It’s that dreaded time of the year again: it is always dark, the weather is getting colder, and exams are approaching. Along with this comes annoying tasks such as bringing out your winter coat, getting your car tires changed, and having a constant battle about the thermostat with those you live with (or if you are like me, literally fighting myself about window open versus window closed). Not to...
Do our mixed feelings on advanced A.I. and tantalizing screens, merely reflect our own moral failings? Elon Musk is scared of artificial intelligence (A.I.). In a 2014 tweet, Elon compared A.I. development to “summoning the demon.” Unlike the countless podcast hosts and academics who routinely engage in such doomsday speculation, Elon put his money where his mouth is. Fifteen days into 2015, when...
Decades into her decorated career as a director, Sofia Coppola has little left to prove and it’s this assuredness and lack of insecurity that shines through in her latest full-length feature, On The Rocks. Tapping the likes of Rashida Jones, Marlon Wayans, and an ever-disarming Bill Murray, Coppola follows up 2017’s The Beguiled with a more everyday subject matter: a marriage. Released...
Winged Words Story #4 When I moved to London in 2017, I knew nothing except the address of my empty, waiting apartment, and the name of my supervisor at work. Paris had signed the first email I was ever sent with a meme of the Queen of England waving through the screen, and beyond that, I had absolutely no idea what my future boss would be like. I walked into my office for the first time, heavily...
Why the Ontario Government’s Body-Checking Ban in Hockey for 2021 Does More Harm Than Good Ontario’s Minister of Sport Lisa MacLeod announced earlier this week that in order for the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) to have a 2020-2021 season, body checking will not be allowed. Just days earlier, the OHL had formally announced its return-to-play plan for a shortened 2021 season beginning February 4th...
Sports have a storied history of hazing, bullying, and the “boys will be boys” mentality. Some consider it a rite of passage in sport, leading to stronger individuals and better people in the global community moving forward. But what happens when this isn’t the case? More often than not, the person who is being bullied will have no recourse and is left wondering what is wrong with them and why...
Winged Words Series Story # 3 When I was 14, I visited my grandparents’ Seattle home to help my grandmother out after a hip replacement. I don’t remember much about the trip, only that I saw a guy walking up a very steep hill in the middle of the city wearing a raccoon tail as an accessory, and that American Costco sells churros. My only regret is that I was too young to try the city’s...
Rest is a radical vision for a liberated future – @thenapministry When’s the last time you took a nap (without feeling guilty)? When’s the last time you did something restful (before you had the breakdown)? When’s the last time you reminded yourself that your value is not rooted in your transcript and is not calculable in 0.6 increments? I hope your answers to any of those questions...
“We have to talk about liberating minds, as well as liberating societies”. In first year, we were encouraged to write letters to ourselves. These letters were to contain our ambitions, our fears, our worries and the words we aspired to live by. As part of the letter I wrote to myself, I included an excerpt of a blog I wrote when I was 18 years old. “To be Black, is to be radiant. A radiance...
Is it my fault I was born this way? With melanin so dark you can’t even throw shade There is pain that lives deep down in my soul I feel like I’m being buried alive every time I hear the words “BLACK IS NOT BEAUTIFUL” I look at my reflection and all I can see is an embodiment of lies, constant relegation and skin that lacks beauty I feel like I’m drowning in waters polluted with...
This year has been a memorable one. We have experienced many notable events including the fires in Australia, the COVID-19 pandemic, and protests against racial injustice. In addition to all the world’s events, this year has impacted us all in different ways. As we near the end of the year, we challenge you to write a letter to yourself. We encourage you to take some time to reflect on this year...
The Mi’kmaq peoples of Mi’kma’ki, which is now called Nova Scotia, are being attacked by white supremacist lobster fishers because they have an Aboriginal Treaty right to fish and to a moderate livelihood. Full stop. That’s it, that’s all. Call it what it is. What is happening on the East Coast has nothing to do with conservation or concern for overfishing. It is quite the opposite. White...
