Ultra Vires Vol 2 Issue 1: 2000 September

The Student Newspaper of the University of Toronto Faculty of Law

Volume 2 Issue 1 12 September 2000 www.law.utoronto.ca/ultravires

Donation Gives DLS andELS a New Horne

Faculty Annonnces

Funding for HUlllan Rights

Fasken Martineau DuMoulin donate half a n1illion dollars

Student concerns about survival of progran1n1e alleviated

BY ANNA MARRJSON A."'D

] UUANA SAXBERG Thanks to a generous $500,000 gift fr'lm Fasken Martineau DuMoulm, Downtown Legal Services (DLS) and Enterprise Legal Servtces CELS) wtll have a permanent home at 655 Spadina by 2002. The building will be called the "Fasken Manneau DuMoulin LLP Centre for Legal Serv1ces," and will officially be announced at a recept1on on Wednesday, September 13 at Flavelle House.

Uke many not-for-profit organizations in the City of Toronto, DLS has had off1ces m a hodgepodge of different environments over the last twenty years. Until the summer of 1998, the administrative office was located in what was affectionately known as "the pit" - the overheated, low-ceilinged basement of Falconer House. This fall, for the first time in years, the intake office and the administrative office are in the same location at 720 Spadina. Similarly, ELS has had to endure years of cramped quarters In the basement of Falconer House.

The money pledged by Faskens will be used to renovate the building at 655 Spadina by making 1t wheelchair accessible and refurbishing the off1ce spaces inside. Faskens has been a benefactor of the law school for over a decade, starting with the establishment of

see "Gift" on page 3

BY j ENNIFER K Hl!Rfu"lA

Onentation 2000 Comm1ttee! Left to right: Jacob G!lck, Gmny Tsai, Sarah Armstrong, Karen Park, Rachel lscove, Scott Patriqum, Alba Sandre, Gordon Lee, Cat Youdan, Sandra Chu, Noah Gitterman. Absent: Karyn Sullivan, Karen Bellinger, Chene Brant, Julie Maclean, Rebecca Hayes, Yana Ermak.

Significant Pay Raise for Faculty Members Increase to tnaintain competitiveness of faculty in attracting top talent Bv ]AMF.S H o FFNER Faculty members saw their salaries increase th1s summer - by almost $30,000 for some junior faculty - in an effort to maintain and enhance the competitiveness of U of T in attracting and keep1ng talented law professors. "At the core of any great law school is an outstanding faculty . .. its ability to at-

-·'" n•al·hte law at C.asst'IS Brocl.. &: Blilckwdl LLP F~t p.ced, entr.,rmeunal I t'adong·edgl' dil'nts,lawyl'n and arras of practrcr Be yourS<'If, find vour llrm~ths llulld thl' network tNt will last you thl' rest ot your cart"U Dl'borah Glattu, LLB, DiJKtor of Stvdrnt Prognms (416) 860-0606, d gllltfl'~USA!lsbrod-com 5oiOio ,__s.!ootJG0,4a .... -'"""" T-CuolaiUH sa

T...,._., 41U69.UOO F - 416.J60.#T! w.t.cilc ..... ,, . . .

tract top scholars . .. and the edge it gives its graduates," states Dean Ron Daniels. Increasingly, faculty recruitment and retention is affected by the dispanty of salaries with those offered south of the border, which have increased Significantly in the past decade.

Junior faculty members, who generally are faculty w1th zero to ten years teaching experience, had their sa lary increased to $100,000. The startmg salary had previously been $72,000, which means that some JUnior faculty received raises of almost $30,000 to be on par with professors who have been teaching for more than five years.

Intermediate and senior faculty, instead of being bumped up to a new salary level, received average increases of $15,000 and $5,000 respectively. These increases, which will cost about $500,000 annually, are not being funded out of law school tuition but from the Provost's budget. The Provost acted upon petition by the faculty's Teachmg Association, which was supported by the Dean who also assisted with the Provost's response.

The mag01tude of the increases illustrates the faculty and umversity's commitment to provide the foundations required for the preservation and enhancement of the faculty's domestic and tntemational stature. For U of T to be competitive in attracting talent, Daniels would like to see nominal parity with salaries offered by top U.S. law schools, where starting salaries are between U.S.$100,000 and U.S.$115,000. By nominal parity, it 1s meant that salaries match in dollar terms without currency adjustments. The summer

see "Parity" on page 4

Lois Ch1ang, the new Ass1stant Dean, recently announced that fundtng for the International Human R1ghts Programme at the faculty has been secured and that a new, fulltime Dtrector for the programme Will be \mea.

Chiang's announcement comes as relie1 to those who were concerned l ast spnn& and \h\s summet aoou\ \he con\mued a\la\\ab\\IW o11unom& tOT \he Ptowamme.

