Ultra Vires Volume 22, Issue 5 - March 2021 by Ultra Vires

ULTRAVIRES.CA

March 3, 2021

VOL. 22, ISS. 5

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

Remembering Meruba Sivaselvachandran A bright, compassionate, and beloved individual VIVIAN CHENG (2L) AND VANSHIKA DHAWAN (2L), WITH CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE U OF T LAW COMMUNITY

ILLUSTRATION BY JENNIFER SUN

Grand Moot 2020 Recap The law school’s annual ceremonial moot goes virtual VIVIAN CHENG (2L) This year, the Grand Moot took place v irtually over Zoom and live streamed on Youtube on Januar y 28. The moot was initially slated to take place in the 2020 Fall semester, but was delayed to the 2021 Winter semester to accommodate log istical dif f iculties in planning the event. The panel of judges featured U of T alumni Justice Sheilah Martin (SJ D 91) of the Supreme Court of Canada, Justice Lorne Sossin ( PhD 93) of the Ontario

Court of Appeal, and Justice Edward Morgan ( L L B 84) of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. Teodora Pasca (3L JD/MA Criminology) and Olivia Eng (3L) represented the appellant and Geri Angelova (3L) and Hana Awwad (3L) represented the respondent. This year, the problem centered around the constitutionalit y of a hy pothetical mandator y vaccination program under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Pasca and Eng challenged the constitutionalit y of this program, for the appellant, Lucas Yuno, while A ngelova and Aw wad defended the constitutionalit y of the program on behalf of the government. The YouTube live stream attracted 683 unique views and the Zoom Webinar attracted 152 attendants. Student Co-Chief Justices Saambavi Mano (3L) and Alina Yu (3L) who were in charge of organizing the event, were pleased with how it turned out.

Meruba Sivaselvachandran (2L JD/MBA) passed away on February 17. It is diff icult to imagine a world without her — her smile, her laughter, her wit, her curiosity, her glasses that were always falling down her nose. Meruba was beloved by many in the U of T Faculty of Law community, and we will emulate her beautiful soul by living with compassion and generosity and joy. Meruba was known for her warmth. Her vibrant laughter could f ill an entire room. She had a particular way of scrutinizing the frown you were trying to hide from her, and a gaze that made you feel accepted for who you were but made you strive to be better all the same. Those who worked with her often said that being in her presence was more enjoyable than the work itself. For Abraham Ahmed (2L), who worked with Meruba at Amnesty International’s Digital Verif ication Corps (DVC), two things are unforgettable: her ability to make you laugh and her unparalleled compassion. Her f irst priority was to ensure everyone was comfortable and felt supported. “That was the kind of person Meruba was: whether you were a friend or a colleague she’d just met a few minutes ago, Meruba was always thinking about others’ well-being,” recalls Abraham. She was thoughtful, helpful, and the life of any team she was on. “In one of our meetings, Meruba and I led a small breakout team on one of our projects. Meruba’s f irst concern was to make sure the f irst year students felt as much support as possible,” says Abraham. Professor Angela Fernandez, who taught Meruba’s small group, emphasized the fact that Meruba was friends with everyone and provided a “lightness” to any situation. Meruba would bake cookies, write personalized elementary-school style Valentine’s Day cards, and congratulate her small group peers on their summer endeavours and extracurricular successes. She would even bake cookies and write Valentines cards for other small groups. Meruba always thought about how she could make other people’s lives brighter. Sam Kokonis (2L), who was also in her small group, says “She made sure to remind each of us that we were important and valued.” Beyond her vivacious presence, Meruba

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ALSO IN THIS ISSUE DEAN BRUNNÉE CHAIRS FIRST FACULTY COUNCIL OF TERM

THE FUTURE OF BLACK FUTURE LAWYERS

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RIGHTS REVIEW PAGE 19

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UV INDEX

EDITORS' NOTE 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 DIVERSIONS EDITOR Adrienne Ralph

Dear Readers, We are halfway through the second term, and three-quarters of the way through this strange school year. We wanted to acknowledge some of our collective losses: missed time with friends and family, missed opportunities, and most importantly, the passing of our beloved friend and colleague Meruba Sivaselvachandran. It is a somber month. We have created a tribute to Meruba Sivaselvachandran in this issue. Below is a list of resources you can access to help you navigate this challenging time:

Remembering Meruba Sivaselvachandran

1 OPINIONS A Review of This Year’s 1L

NEWS

Grand Moot 2020 Recap

JPT Sessions

Official Launch of the FLL and IPC

On Cold Calling in a Pandemic

Dean Brunnée Chairs First Faculty Council of Term

GPLLM: The Forgotten Students?

A Virtual Lunar New Year

• Law Chats

FEATURES

• Good 2 Talk Student Helpline at 1-866-9255454

The Future of Black Future Lawyers

Editorial

• Ontario Mental Health Helpline at 1-866-5312600

Navigating the NYC Recruit

Behind the Scenes: Grand Moot 2020

Cambie Surgeries Corporation 19 v British Columbia (AG)

Court of Appeal Hears Oral Arguments in R v Morris

Calgary 2L Summer 2020 Recruit Results

SLS Update: Governance Reform and New Awards

A Chat with Former UV EiCs Aidan Campbell and Amani Rauff

Baking with Professor Ripstein

Valentine’s Wines

Playlist: A COVID Love Story

• Gerstein Centre Crisis Line at 416-929-5200 Students can also contact the Health and Wellness Centre (weekdays 9 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.) at 416-978-8030, or to visit the Student Mental Health Portal at https:// mentalhealth.utoronto.ca. In addition to the services offered by Health and Wellness, UofT MySSP is available to support our students 24 hours a day, seven days a week via telephone, video, or chat from anywhere in the world in multiple languages. Students in need of academic support are encouraged to contact Assistant Dean Alexis Archbold at alexis.archbold@utoronto.ca. In solidarity,

RIGHTS REVIEW 19

Health, Human Rights, and COVID-19

The Right to Water

DIVERSIONS The Exchange that Never Was

Trying to Date in a Pandemic

Pandemic Dating Red Flags

Plants, Personified

The Ultra Vires Editorial Board

ASSOCIATE DIVERSIONS EDITOR Harry Myles EDITORS AT LARGE Safa Bajwa & Graham Rotenberg LAYOUT EDITOR Alexandra Fox RECRUIT EDITOR Hussein E.E. Fawzy SOCIAL MEDIA TEAM Adrienne Ralph, Safa Bajwa, Elaine Cheng, & Jennifer Sun 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. CONTINUE TO READ MERUBA SIVASELVACHANDRAN’S TRIBUTE ON PAGE 3

March 3, 2021 | 3

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Remembering Meruba Sivaselvachandran continued

FROM TOP: PHOTO OF MERUBA COURTESY OF NATHAN DUONG, MERUBA AND COURTNEY (MERUBA’S ROOMMATE IN 1L), MERUBA AND HER FOSTER DOG, AND MERUBA AND MEMBERS OF HER SMALL GROUP"

was also a passionate advocate who was heavily involved in the community. She volunteered as a Student Ambassador for the JD program and was involved in the LAWS youth outreach program. Meruba also volunteered for the DVC and People for Equality and Relief in Lanka (PEARL) under the International Human Rights Program and the Sports & Entertainment Law Association. At Rotman, she was a member of the Entertainment and Media Association, the Rotman Marketing Association, and the Rotman Sports Business Association. It came as no surprise that Meruba also volunteered to plan the Orientation program for the Class of 2023. Her colleagues, Thryn Irwin (2L) and Branden Cave (2L), remember how eager she was to plan and lead the very f irst event, and how excited she was to welcome new students to the place she called home for the past year. Her enthusiasm for spreading love and friendship was contagious. She was able to get shy, hesitant students to come out of their shells and share her energy. “Meruba was the only one of us that managed to convince her three groups to take individual photos. The rest of us had given up and done group photos instead,” say Thryn and Branden. “But she didn’t give up. She was just so excited for these photos that the rest of the 1Ls started lining up to participate. She was an inspiration, to both the incoming class and ourselves.” Sabrina Macklai (1L JD/MI) remembers meeting Meruba for the f irst time on Welcome Day. “When she noticed I looked overwhelmed, she took me aside and talked to me for over an hour,” she recalls. “We had never met before, but she made me feel as if we had known each other forever. She gave me the push I needed to accept my offer, reassuring me that I wasn’t alone in being a South Asian woman in law, and that there was a place for us in the profession. Meruba continued to support me through my f irst year.” Being loved by Meruba meant feeling cared for and valued because she truly paid attention to you. She had a penchant for remembering even the most minute details. Courtney Cowan (2L JD/MBA), her roommate in 1L, fondly remembers getting an umbrella and purple pen for her birthday. “They were weird birthday gifts in any other context, but I had mentioned that I needed them,” Courtney explains. “I don’t know how she stored everything in her head. All I know is that she genuinely cared about and prioritized other peoples’ happiness.” Meruba spent countless hours helping Miina Balasubramaniam (2L) plan a surprise graduation party for her sister, and ensured it stayed a surprise. For Sabrina Sukhdeo (2L), a close friend, Meruba organized and hosted a get-together for her birthday — a day that typically sharpens a lot of negative feelings for Sabrina. “She went all out for me. She got a cake and made decorations. Even more impressively, she convinced the folks who had never gone to social events or hangouts before to come out. Meruba was so big-hearted and had an infectious sunniness. She was so good at fostering community and belonging,” says Sabrina. “It was the best birthday I’ve ever had.” Meruba’s perceptiveness and f ierce loyalty were unmatched. She always knew when her friends needed someone to check in on them, or when one of them desperately needed a laugh. “One day last summer, she started a group chat called ‘pls drink w/ me’ and said ‘Hi I would like to consume a beverage while staring at your faces so let’s FaceTime next week?’” recalls Vanshika Dhawan (2L). “I laughed so hard at the message. I don’t know how she knew I really needed a friend at the time, but she just did. She always did.” To be loved by Meruba also meant to frequently be on the receiving end of her light-

FROM TOP, CLOCKWISE: MERUBA AT SABRINA SUKHDEO’S BIRTHDAY PARTY, MERUBA’S VALENTINE’S DAY CARD FOR FRIEND SEEMA SIDHU, AND PHOTO OF MERUBA COURTESY OF THE SIVASELVACHANDRAN FAMILY

hearted badinage. Taskeen Ather Nawab (2L) described her as an individual packed with wit and sarcasm, who delivered punchlines with an unforgettable smile. She had a proclivity for teasing her friends endlessly, but always in an intimate and affectionate way. Seema Sidhu (2L), who hails from Winnipeg, says that Meruba did everything she could to make Toronto feel like a home away from home. Despite that, she never passed up an opportunity to crack a joke about Seema’s hometown. “Once, a friend from home was visiting when we ran into Meruba near the Art Gallery of Ontario. Without skipping a beat (or even saying hello), she turned to my friend and said, ‘Did you grow up on a farm, without electricity, too?’” This was Meruba’s picture of what Manitoba looked like. “I f iercely defended Winnipeg, and Meruba found my reaction funnier each time,” says Seema. Vivian Cheng (2L) remembers being nervous right before performing at her Orientation Week Talent show. “I remember Meruba making fun of my piano playing right before my performance,” she says. “Despite her sarcastic comments, I had never felt more supported during a nerve-racking moment than I did with her by my side.” Her friends could always count on Meruba’s encouragement and unconditional support. She rightfully reminded us that we would regret not going to Call to the Bar. She pushed us out of our comfort zones, encouraging us to pursue crazy ideas like going to jungle gyms and trying out belly dancing. She had the power to bring together people who had nothing in common but their friendship with her. She was passionate about everything — from the Kung Fu Panda orchestral score to Bollywood movie nights, to her disdain for karaoke and her thorough ranking of Jolly Rancher f lavours. She breathed life into everything, and into everyone. Though accomplished and driven, Meruba

will be remembered f irst and foremost for her kindness. We f ind it diff icult to navigate a world without her spirit and her unapologetic humanity. We will grieve for Meruba for as long as we love her — for the rest of our lives. We will celebrate her life and carry her memory with us in everything we do. The world is, and always will be, a better place because of her. We are all better because of her. Rest in Peace, Meruba Sivaselvachandran. __________________________ Please know that you are not alone. If you need to talk, below is a list of resources you can access to help you navigate this challenging time: Good 2 Talk Student Helpline at 1-866-9255454 Ontario Mental Health Helpline at 1-866531-2600 Gerstein Centre Crisis Line at 416-929-5200 Students can also contact the Health and Wellness Centre (weekdays 9 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.) at 416-978-8030, or to visit the Student Mental Health Portal at https://mentalhealth.utoronto.ca. In addition to the services offered by Health and Wellness, Uof T MySSP is available to support our students 24 hours a day, seven days a week via telephone, video, or chat from anywhere in the world in multiple languages. Students in need of academic support are encouraged to contact Assistant Dean Alexis Archbold at alexis.archbold@utoronto.ca Consider donating to her family’s GoFundMe page in support of four charitable organizations Meruba cared deeply about: https://gofund.me/0cd46b3c

4 | March 3, 2021

NEWS

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Official Launch of the Future of Law Lab and the Investor Protection Clinic The Faculty of Law introduces two new programs aimed at impacting the future of the legal profession NATASHA BURMAN (1L)

FROM THE TOP LEFT, CLOCKWISE: JOSH MORRISON, DIRECTOR OF THE FLL, ANTHONY NIBLETT, PROFESSOR IN LAW, ECONOMICS, AND INNOVATION, PROFESSOR AND FORMER DEAN ED IACOBUCCI, IVY LAM, DIRECTOR OF THE IPC, DEAN JUTTA BRUNNÉE, AND NEIL GROSS, CHAIR OF THE ONTARIO SECURITIES COMMISSION INVESTOR ADVISORY PANEL.

On February 10, the University of Toronto Faculty of Law officially launched two new programs: The Future of Law Lab (FLL) and the Investor Protection Clinic (IPC). The event was held virtually with a keynote speech by Neil Gross, Chair of the Ontario Securities Commission Investor Advisory Panel. Distinguished speakers included Dean Jutta Brunnée, former Dean Ed Iacobucci, Associate Professor in Law, Economics, and Innovation Anthony Niblett, Director of the IPC Ivy Lam, and Director of the FLL Josh Morrison. Neil Gross celebrated the launch by sharing his thoughts on the introduction of “Big Technology” into the wealth management space, the impact of technology and social media on the market, and the significance of legal education for emerging technologies. The Future of Law Lab

Josh Morrison, Director, and Anthony Niblett, Academic Advisor to the Future of Law Lab, discussed the interdisciplinary hub’s goals of inquiry, discussion, and activity. From academic and guest talks, to workshops and events, to externships for students, the Lab seeks to provide initiatives and infor-

mation about the changing face of the legal profession. The Lab will promote, support, and develop programming relating to the intersection of law, innovation, technology, and entrepreneurship. Josh Morrison discussed with me his thoughts on where he sees the Future of Law Lab in five years. “While it’s tough to predict exactly what the Future of Law Lab will look like in five years’ time, I hope that we will be viewed as a leader in legal technology/innovation and in legal education. I’m really excited about interdisciplinary collaboration, and I’d like to create an environment where students, staff, faculty, and stakeholders across the professions can investigate the legal questions that are driving changes in society. As Professor Niblett mentioned during the Launch event, there are important questions being raised around predictive technologies, improving access to justice, competition law and the rise of tech giants, tribunal delegating authority to algorithms, and intellectual property rights, among a host of other issues. The Future of Law Lab will be the place to dive into these types of questions.

In terms of concrete initiatives, I anticipate a focus on legal design where we’ll bring together students from law and other disciplines, and stakeholders together to address real-world legal challenges. I’m envisioning an environment with whiteboards, post-it notes, prototyping materials, and other items more commonly seen in design spaces and less so in the legal profession. I’d like to see monthly workshops where we employ design-thinking and modern problem-solving techniques in a variety of substantive areas, such as data governance, employment, or tax. I’m also partial to simulation or case-based learning, and I would like to explore the possibility of case competitions, where students would be inserted into a fact pattern based on a real situation. Students, or teams of students, would then work together to think about how they would resolve the legal and strategic problems in the pattern, and present their business plan to a panel of judges. I think there is an excellent opportunity to examine how organizations are responding to “future of law” related questions and how they can improve in the years to come. On the student experience side, we’d like to expand our offering of in-house partnerships and give students the opportunity to experience that type of work environment. We’ve developed a strong relationship with Nestlé, and I’m hopeful that this is a model we can recreate with other companies. We’d also like to explore potential summer opportunities with mid-size technology companies, where students can get the best of both worlds by being part of an entrepreneurial start-up environment and also work directly with internal counsel on practical legal questions.” On March 5, the Future of Law Lab will hold its first workshop in which law students can generate legal innovations that address a problem, such as building a regulatory regime well suited for handling digital business. Students will learn to use and implement the tools of human-centered design to bring fresh thinking to legal challenges. The Investor Protection Clinic

The Investor Protection Clinic seeks to fill a critical gap in the investing community for those without access to public legal education who are at risk of suffering harm, or who have already suffered harm relating to their investments. The Clinic seeks to educate vulnerable members of the community, such as the elderly and newcomers to Canada, and those who may not be able to afford representation. Currently, law students can volunteer at the Clinic

through Volunteer Working Groups; the IPC provides students a space where they can engage in advocacy, policy development, and access to justice. The IPC is also hiring summer clinic workers and offers an upper-year clinical course for academic credit. I sat down with current clinic volunteers Robin Chang (1L) and Daiana Kostova (3L) to get an inside look into the IPC’s goals and its meaningful work. Kostova discussed the work of the IPC’s largest working group, Public Legal Education (PLE), which is creating a series of workshops to educate the public on financial and investment issues. These workshops will be delivered virtually through community organizations in March 2021 and through the IPC’s current partner, the Toronto Public Library, whose free programming draws a broad audience. There are currently four workshops under development. Kostova is on a team that is working on one related to investment and financial scams or frauds. “Our goals are to educate the public on red flags related to common scams, how to avoid being a victim, and how to report any financial harm that may result if they do unwittingly find themselves embroiled in one of these unfortunate situations. Part of our focus is on the typologies and fraud risks that have emerged as a result of COVID,” she explained. Chang is part of the Community Legal Education Ontario (CLEO) working group; the IPC has partnered with CLEO to create a section on investor protection for their website called Steps to Justice. This resource seeks to cover the various questions and concerns inexperienced investors may have. For example, an investor can search for how to find a qualified advisor, and what options they have if they have a complaint about the way their investment was handled. Chang conducts research on these topics and worked with the other members of the clinic to create an initial draft for the resource. Another current student-run project which Kostova discussed seeks to create a social media presence for the Clinic. The IPC hopes to use Twitter and Instagram to further its public legal education mandate, engage with the legal community online, and provide another outlet for potential clients or individuals who may need our help to locate the Clinic. The IPC is on Twitter and Instagram @Uof TLawIPC. To learn more about getting involved with the Investor Protection Clinic and the Future of Law Lab, visit their webpages.

