Ultra Vires Volume 22, Issue 1— September 2020 by Ultra Vires

ULTRAVIRES.CA

October 1, 2020

VOL. 22, ISS. 1

THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO FACULTY OF LAW

IHRP Director Hiring Allegedly Thwarted by Donor Influence Controversy and conflicting stories shroud the alleged offer extended to Valentina Azarova IVY XU (1L)

THE JACKMAN ATRIUM, AS SEEN ON SEPTEMBER 28. PHOTO CREDIT: KATRINA KELLER.

Changes to the 1L Curriculum (2020-21) Associate Deans decide to make the small groups one semester for the 2020-2021 academic year ANNECY PANG (2L) Students entering 1L in Fall 2020 will have their small group class in fall semester only, rather than the full-year format offered in the past. Legal Process has also been moved from the Winter term to the Fall term. First-year students now have Legal Process, small group, Legal Research and Writing (LRW), and one substantive law course in the fall, with the three remaining large-group substantive law classes in the winter. According to a statement by Associate Dean Essert, the changes were due to constraints imposed by COVID-19. “The changes are not meant to ref lect any decision about the ideal structure of small groups, but were [...] a personnel decision of the sort that is within the prerogative of the Associate Dean’s off ice,” he adds. According to Assistant Dean Faherty, “The Associate Deans wanted to prioritize

offering the small group for f irst year students in person, whenever possible. Focussing on faculty who were teaching in-person reduced the available number of people who could teach a small group.” “The previous Associate Deans did consult with the entire faculty […] and there was a clear consensus that it was an appropriate set of adjustments to the curriculum for this year given these unique circumstances,” says Associate Dean Essert. According to a statement by the Students’ Law Society (SLS), SLS was only made aware of the changes when course schedules were released to the student body on June 26. “We are disappointed that the Faculty chose to implement these changes without considering student input. Further, the Faculty’s decision may have been required to proceed through the Faculty Council.” How-

ever, the SLS maintained their commitment to engaging with the Faculty in a productive dialogue to ensure the best possible student experiences for the 1L class. The changes came after the Curriculum Committee submitted a proposal in March 2020 to alter the 1L curriculum to shorten the year-long small group to f irst semester, extend LRW into the second semester, and add a 1L moot. The proposal elicited a negative response amongst both students and faculty, with students launching a petition that called for Faculty Council to reject any changes until more detail and greater consultation could be provided. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March, Faculty Council was suspended for the 20192020 academic year. It remains to be seen whether it will be addressed at the f irst meeting this year on October 7.

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE LAW STUDENTS DOING COOL THINGS PAGE 12

TORONTO SUMMER 2020 1L RECRUITMENT RESULTS PAGE 7

The month of September has been character ized by many things: masks, Zoom, and park hangouts, but perhaps most signif icant ly by the school being embroidered in controversy over the alleged of fer extended to Valentina A zarova. According to articles in the Globe and Mail and Toronto Star, a judge sitting on the Tax Court of Canada, and donor (named by a Globe and Mail article as Justice Dav id Spiro) to the Facult y of Law allegedly inf luenced Dean Edward Iacobucci’s hir ing decision for the law school’s International Human R ights Program ( IHR P). These allegations point to Valentina A zarova’s of fer to ser ve as the IHR P ’s Director being revoked by the Facult y due to the donor’s concern w ith her scholarship on the Israeli-Palestenian conf lict. The Tax Court has declined media requests for comments. Ca l ls for independent invest igat ion and w idespread crit icism The U of T Law student body has largely been disappointed and frustrated by these allegations w ith many, particularly those involved w ith the IHR P, concerned about its fate. “The IHR P of fers extremely high qualit y legal ser v ices that ser ve societ y’s most v ulnerable people. Not only is it a fantastic program for students to learn and practice international law, but it is a beacon of U of T Law’s commitment to justice,” Jean-Pierre D’A ngelo (2L) says, an IHR P 2020 Summer Fellow and a current executive of the IHR P ’s Venezuela Accountabilit y Project. “The alleged inter ference by the administration on Ms. A zarova’s candidacy not only undermines the IHR P ’s abilit y to ser ve its clients, but undermines U of T Law’s reputation as a defender of procedural fairness, justice, and academic freedom. I hope that this matter is investigated and resolved expedient ly so that our communit y and the legal profession as a whole can continue to hold us in high regard.” A n open letter from IHR P students and alumni “demand a clear, actionable plan for rehabilitating the IHR P ’s and the Facult y’s reputation and for ensur ing the IHR P ’s success and integr it y for future generations of law students.” The Students’ Continued on Page 4

RIGHTS REVIEW PAGE 15

2 | October 1, 2020

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UV INDEX

EDITORS NOTE Welcome, and welcome back to U of T Law! 84 Queen’s Park Crescent Toronto, ON M5S 2C5 Ultra Vires is the independent student newspaper of the University of Toronto Faculty of Law. We provide a forum for diverse viewpoints on topics of interest to our readers. We aim to foster dialogue on academic and social issues between students, the faculty, and the broader legal community in Toronto, Ontario, and Canada. Our content does not necessarily reflect the views of the Editorial Board. We print six issues per year. Ultra Vires is printed by Master Web Inc.

EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Vivian Cheng & Angela Gu NEWS EDITOR Alexa Cheung ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR Ivy Xu FEATURES EDITOR Alisha Li ASSOCIATE FEATURES EDITORS Angela Feng & Jacqueline Huang OPINIONS EDITOR Annecy Pang ASSOCIATE OPINIONS EDITORS Natasha Burman & Sabrina Macklai

It’s undoubtedly a strange year, but shaping up to be an eventful one. In this issue, you’ll f ind statistics from the 2020 Toronto 1L Recruit, exit inter v iews w ith former staf f members, musings from frustrated students over course selection, and a stor y about the IHR P Director hiring controversy.

RIGHTS REVIEW

NEWS Changes to the 1L Curriculum (2020-2021)

Five Equity-Facing Groups Pen Open Letter

Students’ Law Society Election Results are In

Start of Semester Update from the SLS

Editorial Comments on the IHRP’s

Future

FEATURES

Working with the #UyghurThree

The Venezuela Accountability Project

An Unsafe Third Country

RIGHTS REVIEW

We’re so excited to be your editorsin-chief for Volume 22 of Ultra Vires. We believe that now, more than ever, the student communit y needs to stay connected and we hope to be one source of that. A lthough prov iding food at pitch meetings is out of the question, we w ill endeavour to prov ide the tea.

IHRP Director Hiring Allegedly Thwarted by Donor Influence

An Exit Interview with Petra Molnar

An Exit Interview with Lisa Cirillo

Commemorating a US Supreme Court Legend

Toronto Summer 2020 1L Recruitment Results

Ever y month, you can look for ward to a dose of news, opinions, and sarcasm. We’re always on the lookout for talented editors and writers to make the paper happen. If you have comments or stories to pitch, you can always get in touch at editor@ultrav ires.ca.

Pandemic Gym Options Near Campus

Summer in a Bottle

UV’s Guide to Ice Cream in Toronto

CLSA Blog in Print: Tuning in to Criminal Law

U of T Law Students Zoom in Across Time Zones

Wishing you the best for the beg inning of another school year, and thanks for reading,

Cognomos Strikes (Out) Again

Student Survey Says: Cognomos sucks

Sad Attempt at a Semester

Call for a Faculty Reporting Mandate for COVID-19 Cases

The Semester Must Go On

GrasshoppHer: Mentorship, Redefined

DIVERSIONS The 1L Pandemic Experience

Intra Vires

22 23

Law Students Doing Cool Things

The 2020-21 Law School Changes: Rated

Zoomterview with the Heads of O-Week

Face Masks: Navigating a New Fashion Trend?

— Vivian Cheng & Angela Gu Co-Editors-in-Chief, Ultra Vires

DIVERSIONS EDITOR Adrienne Ralph ASSOCIATE DIVERSIONS EDITOR Harry Myles EDITORS AT LARGE Safa Bajwa & Graham Rotenberg LAYOUT EDITOR Alexandra Fox RECRUIT EDITOR Hussein E.E. Fawzy PHOTOGRAPHERS Katrina Keller & Jacqueline Huang

ADVERTISING If you are interested in advertising, please email us at business@ultravires.ca BUSINESS MANAGER Austin Ray ERRORS If you notice any errors, please email us at editor@ultravires.ca.

SUBMISSIONS If you would like to submit a tip, letter, or an article, please email us at editor@ultravires.ca. Ultra Vires reserves the right to edit submissions. READ UV’S REVIEWS OF ICE CREAM SPOTS IN TORONTO ON PAGE 9

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NEWS

October 1, 2020 | 3

Five Equity-Facing Groups Pen Open Letter to the Deans’ Office to Address Equity Issues at the Faculty Students call for the Faculty to improve equity training, hire more racialized faculty, and modify curriculum to recognize legacy of colonialism ANNECY PANG (2L)* On Aug ust 10, f ive equit y g roups at t he law school — A sia L aw Societ y (A L S), Black L aw Students A ssociat ion ( BL SA), I nd igenous L aw Students A sso ciat ion ( I L SA), Out in L aw (OI L), and Sout h A sian L aw Students A ssociat ion (SA L SA) — sent an open letter to t he Deans’ Of f ice to address gaps in t he school’s cur rent approach to equit y, d iversit y, and inclusion. T he letter centers on t he Facu lt y’s po sit ion of power as one of Canada’s preem inent lega l inst itut ions and its obl igat ion to “ensure students are wel l- equipped to recog n ize and d ismant le system ic racism w it h in t he lega l sphere.” T he letter emphasizes how system ic racism man ifests, includ ing t he per vasiveness of colo n ia l t heor y in t he cur r icu lum, t he interconnected ness of “ f ir m f it” w it h wh ite supremacy, pat r iarchy, and classism, and t he h istor ic under representat ion of marg ina l ized commun it ies w it h in t he student body, facu lt y, and staf f of t he law school. T he letter concludes w it h deta i led

ca l ls to act ion separated into shor t-, med ium-, and long-ter m recommendat ions. H igh l ights of t he ca l ls to act ion include improved student equit y t ra in ing to better recog n ize t he l ived ex per iences of students from t rad it iona l ly unrecog n ized backg rounds, increased h ir ing of racia lized facu lt y members, and a mod if ied cur r icu lum t hat ref lects t he legacy of co lon ia l ism in t he law. “T he idea of a letter arose after a conversat ion bet ween equit y-facing g roups and marg ina l ized students in June and responds to t he renewed attent ion to racism across Canada,” says A sha Gordon (2L), Co -President of BL SA . “ We looked at t he d if ferent in it iat ives t hat equit yfacing g roups are work ing on and how we cou ld use our posit iona l it y as law students and as future law yers to create change.” T he g roups chose t he for mat of an open letter to emphasize ever ybody at t he Facu lt y’s col lect ive responsibi l it y to address system ic racism. “It was a good choice because it captures t hat it is an

ongoing conversat ion w it h ever yone and t hat it is ever ybody’s job to put in t he work,” says K arl ie Nordst rom (2L), Co President of I L SA . T he letter went t hrough mu lt iple iterat ions and drafts on a shared Google Doc. “ Work ing toget her w it h t he ot her equit yfacing g roups rea l ly emphasized a l lysh ip,” says Dhr it i Cha k ravar t y (2L), Co President of SA L SA , “I feel l i ke t he g roups w i l l be work ing toget her a lot more and I am rea l ly excited to see t hat.” “It was par t icu larly encourag ing to have t hese d iscussions w it h ot her equit y g roups in t hat we shared many of t he same concer ns, wh ich wasn’t so apparent to me beforehand,” says Dan iel Yang (3L), Co -President of OI L . “ W hat stood out to me was t he level of col laborat ion bet ween t he equit y-facing g roups and I look for ward to more opportun it ies to work toget her,” says Rebecca X ie (2L), Co -President of A L S. W h i le t here has not been a publ ic response by t he Facu lt y to t he open letter, representat ives from A L S, BL SA , I L SA ,

OI L , and SA L SA met w it h Dean Edward Iacobucci, A ssociate Dean Chr istopher Esser t, and A ssistant Dean A lex is A rchbold in early September to d iscuss t he ca l ls to act ion in t he open letter. T he representat ives a lso met w it h A ssistant Dean A rchbold, A ssistant Dean Sara Faher t y, and Student Menta l Hea lt h and Wel lness Prog ram Manager Ter r y Gard iner on a separate occasion in September to d iscuss t he equit y and professiona l ism t ra in ing for f irst-year students. A s of t he date of publ icat ion, t he letter has 156 sig natures from var ious student organ izat ions, includ ing U lt ra Vires, cur rent students, and a lumn i of t he Facu lt y. “T he engagement has been a g reat star t ing point and I hope it rema ins consistent because racism and its ef fects on marg ina l ized commun it ies is an ongoing issue,” says Gordon. *Editor’s Note: Annecy Pang is Co-P resident of the Asia L aw S ociet y. U lt ra Vires , a s well a s me mbers of its editor ial board , is a sig nator y to the open letter.

Students’ Law Society Election Results Are In Students’ Law Society elects 11 new representatives for 2020-21 school year GRAHAM ROTENBERG (2L) T he Students’ L aw Societ y (SL S) added 11 new representat ives to its ran k s follow ing t he elect ion per iod t hat ended Fr iday, September 25. T he elect ion resu lts were released by ema i l on Saturday, September 26, after some techn ica l issues post poned t he elect ion. T he elect ion is convent iona l ly held at t he beg inn ing of t he academ ic year to a l low new students — ma in ly 1L s — t he oppor tun it y to get involved in student gover nance and rep resent t heir class.

T he Student A f fa irs and Gover nance (St AG) comm ittee elected four 1L s in a contested elect ion: Noa R apapor t, Stefan Rus, E loise H irst, and Car issa DeMar in is in a contested elect ion. T hese cand idates focused on increasing d ia log ue bet ween facu lt y members and students and developing coping solut ions for t he pandem ic. T he major it y of cand idates a lso hold prev ious ex per iences of lead ing student gover nments dur ing t heir underg raduate educat ion.

T hree ot her 1L s joined SL S in an uncontested elect ion for Socia l A f fa irs comm ittee posit ions: Apol lon ia Mast rog iaco mo, Sask ia De Vr ies, and A lexander Day. I n t he contested 2L elect ion for a single spot on t he comm ittee, T hr y n Ir w in was elected. Renuka Koi lpi l la i (3L) ran uncontested and joined t he St AG comm ittee. Koi lpi lla i has held a St AG posit ion for t he past t wo years. Two 3L s —R achael Girolametto -

Prosen and Emma Brow n — ran uncontested and were elected to t he Socia l A ffa irs comm ittee. Brow n was last year’s Socia l A f fa irs Commun icat ions Director and Girolametto -Prosen was a St AG representat ive for t he past t wo years. I n add it ion to t heir ex per iences work ing w it h t he law school ad m in ist rat ion, t hese cand idates h igh l ighted f ind ing new ways outside of Ca l l to t he Bar to engage w it h peers socia l ly such as picn ics, t r iv ia, and mov ie n ights.

NEWS

4 | October 1, 2020

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Start of Semester Update from the SLS Welcome back to law school amidst a pandemic ROBERT NANNI (4L JD/MBA), PRESIDENT OF THE STUDENTS’ LAW SOCIETY 2020-21 Congratulations to everyone for making it through the first month of this strange new world! Law school is challenging in the best of times and its difficulty this year will be undeniably compounded by the impact of COVID-19. Notwithstanding the opacity of what the future holds, the Students’ Law Society (SLS) is excited to help guide our collective path. The SLS is the student government representing all J.D. and joint program students at the Faculty of Law. The SLS has two branches: Student Affairs and Governance (StAG) and Social Affairs, composed of elected representatives from each year of study. The SLS Executives also appoint upper-year Officers: Equity Officers, Treasurers, Communications Directors, Administrative Director, Secretary, and Chief Returning Officer (CRO). Welcome to the 1Ls

We are so excited to have you join the Faculty of Law this year! This might not be the law school experience that you expected, but I am confident that you will all grow stronger through it. A special shoutout on behalf of the SLS and the 1L class to the students who organized Orientation Week: Branden Cave, Thryn Irwin, and Meruba Sivaselvachandran. Orientation is difficult enough to organize without COVID-19-related constraints, but these three students rose to the occa-

sion and organized a series of wonderfully engaging events over the two weeks. Summer updates: COVID-19 hasn’t stopped our advocacy party

This summer, we have been more active than ever in both our advocacy and our preparation for the upcoming year. Our advocacy so far has largely focused on addressing issues related to course selection and course accessibility. The SLS heard numerous concerns about the implications of COVID-19 on course allocation and delivery and petitioned the administration and instructors to address these topics. We are glad to see that most course selection issues have been resolved, but we continue to monitor the various facets of course accessibility (i.e., lecture recording and the online vs in-person experience). Additionally, we have been working with the Law Students’ Society of Ontario (LSSO), which represents all law students across Ontario. Our work with the LSSO has involved supporting a motion brought to the Law Society of Ontario (LSO) requesting that (1) law students be represented at the LSO and (2) articling students be voting members of the LSO. We have also compiled three SLS Guides for the general law school, 1Ls, and transfer students. Additionally, we organized a synchronous clubs fair to

complement the Faculty’s asynchronous one, instituted a mostly centralized club sign-up form, and successfully pushed for the consolidation of the public interest programs’ joint volunteer recruitment process. In addition to some governance updates, you will also note that the SLS has a brand-new look! Students this summer came together to provide input on our new logo. We have updated our website accordingly. As always, it is full of useful information about the SLS members, elections, and the oh-socritical study materials. SLS Priorities As we move forward past elections with a full slate of SLS Representatives and Officers, we have two main goals in mind this year. 1. Equity and Accessibility

We have seen a strong desire from students for improved accessibility at the Faculty of Law; however, lecture recordings are but one facet of the work that we will be doing. We also intend to revisit the accommodations process for improved clarity on how students can navigate this space for one-off requests and longer-term needs. Additionally, we will continue our work on tuition, being mindful of the financial impacts of COVID-19, the Ford government’s tuition cut/freeze, and Dean Iacobucci’s

term ending on December 31, 2020. In light of reduced social opportunities, we have reduced our Fall term fee and will re-evaluate our Winter term fee. As well, we are considering the interplay of funding and equity-based considerations. 2. Community building

The Social Affairs Committee is dedicated to finding new and exciting ways of creating community within the law school. Things will not look the same as in the past (pour one out for Call to the Bar) but we are striving to provide the best experience possible. However, community-building does not fall entirely on the SLS. This summer, students and alumni wrote letters and built groups about implementing a mandatory course on Indigenous peoples and Aboriginal law (as requested by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Call to Action #28), the LSO and #blackouttuesday, the Faculty’s obligation to dismantle white supremacy and anti-Black racism at the Faculty, recording lectures, supporting Black Canadians, and more. I cannot anticipate what this year will look like, but I am so proud of what we have all done already. If we continue along this path, I have high hopes for this year. I look forward to working with the newly filled SLS — and with all of you —to make this a year to remember for all the right reasons.