The lntcrnstl ontJI Humon Rtghts Programme was established m 1988 under the leadership and v1510n of Professor Rebecca Cook. One of the mam goals of the programme IS to tram and develop the next generation of lawyers in the promotion and protect1on of InternatiOnal and national human rights law. The programme provides

upper-year and graduate students w1th the opportunity to work with a human nghts organ1zat1on. In the past 12 years, more than 140 students have been placed with a broad range of United Nat1ons, governmental and non-governmental organizations in over 30 countries. This past year, 18 students interned w1th the programme and worked with organizations such as the International ~abour Organization in Costa Rica, the International Cnminal Tribunal for Rwanda in Tanzania, the Centre for Reproductive Law and Policy in New • York, and the N1sga'a Tnbal Council in New Aiyansh, British Columbia.

The faculty is currently in the process at hiring a new, full -t1me Director of the Programme, who is expected to actively pursue fundraislng and development activities, while admmistering the Programme and working to build further opportunities for students.

To this end, the Director will work with faculty and administration to develop a strategic plan for an expanded International Human Rights Programme at the law school.

see "Programme" on page 4

Meet the 1999/2000 I Interns, see Clubs and 1 Clinics on pages 6 & 7

2

Ultra Vires

view week will begin on November 6"' and continue through November 8"' when, at 5:00 p.m., job offers can first be made.

According to Bonnie Goldberg, Assistant Dean, Career Services at the U of T Faculty of Law, the changes will be helpful to both firms and students. She explains, "under the old rules, the firms were unable to mterview BY ]F.FF TORKIN more than a hundred students and therefore In an attempt to level the playing field beat tops, they would see 30 from U ofT- and tween recruiters at Toronto law firms and they want to see more ... with the new OCis," their counterparts in the United States, the however, large firms will be able to meet 60 Law Society of Upper Canada (LSUC) has to 80 students from each school and smaller revamped the summer job procedures govfirms will be able see 20 students each." erning the recruitment of second-year law stu"Getting to see more students is definitely dents. Most significantly, Toronto firms are the biggest benefit of the OCis says Nancy now given the opportunity to conduct On-CamStitt, Director of Student Programs at Osier, pus Interviews (OCis), a process that enables Hoskin & Harcourt LLP. "There are a lot of them to screen a larger pool of students for students who do very well at U of T but who potential employment prior to the "interview are not necessarily in the top 10 percent of week" that has been held in November for the class ... many of them would really fit in the past two years. here and I'm looking forward to meeting more In order to accommodate the OCI process, of them." the application deadline for Toronto firms will Another benefit Goldberg sees in OCis is be pushed forward by approximately two their capacity to facilitate more targeted reweeks to September 22"". University of cruiting. She feels that "students will have a Toronto students selected for OCis will be better sense of what they want quicker and notified by the Career Development Office via that will lead to a better match between firms e-mail on September 29111 and interviews will and students in November." Mary Jackson, be conducted on October 5th and 6'n at the Direct of Legal Personnel at Blake, Cassels Metro Toronto Convention Centre. After the and Graydon LLP agrees. "In terms of OCis I OCis there will be no recruitment activity until am a big supporter .. .my basic view is that "Call Day" on October 25111• This year's InterOCis allow us to make more effective deci-

A Convocation of Milestones Class of 2000 Marks the Faculty's 5Qrh Anniversary and Prichard's Departure as President

BY MELISSA KLUGER It wasn't just the new millenmum that made the Class of 2000 spec1al. Convocation ceremonies this past June celebrated the 50~ anniversary of the Faculty of Law and bid farewell to Robert Prichard, as he ended his term as President of the University of Toronto.

In order to pay tribute to these special events, the faculty had an exclusive ceremony at Convocation Hall rather than together with graduates of other programs. The ceremony included a screening of the faculty's 50"' Anniversary Video, the granting of three honourary law degrees, special recognition of President Prichard's commitment to the law school, and, of course, the granting of awards and diplomas to the class of 2000.

The honourary degrees were received by L1onel Schipper, a law-school alumni and major benefactor of the Umvers1ty; Paul Weiler, a U of T alumni and distinguished professor at Harvard Law School: and Supreme Court Justice Louise Arbour, who spoke on the changes affecting the judiciary and her experiences as Prosecutor for the International Crimmal Tribunal in The Hague.

As former Dean of the Faculty of Law, Prichard's connect1on to the law school remamed strong throughout his term as Presi-

NEWS

dent. lhe faculty did its utmost to pay tribute to this connection.

In addition to praise from honourary degree recipients, Dean Ron Daniels, and other speakers, each graduate contributed to the

farewell. Since Prichard is expected to return to the faculty next year after teaching at Harvard Law School, Daniels commissioned the graduates' help in refreshing Prichard's memory of tort law. Each student, as they came up to receive their diploma, handed Prichard a tort-law case that has been decided since Prichard left the faculty. As well, each student, to their surprise, was given a baseball cap by the university. Playing on the university's slogan "Great mmds for a great future," the hats read: " A great president for a great university." Students were instructed to throw these up in the air at the completion of the ceremony.

