightly behind schedule, and the TTC instructor telling you to get off at the station right before...
Can lawyers have tattoos? This question might be on the minds of young lawyers who want to express themselves. It may also be on the mind of lawyers who have developed an interest in ink and are considering booking an appointment with an artist. Ever vigilant, these lawyers may be concerned about being judged down the road for anything other than their submissions in court. This concern also...
Photo Credit: Andranik Hakobyan – Getty Images After conversing with family lawyers from large firms and those who are sole practitioners, it becomes easier to understand the vastness of the field of family law. From what I can tell, family law captures a wide array of legal considerations, going beyond divorces, this area of practice explores wills and estates, torts, property law, and...
It’s emblematic of the current intolerant climate that I feel compelled to publish this letter anonymously. Nonetheless, as an individual of decent conscience, this matter is too important to neglect. This letter comes from a place of deep compassion and the moral obligation we owe humanity to speak up when grotesque injustice becomes the norm. These are the values Osgoode prides itself on, and I...