I’ve never cared much about whales, the coral reef, or polar bears. I’m an environmentalist, don’t get me wrong, and I know these are vital environmental issues, but I’m not engaging with them in what I would consider to be a meaningful way. Why? Because the goal of saving the entire planet not only sounds corny, it’s too grand and ambiguous a goal for any measure of success. So, I propose...
Dear Obiter: Osgoode is set to compete this week in the International Law Student Mediation Tournament in Chicago. As a member of one of Osgoode’s teams, I received an email from Loyola University providing me with a few tips for my anticipated journey. They advised that “[i]n an effort to be eco-friendly[,] water facilities are available at Loyola,” and that “water...
This cold weather seems to be never-ending. So, comfort food was back on the menu in a big way this week. Hold onto your butts and give thanks, Osgoode. Meaty buns are front of mind in Midtown at Holy Chuck. Venue: Holy Chuck – 1450 Yonge Street (just south of St. Clair station) Cuisine: Burgers Food: Luke went for “The Big Chuck” ($10.99), which is HC’s take on a big mac, and rounded...
In February, we introduced the Canadian Forum on Civil Justice’s (CFCJ) “Cost of Justice” project, a research initiative designed to determine the legal, economic, and social costs and benefits of pursuing, or not pursuing, justice. In an attempt to determine these costs, the project has numerous studies underway, some of which focus on regional and provincial issues, while some are national in...
Thinking green is becoming more elusive to the Canadian public, as the day-to-day tasks of life preoccupy our minds and influence our every action. It seems that being environmentally conscious in our lives has become something that must be an active and deliberate choice, as opposed to a way we carry out various aspects of our daily lives on a constant basis. For instance, the purchase of a...
On Friday, February 28th, we had the incredible opportunity to represent Osgoode in the 3rd Annual West Coast Environmental Law Twitter Moot (TwtMoot). We greatly appreciate the support of Saxe Law Office, who sponsored Team #Osgoode Law. This was one of our favourite experiences at #Osgoode, giving us the opportunity to transcend conventional notions of advocacy. Five teams across Canada put the...
Each time I go out shopping I’m bombarded with all kinds of environmentally focused marketing claims. Everything from “all natural” to “EcoLogo certified” – and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. With the growing emphasis on environmental concerns, environmentally-focused marketing has exploded. This has led to the proliferation of hundreds of different claims, labels, and certifications that...
It is not unusual to find instances where science has turned to nature for inspiration. The invention of airplanes, for example, is probably the most quintessential illustration of this phenomenon. Humans, envious of birds’ ability to fly, would study them relentlessly trying to discover the secret of these tiny creatures. If you look at pictures of the flying machines that existed before the...
What a year it has been for the Sustainability Committee of the Environmental Law Society! Celebrating our annual green Obiter Dicta issue, we thought we would update you on our initiatives over the 2013-2014 school year. In September, the Sustainability Committee established our foundation: five sub-groups that would direct our goals for the year. We created a Campus Connections group, Osgoode...
In September of 2013 Osgoode decided to reconstitute the Food Services Advisory Group in order to ensure that students’ expectations regarding the food services at Osgoode Hall were being satisfied. From an environmental perspective, how and what we choose to consume are easy and effective ways to decrease our carbon footprint. As the effects of climate change begin to manifest themselves...
On February 14, I had the opportunity to sit down with the other Student Project Leads and Coordinators for the Ontario Law Student Mental Health Initiative (OLSMHI, for now). Every Ontario law school, including Lakehead, had a representative there. We had a lot to discuss over the course of the day, including the results of the survey that some of you were kind enough to fill out. From the...
It’s not easy being green. To say that it’s hard doesn’t quite do it justice either. If nothing else it’s annoying. Remember to bring your water bottle every day and ceramic mug on Wednesdays for coffee. Remember to configure the settings on your print job to print double-sided even though it costs the same and you’re in the basement and the only printer that works is on the main...
It is no secret that a number of large law firms organize formal recruitment campaigns at Osgoode. It is also no secret that these firms further their recruitment objectives in a number of other ways, either by running firm tours, advertising around the school, or sponsoring student initiatives in an attempt to further publicize their brand. The presence of large law firms in our school is well...