Following the ceremony, faculty, graduates and family adjourned to the backfield of the law school for a reception, which included valedictory addresses by David Bronskill and Jenny Friedland, and the granting of additional awards Douglas Nathanson, Malcolm Thorburn and Ankur Arora were granted awards for the first, second and third highest cumulat1ve averages, respectively. The John Wtllis Award for contribution to the life of the law school was granted to Judy Michaely and L1sa Tomas. Dominique Nouvet and Malcolm Thorburn were recipients of the Dean's Key granted to the students who have exhibited the greatest interest in extracurricular work of an academic nature.

sions regarding which candidates we would ultimately like to hire." Of course the new rules will also give Toronto firms earlier access to the students as well, another feature which Jackson considers to be necessary. "The money offered by New York and Boston is quite a draw ... l think that it is important that we are there at the same time so there is an equality of opportunity for hiring." Goldberg does warn that despite the benefits of conducting OCis, the experience will be a stressful one: "With interviews lasting only 20minutes, students could potentially be rushing between twenty firms in one day in a ballroom full of 'pipes and drapes'."

Prior to the LSUC changes, Toronto firms had no face-to-face contact with students until interview week in November. The timeline became problematic when the presence of American recruiters on Canadian law school campuses began to intensify several years ago.

Because the American firms recruit in Sep-

.

tember and October, top Canadian law students were being offered jobs even before being interviewed by Toronto firms. And students, uncertain of their prospects in the Toronto market, were accepting.

As the American presence in Toronto continues to heighten, Toronto firms feel they must take measures that will allow them to recruit effectively and competitively. While the changes to the LSUC rules have been lauded by many, still more will need to be done to halt the migration of top talent to the U.S. According to the July/August ed ition of Lexpert, it is rumoured t hat Blakes, Davies, Ward and Beck, and Stikeman Elliott have each lost more than one associate to the U.S. or the U.K. in recent weeks - not surprismg given the near four-fold gap 1n compensation (CDN$62,000 vs. CDN$235,000} between an articling student in Toronto and a first-year position at a top firm in t he U.S.

gofnews?

send us a press release ultra.vires@ utoronto.ca

Generous gift provides permanent space and cohesion for clinics

Fonner Assistant Dean Appointed to the Bench

Law Society Changes Fall Student Recruiting Procedures New Rules Adopt American Style Recruiting

3

12 September 2000

J

her not only the respect, but the affection, of several generations of our students. We will m1ss her greatly," Croll comes to the bench with eleven years of experience in private practice with Fraser Beatty (now Fraser Mi lner Casgrain) and three years with Fasken Campbell Godfrey (now Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP). She practiced in the area of estate planning and adm1mstration.

She came to the fa culty in 1991 as Director of Student Affairs, was Assistant Dean Alumni Affairs from 1992 until 1996, and became Assistant Dean and Director of Admissions in 1996. Apart from her administrative duties, Croll also taught courses on wills and estates.

Croll: Looking When asked how her experience at U of T would help her in her new role, Bonnie said that besides the obvious training in the law, her academic career has given her much expenence in adjudicating tough issues. Aside from the decisions she made at the faculty, she chaired the Academic Appeals Tribunal at Simcoe Hall, the ultimate academic appellate body at U of T. Leaving the Faculty was not an easy deci-

Bonnie Croll appointed to Ontario Superior Court

BY AN DREY ANISHCHENKO AND ]AMES H OFFNER · On August 1•t, Assistant Dean Bonnie Croll became Her Honour, Judge Bonnie Croll of the Ontario Superior Court. Croll follows the recent path of faculty such as Catherine Swinton, Joan Lax, Bob Sharpe, Frank Iacobucci and AdJunct Professor Susanne Goodman, who was appomted this summer along with Croll, in being called to judicial public service from positions in academia. Fittingly, Lax, who was Assistant Dean at the faculty before Croll, will be Croll's mentor while she is a junior judge.

Dean Ron Daniels credits Croll with ushering in many new initiatives at the faculty relating to financial aid, more aggressive and imaginative student recruitment and the Pro Bono Programme among others. He also praised her for being "a wonderful and very gifted administrator." "Although students may not have agreed with every decision that sne made," he commented, "they were at least aware of the strong sense of principle and concern for the welfare of others that motivated her positions. In the end this earned

continued from page 1

forward to the challenges of bemg a judge sion for Croll. She enjoyed working in Falconer House very much and was not sure she would find another vocation as exciting.

She particularly enjoyed the camaraderie of the faculty and students. "They keep you sharp," she commented. Nonetheless, she said that she had been looking for a career change and is looking forward to the challenges of being a judge.

student financial aid awards. The gift demonstrates Faskens' commitment to community service and pro bono activities. "They approached us," says Jane Kidner, Assistant Dean at the faculty. Kidner adds that Faskens wanted the money to go to "the good work that students [at the faculty] do" .

But the gift, it is hoped, will deliver more than a home for DLS and ELS. Having t he offices together in a permanent space will promote cohesion within the climes, resu lting irr what third-year DLS Executive member Mary Simms calls "an enhanced ability to provide services to the commumty, and provide an excellent learning experience to our students." The new office will be easier for both clients and students to manage, says DLS civil review counsel Daphne Simon. According to Simon, the pit "wasn't very clientfriendly." : Ultra Vires ·is ~ccepting ·applications ?:· '

·· )<··, tor~he following pcisiticn1s? _ · .' :~ ~' .. ·.·

·-~·.