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6 | March 3, 2021

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Dean Brunnée Chairs First Faculty Council of Term Council meeting discusses new Dean’s priorities, mandatory TRC course, and sessional dates ANGELA GU (2L JD/MBA) On February 10, Professor Jutta Brunnée chaired her first Faculty Council as Dean of the law school. She opened by acknowledging the sustained impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the efforts by students, staff, and faculty in persevering.

night, which nearly half the 1L class attended. The SLS is currently planning their annual Oakes Day, an event which brings together U of T Law students, staff and faculty to celebrate the anniversary of the R v Oakes decision.

Dean Brunnée’s Priorities

GLSA Updates

Dean Brunnée highlighted the guiding priorities for her term: community, inclusive excellence, and intellectual leadership for and engagement with the world around us. Firstly, Dean Brunnée emphasized the fundamental need to foster a rich academic community, and expressed gratitude for the degree of support shown by members of the law school through engagement in her listening sessions. She then spoke about inclusivity as an indispensable dimension of excellence, saying that she would like the Faculty to think of having a systemic conversation on the topic. Lastly, she underlined the law school’s unique positioning at the convergence of global issues, and the ability to push forward debates by leveraging the law school’s constituents’ breadth of experience.

Anil Nair (GPLLM candidate), President of the Graduate Law Students’ Association, expressed concerns over the lack of support for graduate students participating in the OCI process. He noted that while JD students have dedicated resources on the law school’s career portal, there was an absence of OCI resources specifically for graduate students. In a normal year, graduate students, many of whom are in one-year programs, would not have transcript grades available in time to participate in the usual November OCIs. Due to this year’s delayed OCI timelines, graduate students were able to participate.

SLS Updates Students’ Law Society (SLS) President Robert Nanni (4L JD/MBA) summarized key developments within SLS, including new by-laws, roles, and awards for community and mentorship. He thanked the professors who were going above and beyond to support student wellness and accessibility to the best of their ability. Nanni also spoke about SLS’s social events, highlighting the high turnout at the 1L virtual games

TRC Implementation Committee Update Professor Douglas Sanderson, Co-chair of the TRC Implementation Committee, highlighted their goals for upcoming Committee meetings, as preparation for a mandatory course in response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Call to Action #28 is underway. Consultations regarding the course continue, and the responsibility of course development now lies with the Associate Dean and Dean’s Office. The course is expected to be ready by September 2022. The Committee is also working to address the topic of cultural competency, as well as the Aboriginal and Indigenous law content in upper year courses.

Sessional Dates Faculty Council approved the law school’s sessional dates for the 2021-2022 academic year. The calendar allows the scheduling of Friday classes until 12:30 p.m., and Associate Dean Chris Essert notes that Friday classes allow for planning flexibility, which was necessary in light of this year’s pandemic circumstances, and says that notwithstanding a return to “Elysian beautiful days of yore,” this flexibility will likely be necessary in the fall. Willem Crispin-Frei (2L), VP StAG, recommended that the continuation of Friday classes be communicated to students in advance. He also brought up 1Ls’ concerns about the exam period having been tightly scheduled this winter. Associate Dean Essert replied that they were aware of 1L concerns in exam scheduling, and suggested that there may be opportunities for further conversations in the future. Professor Jim Phillips remarked, “When did the working week start to be Monday to Thursday?” He added that while such considerations were worth discussing, he did not feel that Faculty Council should be voting on sessional dates, and recalled that it was in the law school administration’s purview. Dean Brunnée shook her head, saying that Faculty Council had been approving sessional dates on an annual basis. The motion to approve sessional dates passed, with Professor Phillips abstaining from the vote. Faculty Council Documents Amendment Process Committee Update Associate Dean Essert and Branden Cave (2L

StAG Representative) presented the multi-step processes involved in seeking approval from U of T’s Provost’s Office and Governing Council for an amending formula for Faculty Council’s Constitution. They are in the preliminary stages, to prepare for eventual conversations about more substantive amendments to the constitution. Modifications to the GPLLM Program Faculty Council approved the modifications to the GPLLM program presented by Emily Orchard, Assistant Dean of the Faculty of Law’s Graduate Program. The previous admissions requirement that applicants have at least two to three years of fulltime work experience has been updated to reflect the reality that students in the program often arrive with 10-15 years of experience. The work experience threshold will now be set at five years so that applicants can better assess their interest in the program. Any students who do not meet the threshold can be admitted to the Canadian Law concentration, which will see the addition of more courses. The major modification is the addition of an extended full-time GPLLM program, where students can pursue their studies across two years instead of the current one year. This will enable students who concurrently work full-time to better meet their professional and personal demands, as well as provide flexibility for students to decelerate from a one-year to two-year program without having to negotiate leaves of absence.

Ontario Asian Law Students’ Associations Celebrate a Virtual Lunar New Year Connecting across cultures and campuses JONATHAN HOU (2L) The celebrations to welcome the Year of the Ox have been more understated compared to the usual festivities. However, the pandemic did not stop the Asia Law Society (ALS) at the University of Toronto from working in tandem with other Asian law students’ associations across Ontario to bring people together for this annual festival. On Februar y 13, for the f irst time ever, all the A sian law students’ associations in Ontar io gathered together for a v irtual Lunar New Year social on Zoom, and participated in activ ities such as a fr ied r ice class and a Dalgona cof fee-whipping competition. W hat or ig inally was going to be a joint event w ith the A sian Law Students A ssociation (A LSA) at York Universit y’s Osgoode Hall Law School quick ly grew when Nik k i Pang ilinan, 2L Transfer Representative of the A LSA , helped connect the groups w ith students from the Universit y of Ottawa and Universit y of Windsor. Since the event was v irtual, distance was no longer a barr ier. “I think it evolved really organically,” says Rebecca X ie (2L), Co-President of the A LS. She noted that the A sian law students’ associations from most Ontar io law schools eventually became involved in the planning process and that the organizers decided to inv ite all the remaining Ontar io

law schools to join the fun. Deborah L im (1L), Founder and CoChair of Ryerson’s A sia Pacif ic Law Students' A ssociation (A PLSA), was also ver y glad to be involved in the event-planning. “[ I ]t was really nice to feel welcomed amongst all the other schools and to actually have the opportunit y to work w ith and be in a v irtual meeting room w ith the other organizers,” wr ites L im. The event was an opportunit y for students from dif ferent law schools to get to know each other. Students were shuf f led among breakout rooms, where they had the opportunit y to make new acquaintances and chat about life in their respective law schools. “It was nice to have an event where I wasn’t going into a metaphor ical room full of strangers,” says A nnecy Pang (2L), Co-President of the A LS, who found it comfortable to socialize w ith small groups of people in breakout rooms. The event was designed to follow the rhythm of a dinner part y - after the preliminar y mingling, Tif fany Wong (3L), Co-President of Universit y of Ottawa’s A sian Law Students’ Societ y (A LSS), demonstrated how to cook fr ied r ice. Other students followed along, producing their own bowls of fr ied r ice w ith r ich colours. W hile planning for the Lunar New Year

event, the associations agreed that food was an important part of social events. The organizers wanted to choose something that was interactive, relatively easy, and made w ith festive ingredients. Keeping in mind dietar y restr ictions, the f inal choice also had to be made w ith accessible ingredients at home. Fr ied r ice not only satisf ied these cr iter ia, but also prov ided room for creativ it y. “ You could see that nobody had the same thing,” says Wong, who was thr illed to see people’s creativ it y f lour ish when mak ing this dish based on their preexisting supplies. The Dalgona cof fee-whipping competition also brought a lot of fun to participants. Yoojung Jung (3L), President of the A sian Law Students’ Organization (A LSO) at the Universit y of Windsor, proposed the idea. Sohrab Nader i (1L , Queen’s) won the Dalgona whipping competition, but Kay Wu (2L , Queen’s) and Hailey Ji (1L , Ottawa) also had spectacular per formances. In the course of the festiv ities, some students suggested starting a Discord ser ver to br ing all Ontar io law students together. Jonathan Hou (2L), Upper Year Representative of the A LS, and A nnie L i (1L), Founder and Co- Chair of the A PLSA , helped set up the v irtual space. Students

were excited about hav ing a v irtual meeting place where they could connect w ith other students from dif ferent law schools and expand their own networks. Janet Song (3L), Co-President of the A LSA and an administrator of the new ser ver, hopes to see the ser ver become a hub for people to connect socially w ith each other. “R ight now we’re students, but one day we w ill be colleag ues in the legal profession. I think it’s a really good opportunit y to build relationships w ith your future colleag ues now.” Song emphasized the importance of network ing in the legal profession, not only w ith law yers and exper ienced people, but also w ith other students. The event’s organizers were optimistic about the prospects of hosting a similar event in the future. Wong noted that v irtual get-togethers and network ing w ith dif ferent law students would be a nice change of pace for law students, and Pang said that she looks for ward to the ongoing collaboration between all Ontar io law schools. Note: T he author is the Upper Year Representative of the A L S , and Annecy Pang is the Senior Opinions Editor at Ultra Vires and the CoPresident of Asia L aw Society.

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8 | March 3, 2021

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The Future of Black Future Lawyers Interview with BFL on new opportunities, the launch of the law school’s Black Student Application Process, and the future of the program SABRINA MACKLAI (1L JD/MI) It ha s been just over a yea r i nto t he off ic ia l lau nch of t he Black Fut u re L aw yer s ( BF L) prog r a m, a col labor at ion bet ween t he Facu lt y of L aw, t he Black L aw St udent s A ssoc iat ion, a nd member s of t he Black leg a l com mu n it y, i nclud i ng Black a lu m n i. On Febr ua r y 26 , U lt ra V ires (U V ) sat dow n w it h Rebecca Ba rclay Ng u ina mbaye (3L) to d i scuss her ex per ience w it h t he BF L prog r a m a nd way s it may cha nge i n t he f ut u re. Ng u i na mbaye i s pa r t of t he BF L Work i ng Group, pr i ma ri ly focused on t he u nderg r aduate chapter subcom m it tee. She wa s for merly P resident of U of T ’s BL SA a nd cu r rent ly act s a s it s St r ateg ic Adv i sor. U V: W h at i s t he Bl a c k Fut u r e L awye r s pr og r a m? R BN: T he BF L prog r a m i s a recent i n it iat ive bet ween U of T ’s BL SA a nd t he Facu lt y of L aw, a lt hough it ha s been i n t he ma k i ng for sever a l yea r s. It s ma i n pu r pose i s to i ncrea se Black represent at ion i n law school s by prov id i ng suppor t at a l l st ages of t he law school ad m i ssions process. W h i le we pa r t ner w it h L aw i n Act ion W it h i n S chool s to reach h igh school st udent s, ou r ma i n t a rget aud ience at t h i s poi nt i s u nderg r aduate st udent s. We of fer yea r-long mentor i ng oppor t u n it ies w it h Black leg a l professiona l s, speed mentor i ng, professiona l development op t ions, s pea ker ser ies, a nd pa nel s. We a l so help w it h t he appl icat ion process, a nd once i n law school, t here’s some suppor t est abl i shed for t he BL SA a lt hough we’re work i ng on i ncrea si ng it . O ver a l l, t he BF L prog r a m i s a way to bu i ld com mu n it y w it h i n t he Black leg a l com mu n it y a nd to con nect Black st udent s t h i n k i ng about or i n law w it h t he suppor t t hey need. U V: W h at wa s t he i n spi r at ion for t h i s pr og r a m? R BN: We model led ou r prog r a m of f t he U of T ’s Facu lt y of Med ic i ne’s Black St udent A ppl ic at ion P rog r a m. T he fou nder s of t hat prog r a m worked w it h us to help t a i lor a si m i la r prog r a m to t he Facu lt y of L aw. T he idea i s to bu i ld up i n it iat ives a rou nd t hese com mu n it ies of suppor t so it’s not just a one - of f resou rce here a nd t here, but a hol i st ic prog r a m t hat add resses a lot of ba r r ier s to law. Si nce t hen, I ’ve seen pieces of t he pro g r a m bei ng t a ken up at ot her law school s. We have a l so ex pa nded ou r reach beyond U of T to con nect w it h Black st udent s at ot her u n iver sit y ca mpuses. U V: W h at sor t of a c t iv it ie s h a s BF L been i nvolved i n t h i s yea r? R BN: O u r t h i rd a n nua l Black Fut u re L aw yer s con ference i s happen i ng on M a rch 13. T he one - d ay con ference i s open to BF L u nderg r aduate st udent mem-

ber s to prov ide key i n for mat ion on how to become a law yer. T h i s yea r i s t he f i r st yea r we’re usi ng a v i r t ua l plat for m. We a l so r u n s pea ker a nd pa nel event s. We just r a n ou r t h i rd pa nel a s pa r t of a ser ies ca l led BE COM I NG, a set of d i s cussions t hat ex plores d i f ferent leg a l ca reer s of Black law yer s. T he f i r st of t he ser ies wa s on cor por ate law. T h i s t h i rd pa nel wa s on publ ic i nterest law a nd hosted t wo judges of t he Ont a r io C ou r t of Just ice, i nclud i ng t he Honou r able Just ice L or i A . T homa s, t he most recent ly ap poi nted judge of t he Super ior C ou r t . We suppor ted t he t h ree u nderg r aduate chapter s at ot her c a mpuses i n t hei r event s. A s member s of BL SA , we have been sit t i ng on pa nel s, promot i ng t hei r event s, a nd prov id i ng ongoi ng mentorsh ip. BF L u nderg r aduate member s have a l so been i nv ited to va r ious t a l k s hosted by t he law school w it h t hei r L aw yer s Do i ng C ool T h i ng s W it h T hei r L aw Deg rees ser ies. U V: O f t he c u r r ent 1L c l a s s , on ly fou r pe r cent se l f-ident i f y a s Bl a c k. D u r i ng t he 2 0 2 0 -2 0 21 appl ic at ion c yc le, U of T L aw for t he f i r st t i me h a s i nc luded t he Bl a c k St udent Appl ic a t ion P r oce s s ( B SA P) a s pa r t of BF L . C a n you spea k a bit about wh at t he B SA P i s a nd it s i mpor t a nce? R BN: T he B SA P i s a n opt iona l screen of fered for Black appl ica nt s apply i ng to U of T L aw. A ppl ica nt s who sel f-ident i f y a s Black a re prompted to w r ite a n add it iona l essay wh ich a s k s t hem why t hey a re apply i ng t h rough t he B SA P st rea m. T h i s i s to ma ke it clea r t hat t hey a re encou r aged to t a l k about t hei r Black ident it y a nd how it i n f luenced t hei r dec i sion to go to law or how t hey hope to use t hei r leg a l deg ree i n a way t hat relates to t he Black com mu n it y. T here i s a lot of f lex ibi l it y for appl ica nt s to d i scuss whatever i s i mpor t a nt to t hem. A ppl icat ions made t h rough t he B SA P a re rev iewed by t he B SA P subcom m it tee wh ich g ua r a ntees t hat at lea st t wo of t hei r rev iewer s a re Black st udent s, a lu mn i, or leg a l pr act it ioner s. To be clea r, ap pl ica nt s apply i ng t h rough t he B SA P st i l l have to meet nu mer ic a nd ot her cr iter ia t hat a l l appl ica nt s a re a ssessed on. T he B SA P hopes to add ress t he ongoi ng u nconsc ious bia s t hat , to whatever ex tent , cont i nues to be a ba r r ier to h igher accep t a nce r ates of Black st udent s. T h i s signa l s U of T L aw i s t r y i ng to be more welcom i ng a nd i nclusive, a nd t a k i ng ser ious ly t he fact t hat t here i s not much Black cu lt u re here t hat wou ld ot her w i se be appea l i ng to appl ica nt s. U V: W h at h a s been you r f avou r ite pa r t of BF L t h i s yea r? R BN: For me, it ha s to be hea r i ng about t he prog ress a nd development t hat

