Ultra Vires Vol 1 Issue 3: 1999 November

Volume 1 Issue 3

9 November 1999 www.law.utoronto.ca/ultravires

Reverse moot puts judges in students' places

BY Loru STEIN Tuesday, October 25- Over five hundred U of T Law alumni and students crammed mto the OISE auditorium to watch the Faculty's first ever "Reverse Moot." The mooters Ontano Court of Appeal Justices Rosalie Abella and Stephen Goudge for the Appellants, and Supreme Court Justices Frank Iacobucci and lan Binnie for the Respondents- made submissions to a panel of judges comprised of th1rd-year U of T students and alumni from the Class of '99, and chat red by Ontario Court of Appeal Justice and former dean Robert Sharpe. The moot, part of a year-long senes of events during the 50111 anniversary of the U ofT Faculty of Law, is "an appropriate veh1cle for a celebration of substance of meaning," Dean Ron Daniels stated during his opening remarks. "Mooting is a core experience at the Faculty... A sense of sp1nt, commitment, and affection for the Institution brings these mooters back."

The Justices argued the case of "The Speluncean Explorers," a challeng1ng legal r l ntt n 1:1 rd Ill · rr t

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a group of spelunkers who, trapped in a cave and facing death by starvation, kill and eat one of their members. The mooters entertained the aud1ence with the1r outstand ng and humorous oral advocacy. "I was on the edge of my seat," second-year student Rebecca Wickens sa1d, "I was delighted ... like a little k1d wa1t1ng to see Santa Claus."

Justice Abella set the tone for the evening by presentmga large fru.t basket to the Judges' Panel. In her subm'ss1on on behalf of the convicted explorers, Abella promised not to "engage the court m a debate over when 'no means no,' or myths and stereotypes about cave explorers." Justrce Goudge pleaded for recognition that "canntbals are people too."

When challenged by th1rd-year student Andrew Wilson for contradicting h1s co-counsel, Goudge scoffed, "I do that m my day job!"

In h1s submission for the Respondents, Justice Iacobucci cautroned the court against entenng the foray of policy-making. "We're the Supreme Court, not the Supreme Legislature," he declared. "In the company I keep, we have that hanging over our heads ... l have that embroidered on my pajamas!" To paint a picture of the spelunkers' crime, Justice Bmnie graphically described their hapless victim: "There he was ... all three hundred pounds of him, smelling slightly of garlic, wearing nothing but his U ofT alumni tie!"

The panel, of course, reserved judgment, and the gathering moved to Flavelle House for a reception. When asked how it felt to be on the other side of the podium, Justice IacobuCCI replied, "It was great fun. We all had a marvelous time. It was an extremely clever idea." Justice Binnie gave credit where it was due: "It was very. well executed. The foundation of the evening was work done by Usa Austen, who prepared our factums. The rest was easy."

The panel of student judges, all of them experienced mooters, enjoyed the role reversal.

"Binnie and Abella were both judges for my

Student complaint leads to review of faculty's admissions policy I-Juma11 1\igbtr CoJJJ111issio11 to inNsligate me qj LS/1 T

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lop: Steph<>n Goudge, !:rank Iacobucci & l.m Binnie; centre Robert ShafTlC. Rosa\1c Abe\\a &

Ron.1ld Damel~. bottom: Robert Cent l, Dom\nique Nouve , Andrew Wlhon, Nlnt] n

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grand moot, and they'd barely let me finish a sentence," recalled 1999 alumnus N.nt Jones.

"It felt great to be on the other side It's lovely not to be terrorized "Andrew Wilson observed that "each (Justice) was different, and 1t was

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great to see the1r md1v1dual styles. It was a lot of fun to have a rapport •• Ultimately, they're terrific show-people. We were more or less foils for their performance."

I One down, three to go jl-ilrslj'em:r learn race and culture in Jil:rt Bridge lVeek

BY KEYA DASGUPTA

October 18, 1999 - Monday morn1ng, with readings in hand and minds open. the class of 2002 ventured into BLH to begin a week of discussion on Race and Cultural D1fference and the Law. After all the hype and build up, we were ready to begm "Bndge Week". This was the first of four segments in the Perspectives on Law course, designed to provide first year law students with diverse outlooks on the law from the vantage points of feminism, econom1cs, philosophy, and race and culture analysis.

Bridge Week was a welcome break from the drudgery of the first year curnculum. It enabled us to put on our idealistic and liberal hats to contemplate how rac1al prejudice is manifest in the legal system and how the law can be used to improve social conditions. The week served to place the problems of rac1sm, prejud1ce and the law on the table for discusSion.

It is questionable whether Bridge Week opened people's minds to racial and cultural issues or reinforced existing opinions. Perhaps smaller groups and an intimate setting

could have fostered a more meantngful exchange than the formal lectures 1n BLH permitted. The Legal Perspectives course is criticized by both students and faculty for condensi ng the pervas1ve, relevant top1cs into isolated weeks. Some are searching for an effective way to include the Bridge subjects within substantive courses, wh1ch would serve to validate, rather than alienate, the issues.

It is naive to think that endemic social problems can be comprehensively addressed w1thin the span of a few days.

The goal of the first Bridge was to plant seeds of awareness in the minds of future lawyers that issues of racism and prejudice pervade the legal system. Did it succeed, or was merely an opportunity for the law school to participate in a self-congratulatory celebration of its open mindedness only to discard the issues at the end of the week? The Race and Culture Bridge opened our eyes. Our papers have been submitted, so now we can close them again. Or, we can approach the study of our substantive courses With increased awareness of rac1sm in the law, of which countless examples w111 come up throughout our legal education and careers.

The claim that the Faculty of Law's admission policres are discnmmatory will be reviewed by the Ontano Human R1ghts Commission. Selwyn P1eters, an unsuccessful applicant to the law school and a person of African Canad1an descent, recently f1led a human nghts complamt agamst th1s law school as well as Wmdsor, Queen's and Osgoode law schools. rle al!>o app\1e0 ior an miunct1on to prohibit Ontano law scnoo\s irom using the LSI\1 m \he1r adm1~1ons deciSIOns unt1l \he ORHC has reach\!0 1\.o; deci">IOI'I. Mr. P1eters states on n s web page -, beh~

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that becsu:;e of my race snd colour; I have

been subjected to rac1al drscnmrnat10n by the Admissions Commrttee of the Faculty of Law."

The policies of the admissions comm1ttee and spec1frcally 1ts use of the lSAT effect adverse discnmination, P1eters alleges. The fact that he was dented admiss1on and that vrs1ble mmontres are, he claims. underrepresented at the Jaw school, Illustrate th.s d scnmmatory effect.

Bonn1e Croll, Assistant Dean and D1rector of Adm1ssrons. and Professor Arnold Wemnb, Chaff of the Admissions Comm1ttee, chose not to comment on e1ther the complamt or the rnjunctton However, according to Mr. P1eters' web page, the Faculty argues that his application was denied on rts merrts and that there were other candidates, 1ncludmg cand dates of African-Canadran descent, who were rnore likely to excel at law school. Specrf•cally, Mr. P1eters' B average and LSAT score 111 the 26 percentile were too low and outweighed consideratron of his other hfe expenences and achievements.

The low LSAT score, he cla1ms, meant that his other ach1evements were not even considered. "Lookrng at Selwyn as whole, he has so many attributes that would make him the ideal candidate," explams Vilko Zbogar, a thtrdyear student,at the U of T Faculty who proVided research on ment critena for Mr. P1eters.

Seven faculty, four students and the D1rector of Admissions comprise the Admissions Committee. Weinrib and Croll meet before the committee convenes in order cull applicants of whom there should be no doubt as to their acceptance or rejection. At this initial stage, only grade point average and LSAT score are looked at. They select about 45% of the class in this way. The remaining applications, including "personal statements", are rev1ewed by the comm1ttee.

see 'School" on pa~e 3

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Ultra Vires

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First-year trial advocacy

The right to be the same and the right to be different

BY ANGELA }AMES

During the weeks of October 4 and 11, the Faculty of Law held its annual Trial Advocacy n1ghts for first year students. The evenings were des1gned to introduce first-years to oral advocacy rn a relaxed environment. "It is a great way to meet the first year students, welcome them and integrate them into the legal community. As well, it lets them know that we do have fun here and potentially even get them excited about law and ht1gation," explained Jason M1tschele, who co-cha1red the event with Susanne Sinnamon.

Toronto lawyers, many of whom graduated from the faculty, were delighted to act as JUdges. After each trial, the judge offered his or her observations and insights to the participants. Upper-year students played witnesses, whose appearances often added humour to the trials. "I tried to be surly and difficult, [counsel) still managed to extract their theory of the case," Noel Peacock commented.

The highlight of each evening was a reception after adjournment. First-yearstudents enjoyed mingling casually with upper-year students and lawyers from several firms. Between salmon kabobs and wine, some students managed to absorb some pearls of wisdom fromalumni. " I was glad when I started articling that I hadn't just spent all my trme m law school reading," recalled a litigator from Lerner & Associates. "Events like Tnal Ad, moottng and DLS helped me to find out that I enjoyed litigation, something you can't learn m the classroom."

South /lfrit:wz Judge Alberl Sachs spoke on transforming nation BY ]r.1\'1'.1FER KHtrRAl-JA

On the first day of h1s intensive course, DistingUished Visiting Professor Justice Albert Sachs (a.k.a. ~Aib1e~) Introduced the ~Three D's"· Drgn1ty, Debate and D1fference, themes that contmued to develop throughout h1s two week VISit The course, "Fundamental Rights, Just.ce and Truth m South Afnca," focused on the transformat1on of South Africa from an authontarian rac1st state to a constitutional democracy. Justice Sachs also gave a publ1c lecture to a full house in Bennett Lecture Hall, where he shared a very personal, moving account of the impact of South Africa's Truth and Reconcrllat1on Commissron.