FEATURES

IHRP Director Hiring Law Societ y has penned a letter calling for greater accountabilit y of the administration. The Canadian A ssociation of Universit y Teachers (CAU T ) announced on September 21 that it is investigating the allegations of external inter ference, which if true, would “constitute a ser ious breach of w idely recognized pr inciples of academic freedom.” This controversy has prompted Leslie Green and Craig Scott, law professors at Queen’s Universit y and Osgoode Hall Law School respectively, to both wr ite letters to the Canadian Judicial Council urg ing for an investigation into the judge for inappropr iately participating in controversial political discussions. At this time, the Judicial Council has not announced the commencement of an investigation. Concern has also been voiced by A mnest y International Canada, which of fers IHR P students volunteer ing opportunities

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through the Dig ital Ver if ication Cor ps. In a letter to Dean Iacobucci on September 21, the organization stressed fear “that any appearance of impropr iet y could harm the future of A mnest y’s partnership w ith the IHR P.” Other cr itics include the CAU T, prev ious and current members of the IHR P, many members of the student body, and legal professionals, activ ists and academics in the broader communit y. So what happens now? The fate of t he IHR P Dean Iacobucci announced that the search for an IHR P director was cancelled in the inter im. But, he promised to “take advantage of this pause to make the International Human R ights Program even more successful than it has been in the past.” However, the IHR P has been w ithout a director for over a year. The Director hir-

ing controversy has rek indled discussions about the school’s commitment to the IHR P. Members of the IHR P A lumni Network Steer ing Committee in a letter to the Dean’s Of f ice on September 23 called the controversy “symptomatic of a longerterm failure by the Facult y of Law administration to adequately recognize and support the Program.” The IHR P ’s operating budget was already expected to suf fer a 36% cut in the 2020 -2021 academic year as part of the school’s auster it y measures announced in 2019. Based on the calculations of the A lumni Network Steer ing Committee, this amounted to a 51% budget cut in real terms compared to 15 years ago, in stark contrast to a 130% tuition increase in the same per iod. IHR P students and alumni emphasized the IHR P ’s importance for educating and developing students in their open letter.

Tension arising from accusat ions about Pa lest inian oppression and A nt i- Sem it ic stereot y pes Some legal professionals, activ ists, and academics stressed the importance of upholding academic freedom, especially in the context of contentious debates about Palestinian oppression and dispossession. Var ious professors inter v iewed by the Toronto Star believe that A zarova’s v iews on Israeli’s occupation are mainstream. A n A l Jazeera article called the alleged recission of A zarova’s of fer for her scholarship “antiPalestinian racism.” Additionally, Over 1,20 0 scholars and law yers also signed a statement denouncing “Palestenian speech suppression.” Given the discourse surrounding this developing news stor y, U of T Law’s Jew ish Law Students A ssociation ( J LSA) cautioned the law school communit y in an open letter against per petuating anti- Semitic stereot y pes. The letter explained, “perhaps one of the most insidious of such stereot y pes is the long-held belief that Jews act as ‘puppet masters,’ controlling and exerting inf luence behind the scenes while never the focus of attention.” The J LSA expressed its disappointment that an inference of the judge being Jew ish was made so quick ly despite no mention of the judge being Jew ish in the initial Globe and Mail article. W hile the events surrounding this stor y are doubtful, and students and the broader communit y may not know what truly happened, one thing’s for sure: the administration must commit to fair and transparent procedures free from external inf luence. A comprehensive resource page regarding this developing story can be found on ultravires.ca .

A TIMELINE OF THE ALLEGED EVENTS. IMAGE CREDIT: JENNIFER SUN

Members of the Ultra Vires editorial board have been and continue to be involved with the IHR P and are signatories to the IHR P Students and Alumni Open L etter.

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FEATURES

October 1, 2020 | 5

An Exit Interview with Petra Molnar, Former Acting Director of the IHRP Molnar reflects on her time at the IHRP, discussing the challenges of COVID-19 and the pleasure of working with students ANNECY PANG (2L) In August, Petra Molnar left the role of Acting Director of the International Human Rights Program (IHRP) to help start the Refugee Law Lab at the Centre for Refugee Studies and Osgoode Hall Law School. Petra graciously sat down with Ultra Vires to talk about her time at the IHRP and her upcoming research. Addition as of September 29: Petra would like to express her disappointment in the recent decisions surrounding the hiring of a permanent Director for the IHRP. She calls on the administration to prioritize the student experience in international human rights at the law school. Ultra Vires (UV): How did you become interested in international human rights law? Petra Molnar (PM): My interest stems from my work in refugee and migration issues. Before I went to law school, I was a refugee settlement worker, assisting people with a variety of issues when they arrived in Canada. As a newcomer myself, I felt an affinity to a lot of those issues. Throughout law school, I stayed focused on refugee and migration issues. I later articled at the Barbra Schlifer Commemorative Clinic, which does both immigration and refugee law. But I wanted to broaden my work more towards international law and international human rights law as well. The Research Associate position came up at the IHRP and that's how this adventure started. UV: What does a day in the life of a director look like? PM: When you're a director, the majority of your time is spent not on the sexy, substantive work, but on the administrative tasks that keep a clinic running. The nice thing about the job is that there is a lot of variety — every day is different. Before COVID-19, my days would be filled with meetings, emails, calls, and just trying to get a handle on all the different projects. Another huge part of the role is support: supporting our students and staff to make sure that they can do the best work that they can and are able to. The role is a great way to work closely with people and to build bridges between different communities, within the faculty and also beyond. So that's been really rewarding. UV: Are there any aspects of the role that you found unexpected, especially given the pandemic? PM: The pandemic definitely created an interesting set of considerations for us because the IHRP runs a Summer Fellowship program. The majority of fellows were adversely impacted because they were not able to go to their international placements. It felt like our entire fellowship program just collapsed overnight. It required a lot of creative thinking to figure out how to find jobs for all of these fellows. About a third of our original placements were viable,

MOLNAR RECENTLY TRAVELLED TO LESBOS, GREECE, FOR A LONG-TERM PROJECT INVESTIGATING TECHNOLOGY AND MIGRATION. PHOTO COURTESY OF KENYA-JADE PINTO.

there was some creative restructuring for some, and then the IHRP ended up absorbing six fellows. Normally we take one. So, we definitely had a very full house this summer, but it was a really awesome group of people to work with. UV: What was your favourite part of the role? PM: Working with people and the students in particular. I've learned so much from the students and every interaction was a blessing. It was a great way to meet passionate people who really want to make a difference, who think critically about their role in the law, and how to lawyer differently. That's one of the things I will miss the most about this role: the daily engagement with students, because you folks definitely give me optimism that I think a lot of us in this field need. UV: In addition to the Acting Director role, you are also a Mozilla Fellow with European Digital Rights; could you tell us more about your work there? PM: This is actually one of the projects that I’ll be working on now after my time at the IHRP is over. After the Bots at the Gate report that we did with Citizen Lab, I started looking at migration and technology issues from a more international perspective. I ended up landing a fellowship to look at the ways technology is used in and around

the border, and the human rights impacts it has, with the idea of grounding the lived experiences of people who are actually interacting and experiencing this technology. We’re actually working on a documentary alongside this, which is a brand new venture for me. We want to bring individual stories to the forefront and want the public to start thinking about some of these issues. With COVID-19, our plans were delayed but we’re going to try and do some interviewing in the Mediterranean and put out a report this fall that will coincide with the report by the UN Special Rappoteur on Discrimination. UV: How did you come upon the role of Associate Director of the Refugee Law Lab and what do you envision for the new lab? PM: I was contacted by Sean Rehaag with this opportunity. I decided to take it because it really aligns with my work on migration. It’s a baby lab, just starting off. We’re keeping it open and flexible in terms of what it will look like, but it will sit at the intersection of migration, technology, and human rights. UV: That sounds really exciting! Do you have any parting words of advice for law students hoping to work in international human rights?

PM: I think for me, one of the most important pieces of advice I got was to trust your gut. When you’re a law student, you get pulled in so many different directions. There are so many competing voices and many of them are from within yourself as well. But I think a lot of people know themselves more than they realize, and it’s important to truly ask yourself what it is you want to do, both as a lawyer and as a person. What kind of person do you want to be and is there a way to incorporate kindness into your practice? Is there a way to incorporate radical social change into it? I think these are the types of questions that will guide you towards the opportunities that make sense. And I don’t mean to negate some of the structural questions that we all have to ask ourselves; the debt load these days is huge. But at the end of the day, you have to do what feels right for you and for your broader life project. UV: Is there anything that we’ve forgotten or that you would like to add? PM: I will really miss everybody and I can’t wait to stay in touch. I was going to say my door is always open, but I don’t have a door right now so feel free to reach out at pmolnar@yorku.ca. This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

6 | October 1, 2020

FEATURES

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An Exit Interview with Lisa Cirillo, Former Executive Director of DLS Cirillo reflects on her social justice work; reveals challenges of working in public interest ALEXA CHEUNG (2L) In August, Lisa Cirillo left the role of Executive Director of Downtown Legal Services (DLS) to become the CEO of the Law Foundation of Ontario. Lisa sat down with Ultra Vires to talk about her time at DLS, and give advice for students looking to pursue public interest work.

U ltra V ires ( U V ): W hat initially drew you to social justice work? Lisa Cirillo (LC): In undergrad, I went to U of T and I studied criminology. I took classes that asked us to look at the intersection of who was involved in criminal legal systems. Who gets stopped by the police? Who gets prosecuted vigorously? Who is sentenced to prison? It was very obvious that there were sharp connection points between lower-income, racialized, and Indigenous communities and the legal system. We were asked to question why that was. In law, we have this lofty expression “everyone is equal before the law,” but when you look at the impact of the law on certain communities, you can see that this is not the case. For a while, I thought I wanted to do criminal law. In fact, I picked my law school based on the clinical program they offered. I went to Queen’s Faculty of Law and did their Correction Law Project (now called the Prison Law Clinic). I didn’t follow that path, but I’m really grateful to the clinic for showing

me that while it wasn’t the right fit, I was on the right path. I also volunteered at the legal clinic at Queen’s. I liked that you met the client where they were at, and you could offer them a more holistic response to the multiplicity of legal issues they were dealing with. I really liked the approach of the clinic.

U V: W hat wa s your favour ite part of working at DL S? LC: That is a really hard question. I don’t think I can say one. The best thing about the clinic is the community of people that make up the clinic. That, for me, was the hardest part to leave. This includes the staff, the students, and key community partners. The energy and support from the community is a fantastic part of the clinic. I think DLS is a community in which everyone works on creating and nurturing. There’s something about the clinic that people bring their best to, and the work that they do there.

U V: O n the f lip side , what wa s the most diff icult part of your role a s the Executive D irector? LC: The instability of the funding, which makes it hard to do strategic planning. There’s constant growth and retraction, and it’s really challenging to

manage that process, particularly when you work with people who you admire and love. As director, you feel a tremendous sense of responsibility to all the people who work at the clinic. If I cannot solve our funding problems, we’ll be disappointing clients, students will lose learning opportunities, and staff members’ positions might no longer be viable. That was the biggest challenge in the Director role. Since funding is so tenuous, it was, quite frankly, exhausting. When I started in the role of Executive Director in 2010, we had 2.8 staff lawyers (not all lawyers being full-time), and we now have 5. But whether we can stay at 5, I don’t know. We still have the Student Choice Initiative hanging over our head, and Legal Aid funding has been reduced significantly by the provincial government. Legal Aid also gets funding from the Law Foundation, which is dependent on the economy. Despite all these challenges, we have maintained [the clinic]. It speaks to the professionalism of the team. Despite all that stress and anxiety, we have continued our academic program, and we have continued to offer service to clients, so this is a testimony to the strength of the clinic.

U V: D o you have any advice for students who want to establish a career in public interest?

LC: I would say, stay open to opportunities but also stay true to what work is meaningful to you. Learning opportunities can be challenging especially in times of economic strain, because public interest jobs are often the first ones to feel the impact of that. Ideally, you have the opportunity to move into a public interest job at the outset, but I want to acknowledge that it can be hard sometimes. But even if you're not in the ideal setting, I think the most important thing is that you’re in an environment where you’re challenged and have good supervision and mentorship from people you can learn from and whose work you admire. Stay true to yourself, stay true to what interests you, and look for a pathway back. If you don’t land your dream public interest job as an articling student or as a first or second-year lawyer, stay connected with that world. Join a board. Join an advocacy initiative. You will find your way back. And I really believe that there are enough opportunities to go around if your heart's in it. When you are lucky enough to find jobs that are intrinsically aligned with their values, you bring out your best selves. Law can be an all-consuming profession. If you’re spending this much time doing work, it is important that it is meaningful for you. This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

Commemorating a US Supreme Court Legend Students and faculty reflect on Justice Ginsburg’s passing GRAHAM ROTENBERG (2L) From September 23 to 25, masked mourners filled the streets of Washington D.C. to grieve the death of an icon. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the US Supreme Court’s legendary liberal lioness, passed away at age 87 on September 18. The COVID-19 pandemic could not prevent a global outpouring of love and respect for the late jurist. Across the border in Canada and at U of T Law, these sentiments were not lost. Individuals across the political and professional spectrum added to the chorus of praise and predicted what the future of the Supreme Court would look like without the “Notorious RBG.” Some commentators lauded Ginsburg’s message of mass mobilization for noble causes, while others dissected how her death could impact the contentious election year political environment, reaching varied conclusions. Although the halls of law schools are less (physically) rambunctious, students and professors still found space to reflect on Justice Ginsburg’s passing. The Faculty of Law tweeted and then retweeted about her death, and over 100 students reacted to a post about Ginsburg’s death in the U of T Law Virtual Community Facebook group. The Women & the Law Society said Ginsburg J was a “warrior of justice, and her words have always, and will always continue to stretch beyond the borders of jurisprudence and time.” This begs a complex question: what made Justice Ginsburg an icon? Why was she the source of memes, movies, and even books about her workout routine? Looking back on Justice Ginsburg’s legacy, there is

not one reason but several for her fame. Her tenacity, brilliant strategic mind, and novel way of re-framing legal problems provide some, but not all, possible answers. The Jewish Law Student Association (JSLA) highlights Justice Ginsburg’s tenacity, emphasizing how she “overcame continuous hurdles of discrimination not only as a woman, but as a Jewish woman.” Especially as a law student, her persistence feels superhuman. For instance, she persevered in the face of personal tragedy at Harvard Law School, where she was one of only nine women in her class. When Martin, her husband and a fellow law student, was diagnosed with testicular cancer, Ginsburg did not allow them to stop pursuing their legal education. In addition to caring for their young daughter, she attended classes for two, doubling her course load and effectively teaching Martin his third-year class material while completing classes herself. He graduated. She edited for the Harvard Law Review and finished near the top of her class. Ginsburg’s excellence, and late-in-life elevation to icon, was a product of her deliberative nature, according to Professor Emerita and Director of the International Reproductive and Sexual Health Law Program, Rebecca Cook. Professor Cook suggests that it perhaps lies in her judicial decisions; she was a "very thorough and deliberative writer who brought issues alive with her writing.” Justice Ginsburg’s approach to litigation was also impressive. Professor Cook highlights Ginsburg’s great skill of how to “reach people where they are.” Professor Cook and the Women & the

Law Group point to Ginsburg’s shifting of the focus of discrimination to focus on a topic all-male juries understood: men. Ginsburg brought male litigants, rather than female litigants, in front of all-male, all-white courts. According to Professor Cook, this strategy was a mechanism for Ginsburg to win people over on their terms so “she could bring the court around.” And come around they did. Ginsburg won five cases out of six in front of the Supreme Court. Frontiero v. Richardson and Reed v. Reed are part of the canon of sex-based discrimination cases that is mandatory reading for 1Ls at American law schools. There was a common thread in Ginsburg cases: laws that discriminated on the basis of sex ought to be unconstitutional. Now they are. Many laws are no longer on the books because of Justice Ginsburg, the American Civil Liberties Union, and countless others’ efforts to rid lawbooks of sex-based discrimination. The Women & the Law Society also cite Weinberger v Weisenfeld as an area of Ginsburg inspiration. In that case, famously included in the movie “On the Basis of Sex,” Justice Ginsburg represented a widower who was denied survivor benefits under Social Security which permitted widows, but denied widowers, the ability to collect benefits. She won. Women & the Law says that by “winning in part, legal victories for men, [Ginsberg] paved the pathway for women’s rights as well.” On the bench, Professor Cook notes that Ginsburg’s seminal decision in United States v. Virginia illustrates her approach to the law at its best. Professor Cook argues that the case — which success-

fully ended Virginia Militiary Institute’s maleonly admissions policy because it unconstitutionally excluded women and re-affirmed a heightened level of judicial scrutiny for sex-based discrimination — represents Justice Ginsburg’s successful efforts to elevate “understanding gender discrimination through stereotypes of women.” In that decision, Professor Cook highlights how she pushed back against stereotypical notions that women were “incapable of being military leaders because they lacked the physical strength required of the military” by challenging an evidentiary record bare of any facts to support that proposition. This decision’s impact was “horizontal,” reverberating in Canada, Europe, and legal scholarship according to Professor Cook. Justice Ginsburg passed away on the eve of the commencement of the Jewish high holidays. According to JLSA, “traditional Jewish belief tells us that those who pass away on Rosh Hashanah are “tzaddiks,” or “righteous ones.” They said “never before has this belief rung so true.” The Women & the Law Society also highlighted Justice Ginsburg’s righteous legacy by saying “she never sought approval nor fame. Ruth Bader Ginsburg was simply herself. She was intelligent, resilient, fiery, and idealistic and those qualities are really what made her [...] Notorious.” That legacy will never be forgotten, and her glass-shattering status will follow her in death as much as it did in life, for she was the first woman – and Jewish person – to lie in state. May she always be remembered.