-.,

..._

--

&

Please contact Melissa Kluger (l\\) at , ultra.vires@utoronto.ca

SOLICITORS

Practise law that matters

Widely regarded as Canada's leading business law firm or information on our articling and summer student programs, check us out at www.dwb.com (click on the icon Join D WB) or contact:

F

Frances Mahil Director, Student Affairs 416.367.6966 fmahil@dwb.com

at Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP

Lexpert/ American Lawyer 2000Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada once again cite~ Osiers as one of the two market benchmarks in Toronto for executing significant deals and a leader In the area of securities law, mergers and acquisitions, tax, litigation and a variety of specialized practices. ···· -- --- ----------- -----------·-············· ··-·· ··············· ··· · · · · ·-- · -- ···- y· ············· · ··--··· ·····- ~---·· ······· · ·· · · ·· · · ··· ·· ··-··-··········-- ---·· · ··········- · ············ ···· · ······ ···· · · ·· ·········· ·········· ·· ··-·

Na ncy Stitt , Director, Student Programs , Toronto

0SLER1

HOSKIN& HARCOURT Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt

416.862.6527

Diane Cornish , Cha1r, Student Programs, Ottawa

613.787. 1079

Andrew Little , Chair, Student Program s, Calgary

403.260.7063

oslerstudent. com

LL P

Suite 4400 1 First Canadian Place Toronto, Ontario Canada M5X IB1 Tel: 416.863.0900 Fax: 416 863.0871 www.dwb.com

T 0

R0 N T 0

>

O TTAWA

>

C ALGARY

>

NEW

·.

~

DAVIES,WARD &BECK LLP BARRISTERS

-

Photographer Subscriptions Manager

..............................................................................................................:..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Please see page 11 for Valedictorian Addresses

. :·

-· · -'~

Y 0 R K

I

4

I

Ultra Vires

5

12 September 2000

New Pro Bono Director

Progranune to be bigger, better, with more opportunities continued from page 1 "Bigger, better, with more opportunities," described Chiang when asked about the future of the International Human Rights Programme. Plans to offer more opportunities to students both during the academic year and the summer are underway, as are moves to increase the involvement of firstyear students in the programme. Increasing internship and fellowship opportunities, providing better orientation and follow-up for placements, and improving alumni-student contact will also be part of the strategic plan.

At the law school level, more workshops, guest speakers, and faculty-student collaboration are being planned, as are expanded international opportunities with the Test Case Litigation Centre, established by Professor Ed Morgan in 1998. The Test Case Centre allows students to work on constitutional and human rights litigation being pursued by the Centre. Recently the Centre has conducted cases on behalf of the Canadian Jewish Congress, the African Canadian Legal Clinic, the Assembly of First Nations and the Green Party of Canada, involving litigation in both the Ontario and Federal courts, as well as some international human rights claims.

This past summer, rumours regarding a lack of funding for the programme sparked considerable concern on the part of students who

feared that the programme was on its last legs. Much of the confusion related to the sources of financial support for the programme. Until this past summer, it was funded externally by the grant support of Professor Cook, the Programme's founding Director. When that funding ran out in the spring, many students perceived the lack of funds as representing a real threat to the future of the programme. Amanda Roelofsen, then a third-year student at the faculty, and herself a former intern of the programme who interned in Geneva at the International Commission of Jurists, was particularly concerned about the future of the programme. As an active participant in human rights activities around the law school including the Rwanda Working Group, Amanda commented on the importance of the programme at a personal level: "My involvement with human rights is my best memory from law school, -and that includes my Internship."

Upon hearing about the uncertain funding Situation sur rounding the programme, Roelofsen contacted her group of interns. A group of other concerned first- and upper-year students likewise began efforts to have their concerns heard, including circulating a petition around the law school. "There was an overwhelming response on the part of students. Even those not really interested in participating in the Programme recognized

the importance of human rights activities at the law school," Roelofsen remarked.

Roelofsen also met with Dean Daniels at that time to voice her concerns. "The impression we were given was that something was in jeopardy. The administration could have solved a lot of problems by including the students in their decision-making and thinking processes. We chose to demonstrate that despite any misinformation, or lack of information, students feel that human rights are an integral part of the law school."

Ali Engel, a third-year student, echoed that sentiment. "For me and for many others, the International Human Rights Programme was a big draw to come to U of T. It would have been a real loss to me if the programme had been cancelled, and it was definitely a relief to hear that there was going to be a full-time Co-ordinator and that the programme would continue."

"Our goal 1s to have the best human rights programme in the world," explained Assistant Dean-..Chiang, who is herself a former intern of the programme and whose personal areas of interest include human rights in China, women's rights, and the trafficking of women. According to Chiang, there was never any danger of the programme disappearing at the Faculty of Law. "The faculty

has always wanted to secure funding for a full-time D~rector."