Just1ce Sachs began practicing law m South Afnca in 195 7, working mainly m the civil nghts sphere, until he was himself twice detained wrthout trial by the security police. In 1966 he went rnto ex1le in England and throughout the next two decades continued to pursue the anti-apartheid struggle as a scholar and legal educator. In 1988, he surVIVed an assassination attempt when a bomb exploded in his car and soonafter emerged as a leader in the bUIIdrng of a post-apartheid const1tut1on.

The nght to health and education and a bas1c entitlement to at least mmimum standards ot we\1-bemg are indivisible from the \1gh\ for equality ·m Sou\n Africa. "We did not want bread wtthout freedom nor dtd we want

freedom wrthout bread. We wanted freedom and we wanted bread," Justrce Sachs explal'led. The absence of these rights for all South Afncans had perpetuated massive discrimmatron and, without these basic elements of drgmty, South Afncans would not be truly free to to participate m society in a meaningful way.

During the course, Justice Sachs discussed the role of the Constitutional Court in protectmg human nghts and fostering public discourse, engaging students through reference to spec1fic cases 1nvolvmg cap1tal pun1shment, gay and lesb1an nghts, language, and socioeconomic nghts. He emphas1zed the importance of mterdependence, of community, of ubuntu (accomodation) and a spirit of social solidarity as the necessary conditions for autonomy, often refernng to Professor Jennifer Nedelsky's work on relat1onal autonomy. An important theme of the course was the acknowledgement and acceptance of difference. "Equality mvolves equality across difference, not subordination of difference," Justice Sachs explained. Refernng to Madam Justice L:Heureux-Dube's focus on dignity inCanadian equality decisions Andrews and Law, he added that equality is also about the freedom of spirit and possibility, about how free you feelm yourself, in your skin, and in your poSSibilitieS. Having himself partrc1pated in the human rights struggle in South Africa, Justice Sachs' experiences and lifelong pursuit of justice provided deep meaning to his discussions about judgment. "He was perhaps the perfect person to comment on the importance of context," remarked third-year student Andrew 'N1lson. "He brought a uniql\,e voice to the course, given his roles as a freedom fighter,

yet also graceful, eloquent, and resonant with the passion and intuitions of life experience.

Throughout the course Justice Sachs distingUished between decisions that are meremy logrcally sound and well-reasoned and tliose Judgments that convey a fundamental value or right. He c1ted the Charter jurisprudence of former Just1ces Dickson and Wilson of the Canad1an Supreme Court which exemplify this resonance and passion, and the capacity of language to change and 1nsplfe. Kathy Bromley, a second-year student observed, "at law school we mostly learn technical rules, and by and large, cold, logical analys1s. He spoke a lot about the importance of both reason and passion. He conveyed the importance of language in g1ving voice to national consciousness.:· Karla O'Regan, also a secondyear student said, "I found rt really inspirational that he not only had passion, but managed to sustain it through all his different trials and triumphs."

Through h1s words and his teachings, Justice Sachs displayed the humanity, spirit and solidarity that have informed and sustained his life-long struggle to uphold and protect the "Three D's". Bromley concluded, ''He's sttll trying to figure out Albie the Judge and Albie the person. It seems to me that his starting point is that they are the same person."

an arc/1itect of South Afnca 's Constitution, and

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a Judge."

Jusice Sachs also stressed the importance of language, and the need to bnng meaning to the words of the Constitution through public consciousness and the creation of a sense of connect1on and shared discourse. His own writing is in a very accessible language, and

•

Meet Sujit As promised, 'L1tra Vires introduces more ne2vprofessors

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BY CAROL WILTO:--:

Professor SUJit Choudrhy recently joined the U ofT Faculty of Law to teach courses in two ~constrtutronal" fields- human (health law), and governmental. Chaudhry dates h1s rnterests m both areas to his undergraduate years at McGill Universrty in Montreal. There, he studred biology dunng the decline of Meech Lake and the nse of Charlottetown.

Chaudhry IS now teachmg health law and w1lllater teach Contemporary Issues in Federalism. "The amb1t1on is to bridge public policy matenal, constitutional case law, and the politrcal sc1ence literature. An interdis!tplrnary perspective," he opined, "rs indispensable to understanding the operation of legal regrmes, or even the cases."

He believes rn the ongomg relevance of federalism in Canada. ''We are still living wrth the consequences," he observed, pointing to the 1995 Quebec referendum and 1998 Su-

NEWS

preme Court reference on secession.

Chaudhry was headed tor medical school when a stint at the U of T Joint Centre for Bioethics redirected h1m toward the study of health law here at the law faculty, where he earned his LLB in 1996. A course paper about the Canada Health Act (srnce published in the McGill Law Journal) and work on the repeal of the Canada Assistance Plan, piqued h1s interest in the constrtutional aspects of social policy law.

Th1s focus developed during the summer of 1996, whrch he spent working on behalf of the Constitutional Assembly of South Afnca at the Legal Resources Centre 1n Johannesburg. Chaudhry continued to explore comparative constitutional law while pursuing hrs Master's degree at Harvard in 199798. His thesis examined the use of comparative case-law in constitutional interpretation and 1ts 1mplicatrons for legal theory in Canada and South Africa.

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School encouraged to recruit more visible minorities coni inued from page I In his complaint, Mr. Pieters refers to American research findings that members of racialized groups tend to score lower on standardrzed tests like the LSAT Professor Claude Steele, Chair of Psychology at Stanford University, identrfied three factors that contribute to this discrepancy. First, standardized tests are developed from previous tests, thus questrons that statistically appear to serve one group will continue to set the standard. Second, smce standardized tests measure developed skills and not a well-defined talent or mastery of a specific field of knowledge, they are inherently affected by differences in socialization and are not forward-looking predictors of potential.

Th1rd, low test scores can reflect "stereotype threat." Some members of a racialized groups, conscious of negative stereotypes about their intellectual ability, may be so concerned about performing poorly, that they will actually perform poorly because of the added anxiety or threat. Students who are most concerned with performing well and disprovmg the stereotype are also most consc1ous of the stereotype threat.

Professor Weinrib rs aware of these criticrsms but defends the use of the LSAT by the admissions committee. Unlike other law schools, he states, U ofT does not employ a formula in rankmg applicants (e.g. 60% GPA,

40% LSAT); the committee takes seriously the personal statement component of the application. He maintains that the LSAT is generally a good predictor of success at law school and also that it is an important indicator because it is the only factor common among an applicants. When an applicant comes from a degree program with which the law school is unfamiliar, or when an applicant Indicates that his or her past academic achievement was compromised by certain life experiences, the LSAT can provide, in Professor's Weinrib's view, reasonably objective evidence of the applicant's academic skills.

Another controversial issue raised by Mr. P1eters' complaint is the "appropriate" level of representation of visible minorities. One argument is that the level of divers1ty should reflect the larger student body at the University of Toronto or the law school applicant pool. Professor Weinrib responds that the level diversity at the Faculty is higher than the national average. Since the Faculty accepts students from across Canada, the national average should be the benchmark, he claims.

Mr. Pieters' complaint to the Commission comes only a few months after the report Racial Equality in the Canadian Legal Profession by the Canadian Bar Assocration. The report strongly criticized the legal profession for not doing enough to ensure access for members of racialized groups. The report also commented upon law school admission poliCies and stated that "grade and test-based

. J~~~~H~e..alth~~ ;:; . ,:; :; children, [/ iriting ledttreship onnatir'C health at flart Hottse Theatre jocttses 011 i;!ftml IJJO!iali!J~ disease rates

BY KATHERINE WALKER

have Improved slightly in the last 20-30 He cited poverty and d1scriminat1on as the pnmary, inter-related causes of the poor state of Aboriginal children's health. Statistics show that for Aborlgrnal people, the onreserve average mcome is $14,000 and oftreserve is $18,0000, compared to the Canadian average of $26,000. "Things are difficult for many Aboriginal people. That has to do with the circumstances people live in, for which they are little to blame. It has to do more w1th systemic discrimination than with individual merit."

The conclusion seemed to be that rf the current health of Abonginal children is any reflection, Canada is an ailing nation.

Steps are being taken, however, to improve the nation's health. The Honourable Elizabeth Witmer, Minister of Health and Long-term Care for Ontario and an MPP for KrtchenerWaterloo, mentioned existing government initiatives to combat the problem of poor Aboriginal health. For example, the Aboriginal Healing and Wellness Program was founded m 1997 to target spec1fic areas of concern, such as teen surc1de. In addition, the Aboriginal HeadStart program tor pre-school children is hailed as a success by all involved. years.~

It has

become one of the fastest growing and most innovatove law forms

3

healthy nations

INNOVATION AND EXCELI l NC E

legal servoces in Canada for more than a

9 November 1999

The validity of Canada's f1rst place standIng 1n the UN Development Index was called 1nto question during the "Healthy Children: Healthy Nations" lecture at the U of T Hart House Theatre. Co-charr of the series, Dr. C.P. Shah, of the U ofT Faculty of Medicine, establrshed the theme of the discussion on Abongrnal children's health when he remarked that "the health of a Nation is reflected m its children."

Current statistics indicate that the 1995 rnfant mortality rate for Aboriginal children is 10.9 per 1000 live births, the same as other Canadians in 1979. The hospitalizatron rate amongst First Nations' children, the rate of infectious diseases, respiratory illnesses, gastrointestinal diseases, gasoline sniffing, abuse of alcohol and tobacco, are two to four t1mes higher than Canadian averages. The youth suicide rate is four to s1x times higher and Type 2 diabetes has reached epidemic proportions in some Aboriginal communities.

Mr. Richard Budgell, Manager of the Aboriginal Childhood and Youth Section of Health Canada observed, "the reality is that Aboriginal People are at the bottom of the socioeconomrc and health pile, although things

policies ... look at one narrow set of skills and tail to assess the breadth of an applicant's knowledge and experience." The report recommended that "law schools must broaden therr admrssions policies and judge applicants on a range of criteria, which have been care: fully examined to ensure that they do not inadvertently perpetuate racist assumptions."