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October 1, 2020 | 7

Toronto Summer 2020 1L Recruitment Results Fifty first-years obtained employment through the 1L Recruit, down 24 percent from last year

1 0 0 1 2

0 2 3 1 3

2 0 1 0 1

5 1 2 2 1

6 1 1 4 2

1 2 0 0 3

1 1 0 3 8

7 13

2015

2014

2013

63 2016

55 2017

25 13 57 2018

15 66 2019

5 15

11 12 10

15 8

13 4

8 4

7 6

5 1

Osgoode 50

12 Count of participating employers

2020

3% % with positions secured from Toronto Summer Student Recruit*

Total

1457 Approximate class size

Summary by year

50 2020 Total

T h is year’s of f icia l Toronto 1L Recr uit prov ided summer jobs for 50 1L st udents, dow n 24 percent from t he 66 h ires in 2019. Of t he 50 tota l posit ions, 21 went to st udents from t he Un iversit y of Toronto Facu lt y of L aw (a whopping 42 percent, up from 35 percent in 2019 and 4 0 percent in 2018). Of t hose 21 successfu l U of T contenders, 17 were from t he J D prog ram and t he rema in ing four were from t he dua l J D/M BA prog ram. Twelve employers par t icipated in t he 1L Recr uit t h is year, compared to 14 in 2019. Of t hose par t icipat ing, most d isplayed a sma l l ( but not iceable) decl ine in job posit ions — A ird & Berl is L L P and Bla ke, Cassels & Graydon L L P bot h h ired one less st udent t han in 2019. Dentons Canada L L P h ired t wo less, wh i le ot her f ir ms t hat usua l ly h ire t hrough t he 1L Recr uit, includ ing Tor ys L L P and Zarek Taylor Grossman Hanra han L L P, opted to not h ire any 1L s a ltoget her. Out of t he 12 employers who par t icipated in t he 2020 Recr uit, n ine responded to our inquir ies. Wit h respect to t he t hree f ir ms t hat d id not prov ide t heir stat ist ics, Beresk in & Par r h ired f ive st udents last year, wh i le R idout & Maybee L L P h ired one. Smar t & Biggar L L P d id not par t icipate in t he 2019 Toronto 1L Recr uit. Facu lt y of L aw I nter na l Recr u it

U of T

% employers responding

5% 10%

0 Zarek Taylor Grossman Hanrahan LLP

0 2 0 2 5

Other Windsor Ottawa Western Queen's

*Total percentage only for Ontario law schools 75%

McGill

Dalhousie

0% 1% 0% 1% 2%

170 320 185 207 210

21 17

No Response Smart & Biggar LLP

Thornton Grout Finnigan LLP

5 Sherrard Kuzz LLP

Ridout & Maybee LLP

No Response

2 2 MAG — Office of the Chief Justice — Superior Court of Justice

2 10 Dentons Canada LLP

3 8 Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP

2 5 Borden Ladner Gervais LLP

5 13 Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP

No Response Bereskin & Parr LLP

290

1 1

3 1

1 1 2 6 Aird & Berlis LLP

183

0 2 5

1 1 1

1 1

Windsor Ottawa Western Queen's JD/MBA

Osgoode

JD JD/MBA U of T JD Total Firm

245

McGill

Dalhousie

Other

ALISHA LI (2L)

T he Career Development Of f ice est imated t hat 51 1L s obta ined employ ment t hrough t he L aw School Summer Employment Prog ram ( L SSEP). St udents who secured jobs t hrough t he L SSEP spent t heir summers work ing in places such as Dow ntow n L ega l Ser v ices, t he Dav id A sper Cent re for Const it ut iona l R ights, t he Facu lt y of L aw itsel f, Fut ure of L aw/Blue J L ega l Fel lowsh ip, and t he I nter nat iona l Human R ights Prog ram. I n response to t he ef fects of COV I D -19 on t he job market, t he Facu lt y announced in Apr i l 2020 t he creat ion of an add it iona l pool of posit ions for 3 -week summer Research A ssistantsh ips. Of t he 63 st udents who were placed in t he Research A ssistant prog ram, 4 0 were 1L s.

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Pandemic Gym Options Near Campus A guide to staying fit during the pandemic GRIFFIN MURPHY (1L) T hese unprecedented t imes have g iven us a va l id excuse for unprecedented levels of inact iv it y. However, as September marked t he star t of a new chapter for many students, so too has it pushed us to get back in shape. W h i le hea lt h g uidel ines and prov incia l rest r ict ions st i l l pose cha l lenges, here are some ways we can cur rent ly pump t he iron around campus. A s of September 8, t he At h let ic Cent re, Goldr ing Centre, Varsit y Cent re, and Back Campus have a l l re- opened for l im ited ser v ices. Ent rances have been mod if ied and hand san it izer stat ions have been equipped in compl iance w it h g uidel ines from t he Cit y of Toronto. Ap point ments to use workout faci l it ies must be booked for t hese locat ions in advance. Keep in m ind t hat when ma k ing an ap point ment, you’re ma k ing it for a specif ic area of t he g y m: eit her a squat rack, free

weights, mach ine circuit, or t he card io mach ines. A lso note t hat a pre-v isit screen ing for m must be completed before accessing any faci l it ies, and t hat t he campus mask pol icy is in ef fect when you are not exercising. Fur t her more, exter na l renta ls of space are not being accepted unt i l October 12 or unt i l fur t her not ice. Sw imm ing lanes rema in open for book ing in compl iance w it h cit y g uidel ines, and workout classes may st i l l be booked and per for med eit her on l ine or in-person (you may have a lready seen some of t hese classes as you wa l k t hrough Queen’s Park). I ntramura ls are a lso back on, a lbeit in a l im ited capacit y. Ava i lable spor ts include table tenn is, dodgeba l l, spi keba l l, bocce ba l l, bad m inton, “washer toss,” and “A mazing R ace.” T here are a lso eS por ts int ramura ls being of fered on PS4

and Xbox for F I FA , N H L , and N BA . I f you’re look ing to go of f- campus, many ot her opt ions rema in open. GoodL ife Fit ness has locat ions across t he nat ion (t he closest one to t he campus is at Bay and Bloor) and fol lows a sim i lar hea lt h pol icy as t he campus faci l it ies. T he except ion is t hat if you book an ap point ment, you w i l l have access to a l l areas of t he g y m. Y MC A Hea lt h & Fit ness cent res are a lso re- open ing for members, w it h t he caveat t hat you may on ly work out at your “ home g y m,” rat her t han using severa l Y MC A faci l it ies. T he closest Y MC A locat ion to campus is t he Cent ra l Y MC A at 20 Grosvenor St. near Yonge and Col lege. I f your budget is more f lex ible, many ot her pr ivate g y ms are open and close to campus, such as Equinox and Bar r y’s Bootcamp, bot h located in York v i l le. I f

being indoors isn’t your jam, t he Don Va l ley and L a keshore bot h prov ide excellent lanes for r unn ing and cycl ing, and much of t he t raf f ic was actua l ly d iver ted from t hese areas over t he summer. P ubl ic basketba l l cour ts, baseba l l d iamonds, and t rack f ields a lso rema in open in To ronto, and par t icipants of such faci l it ies are inst r ucted to fol low basic hea lt h g uidel ines.

• Genera l t ips for t he g y m: • Br ing your ow n water bott le. • Br ing your ow n lock, towel, yoga mat, or ot her f it ness equipment. T hese are genera l ly not cur rent ly of fered by g y ms.

• San it ize

a l l equipment before and after using it. San it ized w ipes and/or san it ized spray are ava i lable at mu lt iple locat ions in ever y g y m.

Summer in a Bottle In Vino Veritas AMY LIN (2L) We know, we know! It will already be fall by the time you read this issue of Ultra Vires but just because we are slowly waltzing into autumn does not mean you cannot pick up a bottle and join us in keeping summer around a little longer. Whether it is shared over patio drinks on a warm sunny day or enjoyed alone while bingeing Indian Matchmaking, here are our favorite summer wines this year. While Olivia and I spent the summer exploring what the Okanagan Valley had to offer, Angela shares a great Riesling recommendation that is bottled right here in Ontario. If you are feeling a bit more adventurous and are looking to experiment with a bold summer red, check out Kimia’s review at the end for some inspiration. So, welcome back to another exciting year of wine reviews with In Vino Veritas and a very special welcome to the law school for those of you who may be coming across our column for the very f irst time.

Angela Gu Tawse Limestone Ridge Riesling, 2017

This Riesling has remained my absolute favourite wine since I came across it a year ago. Even in my quest to drink more broadly, none have yet displaced Tawse’s Limestone Ridge. It is seriously crushable, very easydrinking, wonderfully fruit-forward, and somehow manages to remain balanced with just enough acidity. It’s fruity on the nose,

with scents of both tropical fruit and stone fruit (I detected pineapple and apricot). It is not deceptive, and it tastes just as good as it smells. Of Tawse’s Rieslings, this one has a lot more “oomph” compared to their Quarry Road Riesling of the same vintage; the Limestone Ridge is a velvety white wine with body. Although this wine is perfect on its own, I will note that it even works with the richness of duck conf it. It’s a fun wine.

Amy Lin

ly balanced with hints of sweet berries that cascade into a crisp and clean f inish. As someone who prefers a dry rosé, this wine was perfect for me. For those of you who are into white blends, I recommend picking up a bottle of the Nk’Mip Cellars’ Dreamcatcher. This refreshing, fruit-forward white, which predominantly features Riesling and Sauvignon blanc, is enjoyable on its own or paired with a light summer salad.

Nk’Mip Cellars Rosé, 2019

Olivia Mazza

This summer, with the tight restrictions on international travels, it seemed as if everyone was either visiting BC or knew of someone who was. I spent the entire summer in Vancouver and one of my favorite things about living on the West Coast was its wonderful wineries; with the Okanagan right around the corner, there was always something new to discover. While I had heard of the Nk’Mip Cellars before (they were the f irst Indigenous-owned winery in North America and have won many honours, including being named Canadian Winery of the Year), I only discovered their rosé this year. Nothing quite captures the perfect summer day like drinking a glass of chilled rosé on a patio. On the nose, sweet aromas of f ield berries and grapefruit are immediately noticeable. The bright citrus notes are even-

I spent part of this summer in the Okanagan Valley — arguably the best wine region in the country. After my two-week self-isolation period ended, I began visiting some of the wineries. My new-found favourite white wine is the Spice Jar from Lake Breeze, a gorgeous winery on the Naramata Bench. This is a fun blend of Gewürztraminer (30%), Ehrenfelser (30%), Viognier (20%), and Schönberger (20%) that has a lot of layers to it. It is a light, medium-bodied wine with notes of peaches and apples, but is more f loral on the nose. It’s slightly spicy and it is recommended as the perfect pair for spicier dishes (hence the name), but you could also enjoy this on its own (the tasting guide referred to this as a “patio-pounder”). Unfortunately, this wine is not available at the LCBO, but if anyone would like to join me in

Lake Breeze - The Spice Jar, 2017

writing a letter to the government to speed up the process of dismantling inter-provincial liquor restrictions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Kimia Veisi Nezhad Filipa and William’s Estate Vineyards “Dinamica” Baga, 2018

If you are looking for a delicious and easydrinking red wine to enjoy on a date night or over an interesting conversation with a friend, “Dinamica” is a great choice. This wine is from the Bairrada region in Portugal, and is made 100 percent out of the rich Baga grapes. The name “Dinamica” perhaps refers to the biodynamic and organic viticulture methods that Filipa and William have incorporated into their vineyard. The grapes are handpicked, fully de-stemmed, and fermented in tanks with minimal extraction. This results in a delightful red with earthy, intense aromas. The mediumbodied wine is vibrant, fresh, acidic, high in tannins, and slightly spicy. I purchased this wine from Paradise Grapevine, a local wine bar and shop on Bloor Street West that specializes in organic, natural, and expressive wines produced by low-intervention producers. You can pick your unique bottle out of their wide selection and enjoy it on their lush patio for a small corkage fee, or take it home for a relaxing night. I would pair this wine with a creamy Camembert or Brie and some fresh sourdough.

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UV’s Guide to Ice Cream in Toronto Ice cream, but not too sweet ALEXA CHEUNG (2L), ANGELA GU (2L JD/MBA), ANNECY PANG (2L) AND ADRIENNE RALPH (2L) Summer may be coming to an end, but ice cream is forever. Toronto has countless spots for frozen desserts, and this is our guide to some of our favourite places for ice cream, gelato, soft serve, and more. Find some of our favourites below, check out our full guide online at ultravires.ca. Please conf irm the hours of operation before going on your ice cream adventure — some are temporarily closed during the pandemic and others have limited hours.

Dainties 235 Spadina Ave Unit 2, Toronto, ON M5T 2E2 Alexa Guys, this place is amazing. I’ve been in Toronto less than a year, and I’ve had Dainties more than ten times. I’ve introduced so many fr iends to this place, and my rewards card is basically full. My love for this litt le Korean macaron place runs ver y, ver y deep. They specialize in buttercream macarons, with a wide variety of your classic macaron f lavours such as pistachio and vanilla bean, to Asian-inspired ones such as Injeolmi (Korean rice cake) and Dalgona (the whipped coffee that’s been all the rage this summer). I love that these macarons aren’t too sweet, which allows the delicate f lavours to shine through, rather than being overpowered by sugar. Contrary to their name, these macarons are anything but dainty - I’d say they’re about 1.5 times the size of a regular French macaron. And that’s not all. Dainties also makes amazing ice cream macaron sandwiches. These are huge - I usually share one with a friend, and the staf f are more than happy to slice it in half for you. The last time I was there, they had just introduced the Yuzu f lavour, a bright and cheery Korean citrus fruit perfect for these hot and humid summers.

Kekou Gelato 394 Queen St W, Toronto, ON M5V 2A6 Angela I mourned the closing of their Baldwin location. But fear not, their Queen West spot isn’t that far from campus, stop by on your way to a picnic at Trinity Bellwoods. Kekou carries a rotating range of Asian-inspired f lavours, including classics like Vietnamese coffee and HK milk tea. Some f lavours I’d recommend include whisky green tea, and peanut sesame. They even have durian gelato - a risky choice for the uninitiated, but perfectly on point for durian-lovers. I dream of their gelato and their wallpaper.

Nani's Gelato 6 Charles St E, Toronto, ON M4Y 1T2 Annecy I f irst saw Nani’s when I was on an evening walk and just had to stop by for a scoop. Even if you get one scoop of gelato, you have the option of getting two f lavours so that’s exactly what I did. The blueberry basil was creamy and not overwhelmingly basil-y. The yellow plum (vegan) was good but too tart for my liking (my sister loved it though). I was very tempted to pick up a pint of their gelato but I had to remind myself that my freezer had no room for yet another carton. Since that fateful evening, I’ve been back to the little shop many times and have spent way too much money there. I’m a big fan of their “sorbettos”: grape, mango passionfruit,

blueberry lemonade, pear...the list goes on. The f lavours at Nani’s rotate every week (check their instagram on Mondays) so it’s a surprise every time!

Death in Venice 1418 Dundas St W, Toronto, ON M6J 1Y5 Annecy Founded by the 2015 winner of Chopped Canada and a family lawyer, Death in Venice features delicious gelato in a variety of creative f lavours. I have only tried the Pistachio Yogurt Baklava and Ricotta Lemon Rosemary f lavour (McEwan carries pints and scoops) and cannot wait to try more! There are also plenty of dairy-free f lavours for my lactose-intolerant soul.

Adrienne So far, I’ve only tried two Death in Venice f lavours - Ricotta Lemon Rosemary and Strawberry Basil Lemon. Despite being labelled “Strawberry Basil Lemon” on the front of the tub, the strawberry f lavour is somewhat confusingly listed on their website as “Strawberry Thai Basil Juniper”, and the ingredients list on the tub I have includes juniper berries and thai basil, but not lemon. Nonetheless, this vegan, coconut milk-based f lavour was impressively creamy. The basil f lavour is quite strong, but balances well with the sweet and tartness of the strawberry. I didn’t taste any notes of lemon—but I can’t be sure whether that’s because of my amateur tastebuds or an actual lack of lemon. Visit ultravires.ca for the full Guide, featuring over 20 ice cream spots.

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CLSA Blog in Print: Tuning in to Criminal Law Lawyering and true crime podcast picks, courtesy of the Criminal Law Students’ Association ADAM DAVIS (2L) AND EMILY HILL (2L) T he school year has just beg un, but we k now you are a lready look ing for ways to procrast inate. Podcasts about t r ue cr ime and cr im ina l law yer ing are a g reat resource for st udents interested in cr im ina l law and a fun way to lear n about facets of t he cr im ina l just ice system. I f you are not a lready on t he cr ime podcast t ra in, why not hop on board? Check out our top pick s to get star ted!

Slotek of L ega l A id Ontar io.

Podcasts about criminal law yering

A da m’s Ru n ner Up: T he Docket

A da m’s Top P ick: Of Coun sel Of Counsel is hosted by Sean Robichaud, a cr im ina l defence law yer in Toronto. T hroughout t he podcast, Robichaud advocates for t he use of socia l med ia by lawyers to g ive t he lega l commun it y its ow n prof i le, to engage in socia l debates, and to stay infor med. W hy you shou ld l isten: W h i le Of Counsel is not exclusively a cr im ina l law podcast, t he major it y of inter v iews are w it h cr im ina l law pract it io ners and d iscuss cr im ina l just ice issues. I f you are interested in a career in cr im ina l law, t hen t hese inter v iews w it h some of Canada’s most accompl ished members of t he cr im ina l bar are def in itely wor t h a l isten. Notable inter v iews include conversat ions w it h Gera ld Chan of Stock swoods L L P, d iscussing h is numerous inter vent ions at t he Supreme Cour t of Canada. Robichaud a lso inter v iewed legendar y cr im ina l law pract it ioners l i ke Br ian H. Greenspan and A lan D. Gold. I f you are look ing to get a sense of why cr im ina l lawyers do what t hey do, consider l isten ing to t he episode w it h Henein Hutch inson L L P ’s Dan iel le Robita i l le. Ot her interesting inter v iews include t hose w it h M ichael L acy ( past President of t he Cr im ina l L awyers’ A ssociat ion), Jordana Gold l ist, Dona ld Bay ne (counsel to Senator M i ke Duf f y in t he Senate ex penses scanda l) and A my

L istener t ip: Robichaud usua l ly star ts t he inter v iew of f w it h how or why t he law yer got into t he pract ice of law, and t hen proceeds somewhat chronolog ica l ly t hrough t heir career. A ny specia l h igh l ights or t hor ny issues (such as t hose d iscussed in t he episodes w it h Joseph Groia or Rocco Ga lat i) are d iscussed closer to t he end.