t he u nderg r aduate BF L chapter s have made. I feel qu ite i nvested i n t hei r leg a l jou r ney s, s pec i f ica l ly t he chapter s at Wester n Un iver sit y, Mc M a ster Un iver sit y, a nd York Un iver sit y wh ich a re a l l led by rea l ly phenomena l Black fema le u nderg r aduate st udent s. It’s super exc it i ng to see ever y t h i ng t hey wa nt to do a nd how ma ny ot her Black u nderg r aduate st udent s a re bei ng d r aw n to t h i n k about law a s a ca reer. I l i ke to help t hem ma ke t hat a rea l it y. U V: I wa s su r pr i sed to see you a nd ot he r st ude nt s a r e n’t compen sated for t hei r work. Do you t h i n k t h i s w i l l c h a nge? R BN: Event ua l ly, I t h i n k [compensat ion] i s a conver sat ion t hat we’l l have but t he i n it iat ive rea l ly st a r ted a s a v i sion of BL SA st udent s a nd t hen t hey received Facu lt y suppor t . T hey a l so received a lu m n i suppor t t hat helped get t he ba l l rol l i ng. T hey pushed t he law school to do somet h i ng l i ke t h i s. S o at t he out set it wa s BL SA member s com i ng to t he school w it h a proposa l a nd t a k i ng t he lead on it . At t he t i me, it wa s more i mpor t a nt t hat it got done. Now t hat it 's big a nd t here’s sust a i nable f u nd i ng, we ca n def i n itely t u r n to conver sat ions l i ke t hat . U V: W h at sor t of c h a nge s wou ld you l i ke to see i n t he BF L pr og r a m? R BN: P r i ma r i ly, more suppor t for cu rrent Black law st udent s. A s I sa id , t h i s st a r ted w it h us a nd t here i s def i n itely a t rend for a Black law st udent to t r y to t a ke on t he world a nd put a lot on t hei r shou lder s. It i s pa r t ly due to ou r lack of sel f- c a re t hat we d id n’t ensu re t hat t here were robust resou rces for us i n law school, a nd focused more on suppor t i ng t he u nderg r aduates a nd t he recr u it ment . Now t hat we have g reater f u nd i ng a nd pa id st a f f we ca n depend on for at lea st yea rlong cont r act s, we c a n st a r t a s k i ng how cu r rent Black law st udent s ca n be sup por ted. I shou ld add , I ’d love to see more Black a r t i n t he law bu i ld i ng, i nclud i ng port r a it s of Black a lu m n i wh ich a re cu r rently i n less v i sible a rea s of t he law bu i ld i ng. Si nce ou r nu mber s a re g row i ng, we cou ld a l so use a s pace i n t he law bu i ld i ng spec i f ic a l ly for Black st udent s to rela x a nd be com for t able w it h one a not her. U V: W he r e do you see t he BF L pr o g r a m goi ng i n t he f ut u r e? R BN: I hope it event ua l ly out l ives it s usef u l ness a nd we won’t need robust re sou rce - d r iven prog r a m s a ny more. T h i s i s si nce it’l l be g ua r a nteed t hat Black st udent s have equa l access to educat ion, mentor s, professiona l development act ivit ies, a nd t he k nowledge t hey need to pu r sue a leg a l deg ree.

Unt i l t hen, I hope to see more suppor t f rom t he w ider com mu n it y. It’s a ma zi ng t hat 14 lead i ng f i r ms have com m it ted such subst a nt ia l f u nd i ng, a nd I ’m rea l ly g r atef u l for t hat , but I ’d love to see f i na nc ia l suppor t a long w it h goodw i l l suppor t a nd com mu n it y member s wa nt i ng to t a l k about BF L a nd sha re it w idely. I ’d l i ke to see ot her org a n i zat ions suppor t us i n add it ion to law f i r ms. I ’d a l so l i ke to see more u nderg r aduate BF L chapter s, because t hat’s where u nderg r aduate st udent s ca n rea l ly ma ke t he prog r a m work for t hem. W it h ou r i ncrea sed f u nd i ng, I ’m hopi ng t hat t hose at t he loca l level ca n be creat ive i n a s k i ng for suppor t si nce t hey have a much bet ter u nder st a nd i ng of what t hey need or wou ld be usef u l. T hey ca n have more f reedom a nd autonomy to ma ke t he pro g r a m work for t hem. F i na l ly, I hope t he BF L prog r a m i s somet h i ng BL SA member s ca n rema i n proud of a nd not be a bu rden to ou r Black volu nteer s, potent ia l ly t h rough compensat ion, reduced labou r hou r s, a nd i ncrea sed benef it s f rom t he prog r a m for cu r rent st udent s. U V: A r e t he r e way s t h at non- Bl a c k me mbe r s of t he U of T l aw com mun it y c a n suppor t BF L? R BN: A bsolutely! P romot ion i s a lway s cr uc ia l. A l so, i n prev ious yea r s a nd i n t he f ut u re a f ter t he pa ndem ic, a lot of t he BF L event s occu red i n t he bu i ld i ng du ri ng cla ss hou r s. Black st udent s a rou nd t he bu i ld i ng may be prospect ive st udent s so it wou ld be wonder f u l for st udent s to create a welcom i ng a nd wa r m at mo sphere. I n t he f ut u re, some of ou r event s may ex pa nd to requ i re st udent volu nteer s so plea se st ay t u ned a nd keep upd ated for ca l l s for suppor t . We a l so welcome t he sha r i ng of a ny ot her i n it iat ives or resou rces t hat may be t a i lored to Black st udent s, ot her st udent s of colou r, f i r st gener at ion st udent s, low-i ncome st udent s, etc. T here’s a lot of i nter sect ions t hat some of ou r member s w i l l face so we wou ld love to sha re w it h t hem a ny re sou rces st udent s may come across. F i na l ly, just be encou r ag i ng to BL SA member s, ack nowledge a l l t hei r work , a nd recog n i ze t he t i mes when t hey just wa nt to feel l i ke a nor ma l law st udent who’s not doi ng advocac y work a l l t he t i me. T h i s ca n i nclude ma k i ng su re BL SA member s a re welcome to non-advocac y event s a nd eng agement s. Not t hat BF L i sn’t f u n but it’s f u n w it h a pu r pose — somet i mes we just wa nt f u n w it h no pu rpose! You ca n lea r n more about Black Fut u res L aw yer s by v i sit i ng us at ht t ps:// bf l.law.utoronto.ca/ a nd fol low i ng us on Tw it ter (@ Black Fut u reL aw r) a nd I nst ag r a m (@black f ut u relaw yer s).

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March 3, 2021 | 9

Navigating the NYC Recruit in the Midst of a Pandemic and Cancelled OCIs

Students share experiences with networking and the Resume Send DHRITI CHAKRAVARTY (2L)

To keep this column as candid as possible, interviewee statements have been anonymized into students A, B, and C with the firm names removed. All three students will be summering with New York City (NYC) firms in 2021. Below are their answers to Ultra Vires’s questions about the online NYC recruit. These interviews have been edited for brevity and clarity. Ultra Vires (UV): How much did you network prior to submitting your applications? Student A: Quite a bit, especially with firms that don’t typically participate in OCIs or the Resume-Send. I went to the firms’ people directories on their websites and tried to find U of T alumni or other Canadian alumni. I would send them a brief email where I’d introduce myself, state my interest in the firm, and then tie this to asking to speak with them. The subject line was usually “U of T JD/MBA Chat Request” or “Canadian JD/MBA Chat Request”. I always attached my resume as an overview in that first email. On average, I’d email around 4-5 people per firm and then hear back from and speak to 2 or more. The more junior associates were, the more likely they were to re-

spond. With junior associates, I could more freely ask them my basic questions about the firm. In January, I fired off emails to partners. Their response rate was around 20-40% but almost every single firm where I spoke to a partner, invited me for an interview. Most Canadian alumni will know exactly why you are calling and I’d say 90% of the time they would offer to forward along my resume to the recruiting team. I would try to end the 20-30 minute phone call with a question about recruiting such as: “Do you know how I should apply?” “Do you know what the timeline is for recruiting this year?” “Is the firm open to hiring a canadian student?” Some people would ask me to send my transcript first, but most were happy to forward the resume on its own. In the few cases where they didn’t offer to forward my resume during our call, I would hand in the materials through their website application portal or through the recruiter, and then follow up with the person and say “Thanks for chatting with me, I’ve now applied. If you don’t mind, I would appreciate you passing it along to make sure they see it.” Student B: I networked with all the firms that

accepted cover letters in the Resume-Send. I would go to the UTLC spreadsheet, find U of T alumni, and find the most junior person to speak to just so that I could learn something about the firm and then have something to say in the cover letter. No one ever brought up forwarding applications to talent development except one person, but it was back in September before I had sent in any application materials. Student C: I only networked once I received my invitations for interviews from the Resume-Send. UV: Did you submit your applications via the school’s US-Resume-Send, directly to the firms, or both? Which method yielded more success for you? Student A: I did the classic US-Resume-Send, but also did a lot of direct recruiting because I was very sure I wanted to work in NYC. I ended up applying to around 25 firms. I rarely emailed my applications directly to the recruiters, and instead tried to get my application noticed from the networking referrals once I had submitted through the firms’ website. All applications required at least the resume and transcript. Some firms had optional additions, and I would always submit a cover letter and writing sample when given this opportunity.

Student B: I just did the Resume-Send. Although, I suspect I would have gotten more interviews if I had networked more. I would love for U of T to have a centralized anonymous system where we could see what firms have responded to our students. This could give us an idea of when we might hear back from certain firms. Student C: I just did the Resume-Send since I was also applying to the Vancouver and Toronto recruits and put much more of my energy into networking with Toronto firms. UV: What was the timeline and structure of hearing back at each stage? Student A: This year’s timeline for hearing back was a total mix. I got 6 interviews, 4 of which were from outside of the Resume-Send process. For one of those, I interviewed in November and heard back in February. For the two interviews I got through the Resume-Send, I heard back within six to seven - days of the submission deadline. All interviews were “in-firm” interviews. Any previous conversations I had with a partner at the firm were considered “screener interviews.” All interviews, except for one firm, included four lawyers. I would speak to these lawyers separately for 20-30 minutes, with the overall interview experience totaling to a two hour experience. The

Why did you choose McMillan?

I started my career at McMillan as an articling student. I was attracted by the Firm’s commitment to excellence, client service and its people. Inclusion and diversity are essential elements of the Firm’s culture and core values, and McMillan is a place where you can bring your full self to work, as I do every day. John Clifford Partner, M&A | Head, Business Law Group Co-Chair, Inclusion & Diversity Committee

2017 • 2018 • 2019 • 2020

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10 | March 3, 2021 Continued from page 9 outlier was a firm that had 6 lawyers with back to back interviews totalling to 3 hours. Almost all interviews were conversational, with maybe one behavioural question per firm, but even those questions were not difficult. All offers were made through phone calls and a follow-up email that would arrive usually within the hour or the following day. One of the firms called me with an offer and then asked me if I knew how Canadian students were to be paid if they couldn’t get a USA social security number during the pandemic. I’m not too worried, I’m sure we’ll figure it out, they have just never hired a Canadian student. None of the firms have confirmed if their summer programs will be conducted online or in-person. I think they just don’t want to be the first to say anything about it during recruit but most likely, everything will be online. All of them seemed to be prepared this time to have a full 10 week program regardless. Student B: After the Resume-Send, I heard back from two firms within five to seven days. One of the firms first sent an automated link to record a five-question video interview. Within a few days of this interview, they invited me to a full two-hour in-firm. The firm sends you the interviewer names the day before. It’ll usually be two associates and two partners. For one of them, the last interviewer was a fifth person, the hiring partner, and they gave us a 10

minute break before we spoke to them. I would recommend students have questions about the firm ready to go. There were also two separate firms that collected additional information after the ResumeSend. One asked for diversity information and the other asked us to let them know if we were interested in litigation or corporate work. Student C: I only applied to the firms that came to the New York panel, and one other one that the Obamas once worked at. I heard back from three within the week. One emailed me a diversity survey, another sent a link for a video interview, and my top choice called to schedule an in-firm which I scheduled for the next day. They sent me my interviewer bios, schedule, and a 20page document about their summer program the day before. The day of the interview, I first spoke to the recruiter. She gave me a rundown for what the day would look like. My first interview was with a mid-level associate; the next ones were with two partners back to back, another mid-level associate, and then finally the hiring partner. I had some internet connectivity issues in the first interview which made the interview end five minutes early and quite abruptly. This set me off my game and I felt like I wasn’t being upbeat and positive for the rest of the interviews. I didn’t expect the phone call, early next morning from the hiring partner with my offer. He meandered on with

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small talk about the snowstorm in New York before telling me they were impressed with me and extending the job offer. One thing I would say is that this firm seemed to know quite a bit about U of T Law. They asked me about my small group paper in detail — even about which precedent cases I relied on. Then, they asked me if my summer RA job was one of the extra positions created by the school during the pandemic. Not sure how I felt about that. UV: What parts of your application do you think were the strongest? Student A: Realistically, all firms care about grades. I was on the edge where I had decent grades but not distinction standing or straight Hs and HHs. So I made sure to network and build up a strong resume. I think my resume really helped, especially with things like my MBA, 1L law firm experience, and working with a start-up this year. I also included interesting things like the hockey arbitration competition, the time I was on a snowboarding team during my undergrad exchange to Scotland, and that I’m in the Beer Club at Rotman. Student B: I think since I was applying through the Resume-Send without much networking, grades must have been the strongest factor in getting interviews. My resume listed experience on Law Review which was also quite helpful. My

cover letter might have made a difference, although I didn’t have too much substantial stuff other than that I am looking to explore both corporate and litigation. Student C: I think the real answer, if I had to pick, were my grades. I think I got lucky. I had heard that NYC doesn’t care about networking, but I now know is not true. I did have mooting on my resume though. I think that and my research assistant job over the summer made me a strong candidate. -----For all students planning on working in NYC and taking the New York Bar, you can scan this QR code for the BARBRI checklist of things Canadian students will need for the process.

Editor's note: Dhriti Chakravarty is the BARBRI Brand Ambassador, a company whose primary product offering is U.S. bar prep courses. *Please direct any questions about the New York licensing process to Dhriti at dhriti.chakravarty@mail.utoronto.ca

Behind the Scenes: Grand Moot 2020 The Supreme Court of Flavelle goes virtual IVY XU (1L) Although the 2020 Grand Moot took place virtually, it brought the same passionate advocacy around the timely topic of mandatory vaccinations. The panel of judges featured U of T alumni Justice Sheilah Martin (SJD 91) of the Supreme Court of Canada, Justice Lorne Sossin (PhD 93) of the Ontario Court of Appeal, and Justice Edward Morgan (LLB 84) of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. Teodora Pasca (3L JD/MA Criminology) and Olivia Eng (3L), for the appellant, challenged the constitutionality of a hypothetical mandatory vaccination program under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Geri Angelova (3L) and Hana Awwad (3L) made submissions on behalf of the government defending the constitutionality of the program. As the annual highlight of the law school calendar, the Grand Moot did not lose any traction for going virtual. The YouTube live stream had 683 unique views and the Zoom Webinar attracted 152 attendants. The streaming process was seamless, and the Student Co-Chief Justices Saambavi Mano (3L) and Alina Yu (3L) in charge of organizing the event, were pleased with how it turned out. The Moot Problem This year’s problem centred around the Vaccination Act, legislation enacted by the fictitious government of Flavelle in response to a contagious disease similar to COVID-19. The appellant, Lucas Yuno, was charged under the Act for refusing vaccination. Pasca and Eng argued that the Act deprived Yuno and individuals like him of their liberty and security of the person, contrary to principles of fundamental justice. Yuno had a traumatic experience with a vaccine in the past and suffered related anxieties. He was apprehended at a grocery store after failing to provide proof of vaccination. In this context, the Appellant argued that the Act’s escalating fines and potential imprisonment appeared rather punitive. Representing an anti-vaxxer in a pandemic is not a popular choice. However, Pasca says, “[We] quickly learned that we didn’t have to endorse his choice, we just needed to argue that he had the right to make it and that the government shouldn’t severely punish him or others for that choice.” As someone interested in criminal defence work, Pasca found it rewarding to learn to humanize the client. Angelova and Awwad, on behalf of the Attorney General of Flavelle, emphasized the devastating impact of the ongoing pandemic. They defined the government’s objective underlying the Act as achieving herd immunity as soon as possible, which Justice Mar-

tin commended as a well-reasoned argument. Violations against liberty and security of the person are rarely justifiable under the Charter, but the mooters undertook this burden with a skillful use of jurisprudence and medical evidence. The moot raised important questions of law and public policy. After all submissions were heard, Justice Martin commented, “This is called the Grand Moot for a reason… What we saw was a grand problem and a grand response to a balanced and difficult problem.” According to Mano and Yu, the Co-Chief Justices, the topic of mandatory vaccination was initially proposed for the 2019 Grand Moot. This year, it became highly relevant and potentially balanced with pandemic-specific considerations: near-universal vaccination has gained urgency and popular appeal. To ensure the problem was fair for both sides, Mano and Yu added significant penalties to the hypothetical Act. They also included expert evidence on reasons why a person might not be able to get vaccinated, such as distrust of health agencies, difficulty securing transport to vaccination locations, and the inability to take time off work. This was introduced so that “the problem was representing the full range of people who reject vaccinations, and not only the typical ‘anti-vaxxer.'" When crafting this year’s problem, Mano and Yu also received significant support from the student bench clerks: Manula Adhihetty (2L), Militza Boljevic (2L), Amanda Cutinha (3L), Ema Ibrakovic (2L), Sofia Sugumar (2L), and Emily Tessier (2L).

various practice sessions to familiarize themselves with the technical process of streaming over Zoom and YouTube. The mooters also found it strange, but fun, to make submissions over Zoom. In some run-through practices, volunteer judges asked questions while their cats clambered over them. In one instance, Pasca’s fire alarm started ringing during her submissions, and she had to mute herself and “leave the remainder of [her] submissions to the factum.” Thankfully, the mooters were able to present from rooms in the law school on the day of the actual event. After the moot, apart from commending the mooters for the quality of their submissions and responses to questions, the judging panel also noted how “engaging” and “poised” the mooters were with the Zoom format. Indeed, Courts across the country have gone virtual due to necessity in a pandemic, which is also in keeping with the open-court principle. While mooting online may not be the ideal experience, mooting over Zoom still provides good practice for litigation. One challenge with Zoom advocacy — even for those technically proficient — is eye contact. The

mooters suggested putting the laptop on a stand. After placing the webcam was slightly above eye level, Angelova also put the judges at the top of her Zoom screen so that she could still see them while looking into the camera. In addition to using a stand, Pasca also had a sticky note at the top of her laptop to keep her eye contact focused on the webcam instead of her screen. Other tips for Zoom advocacy include hiding selfview to minimize distraction. Angelova also used a wireless mouse for scrolling through notes on her screen to avoid leaning forward too much. However, she noted that delivering arguments at a podium could sometimes be preferable to sitting in front of a computer because judges may “[appreciate] the formality of counsel standing during their submissions, even over a virtual format.” Perhaps next year’s mooters will adopt such advice if we are to have another virtual Grand Moot. The uncertainties of the pandemic certainly posed challenges for both the organizers and mooters, but the 2020 Grand Moot was still well-worth a watch given the thoughtfully designed problem and the demonstration of the best advocacy at the law school.