The report made a number of specific recommendations to adjust th1s imbalance and the Faculty has already put in practice many of these suggestions. For example, sigmficant weight is placed on personal statements. and Dean Ron Daniels personally invites applications from members of racialized groups who score competit1vely on the LSAT. During the summer, the Faculty runs a "Minority Outreach" program which provides a stx week introduction to the legal profession for 20 to 30 high-school students who are visible minorities.

Nonetheless, some wonder if the law school is doing enough to attract members of racialized groups. "Although the Minority Outreach program ts good and some faculty are really behind it, if more is not done about systemic discrimination then the benefits of the program will be negligible," claimed Marcia James, coordmator of this year's program.

Dalfen begins Grafstein • • commurucatlons lectures 1:.oa1s on CRTc:r "eu' regulations .

BY }E~~1FER \VEI~'BERGER

Monday, October 24 - As the Canadran telecommunications industry faces a period of rapid transformation, the U ofT Faculty of Law welcomed Mr. Charles Dalfen as the inaugural speaker for the Grafstern Annual Lecture in Communications. Dalfen. an mternational communications lawyer, recently jomed the Toronto offices of Tory, Haythe. He was v1ce-pres1dent of the Canadian Radio and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), and prev1ously taught at this law school.

Dalfen's discussion focused on the regula-

J

Starting to get used to seeing Ultra Vires ever'J month? The bad news is J tory d1rect1ves t.Jken by the CRTC m light of an 1mportant sh1ft in dlfect1on of Canada's this is the last issue of telecom mdustry. The CRTC allowed local fa-

the semester. The good news is that UV will be back in the next millennuim with new stories, opinions and fun. In the meantime, we'd love to hear from you on anything from the summer job process to stories of Y2K mishaps.

Also, please visit us at: www.law. utoronto. cal ultravires Good luck on exams and essays, happy holidays and happy New Year.

crlltles-based competition rn th1s prevrously closed f1eld, wh1ch permitted the rntroductron of pnce gaps and prevention of undue preference for certa:n carrerrs. Now, havmg opened up the industry, one of the pnmary concerns faced by CRTC policy-makers 1s the preservation of Canadian programming and ownership of telecommunications and broadcastrng.

Dalfen observed that changes rn telecommumcatrons are causing property and admrn1strat1ve law to 'collide rn new and mystenous ways' . He addressed the unique regula tory challenges posed by the Internet, calling rt a "burgeoning force" controlled by sources which cannot be physically traced. This problem confounds Canadran broadcastrng law which requires the identification and licensing of transmitters. Legislators are attemptrng to adapt to these new changes. For example, m 1991 the Broadcasting Act expanded its defimtron of "broadcast" to allow for the poss1brlity of including some areas of the Internet.

The issues of regulatory control over telecom mergers and acqurs1trons, as well as other new dtgital technologies. were also discussed.

Dalfen argued that, although the freld of telecommunrcatlons is growing and changing rapIdly, this does not mean that the "end of regu lation" is near. Qutte the contrary, the CRTC and other involved policy-makers have been charged with dev1sing and implernentmg new. effective regulatory systems to monitor diverse activity within the telecom field, thereby ensuring that Canadians enjoy a smooth transition mto the post-modern technological era.

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One beautifully bound journal

Faculty launching Centre for Innovation

U of T studentspropose aboriginal lawjournal

Endmved chairs, coJ!ferences will assist st11cjy if la1v and technology BY } EFF

ToRI<IN

The foundation has been la1d for the University of Toronto Law School's Centre for Innovation, which will be officially launched by the m1ddle of next year. Greg Warren, the Centre's newly appointed Execut1ve Director, explamed h1s mandate as the development of ~a multi-faceted research, teaching, and policy advisory center w1thin the law school devoted to the study of law, institutions, and policies that affect or are affected by innovation and technological change." Warren envisions a world-class facility, the first of its kind in Canada, which will be sim1lar 10 scope to ex1sting centres at Harvard, Stanford, New York Umversity and University of California at Berkeley.

The Centre for Innovation will enrich the law school experience through a variety of initiatives and resources. "The most important aspect of the Centre will be the four endowed chairs," explained Warren. "They are fully funded faculty positions that will be a tremendous resource for the school." These cha~rs jnclude the Osler Hoskin Chair in Law and Technology, a law and Economics of Intellectual Property cha1r; an £-Commerce

Chair, and a Legal, Ethical and Cultural Implications of Technological Innovation chair.

Programs include the sponsorship of conferences, seminars, and round-tables to help disseminate research. Professor Hudson Janisch will be chairing the first conference, ent1tled "Breaking the Mould, Reconceiving Telecommunications Regulation. • The conference is set for February 17-18, 2000 and will examine the emergence of internet broadcasting and the effects it will have on conventional broadcasting systems.

The Centre will facilitate the expansion of the law school's curriculum to include courses in innovation and technology, as well as establishing a specialized resource collection at the Bora Laskin library. The Centre will invite legal technology scholars to teach intensive courses, arrange collarborative projects with professional adv1sors, and orgamze a Distinguished Visitors Program w1th satellites at other Canad1an law schools. Funding initiatives include the augmentation of the law school's graduate program by supporting a minimum of five Graduate Fellowships each year of up to $25,000.00, and assistance in the financing and development of innovationrelated curricula at other law schools across

the country.

While many academic centres subsist as scattered offices whose occupants share an interest in a particular field, the Centre for Innovation at the Faculty of Law will be housed on the soon to be renovated fourth floor of Flavelle House. "We'll have a physical focal point which will be wonderful for the visitors," declared an enthusiastic Warren. Things, however, are still 1n the pfannmg stages: the offices in Flavelle will be ready by April or May but the official launch will not be until the m1ddfe of next year. By then, some or all of the programs should be up and running. To assist in the process, an advisory board is being assembled whose first confirmed member is Ontario Deputy Mmister of Energy, Science, and Technology, Ken Knox. Other members will include leading academics and practitioners as well as representatives from both farge and small technology companies.

The project is principally the result of the efforts of Dean Ron Daniels and Lois Chiang, Director, Special Projects, who spent a year working on funding before finalizing the plans this past summer. Warren, signed-on in August to take the lead. A former partner at Torys, he has ten years of experience practicing

corporate law with some work in the area of financing for technology companies. Warren looks forward to speaking with students at the law school who are interested 10 the areas of innovation and technology. "I would very much like to meet with students so that I can get a sense of what they would like the Centre to offer." For those looking to get involved, there will be opportunities to assist with research, help set up conferences and seminars, and work on the website. There may even be paid part-time work positions available. Warren {who prefers to be called Greg) encourages anyone who is interested to come by his office to exchange ideas. One ot his own concepts is the creation of a summer fellowship program for undergraduates whereby students could spend half a summer at a participating law firm and the other half either working on research with a professor or working directly in the technology industry.

Greg Warren can be contacted in his temporary office at room 211 in Flavelle House or at greg.warren@utoronto.ca.

University of Toronto Athletic Centre - Faculty of Physical Education and Health

THERE'S S.OMET

FOR EVERYONE lntramurals Intercollegiate Recreation Instruction

5

9 November 1999

BY

DANIKA LITILECIDLD, }AIME LAVALLEE

&

}USTIN D ENIS

Everyone has heard of the recent Supreme Court of Canada Marshall decision. Many of us have also heard of other recent groundbreaking judgements in Aboriginal law, such as the Corbiere case and the Shilling case.

However, what many of us haven't heard is current, informed scholarship about the implications of these cases. Sure, there are National Post and Globe and Mail articles from which to inform our impressionable legal minds - but some law students have been crying out for a different source of clever commentary.

The idea of a law journal to serve the needs of those interested in Aboriginal law was born in the beginning of the 1998 - 99 academic year. A small group of U of T law students met during that year and engaged in the preliminary stages of the establishment of such a JOurnal.

A key factor contributing to the idea of an Aboriginal law journal was the fact that currently there are no Canad1an law journals devoted specifically to scholarship advancing knowledge about legal issues relevant to Indigenous peoples in Canada. At one point, such a journal existed and was published out of the University of Saskatchewan.

In December of 1977, the Canadian Native Law Bulletin was created by the Univer-

The new face of Faculty Council

sity of Saskatchewan Native Law Centre. The been positive and encouragmg. One uppergoal of the Bulletin was to promote a greater year student gave her reaction to the potenunderstanding and awareness of the legal is- tial establishment of the JOurnal: "I thmk one sues surrounding Indigenous peoples in of the things that is lacking is an awareness Canada. One objective was to ass1st organi- of Abongmal issues; something that the jourzations, practitioners and advocates, academ- nal could provide, besides scholarship, is a ICS, and other interested people. It was not a cultural perspective of the legal issues surrounding Indigenous peoples in Canada." The standard law JOurnal,since it reported cases, published art1cles, and included information idea for the journal received similar support on various proJects, activities and events that from various members of the faculty.

As the Aboriginal law journal is still in a related to Indigenous peoples. However, someformative stage, ass1stance IS needed. Watch where along the way, the Canadian Native Headnotes for notices of meetings. Anyone Law Bulletin became the Canadian Native interested 10 participating can contact Danika Law Reporter, which discontinued the publiLittlechild (Ill) at danikabillie@hotmall.com cation of articles and events.

Jaime Lavallee {Ill) at Scholarship on Indigenous peoples and Ab- or original law ex1sts, however, most of the ar- jaime_lavallee@hotmail.com. ticles and case comments are scattered among various Canadian and U.S. law journals. In addition, there is a sense in academia that some of the most interesting work done on Aboriginal legal issues is not currently accessible to the wider legal community -there are papers being written for law courses, facta being drafted for cases providing new and creative ways to approach Abonginal legal ISsues. The JOurnal could potentially provide a venue to showcase this cutting edge work.

An objective in the establishment of an Aboriginal law journal at the University of Toronto will be to gather this scholarship together and provide a forum for diverse points of view, all BY ] '-''DY M:lCHAELY in one beautifully bound journal.