T he Docket is co-hosted by spouses and criminal law yers, Emilie Taman and Michael Spratt. Taman clerked at the Supreme Court of Canada, worked as a Crown prosecutor, held teaching positions at the University of Ottawa, and, most recently, ran for the federal NDP in Ottawa-Centre — not to mention the fact that her mother was former Supreme Court Justice Louise Arbour. Spratt is a well-known Ottawa criminal defence law yer who served as the past Director of the Criminal Law yers’ Association and frequently acts as an expert witness before the House of Commons. W hy you should listen: T he Docket provides insightful and witty commentary on many current issues af fecting the Canadian political and legal spheres. Notably, they have of fered compelling commentary on the SNC-Lavalin affair and the changes to the judicial appointment process in Ontario. Spratt and Taman are deeply engaged law yers who care about access to justice, the rights of accused persons, and the vitality of the Canadian legal system in general. Their insights are thought-provoking and a great way to engage with these issues. Listener tip: The pair will often do a series of episodes on one topic. In the past, they focused their discussions on popular documentaries like Making a Murderer or The Staircase. If this isn’t for you, then skip these series and focus on the regular episodes, where they give their thoughts on current events.

Podcasts about true crime Em i ly’s Top P ick: Up & Vanished (Season 1) Up and Vani shed invest igates t he 20 05 d isappearance of Tara Gr instead, a h igh school teacher and pageant queen from Oci l la, Georg ia. Wit h no answers for over 10 years, nar rator Pay ne L indsey ta kes matters into h is ow n hands. L isten closely as L indsey rev isits t he ev idence and spea k s w it h w it nesses, loca ls, and potent ia l suspects in t h is t r ue cr ime case. Somet imes t he sma l lest tow ns hold t he biggest secrets. W hy you shou ld l isten: It’s not ever yday t hat you’l l f ind a podcast cover ing a cold case t hrough to an arrest. War n ing: l isten ing to Up and Vani shed m ight incite podcast bing ing behav iour and a deep desire to d rop out of law school to work fu l l-t ime on crack ing a cold case. L istener t ip: Up and Van ished prov ides l isteners w it h reg u lar episodes, a long w it h “case ev idence” and “Q & A” episodes. I f you’re interested in an in- dept h look into cer ta in pieces of ev idence or want to hear quest ions and answers related to t he case and t he cr im ina l law process, be sure to l isten to a l l t hree episode t y pes. I f you just can’t wa it and want to speed t hrough, t he reg ular episodes prov ide you w it h a l l you need to st i l l fol low a long! Em i ly’s Ru n ner-Up: T he Clear ing Apr i l Ba lascio k new t hat her fat her, Edward Way ne Edwards, was a bad man. He was abusive, a conv icted ban k robber, and a con ar t ist. St i l l, she a lways felt t hat t here was somet h ing more t hat she was m issing. Ba lascio wou ld wa ke up in t he m idd le of t he n ight w it h vag ue recol lect ions of places her fam i ly had been or

t h ings t hat she had seen as a ch i ld, and beg in a wh irlw ind of Google searches for answers. Ever y t ime she wou ld come up empt y, unt i l one day she st umbled upon a double hom icide case t hat seemed far too fam i l iar. A fter an anony mous t ip, her worst fears were conf ir med. T h is podcast ex plores t he l ife and cr imes of Edwards and, more impor tantly, t he l ife of Ba lascio, t he daughter of a ser ia l k i l ler who st i l l desperately wants to k now t he fu l l t r ut h about her fat her. W hy you shou ld l isten: Beyond t he nar rat ive fol low ing Edwards, T he Clear ing g ives l isteners un ique insight into how fam i ly members of conv icted k i l lers are impacted by t hese cr imes. L istener t ip: Edwards has been t he subject of conspiracy t heor ies t hat have pinned h im to a range of hom icide cases, includ ing t he infamous murder of Jon Benét R amsey and t he Zod iac k i l l ings. I f you’ve been lost in t hese t heor ies, t r y to put t hem aside and cr it ica l ly quest ion what is fact and what is f ict ion as you l isten a long. T hi s ser ies by the C r iminal L aw Students’ Association introduces the law student body to the wild , wild world of cr iminal law and cr iminal justice . Articles will be publi shed in pr int in U lt ra Vires a s well a s on the CL S A’s website , uof tlawclsa .weebly.com/blog. To pitch an article to the CL S A blog ser ies, plea se contact the CL S A Blog Editor, Teodora Pa sca , at teodora . pa sca@mail .utoronto.ca .

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U of T Law Students Zoom in to Class from Across Time Zones Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Calgary and San Francisco ELAINE CHENG (1L) Law students at the Faculty of Law are given a choice this year: either attend classes partially inperson or fully remotely due to COVID-19. According to a survey of the first year class, 26 students out of 212 enrolled, or 12 percent, are learning online exclusively. And it’s not just 1Ls who are attending remotely. Three students residing outside of Ontario: Jiayi Wang (1L), Joseph Mercado (2L) and Vivian Cheng (2L), shared their perspectives on online learning with Ultra Vires. This story holds special meaning to me. I am one of the 1L students studying exclusively remotely. This was not on purpose. After studying in Vancouver, BC, for six years, I flew back to Hong Kong for Christmas and Chinese New Year last December. It was supposed to be a three-month trip until the pandemic hit and ballooned across North America. Later, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada imposed travel restrictions on international students, singling out those who applied for a study permit after March 18, 2020. Because I applied for my study permit in April, I am currently banned from traveling to Toronto. When I contacted the admissions office at the Faculty of Law, I was given two choices. Either apply for an admission deferral or attend classes remotely from Hong Kong, without lecture recordings. This was a choice between bad and worse. But, I had to make a decision, so I chose to do remote classes so I could begin law school earlier in my life. The 12-hour time zone difference between Toronto and Hong Kong poses a big challenge. Most of my classes end at 5 pm EDT and therefore, I stay up until 5 am HKT on most weekdays. Though it is three weeks into the school term, I am still constantly adjusting my sleep schedule. I tried different strategies to adjust my biological clock, including taking

sleeping pills, doing bedtime yoga, and eating late at night. Although it sounds stressful to turn night into day, I am enjoying my time in Hong Kong more than I expected. I can spend some time with my family and reunite with my local friends. Also, when I study late at night, I feel a sense of calm and am less easily distracted. Taking classes from the hospital Jiayi Wang (1L) is in Guangzhou, China, which is 12 hours ahead of Toronto. She found out about the travel restrictions in early July, after she quit her fulltime job. Due to the difficulty of finding a new job during a global pandemic, she decided to study remotely instead of deferring her offer. She took the intensive Legal Methods course in quite an unexpected location: the hospital. A week before the first class, she sustained a serious ankle injury from skateboarding. Consequently, she received surgery and was hospitalized for the duration of the course. “Even though it was a tough start, Professor Yasmin Dawood was very understanding of my situation. She gave me lots of advice and assistance. For instance, I had to skip a few classes. Professor Dawood shared her slides with me and guided me through the important details. I would have collapsed without her assurance and moral support,” says Jiayi. She was discharged from the hospital last week and is now recovering. Due to her injury, she is struggling to maintain a regular sleep schedule, which is occasionally interrupted by physiotherapy and doctor appointments. In general, she also found the inability to meet her classmates in person stressful. She is using social media and online club activities to

make friends. Assistant Dean Alexis Archbold and Terry Gardiner from Student Mental Health and Wellness are invaluable resources navigating medical resources and accommodations for her injury. “They are all my life savers,” says Jiayi. Turning Challenges into Opportunities While many students find remote classes challenging and prefer in-person attendance, some see remote classes as an opportunity, and deliberately choose this option. Joseph Mercado, a 2L student, is one of them. He decided to study remotely because he wanted to stay in Alberta. He is planning to practice in Calgary after law school and would like to network there in preparation for the Calgary recruit. Further, he is skeptical about the chances of a COVID-19 outbreak in Toronto and is worried that classes could switch to Zoom at any time during the semester. After experiencing remote learning last semester, he found himself adjusting well to it, even though it may be difficult to contribute ideas during class. In particular, some professors avoid making in-person interactions after classes due to health concerns. But when professors are willing to stay after Zoom classes for a Q and A session, this online learning setting allows him to listen to professors’ responses to his classmates’ questions, which is not possible in the traditional classroom setting. Furthermore, Joseph recognized some social and mental benefits from taking online classes. He enjoys walking his dog in between classes in the nice weather. He cherishes the chance to hang out with his Calgary friends while maintaining social interactions with his law school friends remotely. Nonetheless, he does prefer in-person socialization at law school. When asked about what he would like to do when he is back on campus, he said, "hang out

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with my friends at Wow Sushi." Creating a unique remote learning experience Remote studying can also provide you the opportunity to live in a foreign country. Vivian Cheng (2L), one of Ultra Vires’s Co-Editors-in-Chief this year, is living in California. She deliberately decided to study remotely because she loves California. “The weather is nice and the surrounding environment is beautiful,” she says. She is currently visiting San Francisco, staying at a friend’s place. As she is no longer bound physically by the law school, she appreciates the chance to take stretch breaks between classes and she can now exercise more frequently throughout the day. However, California is three hours behind Ontario and she has to wake up early in the morning for classes — as early as 6 am to attend Business Organizations every Wednesday. Since she is a very social person, the biggest challenge she faces with online learning is the loss of inperson interaction with her law school friends. As a result, she has a fear of missing out, especially the fun parts of law school. To accommodate the mental stress, she takes proactive measures to maintain a tight connection with the law school, such as talking with professors after class, chatting with her law school friends daily, and getting involved with Ultra Vires. Vivian says she would like to “chat with my friends in person” once she is back on campus. Law school is different for everyone this year. The pandemic is changing everybody’s experience. But, for the students in far away cities from Calgary to San Francisco to Hong Kong, this semester looks, feels, and is indeed very different.

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Law Students Doing Cool Things Hand-made earrings, cover songs for food banks, unique cookies, and a pro bono initiative IVY XU (1L) T h is year has cer ta in ly been unusua l. T he U of T commun it y made t he best of summer 2020 and d id a lot of cool t h ings! U lt ra Vires was able to sit dow n to chat w it h some of t he U of T commun it y. Below are inter v iews w it h Charlotte But ler, A nna Zhang, Magg ie A ra i, and Dav ina Sh iv ratan.

Charlotte But ler (2L), Dr0ppesh0ppe Charlotte sel ls hand-made ear r ings and neck laces t hrough her I nstag ram account. Her crafts are pr iced bet ween $10 and $15 and ha l f of t he proceeds goes to organ izat ions ded icated to racia l just ice. To t h is day, Charlotte has made over 170 pa irs of ear r ings, includ ing g ifts for her fr iends.

U ltra V ires ( U V ): W hat brought you into making ear r ings and necklaces? How did you lear n? Charlotte But ler (CB): I have loved crafting since elementar y school. I went to an ar ts day camp, and t hat was where I lear ned about bead ing, clay, and jewelr yma k ing. I n elementar y school, my mom bought me some ba keable poly mer clay, ca l led Scu lpey, and my fr iend and I became obsessed w it h ma k ing Har r y Potter f ig ur ines at sleepovers. I am d raw n to tact i le act iv it ies when I feel st ressed about school. I star ted embroider ing dur ing my f ina l year of underg rad, and I took up k n itt ing last w inter. L ast December dur ing my 1L exams, I decided to ma ke Scu lpey ear r ings. I had seen somet h ing on I nstag ram, so I made a bunch fever ish ly and gave some away for Chr ist mas.

U V: Wa s that when you started D r0ppesh0ppe? CB: No , not yet — I in it ia l ly put t he rest of t he ear r ings I made in storage. I d id not t h in k t he f irst batch were good to sel l, but when t he Black L ives Matter ( BL M ) movement ga ined moment um in June, I star ted t h in k ing about ear r ings aga in. L i ke a lot of people, I felt confused about how to cont r ibute in a mean ing fu l way. I decided to t r y to sel l some ear r ings I had made and prom ised to donate 10 0 percent of t he proceeds to BL M-related organ izat ions. T hat was when I made an I nstag ram account ca l led Dr 0 ppeSh0 ppe, added some of my fr iends who I t hought m ight be interested, and posted t he f irst bunch of ear r ings on June 7. I was amazed by t he response. T he 11 pa irs I posted sold out t hat after noon and people d irect messaged

me on I nstag ram say ing t hey wanted more. I cont inued gett ing more specif ic requests for ear r ings — lemons, cher r ies, ice cream cones — so I made t hose too and posted t hem as “custom orders.” It was busy!

U V: How do donations work and which organizations have you been donating to? CB: I in it ia l ly had people eit her send me a receipt of t heir donat ion in order to secure a pa ir of ear r ings, or donate to me d irect ly and I wou ld ma ke a donat ion on t heir beha l f. T he f irst organ izat ions I do nated to were For t he Gworls, A ssata’s Daughters (in Ch icago), and Ta k ing W hat We Need. I event ua l ly adjusted t he donat ion amount to 50 percent, because I was spend ing a fa ir amount of t ime ma k ing ear r ings and I had to pay for ext ra mater ia ls. I decided I wanted to focus on To ronto -based organ izat ions, so I donated to t he Black L ega l Act ion Cent re, Ocama Col lect ive (a commun it y- d irected organ izat ion t hat suppor ts I nd igenous, Black, and People of Colour bir t hworkers) and Black Creek Commun it y Far m (an urban ag r icu lt ura l cent re t hat empowers d iverse commun it ies t hrough susta inable food). It was a g reat way to lear n about Toronto based organ izat ions t hat suppor t t he BL M movement.

U V: How did making ear r ings af fect your exper ience with the pande mic? CB: It was a good reason to reconnect w it h fr iends I had not seen for a wh i le, even for a br ief v isit as t hey picked up t heir ear r ings. I asked people to send me photos in t heir ear r ings, and it made me so happy to post t hem on t he “Sh0 ppeg irls” par t of my I nstag ram page. It was a lso a g reat oppor t un it y to lear n about ot her people in my commun it y who use I nstag ram as a way to promote sma l l businesses or ar t projects. Even after we are somewhat used to t he pandem ic new nor ma l, I w i l l cont inue ma k ing ear r ings on t he side. I w i l l not be ta k ing comm issions or post ing big col lect ions now t hat t he school year has star ted, but it’s a good way for me to unw ind after a big school day and to counteract lots of read ing. Dr 0 ppesh0 ppe has been such an amazing par t of t he last few mont hs, and a lot of t hat came about because of COV I D -19 and BL M. T h is is a t r y ing t ime, but I t h in k it has g iven people an oppor t un it y

HANDMADE JEWELLERY SOLD ON DR0PPESH0PPE. PHOTO COURTESY OF CHARLOTTE BUTLER.

to ta ke in it iat ive and be intent iona l about t h ings we care about.

A nna Zhang (2L), Keys for COV ID A nna star ted Keys for COV I D to fundra ise for food ban k s dur ing t he pandem ic. I n ret ur n for donat ions, she creates piano or inst r umenta l covers t hat people request. At t ime of w r it ing, Keys for Cov id has ra ised $5,750. T he project’s I nstag ram page feat ures v ideos A nna has made so far, and she plans on add ing new content dur ing t he school year.

U V: Ha s the pande mic af fected you a s an artist? How do you think the music communit y ha s coped with it? A nna Zhang (A Z ): Musicians and ar t ists in genera l have been h it hard by COV-

I D -19. People who used to do l ive per formances no longer get t hose g igs. I f you teach st udents, you need to ma ke it work t hrough Zoom or FaceTime. I was teaching at a piano st ud io dur ing 1L , and moving over to on l ine sessions was quite weird at f irst. But t he commun it y has been adapt ing. T he Toronto Sy mphony Orchest ra star ted st ream ing v ir t ua l per for mances quite early on. T hat was how I came up w it h t he idea for Keys for COV I D.

U V: W hat wa s it like to play the piano for Keys for COV I D dur ing the lockdown? A Z: It was comfor t ing to go back to A lberta to l ive w it h my fam i ly, and I had a piano back home ( I just got one for my Toronto place as wel l to keep ma k ing covers for t he project). T he whole ex per ience brought me closer to people. I reconnected w it h fr iends I g rew up w it h in t he music com-

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mun it y and got to col laborate w it h some ta lented ar t ists w it h in t he law school. Ma k ing covers a lso ex posed me to lots of d if ferent music. Some requests were such interest ing cha l lenges t hat it wou ld ta ke me days to record t he v ideos.

w it h it. It’s st uf fed fu l l of m i l k chocolate ch ips, sem i-sweet chocolate ch ips, and SKOR bits. You’d be sur pr ised how huge of a d if ference t he tof fee bits ma ke in ter ms of f lavour!

U V: W hat wa s the most interesting or dif f icult song you have been requested to cover?

U V: Many of us tr ied to pick up baking dur ing the lockdown and were not all successful . How did you start baking cookies? D id you have any tips for a spir ing bakers?

A Z: Mo Bamba by Sheck Wes. It was a lmost t he same note over and over, so I resolved to bang ing d if ferent k itchen st uf f to create sounds t hat ma ke t he cover interesting. Being in a lockdow n made you more creat ive – I used breadcr umbs for t un ing and incor porated t he sound of a lum inum foi l.

U V: Keys for COV I D ha s been featured in multiple news articles including CT V News Edmonton . D o you have any marketing-related advice for students tr ying to start their entrepreneur ial projects? A Z: I reached out to severa l med ia out lets and no one got back to me for week s at f irst. T hen t he Ed monton Jour na l contacted me out of t he blue and publ ished t he f irst news piece about Keys for COV I D. T he ot her out lets just fol lowed suit. It was easy after t he f irst one, so my adv ice wou ld be —I k now t h is sounds cheesy but— don’t be afra id of reject ions!

Magg ie A rai (2L), Vagabond Cookies Magg ie and her par t ner’s Vagabond Cook ies ta kes on ly 10 0 orders each mont h. Ot her t han ba k ing and developing new f lavours, t hey a lso post mout hwater ing I nstag ram photos.

U V: D o you have any f lavour recommendations for your cookies? Magg ie A ra i ( M A): Def in itely “T he Safe O pt ion.” T hat’s t he on ly f lavour t hat we have ever y single mont h, and it’s amazing. Ever yone we have met so far is obsessed

M A : I’ve been ba k ing t hese cook ies for about t wo years because my par t ner is ob sessed w it h cook ies. I t h in k for t he t wo of us t he lockdow n rea l ly changed t h ings because sudden ly we had a lot more free t ime. We’re bot h prett y ent repreneur ia l, so we jumped at t he chance to t r y (yet anot her) business! I n ter ms of t ips for aspir ing ba kers, my lockdow n ex per ience taught me [...] don’t ma ke sourdough! ( Just k idd ing, ever yone else but me shou ld tota l ly t r y t h is. But in my case, I t h in k I just ended up g row ing a jar of hor r id smel l ing g un k in my oven.)