Zoom Advocacy Unfortunately, this year’s Grand Moot could not use the Faculty of Law’s Moot Court Room, which was designed for the annual event. However, hosting the event online brought major benefits, such as increased accessibility and broader reach. The law school’s Advancement Office helped spread the news of the event to alumni — many of whom would have been located too far to attend the moot, had it happened in person. Making the first virtual Grand Moot happen was not easy, however. The event had to be rescheduled, and the uncertainties of lockdowns complicated the logistics. After knowing that the event would be online, the organizers aimed to mirror the experience of an in-person moot and even set up virtual “Robing Room” and “Deliberation Room” for the judges. The Co-Chief Justices said that most of their preparation was based on trial and error, after conducting

CAPTION: PARTICIPANTS OF THE 2020 GRAND MOOT (FROM TOP LEFT TO BOTTOM RIGHT): JUSTICE SHEILAH MARTIN, SAAMBAVI MANO, JUSTICE EDWARD MORGAN, JUSTICE LORNE SOSSIN, DEAN JUTTA BRUNNÉE, GERI ANGELOVA, HANA AWAAD, ALINA YU, TEODORA PASCA, OLIVIA ENG. PHOTO CREDIT: MOOT COURT COMMITTEE

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March 3, 2021 | 11

Court of Appeal Hears Oral Arguments in R v Morris The appeal will determine what role systemic anti-Black racism should play in criminal sentencing TEODORA PASCA (3L) were directly connected to systemic racism and discrimination against Black people in Canada. Morris lost his father to cancer at the age of 7 and was subsequently raised by a single mother, who had to work multiple precarious jobs to make ends meet. He has a learning disability and therefore a history of diff icult experiences in school. Later in life, he was diagnosed with PTSD and other mental health problems. As a resident in inner-city public housing, he often witnessed and was victimized by violence, within a community that did not trust the police to keep them safe. Even when Morris was arrested, the police violated his Charter right to counsel and brutalized him by running over his foot with their car. Substantial documentary evidence introduced at the sentencing hearing showed that all of the factors present in Morris’s case were manifestations of systemic anti-Black racism. The evidence demonstrated, for example, that Black people are more likely to be precariously employed and housed, more likely to face inadequate support in school and be denied educational opportunities, more likely to be victims of or witnesses to violence, and much more likely to be victims of police use of force. The diff icult experiences Morris had throughout his life occurred in signif icant part because he was Black — and those diff icult experiences ultimately culminated in the criminal offence Morris committed. In a moving sentencing judgment written and delivered directly to Morris himself, Nakatsuru J wholeheartedly recognized that anti-Black racism was ultimately what had brought Morris before the court. Nakatsuru J held that Morris’s experiences with systemic racism reduced his moral blameworthiness and therefore warranted a reduced sentence. He ordered a (still substantial) term of 15 months’ incarceration, reduced to 12 months for the Charter breaches Morris experienced. Arguments on appeal R V MORRIS EXPLORES INTERSECTIONALITY IN SENTENCING, BEYOND TYPICAL TEXTBOOK CONSIDERATIONS.

On February 11, the Ontario Court of Appeal heard oral arguments in R v Morris — the long-anticipated case that is expected to clarify how factors linked to systemic racism against Black offenders should be considered in sentencing. The complex appeal took place over a full day and featured arguments from the parties, as well as brief submissions from a number of intervenors, including the Black Legal Action Centre and the Canadian Association of Black Lawyers, the Criminal Lawyers’ Association, Aboriginal Legal Services, and U of T’s David Asper Centre for Constitutional Rights. Five judges presided over the appeal: Associate Chief Justice Fairburn as well as Justices Paciocco, Tulloch, Juriansz, and Doherty. All parties — including the Crown — substantially agreed that systemic and background factors ought to be considered in sentencing Black offenders. This alone makes Morris a highly signif icant case: it plainly acknowledges that systemic racism plays a role in bringing Black and other racialized people before the court, intersects with a

number of common mitigating factors, and bears on an offender’s moral blameworthiness so as to potentially warrant a reduction in sentence. Much of the dispute before the Court of Appeal will turn on how such factors should be incorporated into sentencing determinations, as well as the particular sentence imposed in Kevin Morris’s case. Whatever the outcome, this case has the potential to revolutionize how racialized people are treated in sentencing, and its impact cannot be understated, especially in light of the signif icant overrepresentation of Black people at all stages of the criminal justice system. Kevin Morris’s case Kevin Morris, a Black man living in Toronto, was charged and convicted of possessing a loaded illegal handgun. Prior to coming before the court, Morris — who had no criminal record and was younger than most students at the law school at the time of the offence had endured numerous hardships that

The Crown appealed Morris’s sentence. Counsel Roger Shallow of the Crown Law Off ice – Criminal argued that the sentence of 15 months was manifestly unf it given the seriousness of the crime of gun possession. The Crown recommended that the sentence be increased to at least three years. Shallow argued that the systemic racism Morris experienced extended only to his moral blameworthiness and could not outweigh the need for denunciation and deterrence of gun crimes in light of the danger that f irearms pose to Canadian society. Although Shallow acknowledged that social context evidence about systemic racism led at the sentencing hearing was valuable, he argued that it should not create a “race-based sentencing discount” or otherwise excuse or justify criminal conduct. Defence counsel Faisal Mirza delivered oral arguments on behalf of Morris. Mirza argued that Morris had received a fair sentencing hearing and that, though the offence was serious, the sentence Nakatsuru J issued was not manifestly unfit and therefore should stand. Mirza illustrated the impact of anti-Black

racism throughout Morris’s life by systematically walking the court through all of the difficult experiences that brought him before the court. Mirza drew particular attention to the substantial body of pre-sentence materials the sentencing judge had considered in assessing his moral blameworthiness, and argued that the judge’s determination was consistent with the principle of individualization in sentencing. Looking forward The Court of Appeal’s decision in R v Morris will be released later this year. The hope is that the court will set out a clear framework for how to consider systemic anti-Black racism in future sentencing proceedings. Clarity in this area of the law is necessary to ensure that Black and other racialized individuals receive fair and proportionate sentences that appropriately account for their lifelong experiences of discrimination and inequality — both within the criminal justice system as well as in other areas such as education, employment, housing, and medicine. One notable issue the court will have to decide on is whether to adopt a sentencing framework for Black offenders that is similar to the framework for Indigenous offenders set out in R v Gladue. In conjunction with s. 718.2(e) of the Criminal Code, Gladue emphasizes the need to consider systemic and background factors for Indigenous offenders and to avoid jail sentences wherever possible. On behalf of intervener Aboriginal Legal Services, Caitlyn Kasper argued that due to important differences in historical and colonial contexts, the s 718.2(e) Gladue analysis cannot be duplicated for Black offenders, though the types of evidence raised in Gladue hearings will be relevant to sentencing Black offenders as well. At the same time, Nader Hasan, on behalf of the Asper Centre, noted that the court’s focus should not be on bifurcating the analysis between Black and Indigenous offenders, and rather, Gladue provides helpful guidance for achieving the overarching goal of substantive equality in sentencing. The Morris appeal also demonstrated how COVID-19 and virtual hearings have revolutionized the appellate litigation process. Mirza in particular took advantage of the digital format by sharing slides that contained excerpts from the social context evidence and quotes from Nakatsuru J’s decision. This method of presentation made plain how Morris’s experiences with racism were clearly relevant to and ref lected in the judge’s sentence. From an access to justice perspective, the online format may be ideal for high-prof ile hearings, where more people can tune in virtually than could ever f it in a physical courtroom. A link to the Zoom webinar for the appeal was circulated on social media well before the hearing started. In fact, so many people wanted to hear the arguments that the Zoom meeting reached capacity within the f irst few minutes and had to be upgraded to allow for more attendees. The legal profession and the broader community are clearly following this case with close interest and the Court of Appeal’s f inal decision will def initely be one to watch.

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Calgary 2L Summer 2021 Recruit Results Are In University of Calgary Faculty of Law ranked first in the number of successful students HUSSEIN E. E. FAWZY (1L) The Calgary 2L Summer 2021 Recruit concluded with Offer Day on October 16, 2020. Ultra Vires reached out to all 11 participating firms and 10 submitted their hiring results to us. Overview of the Results University of Calgary Faculty of Law accounted for the largest number of successful recruits (17), followed by UAlberta Law (10) and University of Saskatchewan College of Law (4). Firm Bennett Jones LLP

Total

U of T Osgoode Queen's Western Ottawa Windsor

Blake, Cassels & Graydon, LLP

Borden Ladner Gervais, LLP

Burnet, Duckworth & Palmer LLP

Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP

Dentons Canada LLP

Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP

McCarthy Tetrault LLP

No Response

Osler Hoskin & Harcourt LLP

Stikeman Elliott LLP

Torys LLP

2021 Total

Among the Ontario schools, Windsor Law ranked first, with 2 successful students. Osgoode Hall followed with 1 successful student. Bennett Jones LLP hired the largest number of students (10). This was followed by Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP with 6 students hired, and a tie between Blake, Cassels & Graydon, LLP and Osler Hoskin & Harcourt LLP (5 students each).

UBC

McGill

Dalhousie

1 1

Calgary

Alberta

Saskatchewan Other 1

1 1

2 1

1 1

1 0

SLS Update: Governance Reform and New Awards New SLS positions and awards you should know about THE SLS STUDENT AFFAIRS AND GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE New Roles

NEW SLS ORGANIZATION CHART

In March 2020, the JD student body passed a referendum amending the Constitution of the Students’ Law Society (SLS), and directing the SLS to make all necessary preparations for the implementation of the New Constitution on May 1, 2021. This year, the Student Affairs and Governance Committee drafted a new set of by-laws and created three new awards, which the SLS adopted. On be-

half of the SLS, we want to share a (relatively) quick overview of the changes and introduce the new awards. New Names First up, the two main committees of the SLS: The Social Affairs Committee (Social) and the Student Affairs and Governance Committee (StAG) are changing their names.

Social is becoming the Social and Finance Committee to better ref lect the committee’s role in funding clubs and managing the SLS budget. StAG is becoming the Student Life and Academic Committee to highlight the nature of the policy and governance issues it examines. While the names of the committees and representative positions are changing, the roles of each committee will stay the same.

The third committee of the SLS, the Executive Committee, is also getting an upgrade. Starting with the Spring General Election, the number of executive positions on the SLS will be increased. The current vice-presidential roles are being split into two roles each. There will be no hierarchy between these VP positions. This change is to both provide additional capacity for the SLS to pursue initiatives that support students and to create additional leadership opportunities for students. The Vice-President, Social Affairs’ responsibilities are being divided into two new roles. The Vice-President Social will be in charge of SLS event planning and community-building at the law school. The Vice-President Finance will oversee the SLS’s budget and ensure a smooth and fair funding process for clubs. The Vice-President, Student Affairs and Governance role is also being split into two new roles. The Vice-President Student Life will take the lead on advocacy issues, aligning with Assistant Dean Archbold’s role, including mental health and wellness, f inancial aid, and student success outside the classroom. The Vice-President Academic will take the lead on advocacy issues aligning with Assistant Dean Faherty’s role, including curriculum and experiential learning, the Faculty’s response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and student success in the classroom, as well as serving on the Law Students’ Society of Ontario Council. Both of these roles will work closely together where there is overlap, including policy issues relating to equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility at the Faculty of Law. For more infor-

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ultravires.ca mation on the new executive roles, see By-law 3 Executive Roles on the Governance page of the SLS website. Finally, the Social and Finance Committee is getting three more team members. Starting with the Spring General Election, there will now be four representative positions for each year on the Social and Finance Committee, instead of three. This change was made to create more capacity to plan and execute events to build community at the law school, and to create more extracurricular opportunities for students. New By-laws The new by-laws enacted by the SLS are intended to create more transparent student governance. While most of the new by-laws off icially take effect May 1, 2021, the Spring General Election and SLS awards processes will be governed by the new by-laws immediately. To better serve students, the SLS's new by-laws cover matters such as equity, executive roles, off icer roles, the relationship with the University of Toronto Students' Union, membership and fees, the SLS Public Interest Fellowship, supplementary governance, and, of course, elections and awards. Full details about the transition to the new by-laws are available on the Governance page of the SLS website. New Awards: Community and Mentorship Last but not least, the SLS introduced new awards to recognize the efforts of students who go out of their way to build up our law school community. We are very proud of the way that students support one another, especially this year. To that end, the SLS has created two new awards for which students can nominate their peers: the First-Year Community Builder Award and the Upper-Year Mentorship Award. Students are encouraged to nominate other students whose efforts they want recognized. Nominations will be considered and recipients will be selected by the Awards Sub-Committee of the SLS. The First-Year Community Builder Award will recognize up to two 1Ls who have made signif icant efforts to bring their peers together and build a supportive community at the law school. Nominations for this award can only be submitted by 1L students. The Upper-Year Mentorship Award will recognize up to three upper-year students for their outstanding mentorship to students in years below them, both in off icial and unoff icial capacities. All students who are not in their graduating year may nominate students in the years above them. Additionally, the SLS has resurrected the Friend of the SLS Award, which will be selected internally and awarded to a faculty or staff member who has been an ally to students and has taken concrete actions to address student concerns.

March 3, 2021 | 13

A Chat with Former UV Editors-in-Chief Aidan Campbell and Amani Rauff Matthew Tran sat down with Aidan and Amani to discuss life after UV MATTHEW TRAN (1L)

Graduation Awards: Ranked Ballots After hearing from students about wanting ranked ballots for Graduation Awards, the SLS is running those awards via a different voting platform which allows for ranked ballots. The Chief Returning Off icer (CRO) will provide more information with the elections announcement. Learn More If you’ve made it this far in this article and you still want to learn more, the SLS website has been updated to ref lect the changes which are underway. The nomination period for the Spring General Election and for the new awards, graduation awards, and the Truth & Reconciliation Teaching Award opens this Friday, March 5. Full details about nominations and voting processes for elections and all SLS awards can be found under the Elections menu on the SLS website. If you have any questions, you are always welcome to email us at studentslawsociety@ gmail.com or the CRO at elections.sls@ gmail.com. Consider running or nominating someone, and thanks for reading.

NEITHER OF THESE PEOPLE WERE WILLING TO PROVIDE A BASIC HEADSHOT. AIDAN WOULD LIKE IT NOTED THAT THEY LOOK WAY MORE LIKE A GIRL NOW.

H i ever yone! Welcome to anot her ed it ion of U ltra V ires’s (U V ) A lumn i Spotl ight ser ies. T h is t ime we’ve got t wo specia l g uests join ing us: A idan Campbel l and A man i R auf f. At t he t ime of t he inter v iew A idan was an associate law yer at Ma hon & Company, and is now work ing at Edelmann & Company in Vancouver wh i le A man i is a law yer at Dewar t Gleason L L P. A idan and A man i were co -Ed itors-in- Ch ief of U V in 2017-2018. We ta l k about st udent jour na l ism, st udents tann ing t heir “exam-soft bod ies' ' on t he shores of t he Dom in ican Republ ic, t uit ion costs, and how we’re a l l genera l ly t ired. T h is inter v iew has been ed ited for brev it y and clar it y.

