Live at the Montreux Jazz Festival, 5 July 2015 Over the summer I had the great pleasure of seeing one of my favourite bands, The War on Drugs, at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland, one of the most iconic music festivals in the world. I’ve listened to Lost in the Dream, seemingly on repeat, since its release in March 2014. I am really not sure how to concisely describe it. The music is...
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...
Brad Wall Stirs the Genetically Engineered Pot Recently, the Premier of Saskatchewan, Brad Wall, came out and asked federal leaders to explain their viewpoints on genetically modified organisms, or GMOs. Mr. Wall is obviously very concerned about their opinion, since Saskatchewan relies heavily on many of these crops, specifically GE canola, for their economy. As far as I know the candidates have...
Boutique Firms and Sole Practitioners There are few marketing plans that exist today without a digital strategy. Digital marketing necessities such as achieving search engine optimization (SEO) allow marketers to ensure their content is effectively reaching the targeted market – whether in the legal field or other. As such, competition is fairly stiff between legal content providers for medium...
Toronto in the autumn is hot, and I am not talking about our recent heat wave. From international film festivals, exhibits, art fairs and auctions, the arts and culture scene in Toronto seemingly explodes with the coming of the new school year. In this edition, I’ve decided to showcase the must-sees and dos this coming fall season in our glorious city. Artist Textiles: Picasso to Warhol Until 4...
Is “Physical” Access to Justice Attainable? If you’ve ever been to 47 Sheppard Avenue East, you’ll know the point of this article well before I reach it. 47 Sheppard is a Toronto courthouse primarily used for small claims matters, a location I first entered as a wide-eyed caseworker starting the Parkdale intensive. The building is ominous and grey, accessible only from a side entrance, with no...
Preparing Tomorrow’s Lawyers Today Last December, I had lunch with a group of friends who I hadn’t seen since I started law school. So much had happened since the last time we were all together, making us eager to catch up and share what we’d been up to. Naturally, we all took turns sharing stories about our lives, but something shifted when it was my turn to speak. Faced with questions about...
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...
Why hosting the Olympics would be the worst thing to ever happen to Toronto Pardon the hyperbole. The Great Fire of 1904 was certainly worse, and the decision to build the Gardiner expressway would at least be on the short list. Did you know that not only does it completely ruin the lakeshore, but they also tore down a popular amusement park to build it? If you didn’t have the pleasure of living...
“We live in rapidly changing times,” writes Osgoode’s Associate Dean Trevor Farrow. Ethical questions are “continuously changing as a result of global trends.” The “complexity of today’s world is an issue for all lawyers.” Needless to say, globalization has been in vogue in the academy for more than a decade, not just in professional circles. So why is there so much talk and so little impact? Why...
When J. P. Ricciardi was hired as the General Manager (GM) of the Toronto Blue Jays, he was given the initial mandate to slash payroll because his predecessor Gord Ash had constructed an eighty-eight million dollar roster that failed to make the postseason. More importantly, Ricciardi was supposed to create “mini-Oaklands” by following the “Moneyball” philosophy of his...
I pray every Sunday. Before you label me as a zealot-dogmatist, I would like to inform you that a lot of my praying occurs during afternoon football games. I am a football fanatic. I watch the draft. I exceed my allotted mobile data to follow the off-season signings and trades. I watch the 1:00 p.m., 4:00 p.m., and late night games on Sunday. I watch the terrible matchups on Thursday nights...
Early Thoughts on Second Class Citizenship in Canada In May 2015, Bill C-24—ironically titled the ‘Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act’—came into effect. For the first time ever, Canada imposed a tiered level of citizenship. While the government has touted the bill as a cost-effective method for fighting terrorism, legal experts around the country have suggested the main effect is the creation...
Have an affair. Compromise your privacy. Face professional misconduct charges. To the incoming class of 2018, let the Obiter Dicta be one of many to welcome you to Osgoode! Today you take the first step on a journey of a thousand miles. Your introduction to the practice of law begins with what is referred to simultaneously as the most and least relevant class of the JD program: Ethical Lawyering...
THE ROLE OF LAWYERS IN THE DUFFY SCANDAL A recent analysis of Twitter data found that Stephen Harper’s name was mentioned more times in connection with the Mike Duffy trial than the economy. This does not bode well for Mr. Harper, considering his campaign message has been centred on the Conservative Party’s economic record. It is clear that the trial of former Senator Mike Duffy has eclipsed the...
Tracking the various Omnibus Bills implemented by the Harper Government Omnibus bills: one of Harper’s favourite tools; used akin to the invisibility cloak in Harry Potter, as most of the public has no idea what changes are being made to many laws which change our daily lives. Generally, omnibus bills cover a diverse range of topics, and it is a single document accepted in a single vote by the...
Spoiler Alert: They Aren’t News With students headed back to university campuses this September (or August, as the case for some of us may be), one of last year’s most fraught topics is returning to relevance for fall 2015: the question of whether or not university professors should be required to include trigger warnings on classroom syllabi. The debate around the pros and cons of trigger...
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...
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 twenty 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...
Food Adventure 1: Bar Volo Name: Bar Volo Location: 587 Yonge Street Category: Beer bar Atmosphere: Casual, laid-back Additional info: Has outdoor patio. No reservations taken. Website: Our first review to start the school year is about the well-known beer bar, Bar Volo. Originally opened as an...
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...
My Thoughts on the Launch of the “Still Working on the Edge: Rebuilding Decent Work from the Ground Up” Report on Precarious Labour in Ontario On 31 March 2015, I had the opportunity to attend the launch of Ontario’s foremost report on precarious labour. “Still Working on the Edge: Rebuilding Decent Work from the Ground Up,” is the follow-up to a landmark report drafted in 2007 by labour rights...
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...
The hypocrisy of American university sports American university sports are founded on the idealistic notion of amateurism in the form of student-athletes. Supposedly, what matters is the personal growth of the students, and the school spirit fostered by competition. Perhaps this was once the case, and perhaps in some corners it remains the case. However, at the largest American universities this...
A look into the team’s ascension to greatness and its heydays Part 5: Reaching the pinnacle (Part 1 of Double Truck) After Toronto became the first ever non-U.S.-based team to win the Fall Classic on 24 October 1992, GM Pat Gillick intended to keep as much of the team together as possible. Since the Blue Jays’ championship window was still open, it would have been foolish to dismantle...