U V: How ha s the pande mic af fected Vagabond? M A : It has def in itely a f fected sh ipping for Vagabond. At t he moment, we are pay ing for a faster sh ipping opt ion t han we wou ld techn ica l ly need if a l l sh ipments were on t ime. Obv iously, since we’re dea l ing w it h an ed ible product, we want people to receive t he cook ies when t hey’re as fresh as possible! We hope t hat event ua l ly, once sh ipping t imes ret ur n to nor ma l, sh ipping w i l l be less ex pensive for our customers ( par t icu larly t he ones outside of Ontar io!)

U V: Any fun stor ies about baking or r unning Vagabond Cookies? M A : Ever y mont h we of fer t hree d if ferent f lavours: t he Safe O pt ion, a New O pt ion, and a Myster y O pt ion in wh ich you don’t k now what you’re going to get. We t r y to create somet h ing t hat’s tota l ly d if ferent from cook ies you can get any where else. It

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is rea l ly hard to be 10 0 percent un ique w it h food, because a lot of t he f lavours haven’t been done for good reason. T he ver y f irst Myster y f lavour I t r ied to develop was a Nutel la Cheeto f lavour. We kept v ideos of Ademola (my par t ner) and I d ipping f lam ing hot Cheetos into a jar of Nutel la to see if t he combinat ion wou ld work. T he sur pr ising t h ing was t hat it to ta l ly d id! T he unsur pr ising t h ing was t hat t r y ing to t ranslate t hat into a cook ie involved week s of attempts, severa l un luck y taste-testers, a whole lot of imag inat ion, and u lt imately, tota l fa i lure. Somewhere in my hear t, t hough, I st i l l rea l ly want to ma ke t h is f lavour work. Someday.

Dav ina Shivratan ( JD/MBA 2020), LawLinks Dav ina and her sister, Nad ia, star ted L awL in k s to connect law st udents to volunteer oppor t un it ies. O ver 4 0 0 st udents from 16 law schools across Canada have reg istered w it h t he non-prof it in it iat ive. Dav ina and Nad ia have matched st udents w it h over 10 0 projects since May.

U V: W hat inspired you to start L awLink s? Dav ina Sh iv ratan ( DS): I g raduated from U of T in Apr i l and Nad ia from Windsor L aw. Nad ia t hought she was luck y enough to have a job t hat had not been cancel led due to COV I D -19, but many of her fr iends were left w it h not h ing to do. I love r unn ing businesses and have a lways wanted to do somet h ing before star t ing my job in New York. We f ig ured L awL in k s wou ld be a good idea now t hat st udents were look ing for summer oppor t un it ies, and organ izat ions needed help on projects.

U V: How long did it take you bet ween coming up with the idea and starting L awLink s? DS: A day or less! R ight a fter we came up w it h t he idea, we put toget her a website

and f in ished t he nonprof it reg ist rat ion process. T hat was in early May. We d id n't over t h in k it; if you don’t star t work ing on an interest ing idea, it may never happen. Our business backg rounds helped quite a bit. My sister is good at market ing and desig n. I focused on sett ing up a match ing process. We managed to be up and r unn ing w it h in 24 hours. We had quite a lot of interest from st udents early on, so we took on volunteers to help reach out to law yers and organ izat ions t hroughout t he summer.

U V: W hat were some of the channels you used for marketing or reaching out? DS: We d id a lot of socia l med ia marketing and a lso rel ied on our persona l network. T he Facu lt y of L aw was a lso ver y suppor t ive. L in ked I n is a usefu l plat for m if you are a law st udent interested in ent repreneursh ip. You can f ind and connect w it h law professiona ls who have chosen ent repreneursh ip as a career interest. T hey understand t he cha l lenges involved and are usua l ly w i l l ing to help.

U V: D o you have any advice for law students interested in starting their own projects? DS: You just have to do it. T he dow nside is m in ima l, and it is completely f ine to fa i l. Ta ke advantage of a l l t he resources. U of T is associated w it h a few star t up incubators; and Ryerson hosts L ega l I nnovat ion Zone, a lega l tech incubator t hat pro v ides free t ra in ing. Wit h in t he J D/M BA prog ram, I d id t he exter nsh ip w it h Rot man’s Creat ive Dest r uct ion L ab and worked w it h a star t up. I a lso recommend t he Not-for-Prof it Board Gover nance Cl in ic of fered t hrough t he law school and Rot man Commerce, where you get t he chance to help an organ izat ion’s Board of Directors solve rea l prob lems. T hese inter views have been edited for bre vit y and clar it y.

THE BROWNIE CHUNK CARAMILK COOKIE. PHOTO COURTESY OF MAGGIE ARAI.

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Zoomterview with the Heads of O-Week Thryn, Branden, and Meruba tell their tale of running a strange O-week YULIYA MYKHAYLYCHENKO (1L) Earlier this month I (virtually) sat down one-byone with Orientation Coordinators Branden Cave (2L), Thryn Irwin (2L), and Meruba Sivaselvachandran (2L JD/MBA) to find out more about what running a highly unprecedented Oweek entailed. Their answers are compiled below, divulging unexpected positives, behindthe-scenes bumps, and some tentative ideas on giving 1Ls a more normal O-Week experience in January.

Ultra Vires (UV): What was your first thought when it was announced that orientation was going to be a largely online/hybrid model? Branden Cave (BC): It’s going to be challenging. I think one of the concerns we had was that we weren’t too sure what kind of funding we would have this year. Thankfully, we still got a substantial amount of support from the firms, but the nice thing about having online events is that they were a lot less expensive. So from a logistical and financial side, we thought, “okay, this might balance itself out.” Thryn Irwin (TI): I knew this year we would have to have a lot more structure to actually get first years to interact with people. I think that was my first thought, that it was going to be more work in some regards to try to keep that same level of community. Meruba Sivaselvachandran (MS): I was nervous about being able to do the 1Ls justice. Obviously, we wanted them to have fun, but this was a totally new task. I was also excited about

the prospect of this being more challenging and having the freedom to do whatever we saw fit.

UV: Besides the obvious, what are some ways that you had to change your approach to orientation in order to foster the usual sense of excitement and community in the 1Ls this year? BC: Yeah, I think one of the things students are going to hear a lot of times this year is “Oh it was so much better, so different in person last year, you’re missing out on that.” They are missing out and they’re well aware of that, so we had to stay positive and kind of make sure everyone put on a happy face. MS: It was different this year because we introduced pods (random groups of 12-13 students from the same Legal Methods class), so we had to change our programming approach knowing that people wouldn’t get to meet as many people. We had to make sure we kept Zoom breakout rooms random and figure out how to keep someone who was completely online engaged and excited about doing more online stuff.

UV: Were there any unexpected positives or benefits of having the activities online and distanced? BC: They didn’t have to commute back to the law school once they’d gone home, so I think there was a bit more attendance from that side. We saw a bit of attrition in attendance from people just not wanting to be on another Zoom call for another hour though.

TI: Last year, many events were drinking-oriented and I think that kind of pushed some people away, so it was a benefit to reach out to some people who might be interested in a more structured event. MS: I think the students had really low expectations [laughs], so it was really nice that the first years were really appreciative, and grateful, and were just happy to be able to have fun and do stuff. Also, we’re hoping it generated more conversations and was less anxiety-inducing than potentially going out to a mixer, and not knowing anyone going.

UV: Are there any events that you held for the first time this year that you would love to see introduced again in future orientations or found to have worked better online? BC: The SLS held a 1L town hall which gave students the chance to meet the SLS, raise some concerns they already had this year (there was no lack of concerns) and then also get some information on elections. Anything we can use to get more information from the student organizations to the 1Ls is always a good thing. TI: I like the idea of pods, and just having 13 people that can move through orientation together, with an instant forced connection, is nice [laughs]. MS: I think the upper year mixer was pretty nice, having it online. It forced the upper years and first years to mingle together. In past years

it’s really easy to just congregate with people you already know, so it pushes you out of your comfort zone, and gets you talking to people you wouldn’t normally be talking to.

UV: Any wise words of advice for 1Ls considering becoming an O-week leader next year or might be interested, but are unsure whether they should do it? BC: If we can do what we did in a virtual environment, just imagine what you could do next year when hopefully, hopefully, hopefully, it’s not virtual again. TI: I would just say go for it. It can be quite a lot of work, but you have the entire summer for it. It was also really great to work with two other law students for the whole summer. You get to complain about everything together, so do it. MS: I would say, if you want to do it, do it because you’re excited about the idea. Just make sure you’re doing it for the right reasons and you’ll have a lot of fun with it.

UV: Anything you want to add that I didn’t address? TI: One thing I could mention is that we are tentatively thinking of doing a mini Frost-week. So, if COVID relents, the three of us were thinking of throwing a pub-appetizers-Firkin type event where the first years can have a more orientation type of experience in January.

These interviews have been condensed for brevity and clarity.

Why did you choose McMillan?

I initially chose McMillan because of its team-oriented culture and its commitment to training and mentorship. I know I made the right choice because I have received the support required to help me build a career that I am passionate about with people I admire and respect.

Caroline Samara Partner, Business Law Group

2017 • 2018 • 2019 • 2020

Take the lead in your career.

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October 1, 2020 | 15

RIGHTS REVIEW The International Human Rights Program at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law An independent student-led publication Editors-in-Chief: Rachel Bryce (4L JD/MGA) and Abdullah Jamshed Khan (2L) Senior Editors: Taskeen Nawab (2L) and Sabrina Sukhdeo (2L) Junior Editors: Martha Côté (1L) and Sterling Mancuso (1L) Graphics Editor: Yuxuan Wu (2L) Social Media Editor: Ellen An (2L)

EDITORIAL COMMENTS ON THE IHRP’S FUTURE REFLECTIONS ON THE DIRECTOR HIRING CONTROVERSY By Rights Review Magazine Editorial staff Dear Readers, The start of the 2020-2021 academic year was already going to be difficult for us all considering the challenges inherent to this global pandemic. We, as Rights Review Magazine’s Editorial Board, did not expect our home, the International Human Rights Program (IHRP), to be under threat from our own Faculty. We are dedicating our first editorial comment of the year to address our serious concerns with the decision to rescind Dr. Valentina Azarova’s offer to join our program as the new Director. On September 17, news broke in both the Toronto Star and the Globe and Mail revealing allegations against Dean Edward Iacobucci that he rescinded Dr. Azarova’s offer of employment after a phone call with a sitting judge in the Tax Court of Canada. The Dean insists that these allegations are false. However, the entire IHRP Hiring Committee and the entire faculty advisory board have resigned in response to the decision not to hire Dr. Azarova. On September 18, it became public that Research Associate Vincent Wong also tendered his resignation, not just from the Committee but from the Faculty entirely, citing concerns over the

lack of transparency, abuse of process, potential judicial impropriety, and academic freedom. We unequivocally stand behind the well-supported understanding of Vincent Wong and those close to this case: that Dr. Azarova was offered the position; that the Faculty initially supported this decision; that immigration lawyers were preparing her travel to Toronto; and that suddenly and without explanation the Dean reneged and rescinded this offer. There is good reason to believe based on the facts that external influence played a role in the Dean’s change of heart. If true, it is unacceptable that the administration would allow outside pressures to corrode the due process and internal decision made by the IHRP Hiring Committee and faculty advisory board. Equally alarming is the allegation that Dr. Azarova’s scholarship on Israel’s human rights abuses and occupation of Palestinian territories was the key cause for concern. Just this past year, the IHRP spearheaded the Media Freedom Model Laws Project, calling attention to how freedom of speech around the world is increasingly being menaced in a disturbing and unchecked fashion. Speaking truth to power, as Dr. Azarova has done

with her conscientious criticisms of Israel’s illegal settlements, is something that ought to be celebrated at the Faculty, not scorned. To rescind an offer of employment without providing proper reasons is to offend the IHRP’s integrity and progressive leadership. The allegations that external influence from a donor was behind this decision further tarnishes this integrity. Under no circumstances should high-placed alumni donors affect hiring decisions at the IHRP or the Faculty, writ large. The lack of transparency surrounding this process and vacancies in the IHRP leadership also overly burden the sole remaining staff member, Research Associate Ashley Major. Human rights work is already a taxing field of the law: vicarious trauma, financial precarity, and burnout are all well-documented challenges for legal professionals committed to meaningful work. That Vincent Wong felt it necessary to resign in light of this situation, and that the IHRP is left with a single staff member to shoulder its heavy workload, is unacceptable. The conduct of the Faculty administration thus far demonstrates a lack of consideration for IHRP staff and, by extension, the important advocacy

training that the program provides students. We stand behind the statements provided by the Students’ Law Society and the group of IHRP students and alumni calling for transparency and prompt resolution of this instability in the IHRP. As the student-led magazine that has closely worked with the IHRP for 12 years, Rights Review has reported on the program’s illustrious history and worked directly with the brilliant staff and student network connected to the IHRP. We are concerned about the impact of these events on the efficacy of the IHRP. We call on the law school’s administration to consider the effects of their decision on the quality of IHRP’s human rights advocacy offerings to the student body and to work out a swift and just solution. Together, we root our work in principles of justice, freedom, and transparency. The alleged conduct of Dean Iacobucci, if true, fails to uphold these values and must be righted immediately. Sincerely, Rights Review Magazine Editorial Board 2020-2021

WORKING WITH THE #UYGHURTHREE THE IMPORTANCE OF CLIENT-CENTERED WORK AND TRAUMA-INFORMED PRACTICE

By Alexa Cheung (2L), Maddie Andrew-Gee (2L) and Rachel Bryce (4L JD/MGA) Our summer working at the Universit y of Toronto's Downtown Legal Ser vices (DLS) Refugee and Immigration L aw division involved spending a significant amount of our time with three men: Ayub Mohammed, Khalil Mamut, and Salahidin Abdulahad. These men, whose cases be came combined under the hashtag "#UyghurThree," have experienced unimaginable pain and trauma in both the United States and Canada. Aspects of their stories have appeared in the Toronto Star, and op-eds on themes surrounding their stories were published over the summer. Looking back at our work on their files, what stands out the most to us is the continued pain caused by the prolonged process of wrongful de tainment and the recounting of traumatic stories to government, media, and our-

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selves. We learned impor tant lessons about client-centred, trauma-informed practice, and the need to demonstrate the humanit y of these men and their families that power ful actors failed to recognize.

for inadmissibilit y to Canada, spanning from securit y and criminalit y to health and financial reasons. Our clients face potential inadmissibilit y pursuant to subsections 34(1)(f ) and 34(1)(c), which holds:

The complexit y of inadmissibilit y cases

34 (1) A permanent resident or a foreign national is inadmissible on se curit y grounds for [...]

Cases involving inadmissibilit y concerns are among the most challenging in refugee and immigration (RI) law. Prasanna Balasundaram, our staf f lawyer, led us as we immersed ourselves in this area of practice to get up to speed and understand where these cases have been and where they were going.

As a brief primer, sections 34 to 39 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) outline the possible grounds

(f ) being a member of an organization that there are reasonable grounds to believe engages, has engaged or will engage in acts referred to in paragraph (a), (b), (b.1) or (c). The Government of Canada bases this potential inadmissibilit y on the same facts that underlay the U.S.’ wrongful detention of Mohammed, Mamut, and

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Abdulahad in Guantanamo Bay. These facts were ultimately dismissed, which led to the men’s exoneration and eventual release from Guantanamo Bay. We learned from these brave men and their families how uncer tain and opaque the decision-making in these inadmissibilit y processes is. Months would go by without any communication, despite multiple at tempts to correspond with the relevant of fices and receive necessar y disclosures to best represent our clients. When we did hear from these of fices, we would receive scant information and seemingly baseless allegations of noncredibilit y. This process was exasperating us as caseworkers, and it terrified our clients. “ Why do they not believe us?” “How can we convince them of our innocence?”

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THE #UYGHURTHREE AND THEIR FAMILIES. PHOTOS COURTESY OF DLS

“I would never do what they are saying I did.” We heard our clients repeat these devastating lines with each delay or negative reply. It was our job to reassure them that we were doing all that we could to convey their innocence and establish an undeniable record suppor ting their stories. It was our job to explain seemingly inexplicable actions by the government. The black mark of Guantanamo Bay still hangs over their heads. The whispers of “ terrorism” haunt them. As one of our clients shared, they are the victims of politics; they are caught in a heated geopolitical mess with which they have no involvement. Being at the wrong place at the wrong time two decades ago has de fined and derailed their entire adult lives.

The emotional toll Facing this uncer taint y and incessant delay, we nex t faced the conundrum: do we go to the media and share our clients’ sensitive stories with a potentially unforgiving public? We met many times with our team and our clients to go over the benefits and concerns, ultimately deciding that a public media campaign was the only way to create public pressure and induce government action. That said, despite knowing that we had more control over the campaign, the decision to tell the men’s stories to a wider audience introduced new struggles. Leading up to the launch of the campaign, we were hopeful that it would lead to an outpouring of public awareness and suppor t that could turn into a positive outcome for our clients. Despite our opti-

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mism, it was impor tant to manage both our own and our clients’ expectations. Before reaching out to newspapers and other organizations, we had to devise a strategy to see which organization was most appropriate for our target audience, and conduct research into the individual journalists to see whether they had experience writing about similar immigration stories. After reaching out to journalists, we often received polite rejection emails with rationales that the editors did not like the stor y, or the journalists were too busy to take on a new pitch. Even af ter successfully pitching the stor y, and conducting the inter views with the men, not ever y thing went according to plan. Publication dates were frequently pushed back, which was understandable due to the nature of journalism and the ongoing pandemic. Still, it felt like a personal failure to tell our clients that they would have to keep waiting to see the ar ticles in print. The most dif ficult aspect of the media campaign was balancing our desire to reach as many people as we could with the need to protect our clients. Each inter view lasted at least an hour, with lengthy questions about their experience with Uyghur persecution in China, the fear and uncer taint y they faced in Pakistan and Afghanistan, the years they lost while in Guantanamo Bay, and ultimately, the sadness and frustration born from staying apar t from their families here in Canada. The journalists we worked with also asked to speak with their wives, who spoke about feeling lost and alone, while their children of ten cried for their fathers at night. By the end of the summer, we had heard these stories so many times

we had almost memorized them. But we never got used to hearing the deep pain in the men and their wives’ voices. During the inter views, we were responsible for following along and ensuring that the narratives remained consistent with the legal record. Despite this relatively minimal role, the emotional toll of our work was significant. In the RI division, many clients have undergone unspeakable pain and suf fering in their home countr y, just to encounter more dif ficulties during the process of migration and seeking status in their new countries. In this sense, the cases of Mohammed, Mamut, and Abdulahad did not dif fer much from our other clients. Due to the nature of the media campaign and the frequency with which we interacted with the men and their wives, we developed strong emotional at tachments to their cases. Hearing their stories of trauma and suf fering time and time again was dif ficult for us as student caseworkers, and it became essential to recognize and manage the vicarious trauma stemming from our work. Since we were working closely together, we were able to discuss the emotional impacts of our work, check in with each other, and debrief af ter each inter view. Having these open and honest discussions was ex tremely helpful, as we were able to suppor t each other and share the emotional burden of our work.