U V: Cou ld you tel l us a l it t le bit about you r jou r ney fol low i ng law school? A ma n i R au f f: It hasn't been long since I g raduated, but I ar t icled at a m id-sized un ion-side labour f ir m and t hen moved to a bout ique labour and civ i l l it igat ion f ir m, where I’ve been for t he last year and a ha l f. AC: I had a sim i lar ex per ience, but since I pract ice imm ig rat ion and refugee law, t h ings are a lways done at a much sma l ler sca le. I moved out to Vancouver and ar t icled at a m id-sized imm ig rat ion f ir m. I t hen went to work for t he last year and a ha l f w it h Frances Ma hon who was prev iously a sole pract it ioner. A s of March 1, I’l l be work ing at Edelmann & Co. doing

imm ig rat ion l it igat ion and refugee law. U V: T hat ’s awesome. Cong rats! To ju mp r ight i nto t h i ngs, do eit her of you ref lec t back on you r t i me at U V ? How do you feel about it i f you do? AC: I remember U V more for t he people and for some of t he rea l ly dumb sh it we got to do. I t h in k t he years t hat A man i and I were t here were quite fun and it was a n ice l itt le escape. I t h in k of Kev in's [Schoenfeldt] dumb jokes, and Maud [ Rozee] and A man i hold ing t he sh ip to get her, wh i le I screwed around and made t he whole class mad at us. We t r ied to cancel t he g rad t r ip… U V: Oh, don’t wor r y we’l l get to t hat.

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14 | March 3, 2021

AC: [laugh s] So yeah, I remember t hat sor t of t h ing. I remember t he people who managed to br ing us toget her, t he cont r ibutors, and just sitt ing eat ing pizza in t he room, wh ich I g uess is now no longer an opt ion. U V: To be honest , because of COV I D, I don't k now i f my relat ionsh ip w it h f ree pizza t hat ever yone’s g rabbi ng at w i l l ever be t he sa me. AC: I wou ld assume t hat t hey’re send ing around coupons at any Zoom lunch and lear n. T hey better be ma i l ing you a l itt le sandw ich. U V: Yea h, we don’t get f ree lu nch. I nstead we get f ree, u nsol icited comments f rom Facu lt y member s. W hat about you, A ma n i? A R: W hen I t h in k about U V I t h in k about my fr iends t here. I have t hought about how, at t he t ime, it was going to r uin my chances of gett ing a job…Wa it, don’t put t h is in…[laugh s] AC: No! You’ve got to put t hat in! It’s ver y impor tant t hat people understand t hat nobody cares about what you w r ite in your law school newspaper. A R: A idan k nows t h is. I have to Google mysel f ever y t ime I need to get my phone number, and ever y t ime I do t h is, a l l t hese U V ar t icles pop up and I’m so glad no one has read t hem. L i ke, I have a job! U V: [laugh s] T hat ’s rea ssu r i ng. W hat a re you r per spec t ives on t he nat u re of st udent jou r na l ism t hen? A R: Par t icipat ing in U V made me get out of my comfor t zone. It made me more comfor table ask ing d if f icu lt quest ions and putt ing my name on t h ings. At t he end of t he day, I don’t t h in k I wou ld have had t he same conf idence com ing into t he lega l profession if I had n’t done U V. I d id n’t come from k now ing a bunch of lawyers. I came to law school t h in k ing “sh it, ever yone’s smar ter and better t han me!” But t hen I got to k now t he Ed itor-in- Ch ief in 1L and he got me to go to A lex is A rchbold and ask some tough quest ions. St udent jour na l ism g ives you t hose tools to quest ion t h ings in sit uat ions where you m ight ot her w ise be afra id, wh ich you need later on in your lega l career. AC: I second t hat. Brett [ Hughes] a lso put me up to request ing a bunch of budget documents so I a lso had a ver y uncomfor table conversat ion w it h A lex is A rchbold in my f irst year. L ook at somet h ing l i ke t he I H R P scanda l t hat broke over t he last year. Events l i ke t hat show t hat t he st uf f t hat’s hap pen ing at t he law school matters. I mean, t here’s an act ive jud icia l inquir y going on as a resu lt of it now. I ndependent st udent jour na l ism is impor tant because it a l lows you to cr it ica l ly repor t on t he st uf f t hat’s happen ing d irect ly at t he law school. A ny law school in Canada is an impor tant inst it ut ion and we need repor t ing about how law yers are t ra ined and t he at mo sphere t hey are t ra ined in. I w i l l say I was a bit d isappointed to see how U V hand led t hat sit uat ion. Maybe I m issed some rea l ly interest ing w r it ing on it but I feel around t hat t ime it was most ly l i ke “ here’s a roundup of what ot her peo -

ple are say ing!” but t here wasn’t a lot of independent st udent jour na l ism. Somebody shou ld have just been going around and ta l k ing to ever y Facu lt y member and I H R P par t icipant unt i l somebody sa id somet h ing t hat t hey wou ld n't have ot herw ise sa id. T hey'l l often say st uf f to st udents t hat t hey wou ld n't say to a Globe and Mail repor ter. But I def in itely understand t hat because of t he pandem ic it’s been hard to keep U V funct ion ing as an inst it ut ion. A nd you k now, far be it for me to ta l k about it, because you can’t d rop in on a professor’s off ice t he same way you used to. T hat’s usua l ly how you cou ld get interest ing facts into t he paper. T hey’re not going to book a Zoom meet ing to ta l k about t h is st uf f so I t h in k it’s ver y d if f icu lt. U V: Spea k i ng of c r it ica l pieces, I wa s goi ng t h rough some of what you bot h have w r it ten a nd bot h of you co w rote a rea l ly t hought f u l a nd c r it ica l piece about t he 2018 cla ss t r ip to t he Dom i n ic Republ ic. W hat wa s t he fa l lout l i ke? Did you receive rema rks f rom st udents? How d id you dea l w it h t hem? AC & A R: [laugh s] AC: T he best joke I ever w rote is in t hat piece. “Sunn ing t heir exam-soft bod ies on a t ropica l beach” is my favour ite joke. It’s t he best pun I’ve ever w r itten. T hat ar t icle is t he t h ing I t h in k about most from law school because of how pissed we made a bunch of our fel low classmates. T here was a hund red-post Facebook t hread of people ta l k ing about it. I had a bunch of fr iends outside law school be l i ke “ W hat’s going on? W ho are t hese people? T he art icle was just ask ing for basic mora l considerat ion?” On ref lect ion t hough, it was not t he k ind of t h ing you needed to do in t he pages of a school newspaper. It was sn ippy and k ind of sh itt y and a l itt le too woke for t he room. W h i le I st i l l stand by it, nobody else shou ld do t hat. It pissed of f and hur t people t hat I k now. T hey were putt ing a lot of work into organ izing a fun t r ip for t heir classmates and felt bet rayed t hat we w rote about it in t he newspaper instead of send ing t hem a note. I f we reached out f irst, maybe we wou ld have act ua l ly made some change instead of hav ing a bunch of people pissed of f at us. For me, it’s joint ly a lesson about feel ing proud for say ing somet h ing out rageous and st ick ing to my g uns but a lso rea l izing t hat blov iat ing in t he pages of a school newspaper doesn’t act ua l ly create a lot of change. It most ly just pisses people of f. A R: L i ke A idan sa id, t here was a Facebook post, where ever yone was say ing, “I don't have a dog in t h is f ight” and t hen w r it ing f ive parag raphs on how t hey felt about it. I g uess at t he t ime I felt k ind of bad about it, but after law school it sor t of became a r unn ing joke w it h ever yone I k new from school. Most of t he people I l i ked d id n't say mean t h ings so... I don't k now. At t he end of t he day t here was fa l lout. It seemed sor t of nat ura l for law school to me. It seemed nat ura l to t he st udent jour na l ism ex per ience and I probably wou ld n't change any t h ing. U V: You bot h have a lso w r it ten a r t icles about t u it ion, f i na ncia l accessibi l it y a nd st udent debt. Do you have

a ny com ments on t he system a s it is now? A R: St i l l bad. By system do you mean in ter ms of… U V: H igh t u it ion ent rench i ng st udents i n debt , a nd how ma ny racia lized, f i r st-generat ion law st udents feel wor r ied about hav i ng to ta ke a Bay St reet job to pay of f debt or ap ply broad ly to t hese cor porate f i r ms, because t hey're a f ra id t hat t hey won't get a n a r t icl i ng posit ion to even conver t t hei r deg ree. A R: Yea h, I mean I t hought it was a rea l concer n at t he t ime and I st i l l do. Your opt ions in ter ms of what you're going to pursue are l im ited by t he debt load t hat you have, and obv iously it's d if ferent for d if ferent people but it d ispropor t ionately af fects people who don't come from backg rounds where t hey can just choose where t hey want to work. H igh t uit ion just creates anot her bar r ier for people who want to pursue law yer ing t hat benef its t he commun it ies t hat t hey came from. AC: It’s as bad or worse t han when we were t here. I was luck y enough to g raduate w it hout debt, and my intergenerat iona l pr iv i lege has a l lowed me to ta ke prett y r isk y jobs. I k now so many people who want to be work ing in t he f ield t hat I work in and haven’t, eit her because it’s a d if f icu lt f ield to brea k into or because t hey just can’t sw ing t he f inances; you end up work ing for quite a wh i le w it hout gett ing pa id because you're a lmost a lways on a fee-spl it model and it ta kes t ime for f i les ot star t bi l l ing out. I f you don’t want to do cor porate law, or work in a New York f ir m, or do big inter nat iona l law st uf f, go any where else and you'l l g raduate w it h less debt and be f ine. Even t hough I was able to g raduate w it hout debt, I often say t hat going to U of T was t he worst f inancia l decision of my l ife. W hen you haven't ever made decisions of t hat f inancia l mag n it ude, t he numbers feel quite abst ract. $10 0,0 0 0 is a lot of money. A s it per ta ins to equit y, you’re going to nat ura l ly have a r icher, wh iter, st udent body. A R: A n area t hat I see t hat t h is has had an ef fect lately is when I’m spea k ing w it h ar t icl ing st udents. Dur ing t he pandem ic, it’s not easy to get reh ired, so I keep having to ask t hem “what’s your abi l it y to, just, hang out for l i ke four or f ive mont hs?” T h is rea l ly a f fects your r isk tolerance and whet her you’re just going to jump at t he f irst random job t hat pops up rat her t han st ick ing to your g uns unt i l you get what you want. U V: Bot h of you seem to end on a sl ight ly opt i m ist ic note i n you r fa rewel l let ter w r it i ng t hat “ t h is generat ion of law yer s is forci ng a deeply conser vat ive profession to ret h i n k its relat ionsh ip w it h a publ ic t hat it is mea nt to ser ve a nd represent. ” Do you st i l l feel t h is way a nd wel l, a re you bot h st i l l t i red? A R: So t ired. AC: I can’t bel ieve you read t hat as opt im ist ic. T hat's such a dow nbeat ar t icle. T h is was A man i’s l ine, so she gets to ta ke

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t h is. A R: Oh, my God, I was t h in k ing t hat l ine was so annoy ing. T h is was me? AC: You wanted it to end t hat way. To pu l l back t he cur ta in, at t he end of law school, I was gassed and rea l ly beat up from ever y t h ing, and about to move across t he count r y, and I wanted to end on a ver y dow ner note, and A man i was l i ke “no, st uf f ’s chang ing! I can see it happen ing!” A R: Someone act ua l ly asked me about t h is recent ly in a CPD [Cont inuing Pro fessiona l Development] course about E DI [ Equit y, Diversit y and I nclusion]. I don’t have t he long v iew, but it seems t hat since I’ve been a law yer, I’ve seen changes in my bar in ter ms of people hold ing t he establ ishment accountable for being unresponsive on equit y issues. I g uess I’ve been pleasant ly sur pr ised? I k now t hat ar t icle was supposed to end of f on a hopefu l note, but I d id n’t t h in k t hat I wou ld f it in in t h is profession or t hat t here wou ld be space to be any t h ing less t han t he most r isk-averse and conser vat ive version of mysel f. But I’ve found t hat, at least in un ion-side labour, t hat t here is some space and it’s gett ing bigger. AC: I t h in k I ta ke anot her v iew. T he Globe and Ma i l just d id a piece about t he power gap at t he top of Bay St reet f ir ms, and t he focus is st i l l on t r ick le- dow n fem in ism. Pan iz [ K hosrosha hy (3L)] w rote a g reat ar t icle in response t hat I t h in k was rea l ly on point. T he gender pay gap for people ma k ing ha l f a m i l l ion dol lars a year doesn’t matter. It’s not t he t h ing t hat matters. On a persona l note, I star ted t ransit ioning a fter law school and use t hey/t hem pronouns. T here was a recent change at t he BC cour ts to ask counsel to state t heir pronouns for t he record before star t ing any cour t matter. Somebody w rote an op ed about how t h is was compel led speech and how somet imes you need to m isgender co - counsel or t heir cl ient because it’s t he substance of t he lega l d ispute and it was just hor r if y ing and h it close to home. I t h in k t he lega l profession and t he law are a lways going to be innately conser vat ive because we’re g uard ians of t he stat us quo. Going to law school, you sor t of hang up your rad ica l card and you star t lead ing from beh ind. You star t doing movement suppor t. You're not t he t ip of t he spear any more — you're a Band-A id. T he work t hat I do is a Band-A id on a count r y t hat act ively t r ies to depor t people of colour to count r ies t hat t hey have f led for t heir l ives, and no amount of cr usad ing l it igat ion from me or my esteemed col leag ues is going to change t hat, because t hey’re policy decisions, not lega l ones. I t h in k t here is a bit of a g round swel l and prog ressive statements from our co hor t and some noise w it h in f ir ms t hat may change t he ma ke-up of a lot of t hese inst it ut ions, but I don’t see any deep inst it ut iona l change ta k ing place. I’m ver y, ver y happy t hat t here are un ion-side labour f ir ms where a young woman of colour l i ke A man i can feel comfor table being hersel f, and it shou ld not be ot her w ise. But t he d iversif icat ion of law doesn’t change its basic st r uct ure in any mean ing fu l way. U V: So I g uess you’re st i l l t i red? AC: I’m st i l l ver y t ired. T here’s a pandem ic going on. We're a l l t ired.

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March 3, 2021 | 15

Baking with Professor Ripstein Professor Ripstein shares his recipes for sourdough and challah RECIPES WRITTEN BY PROFESSOR RIPSTEIN; COMPILED BY HARRY MYLES (1L) Professor Arthur Ripstein, a beloved educator, is not only an expert at torts but also an avid baker. He was kind enough to share a couple of his bread recipes with Ultra Vires. Please note: Ultra Vires and Professor Ripstein are not liable for any baking accidents that may occur while using these recipes. For all of the recipes, you will know the bread is done when you knock on the bottom of the loaf and it sounds “hollow.” Also, be sure to let the bread cool before eating!

my starter in a Tupperware container. It exploded because it built up too much pressure. I was able to scrape some off of the lid, and it all restarted within about 8 hours. If you use unbleached flour (even more so if you use a little bit of whole-wheat flour), there are wild yeasts and lactobacilli in it already. It will then pick up flavours from the air; my starter had a distinctive taste the year that I lived beside the ocean in Connecticut. So, if you just add equal amounts by weight of flour and water (flour weighs about half of water by volume) and leave it out on the counter for a couple of days, you will be all set. I keep my starter in a jar in the fridge and every time I use some, I add more flour and water. Periodically, the starter turns kind of brackish, so I just use a little bit of it and start over. A lot of yeast and bacteria activity will become dormant once the alcohol produced as the byproduct gets too high. However, as soon as you pour off the brackish liquid and add more flour and water, the starter will spring back to life.

Sourdough Boule/Baguette/Pizza Dough

Method (Baguette– makes 3 baguettes)

Ingredients 450g keynote flour (the absorption for keynote flour is so great that you actually may need slightly less than 450 g. If you opt for all-purpose or supermarket flour, you will need closer to 500 grams)

1. I have baguette forms (a baking tray used for making baguettes), so sometimes I divide the sourdough into 3 parts and make long strands that rest on what I genuinely believe to be a linen towel. I then gently pull them into the baguette form. • If you do not have a form, you can also simply flip the dough strands onto parchment paper, but they will be a bit flat on the bottom. 2. Use the same baking time and temperature as above.

1g instant yeast 80g starter* 15g salt Challah

1.5 cups tepid/lukewarm water

I have made challah pretty much every Friday for the last 30 years. It is so familiar that the only thing I measure is the water. But, I would guess the following:

Method (Sourdough – makes 1 boule) 1. Mix the dry ingredients together and add the tepid water. Knead for about 1 minute and then let it sit on the counter overnight.

Ingredients (Makes one 6-strand loaf)

2. Note: with this recipe, if you leave it in the fridge for a few days, the end result will be even better!

About 350g of flour

3. In the morning, fold the dough 5 or 6 times and then turn it out into a basket lined with a floured linen towel (supposedly linen is better for this, but I am not actually confident that the towel I use contains genuine linen). 4. Let it rise for 4 to 5 hours. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit, and then flip the dough out onto a sheet of parchment. Place a pizza steel in the oven while it’s preheating. • Flipping the dough from its rise position is important. Bigger bubbles will form near the top of the basket because there is less weight on it. When you flip it, you will get a much more even crumb because it is in the opposite direction in the oven. • A steel is kind of a “fanatic’s” device, but it makes much better bread than a stone. • You can also use a cast-iron Dutch oven. That is what I use in the summer because I bake outside on the barbecue, and the steel gets too hot so that it burns the bottom before the top is done. 5. Brush the top with water, score it, and then slide it onto the preheated steel or Dutch oven (leave the dough on the parchment paper in the Dutch oven). 6. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes at 450 degrees Fahrenheit.