If the theme of the 2016 US election was rage in the electorate – rage against a changing country, rage against globalism, rage against corporatism, rage against capitalism, rage against immigration, rage against racism, rage against sexism – the theme of the 2020 US election is undoubtedly rage in the media. On a daily basis the news media – from the corporate broadcast...
As a law student, you may have heard that certain statistics are skewed by the reality that many cases are settled instead of being resolved in court. While the benefits to settlement are numerous, it has the primary disadvantage of keeping in the dark a great deal of important data. Thankfully, the Institutional Shareholder Services group of companies (ISS), specifically ISS Securities Class...
End Sars (End Special Anti-Robbery Squad) is a social movement erupting across Nigeria, calling on the government to ban the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) division of the Nigerian Police Force, a division that has become synonymous with police brutality and oppression. The movement gained traction on Twitter in response to weeks of demands for reform over claims of harassment, murder...
The Covid-19 pandemic has raised a unique issue for separated or divorced parents. Now that public schools are open, should children go back to in person learning, or should they continue remote education? In a recent motion heard at the Superior Court of Justice, a mother sought an order that she be granted sole authority to make decisions regarding the education of her 9 year old son [W.C.]...
If you have heard about recent major stock splits in the news, such as both Apple and Tesla only months ago, you may be wondering what the effects of these are and their implications. While the term “stock split” may sound daunting, the fundamentals are rather simple. All companies have a total number of shares outstanding, and when a company decides to pursue a stock split, they increase the...
“We’re a social enterprise.” As a novice “social” entrepreneur running my own company, I’ve used and heard this phrase a lot. The term “social enterprise” has rapidly emerged as a way of describing a new and improved generation in business and entrepreneurship. In recent years, social enterprise has become prominent, attracting the interest and attention of investors, mainstream media, and...
Content warning: This story contains details about the murder and sexual assault of a young child. Until last Thursday, the identity of nine-year-old Christine Jessop’s rapist and murderer was unknown. For thirty-six years, her family was unable to find answers, after the exoneration of Guy Paul Morin removed the main suspect. The police and prosecution’s singular focus on Morin had devastating...
A survey conducted in 2019 found that 71% of Canadians believe the country needs to take the lead globally in the fight against climate change, and 76% believe the country needs to be doing more on the issue as a whole. But you probably didn’t need to hear the statistics to back up the statement “Canadians care about the climate.” It is evident in small ways, such as more restaurants offering...
One student’s account of the online recruitment process Over the past two months, I participated in an entirely virtual recruitment process for 2L summer positions in the Calgary market. This process included a formal OCI day in early September, followed up by a second round of interviews and networking events in October. I thought I would share my experience and tips on virtual recruitment with...
In the summer between ninth and tenth grade, my friend and I would frequently visit the Newmarket Public Library. We’d spend afternoons browsing the dim aisles of the fiction section, checking out books, and strolling around the nearby lake and trail that led back to our neighborhoods. I didn’t know how else to fill my time other than with books. All my other friends at the time were engrossed in...
How our opinions on dystopias reflect who we are as individuals On October 21, 1949, George Orwell received a remarkable letter. It was penned by Orwell’s former French teacher and fellow writer, Aldous Huxley, whose own dystopian novel, Brave New World, had been published in 1932. The letter’s message was foremost congratulatory, as Orwell had recently published 1984. While Huxley...
There is no Kent Monkman retrospective planned for the AGO next month. A virtual vernissage occasionally drifts by, but no popup galleries feature his work amongst red wine in paper cups, and the list of his upcoming exhibitions dwindles with every month of COVID-19 closures. This doesn’t mean the art world has forgotten the Cree Two-Spirited artist, as his pieces still sell steadily for five and...
My father, a native New Yorker was particularly affected when the Twin Towers fell. In December of 2001, on the way home from one of our many trips visiting extended family, we detoured past Ground Zero. Three months had elapsed, yet small fires continued to smolder. Upon returning home, my father’s psyche collapsed. He developed migraines that have been with him since. To escape the ceaseless...