Client-centered and traumainformed practice Through complicated legal questions and painful vicarious trauma, we developed an instinctual understanding of the

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impor tance of maintaining a client-centred and trauma-informed practice. Focusing on our clients’ lived experiences ensured stronger relationships between our team and the men, establishing trust and mutual comprehension. Working with trauma-informed lenses created more compassionate communication with our clients, gently pointing to cer tain painful steps that needed to be faced, while always allowing for breaks and compromises to not push them too far. However deeply we rooted our practice in our clients’ experiences and an awareness of their traumas, we still ran up against unforeseen challenges. After a few par ticularly difficult inter views, our clients emphasized the toll speaking about aspects of their past were taking on their mental and physical health. Our desire to advocate and push these stories publicly put added stress on the men, despite doing all we could to care for these potential side effects of our work. Among the most meaningful lessons learned this summer is the impor tance of building trust with clients. Once we established a strong rappor t, we navigated these dif ficult legal and media questions together. We were able to communicate the significance of what our team hoped to do and each of our clients understood and were willing to push for ward. Without these relationships formed through client-centered and trauma-informed practice, we may not have been able to advocate as ef fectively and as creatively. Our clients understood how much we cared and expressed hope for the future, if only because of our team’s dedicated and for ward-looking work.

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October 1, 2020 | 17

THE VENEZUELA ACCOUNTABILITY PROJECT: AN INTERVIEW WITH ASHLEY MAJOR ADDRESSING THE NEED FOR ACCOUNTABILITY By Sabrina Sukhdeo (2L) Over the last six years, the regime of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has waged a brutal campaign of repression against the Venezuelan people. The United Nations recently released a report declaring that the grave human rights violations against antigovernment protesters in fact amounted to crimes against humanity. Addressing the pressing need for accountability, Research Associate Ashley Major is spearheading the University of Toronto’s involvement in the Venezuela Accountability Project. The student-led project will be a collaboration with the Global Accountability Network, the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights at McGill University, and other partners across the world. Rights Review (RR): What is the Global Accountability Network (GAN)? Ashley Major (AM): The GAN is a group of international criminal prosecutors and practitioners who supervise law students working on specific atrocity projects. GAN currently operates three accountability projects: Syria, Yemen, and now, Venezuela. GAN lawyers collaborate with local partners in each conflict region to determine research aims and priorities. The law students assigned to each project then engage in open-source investigations, research, and legal analysis regarding alleged war crimes and/or crimes against humanity. The ultimate goal of each project is to gather evidence that can one day help to form the basis for a criminal prosecution. RR: How was the Venezuela Accountability Project conceived? Why the focus on Venezuela? AM: Over the past few years, Venezuela has descended into a political, economic, and humanitarian crisis. The Maduro regime has committed grave human rights abuses against civilians, including torture, sexual violence, and enforced disappearances. Much of the abuse was targeted at political dissenters. The regime has been committing these violations with impunity because of widespread judicial and governmental corruption. In addition to these abuses, Venezuela is experiencing a state-induced massive shortage of food and medicine, and a lack of access to healthcare and social services. As a result, thousands of Venezuelans have had to flee as refugees to surrounding states. Due to these many compounding human rights violations, GAN has chosen to focus its next project on Venezuela. GAN lawyers first conceived of this project when discussing the human rights situation with Venezuelan contacts. Certain GAN lawyers have been conducting advocacy for Venezuela for years, working with Venezuelan grassroots organisations, United Nations bodies, and NGOs to address this conflict. The Venezuela Accountability Project (VAP) will build upon the years of advocacy already conducted, and benefit from the expertise of the lawyers, and advocates involved with the project. RR: What does GAN hope to accomplish from this project in both the short term and

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long term?

the human rights situation?

AM: In the short term, GAN intends to gather evidence of human rights violations, conduct legal analysis, and create criminal dossiers on individuals suspected of committing crimes against humanity. GAN hopes to keep a spotlight on the situation in Venezuela, as much has happened in 2020 to take the focus away.

AM: This power struggle has exacerbated political dissent and an already glaring lack of faith in Venezuela’s governmental institutions. Many Venezuelans (and states around the world) view Guaidó as the rightful leader and consider Maduro’s refusal to relinquish power to be an assault on democracy. In the months after the election, there has been an increase in crackdowns on rallies and protests, including an increase in violent clashes between protestors and the military. Security forces have also escalated their violence against protestors, firing live rounds at close range and killing dozens. Despite these protests and international support of Guaidó, Maduro remains in power to this day.

In the long term, GAN hopes that the evidence gathered will assist with criminal prosecutions for high-ranking members of the regime. The ultimate hope is that VAP will contribute to justice for victims, accountability for perpetrators, and the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms in the future. RR: What are some of the biggest challenges associated with this project, speaking in terms of both the Venezuela context and accountability projects generally? AM: There are many challenges with projects such as these. Such undertakings are massive and are difficult to get off of the ground. We have dozens of members to coordinate from U of T, McGill University, Florida International University, and the Global Accountability Network. There is also a lack of institutional memory to pass on to new trainees; everyone, including myself, is starting from scratch. It will take a long time, likely longer than this academic year, to transform the research of our volunteers into publishable work products. Regarding the Venezuelan context specifically, realistically defining the temporal and structural limits of VAP is certainly a challenge. There are thousands of pages of opensource documents relating to the atrocities of the Maduro regime. Such atrocities have allegedly taken place over the course of several years. An investigation into this regime could be unending. It is difficult to strike the delicate balance of ensuring that the research is thorough, but manageable. Additionally, our project may face language barriers. Although many of our volunteers speak Spanish, a lack of English sources and a need for translation services may create timing and accuracy concerns. Because of COVID-19, all of our training sessions and interactions with group members and partners will take place online. Building camaraderie is difficult without face-toface interactions. Additionally, the ability to obtain evidence from Venezuelan activists and witnesses will also likely be impacted by travel bans and safety concerns for everyone involved. In light of all of these concerns, I’ve been very honest with the students volunteering on this project that our first year is likely going to be a difficult learning process of trial and error for everyone involved. And that’s okay! If everyone goes in with realistic expectations, this year will be a meaningful and worthwhile experience for all. RR: Since 2019, there has been an ongoing dispute as to whether the legitimate President of Venezuela is Nicolás Maduro or opposition leader Juan Guaidó. How has this affected

RR: You have worked extensively on initiatives addressing gender-based violence. What issues have Venezuelan women endured under the Maduro regime? AM: One pattern that emerges in times of conflict and civil unrest is that civilian populations are vulnerable to sexual violence. This holds particularly true for women and girls. The situation in Venezuela is no different. Female political protesters and human rights defenders have experienced gender-based threats of sexualised violence. Many who have been detained have been raped, sexually assaulted, and tortured. The precarious economic state of the country has also left many women and girls vulnerable to being trafficked and sexually exploited. The lack of access to adequate healthcare, medication, and social services also disproportionately harms Venezuelan women. Women lack access to affordable birth control and safe, legal abortions. Many Venezuelan women risk secret, unsafe abortions in an attempt to avoid criminal charges. Many die each year. As a result of a lack of prenatal care, the rates of infant and maternal mortality have skyrocketed in Venezuela over the past several years. Thousands of pregnant women have had to flee to neighbouring states in order to receive adequate care and to safely give birth. However, such journeys are arduous and can be harmful for pregnant women. The lack of nutrition and monitoring throughout pregnancies can also lead to complications for both mother and fetus. Women also experience the most extreme forms of poverty, as they are paid less than men and are often primarily responsible for caring for children. Venezuela’s failing economy and shortage of supplies has made it difficult for women to obtain formula, diapers, clothing, and food for the many family members under their care. RR: International efforts to advance human rights are often criticized as a form of Western imperialism. How does an endeavour like VAP evade that sort of criticism? AM: This is a fair critique of international law and humanitarian efforts, one that everyone who practices international law needs to engage with critically. Which states were present

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at the table when determining the content of international conventions, and which weren’t? Whose laws contributed to the body of customary international law, and whose didn’t? Who has international law historically targeted, and who has it historically protected? A project such as this could easily be yet another example of Western imperialism. My colleagues and I are working diligently to ensure that it will not be. GAN Lawyers have fostered and developed strong relationships with Venezuelan activists and lawyers over the past several years. We will be working directly with these individuals to identify research focuses and priorities. We will examine both international and domestic avenues of redress with local lawyers. In our training, we will also explore critical theories of international law, such as Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL). Ultimately, our goal is to use our privilege and resources to assist with longstanding, grassroots efforts to hold this regime to account. RR: How will U of T students be involved in VAP? AM: U of T students will be leading this project under my direct supervision, and under the supervision of GAN as a whole. Our plan is to have VAP function as a multi-year IHRP project, where student researchers from the previous school year will fill the leadership positions the following year. This summer, I put out an upper-year application call for several leadership positions. I filled all of these positions in late August, and then recruited 1L students through the Clinics Recruit in late September. Students chosen for VAP will undergo several training sessions throughout October on topics relating to the Venezuelan context and international criminal law investigations. Approximately 50 students will take part in the project. VAP is made up of three divisions. The Investigations Division is responsible for finding and assembling open-source information on alleged crimes against humanity. One group of students in this division will identify whether the necessary elements of allegations are present, and document them in a crimebased matrix. Another group will draft out a conflict narrative spanning the temporal timeline of our inquiry. The Intelligence Division will take the work of the Investigations Division and develop it more fulsomely. One group of students will identify the most egregious incidents and conduct legal analysis as to whether they equate to a crime against humanity. Another group of students will identify and research high-ranking individuals who are alleged to be the most responsible for these atrocities. The Registrar Division will take the work of the Intelligence Division and turn it into reports and white papers. A subset of students in this group will also undertake ad hoc research assignments for GAN lawyers. While our project is full for this year, please keep an eye out for our work over the course of the year. Recruitment for next year will take place near the end of the Winter Term.

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AN UNSAFE THIRD COUNTRY: AN ANALYSIS OF CANADIAN COUNCIL FOR REFUGEES V CANADA (IMMIGRATION, REFUGEES AND CITIZENSHIP) By Ainslie Pierrynowski (2L) The Federal Court of Canada’s decision in Canadian Council for Refugees v Canada (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship), released on July 22, 2020, signalled that the legislative provisions enacting the Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA) between Canada and the United States unjustifiably infringed the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The decision has meaningful implications for both refugee claimants in Canada and asylum seekers globally.

What is the STCA? The STCA is an international agreement between Canada and the United States which came into effect in 2004. Under the STCA, asylum seekers who arrive at a land port of entry (POE) in either country must make their claim in the first country they come to — Canada or the United States, with certain exceptions. The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) and its regulations give effect to the STCA.

How did this case come about? The applicants were citizens of El Salvador, Ethiopia, and Syria who sought asylum in Canada after arriving from the United States at a Canadian land POE. These applicants were subsequently deemed ineligible to make a refugee claim due to the STCA. The respondents were the federal Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, as well as the federal Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness. The case hinged on the applicants’ argument that the STCA unjustifiably infringed their Charter rights The applicants claimed that the STCA violated section 7 of the Charter. The applicants also argued that the STCA violated section 15(1) of the Charter, claiming that the effects of the STCA disproportionately impacted women.

How did the Federal Court respond to this case? Justice McDonald agreed that the STCA indeed infringed section 7 of the Charter. She further determined that section 1 of the Charter could not justify this infringement. Justice McDonald held that the liberty and security of the person’s interests were engaged. In terms of liberty, one applicant wrote that she had “a terrifying, isolating and psychologically traumatic experience” of detention in solitary confinement, not knowing when she would be released. Evidence from lawyers with clients held in detention facilities indicated that “attempts to claim refugee status in Canada can be used by U.S. authorities as grounds to justify a large bond and ongoing detention.” The applicants also recounted several violations of their security of person. One applicant wrote that she was given neither food nor water and was not permitted to bathe for the first three days of solitary confinement. Other applicants expressed fear of a substantive risk of forced return to a dangerous situation in El Salvador, due to the interpretation of the term “particular social group” under asylum law in the U.S. Additional applicants noted a lack of access to adequate medical care while they were detained.

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Justice McDonald, in turn, determined that these infringements of the applicants’ rights to liberty and to security of the person were both overbroad and grossly disproportionate. Regarding overbreadth, she found that the deprivation of the applicants’ liberty had no meaningful connection to the purpose of the STCA — that is, sharing responsibility for processing refugee claims. In her words, “[t]he evidence demonstrates that the immediate consequence to ineligible STCA claimants is that they will be imprisoned solely for having attempted to make a refugee claim in Canada. The “sharing of responsibility” objective of the STCA should entail some guarantee of access to a fair refugee process.” Justice McDonald also found that the STCA was grossly disproportionate, since the negative effects of the STCA outweighed its purpose. She wrote that the experience of one particular applicant alone was sufficient to “shock the conscience.” Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officials returned asylum seekers whose claims were ineligible to authorities in the United States under the STCA. Given the conditions asylum seekers experienced in numerous United States detention facilities, Justice McDonald concluded, there was a causal correlation between the legislative provisions enacting the STCA and the infringement of the applicants’ section 7 rights. Next, on section 1, the respondents argued that the pressing and substantial objective of the legislation enacting the STCA — the sharing of responsibility for refugee claimants — would not be met if the legislation was to be found unconstitutional. They drew attention to the sustainability of Canada’s refugee system should the number of claimants increase. Justice McDonald, however, found that the evidence for this argument was weak. She wrote that, historically, “Canada has demonstrated flexibility to adjust to fluctuations in refugee numbers in response to needs.” The respondents also claimed that the STCA minimally impaired the applicants’ section 7

rights. The respondents argued that a fair review of the applicants’ detention in the United States was available, pointing to the fact that the applicants were ultimately released. Justice McDonald determined that the release of some applicants was not sufficient evidence that a fair review process existed, nor that the STCA had minimally impaired the applicants’ section 7 rights. Having found that the STCA infringed section 7, Justice McDonald declined to comment on section 15(1).

As Professor Tally Kritzman-Amir wrote in a 2020 piece for Boston University International Law Journal on the Federal Court case, “[A] growing body of judicial opinions suggests that Safe Third Country Agreements cannot be used with disregard to their consequences on the rights of asylum seekers and cannot be a mere mechanism of externalization.”

What comes next…?

Although Justice McDonald declined to address these arguments and they will not be handled on appeal, the appeal may re-open public conversation around the STCA from a gendered perspective. In fact, several developments indicate that gender-based discrimination is becoming an increasingly salient issue in Canadian refugee law more broadly. The Canadian Council for Refugees, which was a party in the Federal Court case, has identified a number of gender-related issues pertaining to Canada’s immigration and refugee systems. These issues include women migrant workers’ vulnerability to human trafficking, as well as the arrest and deportation of women reported by abusive partners. For these reasons, the applicants’ gendered perspective on asylum seekers’ experiences may prove a key point of contention in future legal challenges involving Canada’s immigration and refugee systems.

At the time of writing, the STCA is still in effect. The Canadian government has announced that it plans to appeal the Federal Court decision. The decision and the upcoming appeal hold meaningful implications for several groups of actors in Canada and around the globe.

…For policymakers in Canada and abroad? It is worth considering how the outcome of the appeal may inform future safe third country agreements. While the U.S. is the only country designated as a safe country under the IRPA Regulations, several other countries have pursued similar arrangements aimed at sharing responsibility for asylum seekers. If the federal government’s appeal is dismissed and the Federal Court decision stands, this case shows that if Canada or a state with similar rights regimes decides to return asylum seekers to a state subject to a safe third country agreement, Canada (or the similar state) will violate the asylum seekers’ rights where the other country’s authorities infringe claimants’ rights to liberty or security of the person. However, this is provided that there is a causal connection between these infringements and the safe third country agreement. Overall, the Federal Court decision underscores the importance of detailed human rights evaluations and functional detention review mechanisms for any future safe third country agreements. Building from this decision, advocates outside of Canada may look to their own regimes.

ihrp.law.utoronto.ca/page/rights-review-magazine

…For asylum seekers and refugee lawyers in Canada?