Feedback from U of T Law students has Over the course oi my three years here at \J of T, I've heard a lot oi strange things as a member ol the legal E.ducat1on Comm1ttee.

After the recent elections of first-year representatives Katie Sykes, John Provart, Trish McMahon and Jacob Glick, as well as second-year representative Misha Wilson, the student roster of Faculty Council representatives is now complete. Comm1ttees are staffed and the work of some committees, most notably Financial Aid, is already under way {which is good news for students who wa1t what seems like forever before fmding out the level of financial assistance they will be rece1ving- your student reps are trying to remedy this on-going problem for next year).

Dean Daniels has recently released his list of prionties for the upcoming year. Two highlights are a desire to attract more mternat1onal students to the faculty, w1th the a1m of reaching 10-20 per cent "ioreign content" w1thin a iew years, and substantial reiorm of the ilrStyear curriculum, wh1ch will be ach"1eved through a special committee tcha1red b-y ~ro­ iessor Kent Roach) strucl<. to proouce a blueprint 'or re,orm.1he \ormer shoulo pr01110e a

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Student representatives hm ·e

concerns, but no meetingsyet

BY MARK CROW

u of T Legal £ducatton Commtttee really does, school, while the latter offers the opportumty or even what it is, so here's the scoop: the for substantial first-year reform, as almost evLegal Education Committee is a group which erything is on the table for discussion - instrives to both educate young people about cluding what courses to offer, the future of the law and also to promote the idea of a bridge weeks, and changes to evaluation. legal education to these young people.

In addition, two on-going ISSt.J es will conTo accomplish this, the comm1ttee routinely tmue to receive attention th1s year. The Flavelle visits focal area high schools. In my three renovation plans are awaiting fina l approval years on the committee, last year as one of at Simcoe Half; however, students are still its co-chairs, I've had an opportun1ty to meet seeking to clarify what areas w111 be made and speak to a great number of high school available for student club offices and who the students. Most of these kids are either in a new food prov1der w111 be. The Financial Aid grade 12 or OAC law class, and are always Committee will administer the back-end debt full of questions about law school , about be· relief plan for the first time this year, and stuing a lawyer, and sometimes even about my dent representatives plan to be vig1lant to personal life. ensure that policies that are set in this inauSo in the spirit of fostering greater legal edugural process are fair and transparent. cation, here are some of the most frequently Finally, students are raising process conasked, and most b1zarre questions, the Legal cerns about the way Faculty Council funct1ons.

Education Committee has had to face ...

The Council has only a basic operating mandate and follows no set rules of procedure.

1. When should I start studying for the LSAT? This ts particularly ironic since most other Is next year too early? professional faculty counc1fs at the Umvers1ty 2. What was your OAC average? have sophisticated rules of procedure, but the 3 . When you're done school , how much law school has shunned such a "legalistic" money are you going to make? {laughter) approach. One result of th1s vacuum, is that No, seriously, how much?

Faculty Council has yet to meet th1s year. Stu-.

4. So is there a lot of other stuff you can do dents have been pushing for a meeting for when you're a lawyer other than defend crimiweeks, but the Dean has scheduled the first nals? {and perhaps only!) meeting of the term for 5. At what point do you lose your morals and mid-November. With tremendous power as become a conniving shark? {this was actually Chair of the Council, faculty and students alike asked by one of the teachers) are finding it difficult to hold the Dean ac6. Did you always want to be a lawyer? (one countable for making sure not JUSt that the committee member answered that they're still Council functions effectively, but that it even not sure if they want to be a lawyer) meets at all. This procedural def1cit needs to 7. How long do you have to go to school for be remedied before the next dean takes ofto become a lawyer? How old will you be when fice. you finally become a lawyer?

CLUBS

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CLINICS

Ultra Vires

6

Judging the LSAT, judging the profession As many of us are aware, an unsut;CeSsful applicant to U of T law school rs seekmg an lnJunctron agamst the Faculty. The mjunctron would prohrbrt the law school from using the LSAT in making admissions decisions untrl the applrcant's complaint to the Ontano Human Rrghts Commission is resolved.

Far be rt from law students to express an opinron on the substantive merits of either proceeding, considering that most of us are the pnme benefrcraries of the school's reliance on the LSAT. But then again, we are not the only ones. Odds are, the lawyers for the applicant and the respondent, the judge m the Superror Court of Justrce, and the adjudicator for the Ontario Human Rrghts Commission all got their start in law thanks to LSATbased admrssions standards as well. Indeed, the only person Involved 1n the proceedings who has not been blessed by the LSAT is the applicant himself. It's strange that the very people who owe therr careers (and BMW's) to thts test are now arguing and judgrng its merrts.

The claim is that the LSAT is biased to reflect the understandings of the majority cui-

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ture, and therefore discnminates against examinees from minority cultures. The truth may be that the LSAT, an instrument designed to test the probabilrty of "success" in law school, srmply reflects the malleabilrty of the successful subject. After one or more years of law school, most students will recognize a subtle but signif1cant shift has come over their thinkrng. The knowledge one carried into law school persists, but does not seem to anse much anymore. Issues are isolated, analyzed, disposed of. Thmking becomes a means to an end, whether a good answer to an examination question or a good enough argument to w1n the client's case.

Whatever else the LSAT does, 1t often gives us our first expenence of findmg the "most satisfactory" answer, and signals an end to the pursurt of the "true" answer. An appropriate welcome to law school. Whether or not this Is discriminatory is to be determined by the Commission. It will be interesting, but disturbing, to watch as this mindset is used to test a challenge to everything this very mindset stands for.

Responses on Financial Aid Dear Editor,

I read with interest your editorial "Faster Financial Aid" (October 5, 1999) and, as Chair of the Financial Aid Committee, wanted to To the Editor: clarify a few points. All first year students received an <!pplication for financial aid with a I was very disappointed by the commenJuly mailing. \hose students could have then tary ent1tled "Jew-dic\al Activism" (October 5, completed the application and begun the pro1999). \he p1ece does not have sufficient cess w1th Scotiabank, and would then have O.e\a1\ to 'i>patY- any su'ostan\:1ve tesponse. In- had access to funds as soon as the paper was

An Unfair Attack on Judaism

deed, th1s is my main problem with it. It vi-

ciously attacks Judaism as homophobic and sexist, without justifying its accusation to any degree. Such an ungrounded attack is mere name-call1ng.

Ms. Engel sought to satisfy herself by blowing off steam. A greater degree of sensitivity Is in order, especially given the prevalence of ideologically dnven antr-semitism. Why is your newspaper providing a platform for superficial relrgrous dratnbes?

Adam Freiheit (law '96) [Editor's Note: While we usually refrarn from solicrting responses to letters, as our next issue will not be out until 2000 we have invited a response from the author of "Jewdicial Activism."]

Alison Engel responds: All Western religrons

contarn elements of the context around themincluding elements of the sexism and homphobia found In our society. As a Jew1sh person, I strongly believe in the tradition of dialogue and questioning encouraged by Judaism, and thus I have spent time questionIng and calling attentron to one problematic aspect of Judatsm, namely, "the homophobic and sex1st Torah readings from Levitrcus 18".

Wh1le Mr. Fre1he1t seems to believe that this diSCUSSIOn "victously attacks Judaism as homophobic and sex1st," I approach the topic as someone who has deep respect for her religron, wrestlmg with its difficult aspects. If we are too afraid to make criticisms as members of the Jewish community, how will positive change ever occur?

processed, the only uncertainty bemg how

much of the funds would be approved for an

program to our students. 1 can assure you that this monitonng and re-evaluation of the program wrll contmue.

Can Canadians and theirgovernments accoJJJmodate Aboriginal communities?

Bonme Croll, Associate Dean To the Ed1tor: For those of us still wa1ting to hear about the status of our applicat1ons for Scotia bank interest-free loans, concerns about papers, readmgs, summer jobs and moots have been overshadowed by financial uncertarnty. I was encouraged by your edrtorial ("Faster Financral A1d." October 5, 1999), and thought that it might prompt some expediency in the loan approval process. I was wrong. The commrttee, which has now finally been chosen, has still yet to meet or even set a meeting date. Any inquiries as to when this meeting may be expected to take place are met either by vague and non-committal responses such as "soon", or deferrals from personal responsibility which cite the absence of key figures in the decision-making process as causing the hold up. Whatever the reason, this situation is quite simply no longer tolerable.

At this point, the earliest possible date the Committee could meet is November 8!11. This means that even those students with applications at the top of the pile probably won't see any money until mid-November. For many students, foreseeing any financial reliet before the end of the term is optimistic at best. As one who is already overburdened w1th school, famrly, compulsory moots, job applications, etc., thrs is one additional pressure that I could do without. What is even more galling is that it is one which could be totally eradicated by the law school, if it so chose. Not to mention the fact that the law school specifically promised its students to ensure that fmances do not act as a barrier to attending this fnculty for ltnyone Aasur

ances of this kind made to one student by the law school, prompted the reply, "Detrimental reliance, that's all I have to say."

Of course, there are always the emergency loans the school offers to assist students in the mterim. The only problem with these is that the maximum amount for an emergency loan is $1,000. You don't have to be a law and economics scholar to know that for many, that's just not going to cover expenses until mid-November.

So until the Financial Ard Committee meets to preside over my fiscal destitution I will wait, anxiously hoping that I am not served with an eviction notice before they dec1de that I'm needy enough to warrant monetary ass1stance. However, the good news is that if and when the eviction notice finally does come, I'll know where I can find a lawyer.

rnterest subsidized loan. Upper-year students did not receive a mailing about financial aid, as they knew how to initiate contact with Aladdin Mohaghegh. In fact, a number of first and upper-year students began the process in the summer. With respect to the determination of the interest subsidized port1on of the loans, the only way to accelerate the process would be to proceed without student input. The Financial Aid Committee includes three student representatives, who are not ·selected before the fall. Hence, there is some unavoidable delay in advtsing students as to the interest subsidized portions of their loans.

