U OF S LAW STUDENTS & THE PANDEMIC

TONYA LAMBERT KOSKIE LAW

A day after the World Health Organization declared the Covid-19 outbreak a pandemic, Saskatchewan had its first case. The following day University of Saskatchewan students received an email stating the university would be shutting down for three days to switch all classes to an online format. After that, changes to everyday life came swiftly and shockingly. Law students from the U of S adjusted to the new normal by changing course, helping others in the community and embracing new opportunities.

YXE COMMUNITY RESPONSE COVID-19

BY AUSTIN COOPER When the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in Saskatchewan forced the College of Law to close its doors, now third-year law students Austin Cooper, Will Hampton, Pam Watson, and Xaverie MacLennan teamed up with local gym owner Jordan Marcoux to create “YXE Community Response COVID-19”. The group’s primary goals were to provide services to the city and to connect those who could offer assistance with those who sought assistance. To achieve these goals, a Facebook Group was created to serve two specific purposes. First, to bring awareness to the services that YXE Community Response was offering. Second, to provide a forum that fostered an efficient and accurate exchange of COVID-19 related news and information.

YXE Community Response operated on an around-the-clock basis from mid-March to mid-May, providing two main services: a grocery pick-up and delivery service, and a children’s care package service.

Along with these two main services, YXE Community Response and its members performed a number of other tasks, favours, and random acts of kindness. From delivering a birthday cake to a frontline worker to delivering food boxes to children and youth in collaboration with local organization CHEP’s School Lunch Box Program, the group remained focused on their goal of providing services in the community. Members on Facebook connected to provide supplies in high demand, answer COVID-19 related questions, and to generally support one another.

As the pandemic continued into the summer months, the individual circumstances of the YXE Community Response’s founding team made it difficult to continue operating on a full-time basis. The capacity of the team to continue organizing and delivering certain services waned. The group’s services are no longer available, and the Facebook Group has been closed.

CARE PACKAGES FOR KIDS

BY ALLYSE CRUISE AND COURTENAY CATLIN While the months of March and April are usually reserved for frantic exam prep, COVID-19 forced us out of our law school bubble and into the community to respond to the needs of parents and children. With the abrupt closure of schools, an institution children and guardians rely on for support 5 days a week, guardians were quickly required to take on fulltime childcare responsibilities while navigating a global pandemic. We saw an opportunity to assist with lifting the burden of occupying children through providing families with care packages. Upon reaching out to our community we were able to source funding, donations, volunteers, and other resources. Over the course of 8 weeks we managed to provide care packages that included items like toys, puzzles, books, art supplies, and board games to over 150 families in need, supporting over 450 children. We heard from guardians how thrilled their children were to receive a care package during tense times, and even had the personal pleasure of seeing grins on little ones' faces when delivering. None of this could have been possible without the support we received from friends, family, mentors, and the broader Saskatoon community. Thank you!

THE 100 INTERNS PROGRAM

BY TONYA LAMBERT, JORDAN DURANT AND DYLAN SHAW When the pandemic hit the Prairie Provinces in mid-March, it created havoc with people’s everyday lives. For law students, this meant transitioning to online classes and exams written from home. It also meant the loss of summer jobs and delayed starts to articling positions. Peter Sankoff, a law professor at the University of Alberta, quickly realized the devastating impact the pandemic was having on students in

terms of their financial wellbeing and future job prospects.

Professor Sankoff began organizing an internship program aimed at bringing together students and lawyers from across the country for three-week paid internships. Three University of Saskatchewan law students – Tonya Lambert, Jordan Durant and Dylan Shaw, were chosen to be part of the #100Interns Program.

“What Peter Sankoff pulled off, especially considering he had a hospital stay midway through filling the spots, is unbelievable,” says Durant, who was placed with Brian Pfefferle of Pfefferle Law Office in Saskatoon. “My internship actually ended up going beyond the original two or three weeks and Brian has kept me on through the summer. The experience has been amazing. Learning from an experienced lawyer has been so valuable for my future career as a lawyer. I have done research, drafted legal documents, and even attended court with Brian a couple times. It has been an unbelievable summer thus far. I can't say enough how thankful I am for this experience and I hope that I can pay it forward one day when I am a lawyer with knowledge to pass on.”

Lambert is also very grateful for the incredible effort Sankoff put into organizing the program, from soliciting donations to finding lawyers and pairing them with students to organizing payment. “I had an incredible experience interning with Joanna Birenbaum of Ursel Phillips Fellows Hopkinson in Toronto,” says Lambert. “I did some very interesting research to help prepare a leave application to the Supreme Court!” After her internship was over, Lambert continued to do research for Birenbaum until starting her articles with Koskie Law in Saskatoon. Shaw, who interned with Sarah Innes of CGIS Law in Winnipeg, also found the experience to be rewarding, calling it “a glimmer of positivity in these unprecedented times.” His project focussed on enhanced credit given for pre-trial custody and its relation to Covid-19, a very timely topic. Shaw notes that it was a great way to be introduced to the professional legal world.