Closing Thoughts The Federal Court decision on the STCA is significant both in terms of Canadian constitutional law and human rights advocacy at the global level. In the words of Justice McDonald, “Canada ‘does not avoid the guarantee of fundamental justice merely because the deprivation in question would be affected by someone else's hand […the fact that STCA returnees are imprisoned by U.S. authorities, does not immunize the actions of Canadian officials from consideration.” In the interconnected landscape of refugee law and international treaties, Canada cannot afford to overlook how the country’s refugee system interacts with those of other states.

rightsreview

October 1, 2020 | 19

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Cognomos Strikes (Out) Again Another year, another shambolic course selection process AVNEE PARANJAPE (3L) In retrospect, there were early signs that the 2020-2021 course selection would fulfill all the promise it demonstrated last year. The moment course lists were posted on June 26, something was awry: too many hours, too few hours, and no exam schedules whatsoever. Immediate contact by the Students’ Law Society (SLS) about the discrepancies brought no initial response from the administration, which was followed by a University holiday the next week. With questions left unanswered and the July 6 start of course selection looming, this did not inspire confidence. Cognomos, the course selection system implemented by the Faculty last year and infamously “powered by Nobel Prize-winning Economics,” was fraught with challenges in its first run. Students must select twice as many courses as it is possible to take, and then rank them according to four preference categories. After the system is fed each student’s rankings, it spits out a schedule for each student on the basis of “maximizing happiness,” as it is described. Fundamentally, it is a lottery system providing the appearance of choice on the front end, but there is no guarantee that minimum credit hours will be assigned or that rankings will be meaningfully incorporated. After a rocky first year, many hoped that these fundamental issues would be addressed. The day before the July 15 deadline for course selections, a number of courses were added. These included glaring absences in previously-released offerings, such as Criminal Procedure. While these last-minute additions suggested capacity problems, the extent of this

issue was not obvious until two weeks later on July 30, when course allocations had been run. A startling number of students (informal surveys suggesting at least 60-70) reported being placed in fewer than the minimum number of credit hours, some in as few as two courses for the entire year. In its algorithmic wisdom, Cognomos placed students in two sections of the same course, assigned overlapping courses, clogged inboxes with notifications about courses it failed to add, shunted students to the bottom of highly-ranked courses, and flagged waitlist requests without apparent cause. Furthermore, there simply did not seem to be enough seats for students, particularly for those attending in-person. In response to the chaos, Assistant Dean Sara Faherty assured students that “this happens to dozens of students every year, and is always corrected by the end of the add/drop period,” and that “the waitlists move a lot over the summer.” Staff worked around the clock to address issues, many of which had to be manually corrected. On the other hand, students reported that their panicked calls and emails to the administration were either ignored or substantially unhelpful. They were advised to register in courses with remaining seats, add themselves to more waitlists, or apply for exceptional credit-earning opportunities like Directed Research Projects (DRP), Supervised Upper Year Research Projects (SURYP) or journals. None of these suggestions struck at the core issue of a systemic credit shortage. Remaining seats were largely in required courses many 3Ls had already taken, or in courses subject to con-

flicts with students’ already-thin schedules. 3Ls also lacked International, Comparative, and Transnational graduation requirements, despite prior assurances that they would be placed in required courses they did not receive through the allocation. As waitlists remained largely stagnant, it seemed fruitless to continue joining increasing numbers of waitlists. Meanwhile, in-person students falling short of credit minimums were inexplicably barred from available seats in remote sections. These issues continued throughout August, with two postponements of the deadline for add/drop requests due to Cognomos improperly flagging waitlist requests. As of August 24, students were simultaneously advised to add themselves to a minimum of six waitlists and remove themselves from waitlists of courses in which they had no interest, with no acknowledgment of the diminishing returns after waitlist numbers stretched beyond course capacity. In addition to continuing to push “flexible credit-earning opportunities” (in other words, not classes), Assistant Dean Faherty informed students that “at least one more course” would be added, and some existing courses would add additional spots, a mere two weeks before the start of the term. Students were advised to be patient. While the SLS formally raised concerns and recommendations to the administration on September 1, the process ground on through the start of the term, through moot tryouts and the eventual posting of January intensives. Despite assurances, as of September 18, there remained students lacking sufficient credit hours.

They were sent an email advising “urgent” action to remedy the issue, or they would be downgraded to half-time status. Yet the administration’s tune had not changed: look for courses with openings (regardless of interest, prior course history, or scheduling conflicts), be on five or six waitlists, apply for a DRP or SUYRP. Course selections for the Fall were eventually closed, but perhaps the most frustrating aspect for students is how predictable these issues were. Just last year, Cognomos failed to assign many students to the credit minimum, an issue only exacerbated this year. In the midst of global border restrictions, it is to be expected that dozens of additional 3Ls with cancelled exchanges would need spaces in courses. It is additionally unsurprising that students in their final year may miss out on graduation requirements when they are not given preference over 2Ls in course selection. Two years of chaotic, protracted course selection leave ample opportunity to question the administration’s continued dedication to a course selection system that has failed repeatedly to fulfill its most basic function. Students paying full tuition for online instruction face the further insult of having no option but to take classes in which they have no personal or career interest. There is no doubt that this exceptional year posed exceptional problems. It remains to be seen whether the administration will prioritize student experience moving forward. Until it does, it may be difficult for the Faculty to continue to justify the JD’s $100,000 price tag.

Student Survey Says: Cognomos Sucks Maximizing happiness, it did not ANNECY PANG (2L) A not her year, anot her d isappoint ing upper-year course select ion process. U ltra V ires col lected responses from t he st udent body on t heir ex per ience w it h bot h Cognomos, t he law school’s course select ion plat for m of choice, and t he overa l l course select ion process t h is year, g iven a l l t he changes brought on by t he COV I D -19 pandem ic. T L;DR: Cog nomos suck s. Some st udents had posit ive ex per iences w it h Cog nomos. “I got into most of my desired classes, got good a lter nat ive courses for t he ones I d id n't get into, got into a class I rea l ly wanted t hat I was h igh on t he wa it l ist for, and had enough cred its from t he get-go,” says Rebecca X ie (2L) Joseph Ga l insk y (2L) sa id it was “ver y easy to use, [ had ] seam less t ransit ion, and impressive resu lts.” However, many st udents’ ex per iences d if fer. One 2L who w ished to rema in anony mous character ized t h is year’s course select ion process as “t rash.” Ju l ia

Gauze (2L) sa id, “ it was aw fu l,” descr ib ing how Cog nomos assig ned her to t wo sect ions of t he same class and classes w it h conf l ict ing t ime slots. She ended up w it h on ly eight cred its in t he fa l l ter m, and was left to t he mercy of t he wa it l ists to fu l f i l l her rema in ing cred its. St udents a lso voiced concer ns w it h t he website itsel f. A st udent who w ished to rema in anony mous descr ibed: “It sends an ema i l ever y few m inutes when t r y ing to add to a course wh ich f i l ls up my inbox. Fur t her more, it doesn't say what reason causes f lags to ex ist so you have to ver if y severa l d if ferent t h ings, wh ich wastes so much t ime. It cou ld be pre-reqs, t ime conf l icts, or cred it counts and you don't k now wh ich.” Some st udents are w i l l ing to g rant t he ad m in ist rat ion some leeway in l ight of t he specia l circumstances brought upon by t he pandem ic. “Revamping your ent ire course select ion system to accommodate a pandem ic is no easy task,” sa id one 3L

who w ished to rema in anony mous. “However, a lot of problems (i.e. insanely long wa it l ists at t he beg inn ing of add/d rop and t he dear t h of Fa l l + I nter nat iona l, Comparat ive, and Transnat iona l courses) cou ld have been easi ly avoided or remed ied w it h a l itt le more foresight. A ftert he-fact responses, such as spi l lover sect ions or ‘ do a jour na l/Directed Research/ Super v ised Upper Year Research Project,’ are unsat isfactor y when t hey are on ly ava i lable for courses you have a lready ta ken and/or have no interest in.” Mu lt iple st udents a lso voiced t heir concer n w it h t he ad m in ist rat ion’s response to t he d if f icu lt ies of course select ion. O ne a nony mou s st udent not e d t h at t he a d m i n i st r at ion at t r ibut e d t he st at e of t h at st udent ’s t i met able t o t he i r p er s on a l c hoic e s i n c ou r s e r a n k i n g s , wh i le not a c k nowle d g i n g t he r ole t he s c ho ol h a s i n pr ov id i n g enou gh s e at s i n c ou r s e s for C og nomo s t o a l lo c at e. D u r i n g t he w a itl i st p er io d , t he a d m i n i st r at ion s c r a m -

ble d t o a dd s e at s t o on l i ne s e c t ion s , i n c lud i n g s p ot s av a i l able t o i n - p er s on st udent s . A 2L st udent recounted t he d if f icu lt y t hey had t r y ing to obta in answers from staf f, send ing severa l pol ite ema i ls to t he ad m in ist rat ion and placing a tota l of 10 phone ca l ls to d if ferent numbers l isted as contacts, to no ava i l. W hen t hey f ina l ly received an ema i l, t hey found t he responses w it h in to be br ief and on t he whole, unhelpfu l. I n s pite of a l l t hese cha l lenges, some st udent s event ua l ly fou nd accept able schedu les. A 3L st udent sa id: “ Despite bei ng fa r below t he cred it m i n i mu m a nd i n t he bot tom ha l f of wa it l i st s for most of my cou r ses t h i s yea r, I event ua l ly f i nagled a decent schedu le ( i nclud i ng my favou r ite cou r se), so I have less cause for compla i nt t ha n some of my peer s. However, t he pat h to t h i s schedu le wa s u nnecessa r i ly st ressf u l a nd felt l i ke t he re su lt of poor pla n n i ng.”

20 | October 1, 2020

OPINIONS

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Sad Attempt at a Semester The Faculty’s attempt at delivering in-person courses gets an LP WILLIAM MAZUREK (3L) U of T Law departed from many of its peers in June when it announced its intention to proceed with a hybrid remote/in-person academic year. While the majority of Canadian law schools had already announced their intention to proceed completely remotely, the Faculty of Law opted to allow students to attend classes in-person with a remote option for students with “health concerns.” Though the Faculty’s plans seemed promising when they were announced, their execution has been a sore disappointment. The Faculty’s efforts to provide in-person course delivery have failed to live up to their promises. Its pandemic mitigation rules are intrusive and — in many cases — irrational. I n- Person Classes A ren’t Rea l ly I n- Person The Faculty deserves a failing grade for its efforts to provide in-person classes. Prior to the semester, the Faculty represented many of these in-person classes as conventional, lecture-based courses. However, after beginning the semester, students realized that many of these courses will be delivered almost entirely online. For example, take the upper-year course Secured Transactions. The Faculty advertised it as an in-person course, yet the vast majority is delivered online. The course description on the Faculty of Law website states, “this course will meet two times a week inperson.” The timetable displays the same information: the course meets twice per week in room J 250. The syllabus, however, discloses that during the entire course, there will only be eight in-person lectures. Canadian Income Tax Law is another example. Despite its representation on the Faculty’s site that the course would not be entirely remote, less than a third of its course hours are in-person. The syllabus of this course states: “This course will meet two times

a week. One meeting will be in person. The other will be hybrid, rotating between AV conferences and in-class meetings.” Despite this unequivocal representation, the syllabus reveals that the Wednesday “hybrid” lecture is delivered online only. The effect of these misrepresentations is that many “in-person” students actually attend the vast majority of their class hours virtually. Would most in-person students really have stayed in Toronto for the fall term if they knew that almost all of their lectures would be delivered exclusively online? Many students acted in reliance on the school’s information and took on financial commitments to participate in-person for the fall semester. Yet upon arriving, they’ve learned that they have received nothing more than what they would have if they proceeded online. While everyone anticipated the risk of another Faculty-wide shutdown, that is no excuse for the Faculty’s failure to deliver in-person courses as represented. T here is No A dva ntage to Bei ng Remote Another point for which the school deserves criticism is in its treatment of remote students. Remote students pay the same fees as in-person students, yet are denied access to the building and other law school facilities. In exchange, most remote students anticipated that they would be relieved of the need to attend lectures in-person, while in-person students would be required to go. After the fall semester began, many remote students were disappointed to learn that being “remote” confers no benefit at all over being in-person. The vast majority of “in-person” classes freely distribute the Zoom links to all of their in-person lectures to anyone who desires them. In-person students can attend remotely in the same way as remote students.

If remote students had known this prior to the start of the semester, it is doubtful that any would have elected to go entirely remote, even if they had no intention of remaining in Toronto. After all, opting to be remote simply means losing building privileges and losing the option of attending any lectures inperson with no corresponding benefit. Some M it igat ion Measu res a re I nt r usive a nd Nonsensica l In an effort to limit viral transmission between students in the building, the school has introduced a number of highly visible mitigation measures. Some of these measures are reasonable, but many are intrusive, nonsensical, and even counterproductive. Of the smorgasbord of measures available to criticize, surely the most egregious is the University of Toronto Libraries’ decision to close their stacks. “Once touched, a book needs to be quarantined for four days,” the Bora Laskin Law Library proclaimed in a September 2 email. One need not be an immunologist to see that this policy is nonsensical. The grocery store doesn’t quarantine its apples after they’re touched by shoppers looking to assess their ripeness. Even more obvious, the Library itself has left its book of campaign donors on its customary pedestal for any passerby to touch. I’m no doctor, but I’m fairly certain that COVID doesn’t discriminate between books of donors and books in the stacks. Books aside, the university’s rigid insistence on mask-usage at all times substantially reduces the value of the library as a work space. Students are required to wear a mask at all times in the library, no matter how far they are from another student, even if they are sitting alone in a study room with the door closed. Wearing a mask while working at a distance is distracting, and other institutions have deemed it to be

unnecessary. McGill University, for example, does not require students to wear masks while seated stationary in its study hubs, as long as students are able to keep two metres away from others. Outside the library, the Faculty’s attempt to implement one-way traffic in and out of lecture halls has caused the very congestion that the policy seeks to prevent. One way traffic does not work to reduce congestion in a lecture hall where students enter together at the beginning of a lecture, and exit together at the end. One-way traffic simply forces all entering and exiting students to use the same door while leaving another door completely unused. This causes more congestion and crowding than would occur if students were allowed to use both doors for both entry and exit. No Excuses for Defying Common Sense No one demands perfection from the Faculty. Students recognize that the administration is composed of lawyers rather than immunologists, and academics rather than pragmatists. But this does not excuse the Faculty from measures that defy basic common sense. It does not take a public-health doctor to observe that many of the school’s policies are overly formalistic and defy basic common sense. Nor does it take a lawyer to observe that the Faculty’s in-person course delivery is not up to par. “I’m just grateful the Faculty is trying to go inperson,” a colleague commented to me while I was writing this article. I don’t share my colleague’s desire to give the administration a participation medal for its mediocre performance. Certainly the Faculty deserves some credit for trying to do what most other law schools wouldn’t. But when students pay by far the highest law school tuition fees in the country, they expect to see some results.

Call for a Faculty Reporting Mandate for In-House COVID-19 Cases The Faculty must keep students and staff regularly informed of positive COVID-19 cases HUSSEIN E. E. FAWZY (1L) On September 8, Associate Dean Christopher Essert emailed the U of T Faculty of Law community to say that a 1L student tested positive for COVID-19. At the time of the notice, the student was asymptomatic and in self-isolation. Following standardized procedures, the University’s Occupational Health and Safety team completed contact tracing and the Faculty performed a deep-clean of the affected areas. Notably, Associate Dean Essert stated that “in accordance with established procedures,” emails notifying the law school community about positive COVID-19 cases will not be routinely sent by the Faculty. Instead, the University’s Occupational Health Nurse will only contact individuals who may have been in contact with the positive case. This decision has grave implications concerning informed decision-making, transparency, and public safety.

The Faculty recognizes the unusual circumstances of the 2020-2021 academic year and has made efforts to respect students’ wishes regarding their decision to attend class in-person or virtually. This approach empowers students by giving them the autonomy to choose what mode of instruction is in their best interest given their unique individual circumstances. However, by withholding information critical to students’ decision-making, the Faculty has seriously undermined the agency and autonomy of students. In order to determine whether to attend inperson or online, students must have an understanding of the level of COVID-19 risk exposure. This risk tolerance varies between students and can depend upon factors such as being high-risk or living with high-risk individuals. In deciding whether the risk has exceeded one’s tolerance, it is imperative for students to be informed of the number of confirmed cases within the Faculty. It

is undeniable that an awareness of the number of confirmed cases in one’s vicinity is a substantial factor in understanding one’s risk. While it is fortunate that our first positive case was asymptomatic and identified quickly, an alternative scenario where multiple students are infected is certainly foreseeable. Displaying a tally of the number of individuals who tested positive in the Faculty is arguably the most informative statistic in risk calculation. This calculation would be integral for students and staff making their daily informed decision on how to attend school. Abstaining from reporting positive cases lacks a convincing reason. Concerns of confidentiality are virtually non-existent since a mere tally lacks any identifiable information that can be linked to afflicted students or staff. While sharing these statistics may arouse fear or panic, as typical with public safety announcements, the need for transparency and informed participation of members

affected by this issue is critical. Perhaps a reaction of fear to increasing cases in the Faculty is called for and is the appropriate reaction to this situation. Granted, the information collected from afflicted students and staff will be limited to some degree. Individuals who experience symptoms or test positive for COVID-19 may decide to self-isolate without revealing their private medical status to the University’s Occupational Health and Safety team, despite their obligation to do so. In this scenario, the data collected by the University, and by extension, the Faculty, will reflect an underestimation. However, similar to other public agencies that face issues of under-reporting, having as much reliable information as possible is an unquestionably better alternative than having none. After all, individuals in the Faculty of Law community are competent enough to account for such limitations when making their decisions.