1 cup of tepid/lukewarm water Probably 10g of salt Roughly 2 teaspoons of yeast 1⁄4 cup oil [the type of oil was not specified, but vegetable oil is assumed] Method (Pizza Dough– makes 3 pizzas)

2 tbsp honey

1. I also use pretty much the same recipe for making pizza, but instead of using bread flour, I use 00 pizza flour (I was skeptical at first but it makes a huge difference).

1 egg

2. Once the dough is made, put the pizza steel by itself on the top rack of your oven and heat to 525 degrees Fahrenheit. Turn the broiler on for about 10 minutes. 3. Once the steel is preheated, stretch the dough in the air with your fists and place it on the hot steel. 4. Cook for 4 minutes and turn the broiler on for the last minute. *Lots of people make a big fuss about their sourdough starters, but over the years I have discovered that they are among the most forgiving products. Once, I was driving to visit friends in Nova Scotia and I took

Method 1. Mix the dry ingredients, add water, then add the egg. 2. Knead until stiff, around 5 to 7 minutes, and then let it sit for about an hour. 3. Braid the dough. 4. Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for about 35 minutes. • I used to brush the top with an egg wash before placing it in the oven but ran out one time and everyone liked the bread just as much, so I have not done an egg wash for about the last 15 years.

16 | March 3, 2021

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Valentine’s Wines In Vino Veritas TOM RUSSELL (1L) Whether you're looking to make the perfect date night or just looking to treat yourself this Valentine’s day, there’s no better solution than a good wine! Since the current lockdown means you are going to have to celebrate Valentine’s Day at home, why not lighten the mood with some delicious, light wines that pair so well with Valentine’s Day favourites like chocolate and cheese? The reviews this month highlight wines that would be perfect for a cheese platter, charcuterie board, or to pair with a chocolatey dessert. We’re keeping it light and fun this Valentine’s day! If you’re looking for an elegant wine to pair with your main course, Reya reviews a beautiful Beaujolais. For a great wine to pair with deserts, Tom reviews a f lashy Prosecco. If you are looking for a fruity and fun wine, Angela reviews two rosés that will do the trick. Kimia reviews a quirky Nero d’Avola all the way from Australia! If you’re looking for a festive cocktail, Sawyer shares a delicious Moscato sangria recipe.

Reya Manerikar Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Brouilly $19.20 at the LCBO

As for the details, the Bottega Gold Prosecco is light, slightly acidic, f izzy, and a bit dry. It is made from Glera (Prosecco) grapes in the Veneto region of Italy. It has an alcohol content of 11% and does contain sulf ites. This wine pairs perfectly with fruit or white, milk, and even some nutty chocolates. Although I would primarily recommend this as a dessert wine, I also recommend trying it with cured meats, pad thai, or vermicelli dishes. Keep it light.

Angela Gu Gérard Bertrand Côte des Roses Rosé 2019 $18.95 at the LCBO and Mateus Rosé Original $4.25 (250ml bottle) at the LCBO

Treat yourself (or your loved one) to a tried-and-true Beaujolais! These gamay grapes hail from the base of Mont Brouilly, which is topped with a picturesque chapel. Brouilly is one of the most productive “crus” of the Beaujolais region and is known for its vibrant f lavour. I was drawn to this bottle for its classy, minimalist label and its elegant neck. Georges Dubeouf ’s Beaujolais Brouilly is bright and fruity. It boasts cherry on the nose, with a slightly nutty f lavour on the f inish. It paired really well with a margherita pizza, but I would also recommend a tomato-based pasta. One tip I have for drinking Beaujolais is to chill it before opening, and then pull out the bottle when you have your f irst glass. Different notes really pop when these wines are chilled versus when they’re room temperature, so it’s fun to have your f irst glass one way and your second another!

Tom Russell Bottega Gold Prosecco, Doc Tresivo $27.95 at the LCBO If you are planning a big date night this Valentine’s Day I recommend the Bottega Gold Prosecco! It comes in a beautiful (obnoxious) gold bottle and has an even more gorgeous pale, platinum colour. At f irst taste, I noted wonderful melon, pear, and green apple f lavours. I found the aroma a bit dull, but the f lavour more than made up for that.

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The Gérard Bertrand rosé is a Languedoc blend of grenache, syrah, and cinsault. It has a fresh, f loral nose like a fun perfume, albeit one that I’d enjoy smelling in a store but not actually wearing, because it lacks dimension. This wine is simply a very fun wine - easy-drinking and fruity, and not cloyingly so. It’s a little dry, with a bit of salty minerality closing with notes of white pepper. The best part is that it comes in such a fun bottle, with a glass stopper and a rose imprint in the base. Don’t take yourself too seriously, throw the rules out the window, serve this chilled, perhaps in champagne f lutes because the colour is so pretty. Well, any glass works, so you do you. Share a bottle over a light brunch.

March 3, 2021 | 17

Saw yer Peloso R a spber r y Moscat o Sa n g r ia Ma d e w it h B a r t e nu ra Moscat o , $18 .95 at L C BO On Va lent i ne’s Day, I t h i n k it i s a lway s n ice to put toget her a f r u it y w i ne cock t a i l to sha re bet ween my sel f a nd my pa r t ner. S omet i mes t hat pa r t ner a l so happens to be mysel f. W ho you celebr ate w it h does not mat ter. Febr ua r y 14 t h i s yea r i s read i ng week for ma ny, a nd it i s a t i me to br ief ly celebr ate a l l t he ha rd work completed up u nt i l t h i s poi nt i n t he semester. T he R a spber r y Moscato Sa ng r ia i s a t reat on it s ow n; however it pa i r s su r pr i si ngly wel l w it h a nu mber of t h i ng s i nclud i ng cu red meat s, lemon pie a nd ot her f r u it y des ser t s. Given t he occa sion, I wou ld h igh ly recom mend a deser t to go w it h t he sa ng r ia. Mosc atos, such a s t he Ba r tenu r a Moscato f rom It a ly, a re bold , f r u it y w i nes w it h a n a lcohol content t hat r a nges f rom 5 -7% gener a l ly. T h i s pa r t icu la r Moscato i s ver y pa lat able a nd ha s st rong h i nt s of t ropica l f r u it s such a s pi neapple a nd ma ngo, a s wel l a s pea r s. T he sa ng r ia consi st s of a bot t le of t he Moscato W i ne, about 2-3 oz of vod k a , 1 cup of lemon sod a , a nd a r a s pber r y si mple s y r up. I per sona l ly made my ow n r a spber r y si mple s y r up. T h i s i nvolved boi l i ng a m i x t u re of ¼ cup of water, ¼ cup of g r a nu la r sug a r a nd a cup of r a s pber r ies, wh ich I t hen f i ltered t h rough a mesh sieve. To f i n i sh t he sa ng r ia of f, I added a n a ssor t ment of d i f ferent f r u it s, i nclud i ng r a spber r ies, blackber r ies, blueber r ies a nd st r awber r ies. T he f i na l resu lt i s a ver y sweet a nd sug a r y pi n k cock t a i l, t hat i s low i n a lcohol content a nd ca n rea sonably be spl it bet ween t wo peo ple. E njoy!

Make the most out of the Gérard Bertrand bottle by using it as a cookie stamp. You heard me right. Whip up a batch of shortbread cookies, and instead of pressing f lat with the usual measuring cup or fork, use this bottle instead. Find a recipe with a high f lour ratio so cookies retain their shape. Lightly f lour the dough balls and wipe the bottle dry between pressings, to prevent dough from sticking to the indents. I made brown sugar shortbread cookies. I had the shortbread alongside this Portuguese rosé, which was a mistake because both were so sweet. This semi-sparkling wine is even more fun than the previous rosé. With aromas of citrus and strawberry, a slight zip from the carbonation, round acidity, and honeyed citrus notes (more like pomelo than grapefruit), it’s a superbly cheerful libation. Pair the Mateus rosé with your favourite salty carb or a light f ish dish.

K i m ia Veisi Nezhad 2020 “P ret t y Boy ” Nero D’Avol a Rosat o

Playlist: A COVID Love Story A Valentine’s Day playlist to beat those winter blues HARRY MYLES (1L) WITH CONTRIBUTIONS FROM ERICA BERRY (1L), SHAE ROTHERY (1L), AND MISHAIL ADEEL (1L) This playlist was originally published online on February 13, 2021.

W het her you a re celebr at i ng Va lent i ne’s d ay w it h you r loved ones or f ly i ng solo, you ca n cou nt on t h i s “ P ret t y B oy ” to ma ke you r d ay more s pec ia l. I recent ly d i scovered t he Aust r a l ia n w i ner y Del i nquente W i ne C o a nd I rea l ly l i ke t hei r br a nd. My g uess i s t hat t he w i nema ker s/ow ner s a re na m i ng t hei r u n ique bot t les a f ter t hei r bad[ ? ] d ates. S ome of Del i nquente’s ot her bot t les a re na med “ Weepi ng Jua n”, “ S crea m i ng B et t y ”, a nd “ Rox a n ne t he R a zor,” a nd t hey each i nclude a ha nd- d r aw n s ketch of t he cha r acter on t he label. “ P ret t y B oy ” ha s a f r u it y nose w it h h i nt s of st r awber r ies a nd crea m. On t he pa late, it i s cr u nchy a nd ref resh i ng, w it h notes of r a spber r y, rosewater, a nd herbs. O ver a l l, t he a roma s work rea l ly wel l w it h t he tex t u re a nd t he t a ste. T h i s rose i s f u n, lush, l ight , a nd just per fect for t he occa sion. I bought it for $3 0 plus t a x f rom I DE A L C offee & W i ne i n t he Ossi ng ton a rea i n Toronto. I don’t bel ieve t he L C BO ca r r ies t hem, but do not m i ss out on t h i s a ma zi ng f i nd i f you a re i n t he Toronto a rea (or, i n Aust r a l ia)!

It’s that time of year again and love is in the air. “A COVID Love Story” is a collection of songs that will make you smile, ugly cry, and maybe long for the one that got away. But above all, it will hopefully add some love (and all the messy emotions that go along with it) to your life this VDay (or everyday). Below are some highlights from “A COVID Love Story”: “anything” by Adrianne Lenker “Crown of Love” by Arcade Fire “Caroline” by Arlo Parks “XO” by Beyoncé “Champagne Coast” by Blood Orange “Thinkin Bout You” by Frank Ocean “Wandering Romance” by Jorja Smith “The Love Club” by Lorde “Harvest Moon” by Neil Young “Mystery of Love” by Sufjan Stevens

OPINIONS

18 | March 3, 2021

A Review of This Year’s 1L Joint Professionalism Training Sessions While the JPT workshops showed some promise in discussing anti-oppression and anti-racism, much improvement is needed ALISHA KRISHNA (1L) AND ELISE BURGERT (1L) Anti-racism, mental health, and the role of the legal system in perpetuating inequality are among the most pressing problems many current 1Ls hope to address in our careers. As the year progressed, we quickly learned that our classes would not facilitate discussions about anti-oppression and anti-racism, and that we would have to find these resources elsewhere. As these were also the topics addressed in this year’s joint professionalism training (JPT) sessions, we had high hopes. However, in the end, the JPTs were a mixed success. Some sessions, particularly those facilitated by Justice Shaun Nakatsuru, discussing his judgements in R v Jackson and R v Morris, and Myrna McCallum, presenting her approach to trauma-informed lawyering, were both informative and spaces for the critical engagement with the law which we have been pushing for since the beginning of school. Most importantly, it was incredibly heartening to see such accomplished professionals doing this work. Instead of discussing general ideas of anti-oppression and anti-racism, these sessions not only showed us how to be critical about the law, but also legitimized the very practice of it. While some discussions were good, others were not as effective. Much has been said about January’s Critical Race Theory workshop, and the following comments apply to the program in general. We appreciated the effort to begin the JPT sessions with more profound discussions on anti-oppression and anti-Black racism. We also found the content in the Critical Race Theory workshop to be useful and engaging. However, because the sessions took place during the lunch period, and on one of the busiest days of the week for many 1Ls (Wednesdays), we could not give the content the attention it deserved.

While we understand the difficulties the COVID-19 pandemic has created for scheduling, these sessions could have been planned such that they did not overburden students during an already onerous Fall semester or during the start of the Winter term when we were concerned with the 1L recruitment cycle and mooting. The session on “Self-Care as a Professional Practice Skill” felt detached from the realities of life as a law student. Aside from the contradictory advice to eat lunch as self-care during a mandatory lunch-time session at which no lunch was provided, the message of professional negligence itself was premature in a Faculty already dealing with problems providing mental health services. It sent us the message that unless we “take care of ourselves,” our lack of resources notwithstanding, we could become incompetent as professionals. Given that law school occupies so much of our lives, professional competence is hardly the only reason the law school needs to structurally support student mental health. During the session, we were also required to disclose mental health difficulties with our breakout groups and were not provided any opportunity to debrief afterwards other than what the school already provides to all students. The idea that our mental health was an individual problem we had to take care of in our own time ran through this session. As was said before by Meaza Damte (1L), “JPT is not all bad, but to say that it is enough is a gross misrepresentation of the obstacles the legal system continues to face'' in working towards anti-oppression and anti-racism. While this year’s program showed promise, there remains work to be done if it is to become a meaningful endeavour which gives the issues raised the attention they deserve.

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On Cold Calling in a Pandemic Still not easy, but it is better on Zoom JACQUELINE HUANG (1L) In my early school years, I often spoke up in class, yet I was never a fan of cold calling. I wanted to speak only when I felt like it, so I went out of my way to avoid getting coldcalled. When I was in middle school in China, my English teacher asked everyone to pick an English name at the beginning of the term. She explained that she would call us in class with English names, to encourage us to speak English more naturally. I went back home, pulled out a dictionary of names, and searched for a name that looked long and tricky to pronounce. I came across “Jacqueline.” The name sounded nice to me, and I was pretty conf ident that the “que” spelling would confuse my Chinese English teacher, thereby reducing my chance of being called in class. The result? I never got cold-called for a whole year. And the name “Jacqueline” has stayed with me since then. I quite like it, and it has become a part of my identity. I see cold-calling as a device to garner students’ attention using fear. Students remain on edge because they never know when it will be their turn, and fear humiliation because it is diff icult to feel fully prepared. While cold calling may give the student an incentive to study harder, the incentive is fueled by negative emotions. Cold calling at law school is nerve-racking, especially when I just started out and was fumbling to f igure out what the law is. In Legal Methods, I took very detailed notes, just to be assured that I had something to say when I was called in class. The physically distanced

classroom made cold-calling more daunting. I had to shout through my mask so that people scattered around a lecture hall could hear me. The faceless gazes from all over the classroom made me nervous too, even though other people couldn’t see my face either. Being cold-called is not pleasant, and worrying about it makes the classroom experience less enjoyable. In that sense, cold-calling is a problematic teaching device, and maybe an outdated one. Learning that truly promotes personal development shouldn’t be motivated by fear. On the f lip side, I believe that there are merits for involuntary classroom participation. Speaking when I am prepared is great, but it is also good to be asked unexpected questions and be forced to think on the spot. Life will throw you curveballs and among them, being cold-called in class is one with low stakes. If anything, the pandemic and online learning may make for a more empathetic environment. There is no guarantee of stable internet connection, and you may be frozen at any time, so a slightly belated response is within expectations. It is also easier to pretend that the gazes from around the classroom does not exist — with the hope that people all turn on their gallery views. The pandemic brings out a widely shared appreciation of the diff iculties of studying law, and makes it more understandable if students are not up for classroom challenges. This is a diff icult time, but also a good time for trial and error.