She noted that the International Human Rights Programme is among a number of other activities at the law school that are funded externally, including the Centre for Innovation, the Law and Economics Programme, and the Capital Markets Institute. "Th1s is the program that I came to law school for," Chiang confessed, echoing the sentiments of many students who have participated in the programme or who hope to participate in their upper years of law school.

Commenting on the announcement of secured fundmg, Roelofsen noted, "I would like to thmk our activism played some part in demonstrating student commitment to international human rights and to the programme.

Our interests have prevailed, and they are hiring a full-time Programme Director, so they can't go back, and that's great."

Summing up the priorities of the International Human Rights Programme, Chiang emphasized, "We have to view it as a building process. We have to be as imaginative, creative and forward-looking as we can."

Chiang enthusiastically welcomes anyone to discuss the programme with her, Dean Daniels, or the new Director of the programme.

Nominal Parity with U.S. Salaries Sought continued from page 1

Canad1an schools, the Dean and Faculty Teaching Association feel compelled to ac-

are the first stage in reachmg this

count f or U .S. market p ressures in maentain-

goal and over the next few years attention will be g1ven to adjusting the junior faculty level to account for seniority and merit and to raising intermediate and senior faculty salaries. "With parity met for junior faculty, the next challenge will be the intermediate and senior faculty salary levels," states Daniels.

The goal of parity with top U.S. schools reflects the competitive pressures from those schools. In the past few years, the faculty has seen professors such as George Triant1s and Robert Howse head south. This year, Gill1an Hadfield, John Burrows and Karen Knop are on leave visiting U.S. schools and considering offers. As well, other faculty members have received offers to join U.S. schools.

This trend is worrisome. Daniels warns that the loss of any faculty member is a "significant blow" to the university and in 5 to 10 years, the loss of faculty would be quite noticeable if the trend is not reversed. Moreover, he added, it is much easier to maintain an institution rather than to rebuild it.

In the recruitment of new professors, Daniels explained that a significant hurdle in any serious discussion with potential faculty has been the lower salary. This is particularly true in areas of high international demand and is illustrated by the faculty's difficulty in finding professors for the Centres of Innovation and Technology and Capital Markets/ Corporate Law. Underlying the retention and recruitment obstacles is the greater mobility of professors and the mternational positioning of the faculty. While U ofT has benefited from "raiding" other Canadian faculties, as evidenced by the spate of lateral appointments in the last few years, it has suffered from the ability and desire of professors to migrate south. As professors leave for U.S. schools rather than

ing the Faculty of Law as an internationally reputable legal institution.

As to why this international pressure is greater now than, for instance, ten years ago, Daniels points to a number of factors. Professional careers generally are marked w1th more changes .and greater fluidity than they have in the past. Top U S. schools receive strong alumni support, and this has enabled them in the last ten years to increase salaries significantly. Damels also points to the increasing integration of global economies and societies evidenced by the cross-border movement of law students and knowledge-workers generally. "We cannot just assume that prospective faculty will migrate and stay in Canada," he states.

Daniels also explained that salaries need to be "somewhat responsive" to trends outside of academe. Although he does not suggest that the Faculty should compete with salaries offered in private practice, he does point to the slippage in salaries between academe and the profession. When he started teaching about ten years ago, his salary was higher than that of his colleagues in private practice. Although that difference quickly reversed in a few years, he described it as important commitment by the faculty to his education. In many cases, prospective faculty spend a few years after law school clerking, where they earn comparatively low salanes, and pursuing graduate work, where they usually incur more debt. With academic salaries increasmgly falling behind those in private practice, it becomes less advantageous for prospective academics to make the investments required to enter academe. "We have to make pursumg an academic career a reasonable alternative to private practice," Damels contended.

raises

Depth for our clients .. . flexibility for you If you are interested in a career at an mternat1onal busmess law firm, w1th a colleg1al and supportive workmg env1ronment, we hope that you w111 choose to 1nterv1ew w1th Torys for a summer position m e1ther our New York or Toronto office.

As one f1rm of 275 lawyers based 1n New York and Toronto, Torys offers the opportunety to work on major domestic, cross-border and global transactions and litigation matters m e1ther c1ty. Regardless of where you are based, the natural synerg1es and depth of expertise withm our two maJor offices have allowed us to attract new and challeng1ng work for all lawyers and students in the f1rm. Summer students may also have the opportunety to split the1r time at Torys between the offices, or between one office and a public Interest organization (sponsored by the firm).

For more mformation about opportunities at Torys, please contact: Sarah MacKenzie, Director of Recruitment smackenzle@torys.com 416.865.7405 (Toll free: 1.800.505.8679 ext. 7405) www.torys.com

TORYS N_W YORK

NEWS

rORONTO

Shime brings years of advocacy to faculty

Department of Juvenile Just1ce and later returned to Toronto.

One reason she chose to study at the Faculty of Law was because the University of

BY B EATRICE VON DIJK Toronto is perceived as "wh1te and corporate and young" and Shime wanted a challenge.