As to Scotiabank, it is important to remember that where there are problems, deals with the bank are struck on an individual basis, which takes some time. We do provide emergency loans in circumstances where students are in immediate need of funds. There is no Carita Pereira (Law II) interest charge for these loans, and the process is, I believe, fast and straightforward.

A Livid Librarian Writes My understanding is that, at the end of the day, Scotiabank rejected outright only one stuDear Sirs/Mesdames: dent. Accordingly arrangements were made for that student to receive assistance from anI must object in the strongest terms to two other source. articles on page 7 of the October 5, 1999 While I recognize the frustration many stuedit1on of Ultra Vires. There were intimations dents feel 1n having to repeat the process evin these articles that "getting out of the law ery year, a yearly application process allows library" was good or else you could go "stir for financial assistance that is most closely crazy." Such intimations are without fountarlored to student circumstances, which do datron. Studies have consistently shown that change from year to year. long-term users of the Bora Laskin Law LiLet me end by thanking you for your brary live longer, earn more money and have edrtorial's constructive comments. The Finanfresher, mintier breath. cial Aid Committee continually reviews its processes to ensure that we deliver the best Ted Tjaden, LL.B., M.I.St.

EDITORIAL

Marshalling in civil unrest

ULTRA VIRES Is the student newspaper of the Faculty of law at the Unrversity of Toronto Our goal rs to provide a forum in which students can exchange !herr rdeas We hope to foster a sense of communrty wrth1n the Faculty of Law. the University as a whole, and the greater Crty of Toronto. It rs our miSSion to increase student awareness of legal and social issues and, 1n turn, to encourage our peers to contnbute to the many communittes of which we are a part

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Melissa Kluger BUSINESS M ANAGER Rebecca Wickens NEWS EDITOR Lori Stein EDITOR.Al PAGE EDITOR Brendan Van Niejenhuis OPINIONS AND l EGAL ISSUES EDITOR Ron Levy COMMENTARY EDITOR Lmda Melnychuk CLUBS & CLINICS EDITOR Kathy Lipic DIVERSIONS EDITORS A'ldrew Ashenhurst & Eileen Costello ~-~--~P ~ R~ OD_ U_C~ T~ I O_N_& ~D ~ L~ S~ IG~N~------~ ~ ~

Adrian Willsher ADVERTISING M ANAGER Eileen Costello COPY EDITOR Mary Liston

7

9 November 1999

BY

MARK CROW

The rule of law is not supposed to lead to v1olence. But when decisions of a complex social and politrcal nature are left to the narrow, case-dictated confines of the courts, it is a recipe for trouble. And trouble is what Canadians have found themselves in in the wake of the Supreme Court of Canada's decrsion in the Donald Marshall case.

The fallout from the case has been made front page news for over a month. On September 17, the Marshall decision came down, supporting the Mi'kmaq and Maliseet peoples' rights to fish for commercial purposes. First Nations groups across Canada rejoiced and numerous Aboriginal fishers in Eastern Canada began setting unlicensed traps to catch lobsters for sale. Non-Aboriginal fishers reacted angrily and, in some cases, violently- particularly m the community of Burnt Church, New Brunswick where traps were destroyed, trucks and houses burned and people were assaulted. Donald Marshall himself called for calm.

The federal Fisheries Minister, Herb Dhaliwal, were caught unprepared, apparently not having considered the possibility that the Crown might lose this case. Thus, no predrafted regulations were avarlable in the interim to bring calm while a longer-term solu· tlon could be sought. Instead, Aboriginal leaders were forced to make accommodations by rnotiotong voluntary fishing moratoriums in most comrnun1tles. Monister Dhaliwal then ossued a set of poorly thought-out regulat.ons limrtmg Aboriginal lobster fishing to unacceptably low levels, causing outrage from Aboriginal fishers. In many communities, the moratoriums were called off.

Unhelpfully, Department of Fisheries and Oceans officials continue to stir the pot by seizing Aboriginal lobster traps in vanous parts of Eastern Canada. In additron, a group of non-Aboriginal fishers have applied to the Supreme Court to hear further issues in the

ONLINE E DITOR Devon Rutherford Volume 1, Issue 3

case and to clarify parts of the Marshall judgment. The Nova Scotia government 1s seeking intervenor status. Meanwhile Aborigin~l fishers in B.C. are preparing to exerce theJr Aboriginal right to fish commercially. And so more trouble is brewing.

How did such a dire situation arise, and what can be done to remedy it? These two quest1ons have related answers: the situation arose by leaving the balancing of complex societal interests to the courts, and the remedy is to take these issues out of the courts and into the political sphere where a broader range of interests can be considered and deals can be struck. In the courts one is forced to address interests in terms of rights and, as many 1n the Aboriginal communities have been publicly stating, a right is a right and there's no negotiating over a right. But, as U of T Professor Jennifer Nedelsky notes, rights are relational. One exercises a right rn relat1on to the society from wh1ch the right stems, in relation to others, and to our common community; one does not exercise a right in a vacuum.

There is no longer a limitless supply of lobsters, trees and minerals for all, an Aborigrnal right to fish is clearly not much of a right when others in the community have wiped out the fish stocks.

Chief Justice Lamer is fond of saymg that we are all, Aboriginal and non-Abongmal alike, Canadians. He tells us, as though we are young children, that we must simply learn to get along. It is patronising to have our Chief Justice address us like this . And yet we do

restrict the scope of Aborigtnal rights, allowi ng limitations of these rights on numerous grounds, from conservation to economic development. The rights are clearly there. They have survived contact and the creation of this country, or were negot1ated for in good faith in treaties, and were affrrmed in our Constrtution in 1982. There is no doubt that these rights will continue to find their expression in the courts if a political solution is not brokered.

Yet the federal government, and indeed most Canadians, are unwilling to make the necessary accommodations. Much like Quebec separatism, it is an issue that we all seem to want to wish away. If we close our eyes for long enough, perhaps one day we'll wake up and be ready to embrace the world as one nation. But we will never be one nation in Canada. We are a country of nations and that diversity is what makes Canada such a tremendous place m whrch to live. By ignoring the issues, letting things simmer untrl they blow up - at Oka, at lpperwash, at Burnt Church-- we are condemning our country to internal turmoil. We will continue to waste time, resources and emotion dealing with the aftermath of unsolved, solvable problems instead of engaging with the world around us.

There is a leadership vacuum in our country. The Liberals have done astonishingly well by doing astonishingly httle, with Jean Chretien apparently following Fran~o1s Mitterand's advice that "the secret to success in politics is 10 difference." It is not sipm\y a matter of ideology, since these problem!> con-

lnquines. submiSSions and letters to the ed1tor should be sent to the Communicat1ons Centre m Falconer Hall, 84 Queen's Park Crescent. Toronto, Ontario, MSS 2C5, or e-ma1led to ultra.vrres@utoronto.ca.

Advertisrng rnqurrres should be made to Eileen Costello at eileen.costello@utoronto.ca.

Ultra Vtras ts publrshed monthly. The next issue w111 be published in January 2000.

Ultra Vires rs printed by Weller Publishing rn Toronto Circulation: 2000.

Thanks to lisa Tomas for providing photos.

Also thanks to Ronna KluQer.

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MAxLEVESO!'.

On January 26th of this year, a Toronto newspaper published photographs of the victims of convicted serial killer Charles Ng. The photos of Kathi Allen and Brenda O'Conner were taken shortly before their deaths by either Ng or his accomplice Leonard Lake, and depicted both women in a state of partial undress.

The publication of the Ng photographs, and subsequent public outrage, underscored the importance of the Stephen Williams case, due in court on December 8th. The issue in both situations is the extent to which a victrm's family has the right to control this type of image.

The Williams case revolves around the Bernardo tapes, sealed video tapes of the physical and sexual assaults of Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French. Williams' book, Invisible Darkness, allegedly contains deta1ls of the crimes that could only have come from watching the tapes.

Williams was charged with two counts of violatrng a court order. His lawyers have filed a motion to drop or stay the charges, arguing that they cannot mount an effective defense unless given access to the sealed tapes, which they have thus far been denied. However, 1\m Oanson, who repre<i>en'ts both the Maha"'~ and

sume public energy and thus concern us all.

French families, recently disclosed that a copy-

What is also clear is that court-bashmg does

right of the tapes had been registered tn MfJY 1999. As the families do not own the physical objects (the tapes themselves), they are

not help matters, for it is political failure that has forced the courts 'to make these difficult decisions in order to uphold "the honour of the Crown." Burnt Church need burn no more, but only if we roll up our sleeves, sit down to serious negotiations, and make the necessary accommodations to allow Aboriginal rights to be exercised in a meanrngful way across our . country.

Barristers & Solicitors

Litigation

BY NANCY PARKE,TAYLOR

cont.nue to behave like chtldren, fighting and

Ultra Vires is an editorially autonomous newspa-

per workrng in cooperation with the Faculty of Law's Students' Law Society (SLS). Ultra Vtres is open to contributions whrch reflect diverse points of view, and rts contents do not necessarIly reflect the views of the Faculty of Law, the SLS or the edrtorral board. The edrtors welcome contnbutlons from students, faculty and other interested persons, but reserve the right to edit submissions for length and content

Claiming Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French were "performers" in the video tapes of their assaults, the Mahaffy and French families have argued that the victims had copyright in their "performances. "

bullying - with the bully looking worse and worse as the fighting drags on. Accommodations must be made, in a serious fashion and at high governmental levels, by the non-Aboriginal community. We know extensive Ab· original rights exist. In recognizing and enforcing these rights the Supreme Court 1s not writing bad judgments. It is not being expansionist in its conception of Aboriginal rights in fact it seems to be domg all that it can to

KELLY AFFLECK GREENE

9 November 1999

Copyright in the Bernardo tapes

Administrative

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Comp etition Law

Suite 840, P.O. Box 489, One First Canadian Place Toronto, Ontario MSX 1E5 www.kag.net Tel: (416) 360-2800 Fax: (416) 360-5960

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VISIT OUR WEBSITE FOR LINKS TO USEFUL RESEARCH SITES ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB BEST OF LUCK IN THE YEAR AHEAD!