GPLLM: The Forgotten Students? My experience during the recent summer recruit doesn’t make me feel like a U of T Student ANIL NAIR (GPLLM) Graduate students at any university are often more “distant” from the main population. From conducting unique and cutting-edge research in lieu of attending classes, to being a generally older demographic, graduate students tend to be separate. However, I contradict this notion. I am only 23 years old, and I am by no means conducting cutting edge research. I am in the Global Professional Master of Law (GPLLM) program. Here, there is no dissertation to undertake or hours teaching students. In fact, in the Canadian Law stream of the GPLLM, many of my classmates are older and already qualified lawyers in jurisdictions such as India, Brazil, and England. To those of you who are unfamiliar with the process, undertaking this intensive program allows for Internationally Trained Lawyers (ITLs) to “convert” their experience and education to a Canadian one under the National Committee on Accreditation (NCA). To put it simply, we are most similar to 3Ls — once we graduate from the GPLLM, we will be able to sit the bar exams and begin articling. While it is possible to complete the NCA requirements on your own at nearly 1/10th of the cost, I elected to complete a master’s degree at U of T Law for the intellectual rigour as well as the reputation of the Faculty. It is no secret that U of T dominates Bay Street law firms and cultivates trailblazers in the legal profession in a variety of practice areas. In the midst of applying for summer positions, I was shocked to learn that graduate students at the

university are not permitted to be part of the U of T OCI process. Instead, we had to contact an external organisation to arrange our OCIs. If you are a JD student reading this, I hope I do not come across as trying to “steal” a coveted interview during the OCI process. At the end of the day, we are all part of the U of T Law “family” and we should be accorded the same opportunities. I experienced rejection from some firms which do not conduct OCIs with the external organisation but do conduct them with U of T students. It makes me wonder whether, if I could be a part of the U of T OCI process, I could have been granted an interview. During the interviews I did have, some employers were perplexed that I was not meeting with them during the U of T OCI process, despite being a U of T student — a sentiment I also share. In the UTLC Resource Library, the 2L folder is filled with incredible resources, which are invaluable to a current student applying for summer positions. However, under the GPLLM folder there is only one file, a presentation from January 2018. Of course, it is possible to simply click on any other folder, however it seems unjust to me that we don’t have our own tailored and maintained resources since the inception of the program in 2017. However, to everyone that intends to practice law in Canada, having adequate information and support from the University is vital and expected. Furthermore, I did not feel like I had the support of the Career Development Office (CDO) for mock

interviews or general preparedness when going through the OCI process. When contacting current 3L students about their experiences at firms I was applying to, many were shocked to hear this. It seems that I have been navigating this complicated process by myself, much like a self-studying NCA student, undermining the value of the high tuition fees that the GPLLM charges. Virtual events by the CDO focusing on tips for the OCIs were held days before the U of T OCI process, but nearly two weeks after I had finished my OCIs. The information provided in that session was very useful and I wished it had run earlier, so all U of T law students could benefit from the CDO’s experience and expertise. In my role as President of the Graduate Law Students Association (GLSA), I have faced numerous queries from students who are completely unaware of the nuances in drafting a cover letter for Canadian employers or tailoring their vast years of experience to a Canadian context. Yet, when contacting members of the CDO or faculty and career advisors within the graduate programs, we get slow or no replies. The pandemic is a valid reason for the delay in replies, yet I can’t help but question the Faculty’s preparedness in managing graduate students. This once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for GPLLM students to apply for the coveted summer positions and gain invaluable Canadian legal experience was not flagged to us. We were left to crack the confusing code of the OCI process and research the best prac-

tices on our own. Many of my peers were even unaware that they could apply for summer roles. Discovering this through an email four days before the Group B deadline in late January simply did not leave us enough time to prepare a good application. While many graduate students likely do not expect heavy hand holding to navigate the process. However, the distinct lack of support and direction from the Faculty was surprising to say the least. Apart from the recruit, we were not informed about the unique opportunities at the Faculty, such as resources for societies and extracurricular groups. I feel like there is much more that can be done to ensure that we go on to have successful legal careers in Canada. A simple improvement to this system would have been proper direction to resources, and encouraging the CDO to work alongside graduate students to help us succeed. Dean Brunnée has been proactively holding listening sessions, while individual program leaders are now trying their best to inform us of opportunities. These are encouraging steps in the right direction and I hope that the future students in the Faculty’s graduate programs have access to the same level of support that JD candidates receive. Editor’s Note: In a normal year, graduate students, many of whom are in one-year programs, would not have transcript grades available in time to participate in the Fall semester’s OCIs. Due to this year’s delayed timeline, they were able to participate.

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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 Côte (1L) and Sterling Mancuso (1L) Graphics Editor: Yuxuan Wu (2L) Social Media Editor: Ellen An (2L)

D ea r Reade r s, Mid-way through this se cond te rm, thre e - qua r te r s of the way through this biz a r re and challe nging school yea r, we, the R ig hts Review Editorial team, wante d to bring to the forefront of this is sue the impor tance of ca re, compas sion, and patie nce, pa r ticula rly in the a rea of human rights law and activism. In this cur re nt is sue, the the me s of health and human rights pe rmeate our a r ticle s, but one a rea of health and human rights that wa r rants spe cial at te ntion is that of me ntal health. Unde r value d by societ y writ la rge, and unde r-prote cte d by eve n the most pro gre s sive healthca re syste ms in the world, me ntal health too of te n slips through the cracks in our live s. Awa re ne s s may be raise d and se ntime nts sha re d, but if our syste ms do not mean -

ingfully rise to this healthca re challe nge, our communitie s re main vulne rable. We k now by now that inte r se ctionalit y plays a role in exace rbating ne gative health outcome s. T he me ntal health crise s in our societ y uniquely af fe ct Black, Indige nous, and othe r racialize d pe o ple s, pe ople with disabilitie s, those suffe ring from substance use and abuse, and those living in pove r t y at greate r levels, for instance. T his is in la rge pa r t due to historie s of oppre s sion, ma rginaliz ation, and set tle r colonialism, and the se force s of subordination also hold back solutions to me ntal health crise s in ma rginalize d communitie s. Indige nous communitie s, for example, re main hor ribly unde r- re source d and the inte rge ne rational trauma create d through colonialism wor se ns with yea r af te r yea r of continue d ne gle ct.

T he se challe nge s af fe ct advocate s calling for change, as well. T he vica rious trauma and the pe r sonal traumas expe rie nce d by human rights defe nde r s, ac tivists, and othe r forms of advocate s a re real and damaging — again inte nsifie d whe n the ide ntitie s of the individu als in que stion a re inte r se ctional. In our fight for a more just world, we must ground our lea rning and our practice in ca re, compas sion, and patie nce, awa re of the e motional and psychological burde ns weighing on our frie nds, allie s, and our selve s. But just like the syste ms ove rall, we ne e d more than me re words to face this is sue. We, as me mbe r s of Rig hts Re view, me mbe r s of the Unive r sit y of To ronto Facult y of L aw communit y, and me mbe r s of our local communitie s, ple dge to continuously re - ce ntre me ntal health and compas sion in our work and

our live s. T his means practicing solida rit y and taking up the re sponsibilit y to ca re for each othe r whe n our institutions refuse to. T his means giving space to talk about ha rd topic s or space not to, maintaining a stigma-fre e plat form to sha re whe n ne e de d, and put ting for wa rd work that re mains as mindful of the se challe nge s and the inte r se ctional burde ns as pos sible. T his stance should be take n by all institutions and organiz ations, which, in turn, should af fe ct the way societ y value s time, communit y, and me ntal wellbeing. We can sta r t by giving our selve s the ca re, compas sion, and patie nce we hope to give to othe r s and continue that practice togethe r. A lthough in isolation, we a re not alone. In Solida rit y, T he R ig hts Review Editorial Boa rd

CAMBIE SURGERIES CORPORATION V BRITISH COLUMBIA (ATTORNEY GENERAL): THE CASE THAT COULD CHANGE HEALTH CARE IN CANADA By Leah Kelley (2L) Int roduction In Septe mbe r 2020, the Supre me Cour t of British Columbia (BCSC) release d its Reasons for Judgme nt in C a mbie Surg e r ie s Cor por ation v Br itish Columbia (At tor ney G e ne r a l). Cambie will be ap peale d in June 2021, and the de cision has the pote ntial to de cla re as unconstitutional the ban on private -pay health ca re in British Columbia , including limits on ex tra billing and use r fe e s, private duplicative insurance, and physician dual practice.

Case Summar y T he C a n ad a He a lth Act (CHA) outline s the crite ria and conditions relate d to in sure d health se r vice s that each province and te r ritor y must me et to re ceive their full fe de ral cash contribution through the Canada Health Transfe r. T he se include five core crite ria: unive r salit y, por tabilit y, public administration, compre he nsive ne s s, and acce s sibilit y. T he CHA also prohibits ex tra-billing and use r cha rge s by e nrolle d physicians for se r vice s cove re d by the public syste m and re nde re d to insure d be neficia rie s. T his is administe re d in BC through the

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Me dic a r e Pr ote ction Act (MPA). T he MPA re quire s physicians to choose: for se r vice s cove re d unde r BC’s Me dica re Se r vice s Plan (MSP, the public insure r), e nrolle d physicians cannot bill patie nts privately (out- of-pocket) or through private duplicate insurance. Physicians not e nrolle d in MSP a re fre e to cha rge patie nts dire ctly (except if they a re in hospitals or communit y ca re facilitie s), but they cannot also bill the public pur se. In othe r words, physician dual practice is not allowe d. T he plaintif f s, Cambie Surge rie s Corpo ration and their af filiate d Spe cialist Re fe r ral Clinic, admit te d to billing both publicly and privately ( pa ras 356 -387 ) for se r vice s delive re d at their private surge r y ce ntre in Vancouve r. T he plaintif f s sought to ove r turn key se ctions of the MPA (14, 17, 18 and 45, the “impugne d provisions” ) that preve nt physicians from: 1.

Ch a r gi n g fe e s t h a t exc e e d t h e a mou n t r e i m b u r s e d by t h e p u b l ic sy s te m . Se ction 14(1) of the MPA pre clude s e nrolle d physicians, who a re opte d- out, from cha rging patie nts more than they would be re imbur se d from MSP.

Co n d u c t i n g a d u a l p r ac t ic e i n bot h t h e p r i va te - p ay a n d p u b l ic p ay sys te m s . Se ctions 17 and 18(3) preve nt physicians from billing both MSP and private duplicative insurance for se r vice s cove re d unde r MSP. Ove r turning the se provisions would ince ntivize physicians to give prefe re ntial acce s s to those willing to pay more through private duplicative insurance ( pa ra 2656).

B i l l i n g p r i va te d u p l ic a t i ve i n s u re r s fo r t h e s a m e s e r v ic e s t h a t a r e c ove r e d by p u b l ic i n s u r a nc e. Curre ntly, private insurance can only cove r se r vice s that a re outside of those cove re d by public insurance. Ove r turning se ction 45 would allow those who can af ford private duplicative insurance to acce s s ca re faste r than those in the public -pay syste m ( pa ra 2775).

T he impugne d provisions preve nt a duplicative private healthca re syste m that would prioritize those who can af ford to pay for private ca re ove r those who cannot ( pa ra 19 97 ). T he plaintif f s submit that prohibiting patie nts from acce s sing private diagnostic and surgical se r vice s whe n they

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cannot acce s s the m in a timely manne r through the public syste m constitute s a violation of se ction 7 of the Ch a r te r of R ig hts a nd Fr e e doms. T hey claim it leads to “prolonge d pain and disabilit y, se rious psychological ha rm or dete rioration and ir repa rable ha rm” ( pa ra 73). T hey make no claim that ove r turning the se se ctions of the MPA would re duce wait time s in the public syste m. In fact, acade mic lite rature, as well as te stimony by expe r ts in inte rnational health e co nomic s and health policy and the Chief of Staf f of O t tawa Hospital, indicate s that wait time s in the publicly-funde d syste m would increase if the se change s we re allowe d ( pa ras 230 8 -2349). A se ction 7 analysis involve s t wo steps. Fir st, plaintif f s must prove that the impugne d provisions of the law deprive pe r sons of their right to life, libe r t y, or se curit y of the pe r son. Se cond, plaintif f s must e stablish that the deprivation is not in accordance with principle s of fundame ntal justice. Justice Ste eve s of the BCSC found that neithe r the right to life nor the right to libe r t y we re e ngage d be cause no evide nce of any deaths cause d by waiting time s existe d in BC ( pa ra 12). Howeve r,

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he found that “situations de nying patie nts the abilit y to avoid unreasonable wait time s violate s their right to se curit y of the pe r son” ( pa ra 10). Some patie nts who have to wait beyond the re com me nde d timeframe to re ceive ele ctive surge r y expe rie nce “increase[d] risk of dete rioration and re duce d surgical outcome s” ( pa ra 10). Howeve r, the “im pugne d provisions do not violate the s 7 rights of the plaintif f s or othe r simila rly situate d patie nts in the public syste m” ( pa ra 18). Ste eve s held that the purpose of the impugne d provision is to preve nt a duplicative healthca re syste m that would increase de mand on and re duce capacit y in the public syste m, increase costs, pe r ve r sely ince ntivize physicians, and exace rbate ine quit y in acce s s to ca re ( pa ras 15, 2274 -2670). T he impugne d provisions achieve the se goals in a way that is neithe r ove rbroad nor gros sly dispropor tionate ( pa ras 2671-278 4). T he plaintif f s also advance d a se ction 15 claim relate d to those who suf fe r workplace injurie s. T his was dismis se d by Ste eve s for lack of evide nce of a dispropor tionate adve r se ef fe ct on the elde rly, ve r y young or disable d as alle ge d. Ste eve s comme nte d on se ction 1, de spite finding no breach unde r se ctions 7 or 15 ( pa ra 2895 -29 0 3). He found that, had the re be e n a breach, the impugne d provisions would be save d as justifiable limits unde r se ction 1 of the Cha r te r. T he Justice held that the obje ctive s of “pre se r ving and e nsuring the sustainabilit y of the unive r sal public healthca re syste m and e nsuring acce s s to ne ce ssa r y me dical se r vice s is base d on ne e d and not the abilit y to pay, a re pre s sing and substantial” ( pa ra 21). Cambie will be appeale d to the Cour t of A ppeal for BC (BCCA) in June 2021. If the impugne d provisions a re found to be unconstitutional on appeal, this will cre ate a dange rous pre ce de nt for the administration of public health insurance

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acros s the countr y. A s Ste eve s note d, “[w]hile it is not explicitly mandate d unde r the CHA , in orde r to me et the five fe de ral crite ria , province s have ge ne rally e mploye d re gulator y measure s including prohibiting the sale and purchase of private health insurance and re stricting the abilit y of physicians to bill patie nts above and beyond the pro vincial health plan rate s” ( pa ra 197 ). If the BCCA holds the impugne d provisions to be unconstitutional unde r the MPA , this would e stablish pe r suasive pre ce de nt to strike the se re quire me nts from simila r provincial le gislation acros s the countr y. Re ga rdle s s of what the BCCA de cide s, the case could e nd up in the Supre me Cour t of Canada , pote ntially set ting national pre ce de nt.

Under st anding t he ef fect on wait times Ste eve s’ opinion is ground breaking in that it take s a de cisive position on a long-held debate in healthca re: whethe r allowing a duplicative, private -pay syste m would solve the proble m of exce ssive wait time s for some diagnostic and surgical se r vice s. It is true that the Canadian healthca re syste m has a wait time proble m for some diagnostic and surgical se r vice s. For example, ele ctive surge rie s such as hip and k ne e, cata ract, and ca rdiac bypas s surge r y have unacceptably long wait time s. In the fir st qua r te r of 2018, 41.3% of patie nts who re quire d ele ctive surge r y in BC had to wait longe r than re comme nde d ( pa ra 1358). T he plaintif f s conte nd that a duplicative private syste m would fre e up capacit y in the public syste m and re duce wait time s. Ste eve s found this evide nce to suppor t this hypothe sis was not cre dible ( pa ras 2326, 26 43). Acade mic evide nce points to the fact that wait time s in the public syste m would increase be cause a pa rallel private healthca re sys-

te m “draws from the same human re source s as the public syste m” ( pa ra 2369). T he public syste m in BC has existing challe nge s retaining me dical staf f ( pa ra 2371). T hus, the dive r sion of re source s to the private syste m would re duce the already straine d capacit y of the public syste m. A n OECD repor t from 2013 expre s sly found that duplicative private health insurance doe s not re duce healthca re de mand in the public syste m. Rathe r, it “increase s de mand and costs and has be e n as sociate d with queue jumping by patie nts who can afford private insurance” ( pa ra 2394). Ove rall de mand increase s in pa r t be cause patie nts in the private syste m se e spe cialists more of te n ( pa ra 229 0). Furthe r, the ef ficie ncie s gaine d by having a single administrative syste m for public healthca re is lost, driving up administrative costs ( pa ra 2294). If we introduce a private insurance mechanism for ser vices that the public system of fers (e.g., hip surger y), then those who have high-paying jobs could have access to this private insurance through their employer. However, those who have low paying jobs would be stuck in the public system. Physicians could split their time between systems, but they can be paid more through the private insurance model. This incentivizes them to book privately funded surgeries more frequently than publicly funded surgeries (thus providing faster access to those who can pay). This fundamentally contradicts the principles of equitable, universal health care in Canada. Our system is designed such that services paid for by the government cannot be preferentially accessed by anyone. My is sue with the plaintif f s’ claim, which is refle cte d by the BSCS de cision, is that it would set a pre ce de nt to e stab lish a multi-paye r syste m like that in the Unite d State s. A nyone who looks at the Unite d State s healthca re syste m re cog nize s the vast ine quitie s that exist. T hose who can af ford to pay privately

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for the be st health syste ms (e.g., Kaise r Pe rmane nte, Mayo Clinic) have acce s s to some of the highe st qualit y healthca re in the world. Howeve r, those with public insurance a re of te n subje ct to significantly longe r wait time s and dif ficult y acce s sing ca re, in pa r t be cause the reimbur se me nt rate s a re lowe r. The issue of wait times in Canada is pressing and needs to be addressed. There have been several political and policy at tempts to do so (e.g., the Kirby Repor t, Romanow Repor t, 10 -Year Plan to Strengthen Health Care), but it comes down to two things: 1) we need improve the ways in which we deliver health care and 2) we need to invest more resources into expanding the public system’s capacit y for planned and elective surgeries. Creating a duplicative, private pay healthcare system will not solve the problem. T he Constitution of the World Health O rganiz ation re cognize s that “[t]he e njoyme nt of the highe st at tainable standa rd of health is one of the fundame ntal rights of eve r y human being without distinction of race, religion, political belief, e co nomic or social condition.” If the BCSC de cision is ultimately ove rturne d, I believe it would be a violation of this fundame ntal inte rnational human right. T he plaintif f s a re at te mpting to use the human rights re cognize d unde r the Ch a r te r of R ig hts a nd Fr e e doms to e stablish a multi-paye r syste m that would increase wait time s and re duce acce s s to ca re in the publicly-funde d syste m. It would allow faste r acce s s to ca re for those who can af ford to pay and make it le gal for doctor s to prioritize the m above those in the publicly-funde d syste m. T he actions of the plaintif f s a re e mbodying the fea r that some put forwa rd before the Cha r te r was pas se d, namely that it would be use d to advance the inte re sts of the privile ge d and limit the powe r of the state to prote ct the ne e ds of the oppre s se d ( Webbe r at page 218 -219).