Pam Sh1me 1s Pro Bono Students Canada's Law school was an "excellent experience" for (PBSC) new National Director. Shime will her, and the tenor of the school was not what ensure PBSC runs smoothly at every school she had expected. Both faculty and where it is active, which is in at least one administration prov1ded an "extremely positive university in each province. All offices require response" to her activism w1th University of funding assistance and administrative support, Toronto Out In Law (UTOIU. both of which are offered from Sh1me's off1ce Sh1me art1cled and worked in litigation at at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law. Gowlings after she graduated. For those who She'll also advise U ofT students on volunteer worry that lawyers in larger firms serve only placements,andworktoexpandtheprogramme. the interests of big business, Shime's Shime brings much experience with and comments are reassuring: "As a lawyer you get called on a lot as someone who is passion for social activism to her new position.

After she graduated from Harvard, she worked perceived as being able to serve the in Washington for the National Gay and community. I found I could use the resources Lesb1an Task Force. She prepared the first of a firm to bring more clout to the table." press packet on gays and lesb1ans in the So why did she return to the Faculty of military. Unfortunately, she says, in 1988 "no \ Law after her years with Gowlings? The one wanted to touch" the issue. She then } posit1on of National D~rector at PBSC ~equi:es worked as Special Assistant to the someonew1thenergyanddnve.Sh1mesv•s•on Commissioner of the New York City includes working with other programs at the . . . . . - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ____,..,..,__ law school, other law schools and the profession to help them serve their vanous communities. Speaking \ about U of T. Shime says "its reputation as a corporate school is neither fair nor complete." Shime hopes that one day, placements with PBSC may be as institutionalized as firm recruitment.

j

happy birthday ultra· viresl September 2000 marks the first birthday of Ultra Vtres, the Student Newspaper of the Faculty of Law. The goal of UV is to provide a forum for students to exchange ideas and to foster a sense of community at the law school. We need help in our continued efforts to meet this goal. ' UV is looking for writers, artists and editors. We also need people to assist with advertising and distribution. If you are interested, we will be holding an information meeting the week of September 16.

Watch Headnotes for announcement of time and place. Please come out to the meeting or contact: Melissa Kluger (Ill) at ultra. vi res@uto(onto. ca for more information.

Look for UV on the 2nd Tuesday of the month. Our next issue is October 17, 2000

www.law.utoronto.ca/ultravires ultra.vires@utoronto.ca

Destipation

Blakes

Check out our Student Programmes at

www.blakes.com

By choosing Blakes as your destination, you will have the opportunity to work with some of Canada's best lawyers in virtually every area of business law. With over 400 lawyers practising in six offices across Canada, Europe and China, Blakes provides a full range of services to a diverse national and international base of entrepreneurial clients.

For further information, please contact Mary Jackson, Director of Legal Personnel Box 25, Commerce Court West, 199 Bay Street, Suite 2800, Toronto, Ontario, MSL 1A9 416.863.4303 or mary.jackson@blakes.com

BLAKE, CASSELS & GRAYDON LLP BARRISTERS & SOLICITORS

I

PATENT & TRAOE·MARK AGENTS

Toronto I Ottawa I Calgary I Vancouver 1 London, UK I Beijing

CLUBS

& CLINICS

6

Ultra Vires

Human Rights Interns Travel the World Programme participants make domestic and international contributions

Kiera Gans Organization Against Political and Institutional Repression, Argentina

Now entering its twelfth year at the Faculty of Law, the International Human Rights Programme (IHRP) provides upper-year and graduate students with the opportunity to gain substantive knowledge, skills and practical experience in the promotion and protection of international human rights. Working with a human rights organization, students gain a multi-faceted experience as they conduct legal research, provide legal services and carry out legal literacy educat1on. The 18 participants for 1999/2000 were placed in organizations in 12 different countries. Each intern was asked to describe their organization, their main internship project,and their reasons for participating in the Programme. The following profiles highlight the diversity of the experiences and illustrate the importance of the programme to legal education. Congratulations to the participants of the 1999/2000 International Human Rights Programme for your rich contribution to the Faculty of Law. -Jennifer Khurana

Dina Bogecho Danish Centre for Human Rights, Copenhagen Description: The Danish Centre for Human Rights is a national human rights institution whose main mandate is to carry out research, education and publishing on human rights issues both nationally and internationally.

Projects My main project this summer was to compile a manual on the application of the European Human Rights System to the protection and promotion of reproductive and sexual health rights.

Reasons: I am very interested in doing human rights work and thought this would be an excellent experience to work with a human rights mstitution and gain some insight into the real workings of a human rights lawyer.

is a truly excellent Programme. I learned a great deal, met a lot of passionate, intelligent professionals who greatly inspired me, and was exposed at the same time to a different country and culture.

The International Human Rights Programme is an extremely important part of a well-rounded legal education for it educates one in ways that lectures on human rights law cannot.

This

Dina Bogecho and the Little Mermaid in Copenhagen.