As Dean, I would standardize the format and delivery of electronic readings across all courses. I have been a post-secondary student off and on for the past ten years. In that time, institutions have gradually shifted from a predominately physical (i.e., coursepacks) to a predominately electronic mode of delivering edited collections of primary and secondary materials. Costly printed coursepacks...
The Federal government narrative – that you can worry about the environmental impacts all you want, but the oil sands are fundamentally good for the Canadian economy – makes a lot of intuitive sense on two levels. First, the narrative is grounded in the historically positive ethos surrounding resource extraction in Canada. Canadians have long understood what laid at the foundation of our economy:...
Strange things have been happening at Osgoode lately. On February 5, 2014, Dean Sossin was seen wearing a funny wig at Osgoode. Then, an email was sent about becoming the Dean of Osgoode. And now this, Dean Sossin wearing a clown wig somewhere downtown Toronto?! Has Dean Sossin quit his job, ran away and joined the circus? Well no, do not panic. I am here to tell you that everything is fine. That...
This is the second of two parts of an Olympic post-mortem (read the first part here), in which I arbitrarily assign ranks to the participating countries. Following the 2012 Summer Games in London, I published a story in the Obiter declaring Grenada to be the Winner of the Olympics. I realize that this was an arbitrary designation, but it was not entirely unfounded. I developed a method of...
In this, the first of a two-part Olympic post-mortem, I take a historic opportunity to bloviate at length about Canada’s forgotten talent. I’m not going to explain the game. If you want to know how to curl, take the 90 seconds to look it up on Wikipedia. To an outsider, cricket and American football are difficult to understand, but there’s no use pretending that the roaring game is hard to learn...
Last February 11, Ontario’s Minister of Labour, the Honourable Yasir Naqvi attended Osgoode to give a special lecture on “Employment Law, Politics, and the Stronger Workplaces for a Stronger Economy Act”. As it turns out, the day before, the Obiter received an unexpected email with an invitation from the Minister’s Director of Communications to interview the Minister after the lecture. I...
Dear Obiter: In November 2013, a Black female law student at Osgoode Hall Law School was racially profiled while studying in the Osgoode Hall Library. The student was asked by an Osgoode staff person to provide identification because “she did not look like an Osgoode student.” The Black Law Students Association (BLSA) at Osgoode is deeply concerned about incidents of racial profiling and...
Terms like corporate social responsibility (“CSR”) and responsible investment are often used as buzz words – positive and reassuring music to our socially responsible ears. For those business-oriented but sustainability-minded law students, exploring this interdisciplinary area is often inaccessible. Yes, we want to change how business is practiced; yes, we want to learn more about this...
By now a good majority of the Osgoode community has taken a virtual culinary journey across the world, thanks to our own culinary critic and food-blogger extraordinaire, Annie Chu. Through her blog, Chu on This, Annie’s creativity and inner-foodie has really taken off. Chu on This (www.chuonthis.ca) offers an epicurean voyage, as she documents the sights, smells, and tastes of famous eateries and...
Lunar New Year just wrapped up this past week, and with that spirit in mind your intrepid food sleuths undertook to scout a Toronto downtown dim sum hotspot. Cha Lau is an authentic and budget-friendly option for dumplings, steamed dishes and other “small plate” Chinese goodies. Cuisine: Dim Sum Food: (shared) Beef and Chinese mushroom dumplings, Chinese olive and pork dumplings, ultimate shrimp...
The winter Olympics in Sochi have produced some memorable moments thus far, including the release of photos revealing the construction of side-by-side toilets, complaints of poorly designed courses, Russian cronyism inflating the cost of the games, back room dealings amongst figure skating judges, and reports of the comically small beds being slept on by the respective men’s hockey teams. But...
Eight years ago, our Chief Justice, the Right Honourable Beverly McLachlin, called on Canadians to improve access to justice in Canada, or continue the slow but unacceptable march towards legal inequality – for as she has so rightly repeated in her ensuing campaign, “there is no justice without access to justice.” Two years later, in 2008, Justice McLachlin made access to justice a national...