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HEALTH, HUMAN RIGHTS, AND COVID-19 A DISCUSSION ON THE INTERSECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND PUBLIC HEALTH

By Dylan Juschko (2L)

PHOTO CREDIT: HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: HTTPS://WWW.HRW.ORG/NEWS/2020/09/02/QA-INTERNATIONAL-CRIMINAL-COURT-AND-UNITED-STATES

As we approach the anniversary of the COVID-19 lockdowns in Canada that shook the country last year, it is important to reflect on what we’ve learned in one year of living through a global pandemic. The recent panel by the Global Health and Human Rights working group at the IHRP on health, human rights, and COVID-19 sought to do just that. After covering a range of topics from the use of police powers, to International Health Regulations, to disability rights in the context of COVID-19, the common thread is clear: the world’s response to COVID-19 has been needlessly lacking in both its effectiveness and its protection of human rights. Robin Nobleman, an adjunct professor at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law and Staff Lawyer at HIV and AIDS Legal Clinic Ontario, spoke on the use of police powers during the pandemic and the lessons learned from the criminalization of HIV. New municipal ordinances across Canada have given police the power to fine citizens for breaching pandemic restrictions. Tickets have amassed in the thousands, totaling millions of dollars in fines. However, whether this means of regulation is preferable is questionable. Fines tend to be targeted at marginalized groups, like the homeless who don’t aim to purposely ignore restrictions, but rather lack the means to obey them. When it comes down to it, criminal law tends not to be an effective means of enforcing public health measures. Criminalization punishes non-disclosure of illness but not ignorance of the law, thereby disincentiv-

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izing testing and preventing treatment and leading to an increased risk of transmission on the whole. It also reinforces many of the problems in policing — such as discriminator y and racialized patrolling — while simultaneously lumping the health sector into the mix and reducing trust in public health ser vices. To make matters worse, provincial public health laws have been used to bolster policing at the cost of individual privacy. In one instance, Ontario established a database of positive COVID-19 cases accessible by first responders at all times. This initiative is intended to protect first responders by alerting them to potential cases in the course of their duties. However, this measure is not only a lackluster protective measure but prone to abuse from the users. Evidence suggests police misused the database, accessing it thousands of times in regions where there were as few as 100 cases. A better approach would include more voluntary measures, rather than coercive ones. Nobleman emphasized that human rights and public safety do not have to conflict with each other. Rather, respect for human rights can make public health interventions more effective. Roojin Habibi, an international lawyer, consultant, and research fellow specializing in global health law, governance, and justice echoed this sentiment in her discussion of International Health Regulations (IHR). Habibi laid out the framework and drawbacks of IHR. IHR is a binding instrument of the World Health Organization and can be thought of as a treaty that comes into play during interna-

tional public health emergencies. Although there is a capacity to create international legislation using IHR, the WHO prefers to act through soft law like guidelines and non-binding recommendations. Habibi spoke to the possible evidence-based limitations that IHR can place on certain freedoms like privacy and freedom of movement, if specific criteria are met. That being said, despite being ratified by over 190 states, IHR-stipulated obligations are not often met. Moreover, IHR has done little in terms of the COVID-19 pandemic, and it seems lessons from previous epidemics like AIDS and SARS have not been taken to heart. When thinking of IHR, the question becomes how to make measures more effective, with one potential route being to coordinate with other WHO agencies — such as animal and environmental health groups — to tackle the interwoven issue of global health. As it stands, Habibi explains that not enough effort and planning were put into initial COVID-19 measures, and these effects will be felt down the road. Trudo Lemmens, a professor at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law, provided some poignant examples of poorly thoughtout COVID-19 measures in his talk on disability rights. He argued that the rights of the public can sometimes exclude the needs of already disadvantaged groups, particularly persons living with disabilities, socially isolated individuals, and low-income individuals. For instance, the initial restrictions against visitors for long-term care homes actually exacerbated COVID-19 deaths in

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this setting. On top of socially isolating the elderly from their families, many of these facilities relied on patients’ family members to function properly. Without their support, additional personnel were brought in and moved between facilities, increasing the spread of COVID-19. Other problems can be seen in the clinical triage process, where private committees decide how resources like ventilators will be distributed. These committees aren’t likely to include people from disadvantaged groups, and so they tend to ignore the elderly and people with disabilities, focusing instead on long-term survival. Although debates have adjusted this somewhat, policies are still largely created without any public feedback on priorities. Lastly, Lemmens warned that economic hardship and social isolation have led to greater reliance on medically assisted death. Instead of getting necessary treatments, marginalized groups are singled out and potentially incentivized to end their lives early. When it comes to protecting global health and human rights, it seems we still have a long way to go. However, it isn’t all bad; COVID-19 is but another learning opportunity. The challenge now is not to just go back to normal but rather to reach a situation where we increase our prioritization of human rights. We need more cooperation between countries, not just lip service. We need to recognize that pandemics are both a medical and social phenomenon. Whether it be housing, employment, or income, social issues exacerbate health issues, and we all feel the effects.

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THE RIGHT TO WATER: THE ONGOING FIGHT OF INDIGENOUS AND NORTHERN COMMUNITIES A REPORT ON THE CANADIAN LAW SCHOOL CONFERENCE EVENT ON THE HUMAN RIGHT TO WATER By Lauren Lam (4L) and Rachel Bryce (4L) tory, the opening up of this land to non-Indigenous populations brought ATV drivers straight through the culturally significant Women’s Water Ceremony, with children and elders present. The community no longer felt safe accessing their land for these ceremonies. Stephanie Willsey, counsel at McCarthy Tétrault LLP, underscored the devastation to Indigenous culture that has arisen from unsafe drinking water. With the local water sources polluted and unsafe to drink or touch, a First Nations community participating in the national class action against the Canadian Government attempted to keep their traditions alive using bottled water. This loses meaning and, in turn, the connection to many of the community members, especially the youth. Without the ability to pass on the traditions through water ceremonies, intergenerational effects of this pollution will only grow.

PHOTO CREDIT: MACDONALD LAURIER INSTITUTE, HTTPS://WWW.MACDONALDLAURIER.CA/DESPITE-PROGRESS-WATER-THREAT-INDIGENOUS-WALKERTON-REMAINS-JOSEPH-QUESNEL-INSIDE-POLICY/

Human Rights Watch published a report titled “The Human Right to Water: A Guide for First Nations Communities and Advocates” in October 2019. The report builds on the findings of the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR)’s February 2016 review of Canada in which the body highlighted “the restricted access to safe drinking water and sanitation by the First Nations as well as the lack of water regulations for the First Nations people living on reserves.” The CESCR recommended that the government of Canada make changes to ensure Indigenous communities’ access to safe drinking water and sanitation, while creating spaces for these communities to be actively involved in planning and management. The body also noted not only the economic importance of water, but also the cultural significance of water to Indigenous traditions. The human right to water includes the right of all individuals to “available, accessible, safe, acceptable and affordable” sources of drinking water and water for personal and domestic usage as well as sanitation facilities without discrimination. The Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation calls for “an explicit focus on the most disadvantaged and marginalized, as well as an emphasis on participation, empowerment, accountability and transparency.” Canada’s inability to uphold Indigenous and remote communities’ access to water and sanitation is particularly appalling because of how water-rich the country is. Ontario has access to the Great Lakes, which alone con-

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stitute approximately 18 percent of the world’s fresh surface water. Furthermore, Canada is currently ranked tenth in the world by gross domestic product and has positioned itself as a country with human rights at the forefront of its domestic and global policy agenda. Canada has ratified: • International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR); • Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW); • Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC); • Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD); • and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) The Government has also endorsed the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). All of these sources of international law offer guarantees related to the human right to water and sanitation. At the outset of this excellent panel hosted on February 28 by students from the Bora Laskin Faculty of Law at Lakehead University, Meera Karunananthan, Director of the Blue Planet Project, noted that human rights are not cure-all, referencing Dr. Samuel Moyn who believes human rights to be the floor, not the ceiling of righting injustice and inequality. Karunananthan explained that human rights are an important tool in the fight for clean water but not the only one. The tools of reconciliation, redistribution, and decolonization are most relevant and

human rights should fit into this framework. All three panelists emphasized the importance of self-government and communal rights in these discussions. Karunananthan concluded by saying that Indigenous relationships to water should not be exclusively mediated by the Canadian state. The right to water should include the right to sovereignty over ground water, lakes and rivers, and the land. The right to water is only a recently recognized right, despite decades of advocacy working to establish it formally. Only in 2010, after a huge push by organizations around the world opposing privatization of water and sanitation, did the Campaign for the Human Right to Water begin. Karunananthan reiterated that history shows that this right is not always the correct tool for the job. Successful campaigns and protests in Uruguay and Botswana show a model for the domestic codification of the right to water, for the prohibition of privatization, and for the use of the right to water to challenge the expulsion of Indigenous communities, but many other countries have not been successful in these efforts. In the Indigenous context, the right to water holds unique meaning. Dr. Bruce McIvor, principal of First Peoples Law Corporation, noted that, although he is not an expert in the plethora of Indigenous legal traditions and their relationships to water, he has learned through his work in Aboriginal law how significant water is in the culture and ceremonies of Indigenous groups. In a case involving the development of transmission lines through First Nation terri-

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Finally, putting the right to water into the contemporary context of COVID-19, all three panelists at this event criticized the false narrative that this pandemic is “The Great Equalizer.” Clearly, this pandemic disproportionately affects Indigenous peoples, people of colour, and all those experiencing the intersections of race, poverty, disability, age, gender, and sexual orientation. The pandemic only fuels the pre-existing water crisis, which has not received the necessary attention from domestic governments. When affected communities are forced into worsening circumstances, the panelists noted that they show resilience, determination, and creativity. The same cannot be said for the Canadian government addressing (or failing to address) these problems. Throughout this global pandemic, Dr. McIvor has witnessed the government use COVID-19 as an excuse to delay files, deny assistance, and prolong suffering. Dr. McIvor also noted that the government’s frequent excuse that “they do not have the money” bears little weight now that we see billions of dollars become available to middle class, non-Indigenous people in this global pandemic. The money has always been there. The political will has never. Sadly, the issues highlighted by the panelists are simultaneously shocking and unsurprising. The CESCR and HRW reported on the lack of meaningful access to safe drinking water and sanitation services for Indigenous and other rural communities in 2016, but this was no revelation to the communities in question; unequal development and protections among Canadians have been the story for as long as settlers first came to Turtle Island. It is up for the Canadian federal and provincial governments to take aggressive action to rectify the situation and uphold a human right that has been formally recognised for over a decade now, and yet, Indigenous communities should not hold their breath and must take matters into their own hands.

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DIVERSIONS

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March 3, 2021 | 23

The Exchange That Never Was

How a crushing disappointment turned out to be… exactly that DANIEL GAO (3L) The w inter semester is t y pically a buzzing time in the law school. Despite the cold and the release of fall semester grades, Jackman Hall is usually alive w ith energ y. Students are back from exchanges, and w ith them returns a sense of adventure and worldliness. That was not the case this year. The halls are empt y, the classrooms are bare, and the only buzzing comes from a pack of hornets that invaded dur ing our absence. In an ef fort to recapture some of that exchange mag ic (or to cruelly remind us of what might have been), I asked several 3L s to ref lect on their lost exchanges. Unfortunately, most of the answers were along the lines of, “I could have been in X, but I’m stuck here. It sucks.” Instead, here are eight things you can do to replicate the exchange exper ience.

1. Funky Zoom Backgrounds Nothing screams worldliness and adventure like putting on a fun Zoom background dur ing class. Favour ites include Par is, the New York skyline, or the mountain of Crocker v Sundance fame. 2. Pub Hop Your Apartment Rather than pub hopping through Dublin, why not get the same exper ience by dr inking in the var ious corners of your apartment? The dr inks are cheaper and no one w ill judge you when you pass out on the f loor. 3. Avoid Going to Class A fundamental part of mov ing to another countr y where you can take interesting classes that broaden your global perspec-

Trying to Date in a Pandemic How to navigate the pandemic dating landscape from someone who has yet to go on a date in a pandemic HARRY MYLES (1L) Yes, Valentine’s Day has come and gone, but it’s never too late to find that special someone (whether you’re going for platonic or romantic). My last relationship ended in November 2019 and yes, that means I have been single for all of the pandemic. Perfect timing on my part. However, over the past year and a bit, I have tried my hand at dating, or at least attempting to date, in this crazy world we live in. Here are a few things I learned. 1. Cherish non-lockdown life: For some in 1L, in-person classes from September to midOctober led to long-lasting relationships that remain intact to this day. For myself, I met someone I felt an especially strong connection with, but alas, before I knew it, inperson classes were over and we were all banished to our bedrooms and into the world of Zoom. If we can ever see people in person again, I will definitely take advantage of the park date. 2. Turns out, dating apps aren’t the worst: Last fall was the first time I tried a dating app and turns out, they actually aren’t that bad. I used Hinge for a little while, and although I didn’t find my soulmate, I did make a friend along the way which isn’t half bad.

3. Zoom dates are better than no dates: I personally have not had a Zoom date, but based on other people’s experiences, they are not the worst thing in the world. Sure, it would be great if you could go grab a drink with someone at a bar, but in the meantime, drinks over Zoom are better than drinks alone with your cat (actually, this sounds like a pretty nice evening). Zoom also comes with fun bonuses like virtual backgrounds and screen sharing so you can watch a movie together while on a beach in the Bahamas. Oh, how romantic. 4. Get used to DMs and texting: If you’re like me, and strongly disliked messaging (either by text or through social media) pre-pandemic, then you’ve probably had a hard time adjusting to our virtual world. I have come to realize that messaging is not your enemy, but your friend. It is a vital way to keep in contact with pretty much everyone in your life (either romantic or platonic). 5. Above all else, always remember the best kind of love you will ever find is that which you feel for yourself #selflove #treatyoself.

tive is to avoid doing that entirely. 3L s should require no introduction to this tip. 4. Make an International Friend With social media, we don’t have to travel to meet new people. Stalk Find some people on Instagram and live your best exchange life v icar iously through them. There’s also the Tinder Passport option to start an exchange relationship from the comfort of your own couch! 5. Eat International Food Tr y spending a week eating only local delicacies of the countr y you were supposed to v isit. My condolences to those who had England as their exchange destination.

6. Learn a New Language You could tr y learning — never mind we all know exchange isn’t for learning. 7. Take Weekend Trips to Exotic Destinations The GTA is actually f illed w ith interesting cultural locations. For example, if you missed out on going to Hong Kong, I would recommend a tr ip to Pacif ic Mall for a highly comparable exper ience. 8. Suffer an Administrative Nightmare I have heard that course enrollment and management can be a nightmare while on exchange. It’s a good thing we def initely don’t have a similar issue thanks to Cognomos!

Pandemic Dating Red Flags Here are a few red flags you should watch out for as you attempt to date in these chaotic times HARRY MYLES (1L) The pandemic has been happening for about a year, and plent y of people have had to adjust to our new world — especially when it comes to dating. Gone are the days when you could casually go to a part y and str ike up a conversation w ith a stranger. Now, dating has some additional challenges associated w ith it. But have no fear! I am here to lend a helpful hand and identify some COVI D -19 dating red f lags you should be aware of based on my extensive exper ience (this is a joke, I have been single since November 2019).

3. They go in for a hug on the f irst date: slow down there, you’re a total stranger and I haven’t even hugged my grandma in a year!

1. They’re from Texas and recent ly got back from Cancun: this is probably Ted Cruz, so I would stay away if I were you.

6. They propose going to a mov ie for the f irst date: either they don’t know a pandemic is current ly happening and all theatres have been closed for months or they plan on tak ing you to Australia. BU T, if they happen to be an Aussie, marr y them so you can move to Australia and f inally go to a concert again.

2. Their dating prof ile says COV I D was caused by 5G: if you see this in someone’s bio, odds are they don’t abide by COV I D g uidelines ver y well.

4. Their prof ile picture shows them inside Nancy Pelosi’s of f ice w ith their feet on the desk. RU N. This adv ice also applies if their picture shows them stealing a podium from the Capitol. 5. They propose mov ing in together after the f irst date: we’ve all been lonely this year, but this seems a tad fast.

24 | March 3, 2021

DIVERSIONS

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Plants, Personified Quiet friends with big personalities ANGELA FENG (1L)

Calathea Star:

Jade Plant:

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Extremely high maintenance

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Always late

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Does not care about you or your efforts

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Gives the best hugs

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Nothing is ever good enough for them

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Very good with money

Golden Pothos:

Monstera Deliciosa:

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Listens to all your problems

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Charismatic and charming

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Gets along with everyone

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Tall friend who volunteers to sit in the middle seat of the car

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Never holds a grudge

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Enjoys talking to strangers