OPINIONS

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attempting to use intellectual property law to control the use of the contents. Copyright registration grants the holder prima facie copyright validity, although such validity can be challenged in court.

By claiming Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French were "performers" in the scenarios devised by Bernardo, Danson has argued that the victims had copyright in their "performances" under section 15 of the Copyright Act. As the next of kin of the deceased "performers," the families would own these copyrights which will extend for 50 years after the deaths of their daughters. Mr. Danson has claimed that the copyright prevents anyone, including the courts, from releasing or replaying the tapes without his clients' consent.

Intellectual property laws are mcreasingly being used to give leverage to vict1ms' groups to gain control of offensive matenal. In the recent Washington Redskins case, a dtverse group of Nat1ve Amencans were successful in expunging the 25-year-old registration of the football team's trademark, as being one that was "offensive" and "degrading" and thus unregistrable under the U.S. Trademark Act. Ironically, Paul Bernardo might also have a copyright claim in the tapes, were it not for the long-established principle in common law that illegality negates any otherwise valid claim of copyright. This principle has been used to remove copyright protection from "obscene" materials as well as those counselling or detailrng a criminal act.

LEGAL ISSUES

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Ultra Vires

Regulating sex Difining COJJJJJJIIni!J standards BY

YUKIMI H

E!\'RY

of tolerance" test. What we think is not an "o.k." way for people to get off will help deOn October 9"' of this year, the York Police term me whether an activity IS "indecent" and drug and vice squad raided Bunnies, an adult therefore illegal. The test raises one of the entertainment club in Markham, laying fundamental and often overlooked questions charges for 18 prostitution-related offences. in the debate: what kind of sex will you tolerIn the same month, the trial of the proprietor ate and why? of a large Toronto escort agency began. Last Parliament and the courts say harm is a year, Toronto was titillated by the arrest and central consideration in deciding what we will trial of a well-known dominatrix. A couple of not tolerate in sexual activity. Feminists and years ago it was a police raid on Remingtons, psychologists tell us the same thing, although a gay strip club, dunng "Sperm-Attack Mon- for different reasons. This is a satisfying and day" that captured headlines. easy answer when dealing with issues like The list of high prof1le sex trade cases goes paid sex with children or persons who are on and on. With every Globe & Mail headline coerced into commercialized sex through ~comes another topic of debate for the Femiphysical or emotional abuse. It gets more difnism and Law Bndge Week and constitutional ficult to accept this justification for state inor criminal law small groups. Legalization, deterference in sexual activity when the particicriminalization, freedom of expression, tolerpants themselves disagree with professional ance of diversity . . . the complex of ques- and legal interpretations of their well-being. tions surrounding the regulation of the sexWhen the dominatrix madam tells us that for-money industry has been theorized and she is not being harmed by her business acdebated ad nauseum. tivities, who 1s the criminal law protecting So are we any closer to the answers? If con- her pay1ng adult customers whom voluntarily sensus is any indication, clearly we are not. seek out her services? When organizations of Instead, one of the primary results of this sex trade workers advocate for decriminalizawhole debate has been to Jose sight of what tion and profess1onal recognition, who are we the questions are. protecting from harm in prosecuting their busiWhether the criminal Jaw should be used ness transactions? What about the woman to regulate our private, sexual behaviors JS a being paid to strip for the sexual gratification fine question for philosophers but not, 1would of a man in a private business establishment? contend, a very Interesting or productive one This is not to suggest that all sex trade workfor us as law students or citizens. The crimiers feel the same way about their work. But 1 nal law is s1mply a socially normative exeram suggesting that judges, legislators, acacise: we tell men they cannot force the1r wives demics, and psychologists do not necessarily to have sex w1th them, we will not let an mdi- Know better what is harmful for those involved VIdual marry more than one person and we or for the rest of us. You may not Know either. won't let people sell sexual gratification.

The question. then. in dec1dmg whnt kmd of I say "we" because built right into many of

our sex trade Jaws is a "community standard

sex wtfl be "tolerated" by us, the commumty,

is who are you listening to when you dec1de?

The vitality of sleaze

BY L INDA MELNYCHUK

Culture wars make great copy. So when Rudy Guihan1, mayor of New York City, waxes censorial about a work of art, everyone clambers for a piece of the action - especially journalists. But the media flurry around Guiliani's recent attack on art has overshadowed a point that Torontonians should heed: one attack on urban culture quite often follows on the heels of another.

The dexterity with which Guiliani wields the censor's sword can only be understood against the backdrop of his notorious opposition to New York's street culture. Rudy v. The Dung Virgin came shortly after Rudy v. The Stoppers of New York which flowed from Rudy v.

Times Square Porn Shops. Over the last couple of years, Guilian1 has led a growmg trend in North American cities to sweep away any suspect form of urban street culture.

This campaign is one to which Toronto has enthusiastically subscribed. Lastman's cleanup of squeegee kids and Harris' prom1se to "crack-down" on begging are small parts of a larger effort to "revitalize" Toronto's urban enVIronment. A major component of the project includes the refurbishing of Yonge and Dundas, where plans are underway for the construction of an amusement park.

This "revitalization" will drastically alter the urban landscape on Toronto's busiest pedestrian intersection and has often been compared to Guiliani's clean-up of Times Square.

Once a place where sex shops and prostitutes hocked their wares, now the only steamy thing on sale in Times Square is espresso.

In an interv1ew this past summer, downtown city COlllt llldl". l<"ylo rl1•r , , _ revitalization does not parallel Guiliam's agenda: "This is not a morality clean up. This I

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is about what you do when your main street is captivated by the lowest form of retail."

The new Yonge Street will house high end retailers with shinier, cleaner facades.

Inevitably, the capital investment required for urban facelifts demands police protect1on.

Detective Colin Macdonald of Toronto's 52 Division has predicted that "there Will be no increase of police personnel for the square" but that the newly designed park will be easy to monitor.

"The current design of Yonge Street lends itself to street level crime" says Det .

Macdonald. The street facades on Y<>nge will be redesigned through a municipal des1gn approach entitled CEPTEO, (Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design). CEPTED principles include increasing clear sight lines by planting trees With light canopies to augment visibility and installing railings rather than benches to prevent lo1tering.

Now that both New York and Toronto have mvested 1n large urban development schemes the question remains as to who thi;; invest~ ment will serve. Det. Macdonald argues that the Yonge and Dundas plan is for the "betterment of the whole community." Beth HaroUies of the New York Civil Uberties Union warns that not everyone is included in these not1ons of community: "Rudy Guiliani referred to the rev1ved Times Square as 'everyone's neighbourhood' even though it was a Disneyonented initiative."

G1ven that it took only two years for Guilian1's efforts to move from sanitizing the street to censonng a museum, Torontonlans should take heed of the crack-downs ,.. ~lean U.PS oin on in th air wn the road to "urban revitalization" may have an unexpected end.

Sweet Escorts case provokes prostitution debate scourge of drugs, violence and disease. Other BY ] AIME C ARLSON, NINA GMnm, groups suggest that stronger laws will decrease A~GEt.A ] A\.iES & T AMARA K uz.YK exploitation of women and reduce the risk of violence towards them. The Sweet Escorts Media attention has recently focussed on case brings both aspects of th1s prothe trial of Mark Lukacko, owner of the escort criminalization stance 1nto scrutiny. agency Sweet Escorts. Pres1ded over by JusWithholding information from the public to tice Keenan of the Ontario Superior Court, the secure a conviction against an individual case involves 16 counts of llvmg off the avails alleged to have exploited women for his own of prostitution and exercising control over prosprofit accords with the notion that the laws titutes. The most inflammatory aspect of the are intended to protect women. But the refusal case concerns three women, employed by the to name individuals potentially infected w1th agency in 1996, who are HIV-positive. Keenan HIV undermines the public safety concerns J. ruled that the names of the women would which the laws were designed to answer. not be made public in the interest of encourIn light of Sweet Escorts, the question that agmg them to test1fy. He also ruled that their remains is whether cnminalization is the most chent hst. an ent1cing inventory allegedly comeffect1ve method of dealing with the issues posed of many of society's high-powered, that stem from prostitution. Reports show that would remam undisclosed. loaded with mixed the law's emphasis on criminality negates the messages, the Sweet Escorts case provides a ab1hty of prostitutes to assert their rights and spnngboard for a broader discussion concernleaves them unable to benefit from the most ing the relationship between crimanal law and bas1c social amemtles, such as, health care, prost1tution. housing and property, and legal protection.

Advocates of tougher regulation of the sex Prostitutes are excluded from protection by trade tend to appeal to public policy concerns. the law from the start, namely at first contact Representatives of residential neighborhoods with the police. A report by Maggie's, a Toronto typically assert that prostitution bnngs a advocacy organization for prostitutes, cites

COMMENTARY

several examples of the failure of police to respond to prostitutes' requests for protection.

One story concerns a street prostitute who was beaten, choked with a rope and left unconscious in an alley. When she reported the incident to two officers the next day, they asked her what she expected 1n her Ime of work and refused to write the report.

Another example is a report of an assault in progress made by a woman who herself was not a prostitute. The police took 20 minutes to respond to the call. When she demanded an explanation, she was told that "if it had been another neighbourhood the response would have been within five minutes but because of where she was calling from it was assumed that the woman was a prostitute."

Despite the inadequacy of the Criminal Code, and of police enforcement, in the last year there has been a legislative push for further criminalization. In March, a new Manitoba law came into effect that allows police, at their discretion, to seize and impound vehicles used m offences related to prostitution. This approach is being considered by police departments and legislators in

Ottawa and Nova Scot1a.

There is some recognition of the limitations of criminalization. Following two years of research, a panel of experts in Montreal recommended more cooperative action between prostitutes and police to solve problems of violence and to reincorporate prostitutes into the community. In Alberta, a provincial task force has gone as far as to recommend that schools teach students about the sex trade as part of the health curriculum in grades 4 through 12, due to the fact that many prostitutes begin working in their teens or even earlier.

