It is the most prestigious race in history, yet considering its importance, the America’s Cup is transpiring in New Zealand with remarkably little media attention. Known as “The Billionaire Death Race,” the America’s Cup was first contested in 1851 when the yacht America, racing for the New York Yacht Club, sailed to the Royal Yacht Squadron on the Isle of Wight. There, on the 22nd of August in...
Thomas Tuchel’s mid-season appointment comes as no surprise at Stamford Bridge When Frank Lampard began his second full season in charge of Chelsea FC, many supporters assumed that he would be allowed at least the full season to show signs of progress before the board sought a replacement. However, given the massive expenditure that the club underwent this summer to bring in Timo Werner, Kai...
In our last issue of the 2019-2020 academic year, I wrote a note on how the COVID-19 pandemic would, beyond its obvious devastation, leave the world a better place. This time last term, I wrote about the ways in which our world needed to change, and how it seemed like it would. I wasn’t the first, nor the last, but it was the only thing important enough to start the year off by saying. What the...
Understandably, there is a sea of conflicting information going around about the safety, efficacy, and reliability of all of the available COVID-19 vaccine candidates. Much of that uncertainty stems from the novel scientific methods being used to generate immunity in two of the current contenders being administered and bought on the public market. In an effort to clarify some of the complex...
As the rise of self-directed retail investing increases with technological innovations and fintech, investors should remain increasingly critical of how their brokers are making their money. The saying, “If you’re not paying for the product, then you are the product” is as relevant as it has ever been in the age of commission free trading. In Canada the most prominent commission-free brokerage is...
On January 27th, Holocaust Remembrance Day, the JLSA is inviting students to attend our event dedicated to the commemoration of Holocaust victims and the education of the atrocities under the Nazi Regime. The event will feature introductory remarks from Dean Mary Condon and Associate Dean Karen Drake. Our event will also feature a speech on the importance of Holocaust Remembrance by Irwin Cotler...
On June 10, 2020, I participated in an online debate. It was organized by Ryerson University’s Centre for Free Expression (CFE) and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA). The debate was entitled, “Fighting Anti-Semitism or Silencing Critics of Israel: What’s Behind the Push for Governments to Adopt the IHRA Definition of Anti-Semitism?”. The debate was purposefully produced in the...
The agriculture sector is one of the main three sources of greenhouse gas emissions, where cattle, sheep and goat production currently produces approximately half of that amount. Specifically in Canada, 10 per cent of our greenhouse gas emissions are from crop and livestock production. Despite this large share of our country’s emissions coming from this source, there has been relatively no...
The intersection of government procurement and subsidies presents a particularly complicated problem in regulating international trade. Government purchases account for ten to fifteen percent of national GDP (Gross Domestic Product) on average, and markedly higher for that of developing countries. In fact, government purchases may represent a significant contribution to developing countries’...
The concept of blind justice is fundamental to the ultimate aspirations of true justice itself: where all members of a given society are treated equally by the rules and laws of that society, irrespective of who one happens to be, and what position in society they happen to occupy. If we conceptualize our system of rules and laws as the concrete foundation on which the rest of our society is...
2020 is the year marked by the COVID-19 pandemic, the worst virus in modern history that pushed society, economies and communities to their breaking point. However, it must not be forgotten that while the pandemic was raging, so was the climate emergency. 2020 marked record-breaking wildfires from Australia to the west coast of the United States, the highest number of powerful Atlantic storms...
The minsky moment triggering the demise of US financial markets in 2008 stems from the fall of Lehman Brothers, underscoring unregulated risks associated with shadow banking. From 2008 to 2021, shadow banking increased at an unprecedented rate as investors and lenders bypass the scrutiny of traditional banking. The downsides, however, are the lack of safety nets in calculating actual risks...
The Nickel Boys never allows you to look away, to make excuses, or to close your eyes and pretend. Colson Whitehead describes the horrors endured by the titular “Nickel boys” students at the fictional reformatory school Nickel Academy in great detail. In doing so, he sheds a light on a dark period of American history and the abuse endured by the students of the real-life Dozier School for Boys...