Sari Kisilevsky International Women's Human Rights Clinic, CUNY, New York Description:The clinic researches and litigates women's international human rights.

Projects: I attended the June Preparatory Committee meetings for the International Criminal Court (ICC) statute at the UN. They are international meetings at which every country in the UN sends delegates to vote on the wording of the statute, and all the non-governmental organizations went to lobby the delegates on what they thought should be in the statute. I went with the Women's Caucus, an NGO that promotes women's human rights. Since then, I have been doing research for an Alien Torts claim involving women who have been tortured in Algeria , and I worked on a memo . - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - , for a tribunal in Tokyo involv1ng The experience has been great - espe-

cial/y the Preparatory Committee meet· IAI h ld t mgs. vve s ou encourage more s utroduced to work in international hu- L._d_e_n_t_s_t_o_a __ tt_ e_ nd _ t_h_e_m_·- - - - - - - - - ' women who were taken as comfort women during WWII. Reasons: It 1s a great way to be 10_

man rights.

Description: Argentina has been a formal democracy since 1983, and it's CORREPI's position that despite this formal trans ition there remains a large degree of institutional repression. The organization seeks to work against the general impunity that ex1sts for members of the provincial and federal police and to protest against repressive laws that seek to diminish the power of those sectors of the population with limited economic and political power.

Projects: I worked primarily on two cases in which prisoners were killed in custody. In the f~rst case, a fellow prisoner was the culprit; however, there was evidence that the guards facilitated the murder and a1ded in the cover-up. The second case involved a prisoner My time in Argentina has who was kicked to death by a group of police.

We are trying to apply the really opened my eyes to Argentineianequivalent of the Tortu re Convenquestions of corruption, povtion. Since 1983, there have been only eight erty and even the basic legal accepted instances of torture. I have also atprocess; it has probably been tended several meetings of the Liga, Argentina ' s oldest human rights group, sevpolice. I have one of my greatest "classes" also attended several meetings of the Liga, at U of T, and I think it is reArgentina ' s oldest human rights group, several ally important that the Interprotests for poverty, and a children's defensoria. national Human Rights Reasons: I was attracted both by the internaProgramme be kept in place tional and human rights dimensions of the programme. I wanted first-hand experience in to continue carving out and the field of human rights and this seemed the making this a viable path for best way to get experience and to contribute to students. causes that I feel are vitally in need of support.

Melissa Kluger National Coalition Against Censorship, New York Description: The NCAC is an allrance of 48 natrona! non profit organizations, includmg literary, artistic, religious, educational, professional, labor, and civil liberties groups. Un1ted by a conviction that freedom of thought, inquiry, and expression must be defended, the NCAC works to educate its members and the public at large about the dangers of censorship and how to oppose them.

Projects: My main focus was on freedom of expression in public schools. I assisted the director in putting together a manual for administrators addressing issues of censorship in the classroom. I also did research in the areas of arts advocacy, and sexual and racial harassment on college campuses.

Reasons: The IHR programme has given me an a'l1azing opportunity to combme my experience at law school with my interest in freedom of expression and human rights. I can 't think of a better way to use my legal knowledge.

& CLINICS

7

Jaime Lavallee First Peoples Worldwide, Washington, D.C. Description: First Peoples Worldwide's mandate is to help Indigenous peoples to become their own dec1s1on-makers.

Projects: I developed a legal education communrty handbook about San land rights in Namibia.

I also developed and created a permanent legal education curriculum for the San people of Namibia. I will be traveling to Namibia to evaluate the curriculum.

Reasons: I wish to help empower Indigenous Peoples and their communities.

The programme is of immense value because it provides a fieldwork opportunity in areas where it is difficult to find a chance to work within- human rights. The organization that ..

I've been working with has just offered me a position which I have accepted. I will now be doing international indigenous rights as a career. This is something that definitely would not have happened without the IHRP. Jaime La\·allce at her placement, Washington, D.C.

Lisa Du&aimont Nisga'a Lisims Government, New Aiyansh, British Columbia Descri ption: I was originally hired by Nisga'a Tribal Council, but the organization became a government when the Nisga'a Treaty came into effect during my stay, on May 11, 2000.

Nisga'a Lisims Government is based in New Aiyansh, a village of about 1000 people in northwestern B.C., just southeast of the southern tip of Alaska . Nisga'a Lisims Government is the central government for the Nisga'a Nation, and has jurisdiction in a number of areas over Nisga'a lands in the Nass river valley {called "lisims" in the Nisga'a language). L\sims government has the power to pass laws m 1ts legislative assembly. It delivers social pro grams, manages wildlife, fisheries and forests, and performs various other governmental functions in accordance with the Nisga'a Treaty, the Nisga'a Constitution, and Nisga'a laws.

Projects: 1 helped to draft the rules of procedure for Wilp Sr'ayuukhl Nisga'a (literally ~he Nisga'a house of laws), the Nisga'a legislative assembly. I also worked on proJect ~lannrng for the Yuuhlamk'askw Restorative Jusl ice Program, supervised the Nisga'a he financial assistance from"t~= Commun1ty Law Office for four weeks,

-- -

--::1 I

HRP was obviously necessary to ake my trip workable. More impor-

.