Regardless of these initiatives, it is clear that dominant legal thinking categorizes prostitutes as criminals. An examination of the relationship between prostitution and the law, a rethinking of our goals regarding that rela· tionship, and an insistence on identifying prostitutes as enfranchised members of society, w1ll lead to a more sensit1ve and contextual approach to the 1ssue.

9

9 November 1999

Five years later

In defence of Carter

Can the media serve up just desserts)) for Brown and his co-accused?

Canadian (rolerancen is not enough

the narrat1ve - literally and metaphorically.

Literally, the story was about race. Metaphoncally, it was about the collis1on of two worlds: D ERA N EVIN one of them innocent, and the other, murderous and amoral. The tale quickly became one Anyone with even a passing interest in Toronto news will recall that on the night of of innocence lost- not just Lemon is', but for every person who could themselves have been April 5, 1994, Georg1a "Vivi" Lemonis was "by chance" in that cafe that night. shot and killed during a robbery at a Just For the reasonable reader of newspapers, Desserts cafe in the tony Toronto neighbourhood of Yorkville. Five years later, a time has frozen this image. Not only has the length of time smce the event prevented a jury has been charged with deciding the fates single person from being able to keep track of of those accused with her death. all the details, but also, many aspects of the At the time of the shootmg, critics claimed case have not been reported m the popular that the media used the race of the accused press as a result and the v1ctim to of court-imposed shape a dramatic nar"Literally, the initial media publication bans. rative, and that this Five years later, portrayal of events story was about race. Meta- these 1mages rewould bias the trial it was about tlze plwrical/y, main with the layproceedings against the accused. Although collision oftwo worlds - one of person as the trial progresses and the overt rac1alizat1on them innocent and the otlzer are largely unmitiof Lawrence Brown gated by the covmurderous and amoral. " and his co·accused erage of the trial seems to have ceased, as it occurs now. the media's current A racial factor is still at work in today's redepiction of them is still largely informed by porting, even though it is not reverting to the negat1ve att1tudes that were firmly set out in heaghts of the sensationalism it once did. The the 1n1tial reporting of this event. media continue to rely on the mug shots of Race fueled the manner in which the methe accused. Five years after the event, no dia covered the initial event. Professional-qualphotographs have been found to portray the aty photos of the victim in her wedding dress accused in a more neutral manner. appeared in two of the three major Toronto The media also contmue to represent the -~__,d,_aities •mmedol'ltely following tho event. These accused in the worst of all possible lights In p1ctures of the attractive young woman bereporting of Lawrence Brown's defense, the came the basis of the public's perception of media continually illustrate him as a fool to mnocence lost. Additionally, the media aimed represent h1mself, identifying his mistakes at its reporting power at the public display of trial as proof of his incompetence. Many argnef over her death, crowned by coverage of the overwhelming attendance at Ms Lemon is's ticles further imply that this incompetence is funeral. responsible for delay in the matter going to Conversely, the media spared no resources trial- and hence to justice not being done for Ms. Lemonis. in VIlifying the accused. Locating mug shots The media's emphasis on Mr. Brown's deof the suspects from previous charges, many of the dallies ran these repeatedly and frecision to represent himself casts him as the quently - ensunng the public would not fail "other," as someone who stands apart from the conventions of society and perverts our to associate these suspects with criminal behaviour. sense of order and propriety. The implied link Demonization of the accused did not stop is clear: someone who IS so irreverent towards there. Once it was known that surveillance the workings of the JUStice system might also camera images suggested that the suspects be someone who could shoot an innocent bywere black, the media made sweeping gener· stander in a local cafe. alizations about the links between race and Although the racialization in the reporting crime, largely relying on American sources and of this case is not as overt as it once might experiences. As suspects were identified and have been, the media has made no obvious apprehended, information about their status effort to correct the earlier imagery implanted as immigrants emerged and was se1zed upon in the public imagination. The brute force of the initial reporting continues to play a role in by the newspapers to portray the accused as "aliens" who were unwanted in polite Toronto the outcome of the trial, putting the opportusoc1ety. Attent1on was also given to fact they nity of the accused to receive a fair trial at were allegedly to be deported - wh1ch Imrisk, despite enormous efforts to screen all jurors for bias. plied that these men were already "outlaws" wanted by pollee "in other matters."

Juxtaposition of these two images coloured BY }ENNIFER W EINBERGER

&

To submit your comments to the Commentary section, read previous articles, or link to other legal sites, visit Ultra Vires at www.law.utoronto.ca/ultravires

BY D AN M URDOCH

In an article published last month in this sect1on, Jason Brock, writing on Hurricane Carter, made the comment: "I wonder whether paying attention to race requires seeing the world as essentially racial." Brock's wonderment was clearly rhetorical. His suggestion seems to be that Carter, who does see the world as essentially racial, is part of the problem.

As enlightened law students in a tolerant, cosmopolitan city, we want everyone to live in peace and harmony. The idea of outrage seems most inappropriate. Yet how can Carter see the world any way but racially? He was m jail for 16 years because of a racially motivated investigation, arrest and conv1ction. The most prominent conflicts in his life relate to race. Perhaps I am reluctant to criticize Carter because the conflicts that are most prominent in my life relate to the remote control.

I am not suggesting that my relative distance from the problem vo1ds my right to have an opinion, but I think it places certain responsibilities on how I respond to the opinions of those more closely affected. I must try to gain understanding while recognizing that full understanding is impossible. I must make

OSLER, HOSKIN& HARCOURT

allowances for anger and, yes, outrage.

The maJonty of us are conditioned to react negatively to percetved extremism. When the suggestion was made dunng this past Bndge Week that i\ might be acceptable for an aboriginal council to choose to kill a man perceived as a threat to the community, there was a rumble in the crowd. There seemed to be little attempt to try and understand the motivation behind the decision, or to consider the options faced by a people without a prison industrial complex.

This attitude towards diversity is pervas1ve in our society. The key word IS "tolerance".

Our tolerance seems to extend only to the point where we are faced by a moral disagreement.

I always cringe when I hear that Canadians are a tolerant people. Is tolerance such a noble trait? It suggests holding one's breath while swallowing. We should not simply tolerate diversity - we should enjoy it.

I do not look at the world in racial terms.

Nor do I think that Carter's depiction of the six tribes of the world is progressive or accurate. But I can accept his outrage. I think he restrains it adm1rably. And it IS important to remember that he is working - through the legal system - for change.

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10 Ultra Vires ~----------------------------------------------------------------

Women artists featured at the AGO during the heated debate around Mapp/ethorpe, the National Endowment for the Arts and the constitution of obscen1ty in Whrle art controvers1es are in full swmg in art, Sherman's sex photos deal directly w1th New York Ctty, Torontonians may have an arthe constructiOn and receptiOn of pornogratistic squabble seething in their own backphy in our culture. She contorts mannequins yard. The organizers of Cindy Sherman: A Retand blow-up dolls into the familiar posttions rospective at the AGO decided to mvite reused by the porn industry to sell sex. This sponses from viewers and chose to dtsp/ay sertes is deeply disturbing if only because their commentary on the walls of the exhtbit.

Sherman's parody of our culture's simultaThe content of these comments may not be neous expresston and repression of female front-page material but they do reveal how sexuality is so accurate.

Sherman's work provokes fervent questions Equally dtsturbing is Sherman's fascination about the nature and purpose of art. with the grotesque and the macabre. In her Toronto is the last stop on the international senes entrtled Fairy Tales she calls forth the tour of Cmdy Sherman's retrospective. It 1S dark side of kiddy literature. Her monstrous the most comprehensive collection of her costumes speak to our millennia/ anxieties work, lncorporattng every one of her major about the human body in the age of genetic series from the 70s to the present. experimentation, environmental decay, and Sherman 1s perhaps best known for her sebiotechnological exploration. ries of film stills in whtch she dresses herself It may be a stretch to compare Ctndy in different disguises and photographs thereSherman: A Retropective to Sensation, to the sults. Each image features Sherman costumed show that inflamed Guiliani and cost the and captured in some filmic moment: an acBrooklyn Museum its municipal subsidy. The tron shot, a second of dramatic tension, a fact that the debate surrounding Sherman's pensrve day dream. In effect; the photographs work exists In the quiet comments made by are entertaintng, miniature performances that provoke the viewer to rmpose a dialogue onto gallery-goers is. m itself, quintessentially Cathe tmage or to devtse a narratrve to bnng nadian: even our controversies seek to not each strll to lrfe offend. But controversy aside, Sherman's work Sherman's later work has caused the greatrs worth a VISit. It w11l unsettle and disturb in est controversy. Created rn the Reagan era the way good art usually does.

Utopia -This restaurant, on College in Little Italy, is perfect for a great dinner. It has a cool atmosphere and, with most entrees costing less than $10, it's a little more affordable than some of the others in the vicinity. The selection is varied, including yummy dishes like tandoori chicken, goats cheese, and some of the best fries around. It may not be that Italian, but 1ts a great place for a casual date or dinner with friends.

Royal Imperial Gourmet Garden - Located on the south side of Dundas JUSt east of Spadina, the Imperial Gourmet Garden is a warehouse-sized dim sum restaurant and as un1que an experience you can get on a week· end afternoon in Toronto. This place offers a huge selection that is changes continuously.

During peak time lunch for two will cost $25 but, if you can wait until 2 p.m . when the prices are reduced, it will only cost you about $15. Best to go with a party of four or more so that you can all sample each other's little bundles of goodness.

Dessert Cafe- This great little spot is located on Baldwin Street just east of Huron, a stretch well known for its collection of small and economical restaurants. The Dessert Cafe is notable because of its huge selection of salads, sandwiches and ptzzas that can be ordered 1n very tasty and incredibly 1nexpens1ve combinations. Also worth mentionmg is the halfpound of mussels dinner for two with a pint which costs around $25.

l-Ie/ell J'1CI"\Tz(o//.· ..ftl!t.fbtiJe zit tbe .rhad01v.r tn both Montreal and london.