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October 1, 2020 | 21

The Semester Must Go On In response to criticisms against the University and Faculty’s COVID-19 recovery efforts SABRINA MACKLAI (1L JD/MI) A m idst t he ongoing COV I D -19 pandem ic, many Canad ian un iversit ies and t heir law schools opted to sh ift operat ions completely on l ine. I n a somewhat cont ro versia l move, U of T L aw elected to of fer a blend of in-person and remote classes. There is litt le doubt that the universit y, and the law school, have had far from a per fect response to the pandemic. For example, cr iticisms regarding continued high tuition fees and the lack of recorded lectures are valid and should be considered by the administration. However, some cr iticisms against the school seem unnecessar y and, frank ly, reek of entit lement. O ver t he summer, st udents had to decide t heir prefer red mode of del iver y for t he upcom ing academ ic year (eit her inperson or remote). T hey were caut ioned t hat t heir decision wou ld be f ina l. It is fa ir for st udents who selected inperson st ud ies to be fr ust rated when t he major it y of t heir class t ime is spent remotely. T h is is especia l ly t r ue g iven t hat many st udents may have made t he decision to move and suf fer t he h igh costs of Toronto rent. It is unfa ir, however, to fau lt t he Facu lt y for decisions made in l ight of rapid ly evolv ing publ ic hea lt h recommendat ions. I am a 1L st udent who moved to Toronto w it h t he ex pectat ion of in-person classes. Cur rent ly, around a t h ird of my class t ime

is spent in t he law bui ld ing. I’m obv iously d isappointed, but I respect t hat t hese decisions were not made l ight ly. I f professors feel more comfor table conduct ing class v ir t ua l ly, especia l ly as posit ive CO V I D -19 cases in t he cit y r ise, who am I to object? I n t he l i kely event t hat cases cont inue to r ise and more classes sh ift to remote del iver y, it is impor tant to recog n ize t hat t hese decisions, wh i le unfor t unate, are in t he best interest of t he law school commun it y’s hea lt h. T he a lter nat ive to being open to an evolv ing sit uat ion wou ld be to have a l l classes operate remotely. I n t h is case, st udents wou ld not have to ma ke t he d if f icu lt decision to move to attend an uncer ta in number of in-person classes. I may be bold to assume, however, t hat t h is a lternat ive wou ld not appease t he cr it ics. W h i le t he cr it icism t hat remote st udents are t reated unfa irly does have some mer it, it is unreasonable to ex pect t he Facu lt y to circumvent t he un iversit y’s hea lt h precaut ions by a l low ing remote st udents access to t he bui ld ing. St udents were war ned t hat t heir decision to st udy remotely wou ld be f ina l. It is unfor t unate t hese st udents are not g iven access to t he same law school faci l it ies as in-person st udents, but t h is is not an arg ument t hat in-person st udents shou ld not be g iven Zoom l in k s. I f an in-person st udent fa l ls

i l l or has a sit uat ion change t hat increases t heir r isk of ex posure, t hey shou ld be g iven an opt ion to attend remotely, as t he Facu lt y has done. To do ot her w ise wou ld be to unnecessar i ly put in-person st udents at h igher r isk of COV I D -19 ex posure. Perhaps t he most nonsensica l cr it icisms I’ve seen are t hose d irected at t he Bora L ask in L aw L ibrar y. T he decision to close t he physica l l ibrar y stack s was made by t he Un iversit y of Toronto L ibrar ies ( U T L) system to accommodate changes in l ibrar y operat ions intended to protect bot h st udents and l ibrar y staf f, and for t he un iversit y to have access to t he Hat h iTr ust ETA S, a col lect ion of d ig it ized versions of t he l ibrar y’s book s. To abide by copy r ight laws, stack s must rema in closed. By nego t iat ing an ag reement w it h t he Hat h iTr ust, U T L ensures t hat col lect ions rema in accessible to st udents who cannot v isit t he l ibrar y in-person. T h is does not mean t hat st udents lack access to any physica l l ibrar y resources. I n fact, if one asked a l ibrar ian or simply refer red to t he website, one wou ld not ice t hat many l ibrar ies, includ ing t he law l ibrar y, of fer curbside pickup. Essent ia l ly, st udents and facu lt y may request book s from t he physica l stack s t hat are not present in t he Hat h iTr ust ETA S col lect ion to be picked up at Robar ts L ibrar y. Cr it icisms aga inst t he l ibrar y’s proto -

cols for san itat ion appear even more outland ish. U T L has implemented severa l safet y measures to ensure l ibrar y mater ia ls and ser v ices are safe for use. W h i le one may f ind it r id icu lous to quarant ine a book, I wou ld t r ust t he infor mat ion pro fessiona ls to understand t he san itat ion protocols required to ma ke t heir mater ia ls sa fe for use. Fur t her more, wh i le st udents may use l ibrar y faci l it ies w it hout clean ing bet ween uses, t hey are of fered and encouraged to use hand san it izer and d isinfectant w ipes. I w i l l not debate t he mer its of maskwear ing in publ ic spaces, even if one is in a room ent irely a lone. T h is is not a decision made by t he Facu lt y nor U T L , but rat her in accordance w it h t he Un iversit y’s pol icies. I f one wants to attend inperson, wh ich shou ld honest ly be v iewed as a pr iv i lege and not a r ight, t hen one shou ld ad here to t he r u les made in t he interest of publ ic hea lt h and safet y. It is reasonable t hat st udents of t he Facu lt y pay ing t he h ighest law school t uit ion in t he count r y shou ld ex pect a lega l educat ion of t he h ighest qua l it y. But g iven t he cur rent unpred ictabi l it y and genera l unusua lness of our da i ly af fa irs, it is impor tant st udents recog n ize t hat, for t he most, t he ad m in ist rat ion is doing t heir best. Voice concer ns, but be k ind. It’s t he least we can do in t hese t imes.

GrasshoppHer: Mentorship, Redefined. Mentorship, networking, and recruitment will look different post-2020. Enter GrasshoppHer. DANYA FIRESTONE (3L JD/MBA) AND SARAH FIRESTONE (JD 2019) GrasshoppHer: A Mobi le Appl icat ion

Heat her M i l ler: T he Fou nder’s Stor y

GrasshoppHer is a mobi le app t hat connects fema le and non-binar y mentees and mentors. W h i le women ma ke up 47% of t he workforce, t hey on ly account for 21.2% of leadersh ip roles. Worse, stat ist ics show t hat t here is a d ispropor t ionately low number of women mentors and role models in t he work force. On t he app, users can create prof i les and connect w it h mentors and mentees beyond t heir establ ished commun it ies and net work s. Access to t h is net work of mentors and sponsors can prov ide access to role models, conversat ions, and oppor t un it ies for mentees to get t heir foot in t he door. One can check out GrasshoppHer’s website for more infor mat ion.

T he founder, Heat her M i l ler is a law yer w it h deep t ies to t he Toronto and lega l commun it ies. Bor n and ra ised in Toronto, Heat her is a g raduate of Osgoode Ha l l L aw School. A s a ch i ld hood ba l ler ina, Heat her t w irled her way to T he Nat iona l Ba l let School of Canada. W h i le she l ived out her t ut u-f i l led fantasies, she w it nessed t he t roubles, such as eat ing d isorders and bu lly ing, t hat her young fema le peers, who lacked leadersh ip and g uidance, ex per ienced. She made a vow t hat one day she wou ld put hersel f in t he posit ion to ma ke a d if ference. She went to law school pursuing t he potent ia l to create rea l, posit ive change. She worked to help low-income ind iv idua ls and t hose in t he menta l hea lt h system f ind necessar y suppor t and re-

sources, where t he state, gover nment, and t heir net work s were fa i l ing t hem. L ater in her professiona l l ife, she cont inued to see gaps and set out on her next m ission to pursue equa l it y in t he workplace. T h is was t he impet us for her “a hamoment.” T hrough t hese ver y d if ferent l ife ex per iences, she ident if ied a common problem: a lack of access to suppor t, g uidance, and mentorsh ip. She created GrasshoppHer to bui ld a commun it y where women can come toget her to inspire each ot her and prov ide a leg up. Fema le Mentorsh ip i n t he Ca nad ia n L ega l Com mu n it y W h i le t he app was developed to cater to t he broader commun it y, t he lega l commun it y faces t he same system ic problems t hat GrasshoppHer seek s to solve. Mentorsh ip is a lready a cr ucia l par t of t he fabr ic of

t he lega l commun it y, but more can be done to connect women mentees w it h mentors and role models in t he indust r y. Fur t her more, g iven t he cur rent globa l pandem ic and its impact on lega l recr uiting, it is more impor tant t han ever t hat mentorsh ip conversat ions and net work ing oppor t un it ies ta ke place v ir t ua l ly and on a d ig ita l plat for m. GrasshoppHer is working to ensure t hat women in t he Canad ian L ega l commun it y have access to each ot her and t he benef its t hat k nowledge-sharing prov ides. T h is w i l l be incred ibly impor tant t h is year g iven t hat OCIs w i l l be held v ir t ua l ly. I f you are interested in join ing t he commun it y, sig n up for t he app! Please feel free to reach out to Heather with questions or to learn how GrasshoppHer can work with your organization: contact Heather Miller at hello@grasshoppher.com

DIVERSIONS

22 | October 1, 2020

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The 1L Pandemic Experience Masks and parks and Zoom, oh my! HARRY MYLES (1L) On November 1, 2019, I, a long w it h t housands of ot hers, subm itted my appl icat ion to U of T L aw. COV I D -19 was a fut ure news stor y anot her cont inent away. It was a simpler t ime when t he word “pandem ic” was associated more w it h t he Span ish F lu t han t he 21st cent ur y. But t he past is h istor y and COV I D -19 is here to stay. A fter a summer of bread ba k ing and T V bingeing, I approached t he star t of L ega l Met hods on Aug ust 24 w it h a blend of excitement and para lyzing an x iet y. Now t hat day has come to pass and Sep tember is near ing its end, I have had some t ime to ref lect on 1L so far. You can’t ta l k about t he 1L Pandem ic E x per ience w it hout ment ion ing t he elephant in t he room. Or rat her, t he mask on t he face. By now, I’m more acqua inted w it h t he int r icacies of someone’s rotat ion

of mask s t han I am w it h t he act ua l lower ha l f of t heir head. Does he have a beard? W ho k nows? But man, t hat pa isley mask sure is a crowd-pleaser. I can even say t hat I’ve a lmost gotten used to breat h ing in my ow n recycled a ir for f ive hours a day. On t he br ight side, t hough, I’ve never appreciated t he smel l of Toronto more t han when I step outside and inha le a big lung fu l of t hat smogg y a ir. One of t he sel l ing points of U of T L aw is t he net work ing. You’l l meet fut ure CEOs and Presidents! W h i le I’m sure my peers w i l l a l l go on to lead many successfu l careers, net work ing in t he m idst of a pandem ic is a l itt le tough. I t h in k most 1L s have accepted t he fact t hat we’l l meet, at most, 20 percent of our class t h is year. T hen, hopefu l ly once t he Zoomers and in-person attendees are reun ited, we’l l

become one big happy 2L fam i ly. We’ve t r ied to ma ke it work, t hough. “Park hang ” has become t he go -to socia l event. Sma l l g roups ta ke over ha l f of Queen’s Park ever y Fr iday or Sat urday for physica l ly d istanced socia l gat her ings. Dur ing t hese out ings, we get t he rare t reat of seeing t he face beh ind t he mask. T h is is perhaps t he most int imate ex per ience t wo people can have in t h is pandem ic world. “A re you on l ine or in-person?” A lt hough we are a l l in t h is toget her, we are a lso a d iv ided 1L separated by t hat d ig ita l rea lm. T he major it y of my classes are inperson, so I do not have f irst-hand ex per ience of what it's l i ke to attend law school t hrough Zoom. But I don’t t h in k I’m spea k ing out of t ur n by say ing it's not t he most desirable ex per ience. Is your camera on? Better ma ke sure t hat pi le of d ir t y

laund r y is of f your bed because even t hough your professor says he won’t judge, he def in itely w i l l. A re you on mute? I t h in k ever yone can reca l l t hat moment of sheer pan ic when you star t roast ing your prof to your roommate and can’t remember if you’re on mute. Perhaps t he one benef it of Zoom School is t hat when you oversleep, you don’t have to r ush out t he door but instead just rol l over and open your laptop. I n a l l ser iousness, t h is 1L ex per ience has been t r u ly un ique. T he Class of 2023 has somet h ing quite except iona l to share. We are un ited, whet her t hrough Zoom or in-person, as t he Class of COV I D -19 and not h ing, not even a v ir us or ter r ible I nter net connect ion, can ta ke t hat away from us.

Intra Vires

Totally real news from a socially distanced semester at the Faculty of Law ADRIENNE RALPH (2L) AND ANGELA GU (2L JD/MBA)

U of T Facult y of Law awarded the MESSY Cup A lways need ing to prove its posit ion as #1, t he Facu lt y has ear ned t he Most Earl iest Scanda l in t he School Year ( M E SSY ) Cup for t he 71st year in a row. At a m indblowing n ine days into t he school year, t he Facu lt y shattered t heir prev iously held record of 22 days. Due to st r ict conf ident ia lit y pol icies t hat t he Facu lt y ad m in ist rat ion ta kes ver y ser iously, we are not per m itted to d iscuss t he scanda l in fur t her deta i l. Unfor t unately, because of COVI D -19 rest r ict ions, t he usua l M E SSY Cup celebrator y d inner, t he Dean’s Cuisine, where st udents d ine on d r y bagels and m in i muf f ins, w i l l not be going for ward t h is year. I n l ieu of a replacement event, t he Facu lt y w i l l be br ing ing in a lumn i to share t heir ex per t ise, host ing Zoom webinars ever y lunch hour for t he next t hree week s on topics rang ing from Manag ing P ubl ic Relat ions to Ta x L aw for Dumm ies.

Frenzied 2L s f lood supermarkets tr ying to f ind syrups to boost credit counts After Cog nomos course select ion left too many law st udents w it h too few course cred its, many had to get creat ive w it h f ind ing a way to meet t heir cred it requirements. Some look ing to supplement t heir l ight course loads buck led up to face t he cha l lenge of compet it ive moots and d irected research papers. I nfor mat ion about sy r ups soon spread t hroughout t he st udent body, supposed ly a mag ic cure-a l l t hat cou ld boost t he cred it count of select courses. 3L s were a lready acqua inted w it h t he sy r up, and 2L s set about to seek it out. A ver y upset manager at t he Bloor St reet I ndependent Cit y Market sa id t hat her g rocer y clerk s had been over whelmed by hordes of an x ious yout hs ask ing for “sy r ups for one cred it.” T hey were on ly able to of fer bott les of President’s Choice 10 0% P ure Maple Sy r up, Canada Grade A A mber.

Complete eradication: invasive species gone from Bora Laskin Law Librar y, for now

Facult y of Law makes landmark announcement: a new alumniled pro bono program

SNA I L S (st udents not act ua l ly in law school), t he invasive species in quest ion, have long plag ued law school l ibrar ies. I n t he compet it ive Bora L ask in L aw L ibrar y ecosystem, t he ef fect of SNA I L S has become increasingly sa l ient over t he years as t hey managed to ga in a foot hold. SNA I L S have persisted despite var ious attempts at remova l, from sig nage to intercom announcements dur ing t he exam per iod. T hat is, unt i l t he int roduct ion of fob access to law school prem ises necessitated by t he cur rent globa l pandem ic. Recent empir ica l st ud ies (Gu et a l., 2020) show t hat t he law l ibrar y has seen a 10 0 percent decrease in t he loca l SNA I L S popu lat ion, however t here is insuf f icient data to pred ict whet her t he popu lat ion w i l l bounce back after pandem ic rest r ict ions l ift.

A new pro bono prog ram is under way, w it h Facu lt y of L aw a lumn i un it ing to g ive back to t he commun it y. A lt hough few in number, t hey have pledged to ded icate over 20 0 hours over t he year towards helping st udents f i le freedom of infor mat ion requests in an ef for t to obta in more t ransparency into t he law school’s inner work ings. T he prog ram ex pects to att ract w ider interest as it sca les up over t he next t hree years; it is projected to att ract over 30 a lumn i volunteers across Canada and over 170 st udent volunteers.

OPINIONS

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October 1, 2020 | 23

The 2020-21 Law School Changes: Rated The Faculty always gets to grade us, now it’s our turn ADRIENNE RALPH (2L)

Mandated Classroom Entrances/Exits 8/10 A ll classrooms in the law school, including the law school itself (more on that later), now have designated entrances and exits, and all are encouraged to move to the last empty seat in a row before sitting down. This change is great, in theory. Squishing past people to get to the only seat available that’s close enough for my ever-increasing glasses prescription to handle was the bane of my existence last year. However, in practice, the changes are somewhat less impressive. While the entrances and exits do help the f low of people in and out of class, the whole moving-tothe-last-seat concept seems to have not caught on yet. I’ve still had to do the awkward suck-in-andsquish-past movement on far too many occasions.

Lack of Free Food -2020/10 One of the highlights of my law school experience last year was the amount of free food available – from U V pitch meeting pizza, to Law yers Doing Cool Things fancy sandwiches, it almost made the tuition price worth it. While there may be the occasional boxed lunch available this year, it won’t be the same as my tradition of attempting to get a free lunch every day of the week.

Building Entry Fobs

Essert As Associate Dean

7/10

11/10

There are many positives to the new building fobs, prov ided to inperson students so we can access the law school: no pesky undergrads watching their K han Academy calculus v ideos in Jackman, a fun, new keychain accessor y, the feeling of exclusiv it y when you get to tap in. However, they come w ith a couple of downsides. Enter ing through only one door is quite inconvenient. W hile the safet y precautions are appreciated, it would be nice if I did not have to walk half the circumference of the law building to get to the only available entrance. Fobs are also not available to 2L s in joint programs this year. W hile again, this makes sense on paper, it poses issues for students wanting to attend law-school-hosted events and access law school resources, if needed.

U V a lumn i on t he ad m in team? Enough sa id; instant per fect score. One who w rote pizza rev iews dur ing h is t ime here? Even better.

IHRP Scandal 1/10 T he Facu lt y of L aw is no st ranger to a juicy Globe and Ma i l ex posé, so I’m not sure how much of a change t h is rea l ly is. T h is gets one single point for g iving us somet h ing to gossip about dur ing t he monotonous days of COV I D. It gets absolutely none for… just about ever y t h ing else.

DIVERSIONS

24 | October 1, 2020

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Face Masks: Navigating a New Fashion Trend? What your mask says about you JENNIFER SUN (1L)

Whether you like it or not, 2020 is the era of the face mask. At the Faculty of Law, instead of seeing everyone’s face full of joy and happiness (or misery if you didn’t finish your readings and cold calls await you), we see nothing but a sea of masks. Yet, we are resilient and always find ways to express ourselves. So, what does your mask choice say about you?

Simple is best: Black There is no debate that black masks are one of the simplest yet coolest designs out there. This mask goes well with any outfit: black suits or hoodies alike. Many heads of state regularly wear them; need we say more?

White While not as common as black masks, white masks communicate a similar message and complement any fashion choice with a vibe of elegance that resides in simplicity.

Colours

Intricately unique

Another variation of this theme consists of masks of a single colour. These masks are slightly more distinguished from black or white masks as the wearer must put more thought into how the specific colour works with what they are wearing that day. A rather subjective recommendation is to avoid these colourful masks if you don’t have a matching outfit.

Now, this is the category where individuality is front and centre. With abstract or floral patterns, these fashionable masks are a great way to differentiate yourself from others. The chance of someone else wearing the same mask on the same day is close to zero. If that ever happens, a long-lasting friendship may ensue.

Subtly unique There is a niche of students who, while appreciating the beauty of simplicity, are not entirely satisfied with the way average simple masks look. These students opt for masks with small accent designs at the corner or along the edge to convey a subtle individuality that people will notice only when they are close enough (but still two metres apart).

Proud to be a student There could be several reasons why you wear the standard U of T mask. Maybe you just love this specific hue of blue, or maybe you are proud to be here. Or, perhaps because they were free ¯\_( ツ)_/¯. And who doesn’t love free stuff when the tuition is so high?

“I was here in August” There will never be enough free masks. For 1L students (myself included) who had to endure two

weeks of Legal Methods before the official start of the academic year, we definitely deserved another free mask, courtesy of the SLS.

Health is the priority Lastly, let’s not forget why we are wearing masks: for health and safety. In achieving this particular purpose, certified surgical masks may have the edge over cloth masks and some students may choose to wear them instead. These surgical masks are also readily available and come in a pack of 30 or 50 that will last for quite some time. As the school year goes on, we will likely see the emergence of more distinct face masks. Just like any other fashion trend, we may witness the rise of an entirely different design followed by the return to the traditional. Perhaps we will each be designing our own mask by the end of all this. Only time will tell. But one thing we know for sure in the meantime: please wear your masks inside the law school buildings.

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