Steven Soderbergh’s latest flatters to deceive With a cast as star-studded as it commands, Let Them All Talk should be great. However, the film ends up leaving one as cold as the Atlantic Ocean much of it is set on. Released December 10th, 2020 through HBO Max, Let Them All Talk (LTAT) sees Steven Soderbergh tap some of the most decorated talents in his bursting rolodex. The pieces should add up...
Last issue, I suggested that Haydn—whose music is generally recognized for its technical mastery and historical significance—is still not played or listened to enough. This time, I turn to another (relatively) underrated composer, Francis Poulenc (1899-1963). Now, I suspect even Poulenc aficionados would not try to present him as an innovator or a jack of all trades. He did not influence...
Mario Lofranco continues his essay on ending the stigma surrounding doping in Sports In the first part of this article series, I refuted the three common arguments for maintaining the prohibition on doping in sport: (1) naturalness; (2) unfair advantage; and (3) the spirit of sport. In this article, I discuss the most common argument in favour of the prohibition against doping – harm – and argue...
How the Leafs Budding Young Stars Performed at the World Juniors On January 5, 2021, the United States, led by promising goaltender Spencer Knight (FLA), blanked Canada 2-0 in the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship (WJC) final, capturing their 5th title. The WJC is a fan favourite and every Boxing Day marks the beginning of an exciting tournament for both the young players and NHL front offices...
With the pandemic creating an All-Canadian NHL Division this season, we’re due for a hockey war up North Well, after a tumultuous 2020 on and off the ice, Canadian hockey fans are in store for an incredible NHL season. With that in mind, let’s tackle the newly formed Scotia™ NHL™ North Division. This division is undoubtedly a return to the NHL’s roots, as you’d have to harken all the way back to...
Welcome back to NBA basketball! The NBA regular season has started once again a mere two months after the end of the 2019-2020 season, this time on a shortened 72 game schedule due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. While the NBA may have returned, the Raptors appear to remain on “vacation mode” as they begin their season with a losing record of 2-7 (at the time of writing), currently the second...
Why the right decision is seldom well-received in the NFL In their penultimate game of the 2020 season, Philadelphia Eagles’ (now former) head coach Doug Pederson made a decision that nearly sparked a revolt amongst the Eagles’ roster, cost the New York Giants a playoff spot, and left the NFL community at large in a state of moral panic. The decision under trial was the choice to bench emerging...
The international community received a welcome dose of optimism earlier this week when Moderna Inc., a Massachusetts-based biotech company, released encouraging evidence of its progress in developing a vaccine effective against COVID-19. According to early data released by the company, the Moderna vaccine has proven to be 94.5% effective against COVID-19 upon evaluation by members of the Data...
Connor Campbell is an articling student at McMillian LLP in Toronto, Ontario, and Editor Emeritus of Obiter Dicta. Connor previously served as a staff illustrator for Obiter during his 1L year at Osgoode, before serving as Editor-in-Chief during his 2L and 3L years. Connor was also the staff cartoonist for The Varsity, the school paper at the University of Toronto. Connor graduated from Osgoode...
Stocks chosen for their adherence to environmental, social and governance (ESG) metrics have been underperforming the wider equity market. ETFs (exchange-traded funds) focused on buying ESG stocks are performing at their worst levels since the summer of 2019, and short sellers are cashing-in. ESG investing has long been purported as a viable strategy to encourage corporations to move from...
Ant Group Co., commonly known as the proprietor behind Alipay, was set to mark an IPO record if its planned listing for November 5th on Hong Kong and Shanghai exchanges proceeded. The name “Ant”, chosen to represent the fact that the payment-processing-platform will accept even the smallest payments, is certainly not representative of the firm’s latest capital raising arrangement. Ant has lined...
Earlier this week, the Ethiopian military launched a military offensive into its Northern region of Tigray. Abiy Ahmed, Ethiopia’s Prime Minister, stated that the offensive was in response to an attack on a federal military base in the region. Abiy claims that a regional political group, the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), is behind the attacks. Abiy’s military offensive has many...