A/though McNicol/ was painting at a time Over the cor11 ng months, as the skres get when women's roles were in dramatic transr more g·ey and the days get shorter, you may lion, these challenges are not present in her be lookmg for a httle sunshme. Allow me to work. Instead, she transcends her socral backoffer a suggestron -you will find a wonde•drop and the fact that women art1sts were fuhy pleasant escape rnto a beaut1ful and tranoften overshadov.ed by their male counterqurl world of let sure and quite contemplatron parts. As a gifted and serious student of imrf you v1stt the Helen McNicoll exhibit at the pressionism, she generously applted her AGO. colourful palette to capture •sunshine in the This temporary collection, housed wtthin shadows." Havtng chosen women and chilthe walls of the contemporary art section of dren as her subjects, McN.coll celebrates their the gallery, take the viewer outside the engagement with nature. Her subjects take gallery's walls and beyond the downtown core part tn the daily activities of rural life: gatherto the more gentle landscapes of rural hfe.

Ing apples, harvesttng wheat, hangmg launMcNicol\ developed as an artist during the dry and catching fish. These are the images turn of the century. Born in 1879 to a wealthy Helen McN1coll has chosen to capture and famtly she was privileged to grow up surwhich she has left for us from the turn of the rounded by art 10 her home and to study art century.

T

@)

E

BY STEPHEN

D. Cox

The player holdout problems manifested in this year's National Hockey League season bring back intense memones of first-year Contracts. Ottawa's most valuable player, Alexei Yashm, remains dormant, skating with a team in Switzerland. How does such a tense standoff cont1nue for a team that is on the verge of breakthrough success in the NHL standings?

The issue, of course, is the interpretation of Yash1n's contract. Like all NHL contracts, Yashin's is protected by the terms of the collective bargaining agreement. This agreement, however, fails to address what shall happen where a player refuses to honour a term of his contract. In Yashin's case, the refusal to play the final year of a $3.6 million contract has been interpreted by the league as indi· catmg that at the end of the year, a full season of play will be owed to the Senators. The player's association (NHLPA), on the other hand maintains that Yashin will simply becom~ a free agent, to be claimed by the highest bidder. The contested issue, therefore, revolves around whether he IS obligated to deliver the substance of his existing contract, that is, one final year of play at the agreedupon salary. Law students wtll quickly recogntze the contract issues raised 1n this dispute.

Yashin's ho,dout and the league's resistance are emblematic of the 'pre-existing duty' doctnne. Since he is promising only to deliver upon a pre-existing contract in exchange for further consideration for his servtces, can the second contract be enforced?

The answer, of course, goes to an issue at the very heart of contracts: whether or not there ts a "right" in contract to breach and pay damages. If so, then Yashm ought to be

Cindy Sherman, Untitled Film Still # 7

f..lO.

.c

&

EMILY W INTER

B\' LI:--.1)..\ MEL.' \ YCHt.iK

U\' KATHY LtPIC

THE SPORTING LIFE

GRAZING

BY EILEEN C osTELLO

Ctilt!J' J/}('r;wcm: / 1relro.rpfclliJC

11

9 November 1999

T

As a first-year student, one of the most impressive aspects of law school so far has been the number of free meals and open bars. The recent Trial Ad event provides the perfect opportumty to review these with a more critical eye Oct 6: Thts recept1on seemed to feature the usual assortment of fruits, vegetables, cheeses and crackers, displayed in a variety of entic1ng ways. I think I saw vegetable sushi at one point, but by the time I made it through the crowds, all that was left was some wasabi.

Oct. 12: By far the best of the three. Highlights included dumplings filled with something, and some kind of baked bne cake/loaf.

Many were impressed with the "salmon pops," but to me they just tasted like cold salmon on a stick. The most impressive aspect of the reception was the use of real wine glasses that made me a feel a bit less like a cheap drunkard crashing a party.

Oct. 13: Good concept, but lacking a l1ttle in the execution. The main innovation here was the use of burners to keep the food warm.

The potato perogies brought back fond memories of my grandmother's kitchen, and were a nice touch. Also available, however, were the bane of all receptions- the ubtquitous "piggies in a blanket." They seemed to be gotng quickly, but I say call them "baked w1ener bits in chewy dough" and you'd have a lot more trouble giving them away.

Of course, it must be said that the key measure of quality with these things is the sheer amount of food. One could have left quite full, and quite drunk, from all three, and they each deserve credit for that.

free to hold out, pay a ftnancial penalty to the Senators, and offer his services to another team . If the structure of contract formation does not permit for such a "right to breach," however then it is clear that Yashin will be obliged to perform the original terms of his contract.

Ultimately the rejection of the pre-existing duty rule will come back to haunt greedy ath· letes in all sports: how long would it be before the teams themselves can refuse to pay a player on the basis of poor performance?

BY DAVE B RO:"'SKILL Enthusiasm ran h1gh for the U of T Law Women's football team which has a record number of players signed on for glory thts year.

Only one player had retired from last year's squad, and a new crop of rookies held great promise.

Seven weeks later, the team's early promise was vindicated by their awesome play. The defence allowed only 12 pomts and leads the league in interceptions. The fabled "Bora" zone defence has baffled the league and 1s the matn reason the defence is ranked number one. On offence, the attack is varied and fluid, With multiple, deadly options for the league's topranked quarterback.

The regular season for both teams concludes on Saturday, October 30. Combined, the teams represent the most talented collection of football players at the law school since the University of Toronto Blues were led by names like Risk and Sopinka. Join the Law Women's football team on its march to a championship.

I wanna rock 'n' roll all night and study every day...

In preparation for exam season, Ultra Vires asked seL'eral readersfor a list of faz omite albums to stuc!J· to.

Here are tbe responses: 1

Linda Melnychuk (II)

Allison Ralph (II)

John Coltrane, Soultrane - Johnie is the sweetest study companion to ever come out of the jazz world . The way he blows h1s horn is sweet and sad and sexy all in the same soulful breath. Hts music makes me all warm and gushy - just what I need when my head is stuck in a textbook.

Herbaliser, Very Mercenary - The most fly trance/hip-hop/acid jazz group to come out of England and land on Montreal's Ninja Tune record label. "Very Mercenary" features a grrrl rapper who spits verbal poetry and higher intellect, Toronto's Dream Warriors and the occasional cricket reference.

lawrence Gowan, ... But You Can Call me IP · all the odds I've fought in my life, yet st1ll somehow survived. I enj oy Lawrence Gowan's new style and his staying power in the not-so-krnd Canadian music industry.

Bif Naked, Bif Naked- Techn ically an "alter· native artist, " she does have a certain appeal to non-alternative audiences. The music is fast-paced, the lyrics profound and sometimes just weird. A great way to forget about the problems of the world, or think about them more deeply.

Larry - The "Last Laugl' remtnds

Professor David Duff

Noah Gitterman (I) Smog, The Doctor Came dt Dawn - Smog's morose Iynes and spare. gloomy arrangements is melancholy to the extreme. I actually don't know why you'd want to listen to th1s while studying, since tt will probably make you cry, but hey, sometimes things 1ust ktnda suck.

Cibo Matto, Viva! La Woman -Featuring the trresisttble lync, "I know my chtcken, you got to know your chicken" CM's tributes to beef jerky, birthday cake, or white pepper tee cream, wrapped up m a kind of random, happy, beat-heavy vibe, probably make th1s album more of a distraction than anything else. A good distraction though.

Glenn Gould, Bach's Goldberg Variations Listenrng to this on a sunny day with a good cup of coffee, it's almost 1mposstble not to believe in God, beauty, truth and even justice.

Keith Jarrett, The Koln Concert -A fantastic way to mellow out after a day of tax. Best combtned wtth a glass of w n._ 'The Waterboys, This is the Sea - If I'm feel· ing particularly pleased wl' 1ece o' wntrng /"ve JUSt completed, there's no better way to fmish a bout of writing than with crankmg up the volume on the song "The Pan W1thrn".

There's a pass1on and spirituality to the mu· src and Iynes that can be completely transportmg. It's also pretty good for makmg out.

Confessions of a first-year student Father ask~ uro, uvat bmoe_youlear11ed so far?''

BY

BRAD MooRE

It was a dull, nondescript day rn October. I was back home for Thanksgiving and, for the f~rst time in a month, enjoyed a meal that included all four maJOr food groups.

I sauntered into the house, congratulatmg myself for becoming such a renaissance man and a future power player, and all since Labour Day. It wasn't long after we sat down to dinner that my father turned to me and uttered the words I had been waiting for- "So, what have you learned so far?" I pau' ed bnefly, partly for effect and party just to savour the moment, then my lips opened and out came a line of disjointed half-sentences: '"Fifst of all, property is things not rights ... uh, I mean ... l • might have said that backwards ... but there was this hotel in Miami and it had more right to the sun and air than another and then ... well , there is this really bizarre English, or Australian maybe, but he's a judge and he said it was okay for the whole town to hit cricket balls off this woman's house, or was it. .. I don't know, but

i1 you sign a contract to mtne coal on someone's 1ront yard you only have to do half of what you said .... " My unjustified arrogance was surpassed rn absurdity only by my utterly incoherent monologue. My father probably thought I was in 1nsul1n shock. I cou ldn't believe it. Over a month m law school, and I hadn't learned a single thing. How much was tUitiOn aga1n?

On the train back to Toronto, I asked myself what, in fact, I had learned smce September 7 111 • I actually came up wtth a few thmgs. For rnstance, a summary 1sn't everythtng, 1t rs the only thing. Ned's mac'n'cheese IS the most fattenrng substance known to mankrnd. Not all law students are upttght-some even drop their pants at the lnd1an Motorcycle Cafe. Library ass1gnments are employed to punish first-years for all the bad thmgs they have done in their life so far. Twodollar drinks at My Apartment ensure that we will continue to do more bad things. Most importantly, there are three words that gtve every UofT law student a warm fuzzy feeling -"line of credit." And to think I learned all of this in JUSt thirty days.

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