.

f 0

tantly, however, havmg the backtng the IHRP and the U of T Faculty of Law j • gave me the credibility to get this job.

L

The International Human Rights Programme drew me to U of T law. I feel so fortunate to have participated in the programme. I split my summer between a Bay Street firm and the programme and I would encourage others to do the same. The summer has provided me with insight into two very different legal realms and I have learned a great deal from both. The IRHP is a unique and amazing programme offered by U of T. For every student that participates, our law school community is enriched.

a~dhelpedtopla~thefirstsittingofWilp

S1 ayuukhl N1sga a. . .

Reasons: I have been mterested 1n Aborigmal rights and self-government since 1 came to law school and the IHRP gave me a chance to learn about self-government by watching it in action in a community setting.

Kathy Bromley Legal Resources Centre .. Constitutional Litigation Unit, South A&ica

Melissa Kluger on the Brooklyn Bridge, New York City.

CLUBS

12 September 2000

Description & Projects:The Legal Resources The people at the off1ce are Centre (LRC) IS a non-governmental organization that provides legal services to South Afrivery friendly, and downtown can citizens who cannot afford them. The LRC Johannesburg is an experience deals w1th things such as welfare entitlements, on its own. It has been a repnsoners' rights, environmental regulation, and ally valuable experience, and immigration policy. The Constitutional Litigaone I would recommend to tion Unit, which is funded by both the Canadian Bar Association and CIDA, does "impact people interested in constitulitigation" - it takes on cases which it feels wi ll tional law. contribute positively to the development of the constitutional jurisprudence. In particular, its mandate is to address poverty issues by promoting the soc1o-economic rights (to education, housing, social security, for example) set out in the new South African Constitution. I h~ve been to an amnesty hearing at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and I will be gomg

to Constitutional Court to watch the lit1gation of the issue of discriminatron based on HIVstatus.

Reasons: The South African Constitution is partly modeled on the Canadian Constitution, but its Bill of Rights is more extensive than any other rn the world. Many of the 'b1g' constitutional issues have strll not been decided by the courts. That was why I came to Johannesburg, and I have not been disappointed. I have been exposed to the first classaction suit in the country, the first aboriginal title claim, and lots of interesting cases.

Angus Grant International Labour Organization , Central American Regional Office, San Jose, Costa Rica Description: The International Labour Organization (I.L.O.) is a tripartite United Nations organization consrsting of government, labour and industry representatives. Its mandate is to facilitate workplace justice, to create international conventions amongst member states and to entrench labour standards around the world .

Projects: Over the summer I participated in several projects, mcluding researching the rate at which countries in the region have adopted an International Convention on the worst kinds of child labour; participating 1n funding proposals for research and projects on rural employment strategies in Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala; and documenting cases from the region that have been argued before a quasi-judicial arm of the I L.O. - the International Comm1ttee on Freedom of Association Reasons As a second-year law student, I felt that the number of remaining summers in which I was absolutely free to live and work abroad on an issue, and in a place of interest was limited. The IHRP provides an excellent opportunity to explore, or to further develop interests and skills, and I was particularly interested in doing this in the Latin American context.

My experience at the I.L.O. in Costa Rica was wonderful. Working abroad provides, in many senses, a double education.

While I spent my days learning about the work of my organization and re searching various i ssues in labour law, I also learned about life in Central America, and about the issues that working people in the region face.

Diya Nijhowne UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund) , Geneva Description: UNICE.f's mandate io:. to ptomo\e childten's !ighto:. \hfOUi,hou\. the wot\0..

Projects: For the first half of my internshrp, I attended the meetings of the Comm1ttee on the Rtghts of the Chtld which monttors the tmplementatton of the Convention on the Rtghts of the Child. 1 submitted reports on the meetmgs to the UNICEF field offices of the various countnes being examined. For the second half of my internship, I ~orked wtth the G_entral European and Central Independent States regional office on a proJect related to chrldren deprived of parental care. I was fortunate enough to_ obtarn a ~ontract to continue workrng on the project and 1 will be assisting in the organization of a J~rnt UNICEF and _World Bank regional conference on the top1c of de-institutionalization of children to be held m Budapest • . at the end of October.

Reasons: 1 had chosen to come to U of T law school largely because of_ the lnternatronal Human Rights Programme as I thought it would open the door (even 1f JUSt a c~ac~) to .a career in international human rights law or at least make me better able to dec1de 1f th1s really is the field I wish to enter into.

In some ways working within the UN system has raised many more questions than it has answered about the type of career path I wish to pursue. Nonetheless, I fee l extremely appreciative of the International Human Rights Programme for giving me the opportun ity to view the workings of the UN from the inside; at least now my confusion is a little more informed.

Liz Bowker visits Oiya Nijhowne in Geneva

8

Ultra Vires

Editorial ---------

----

Reaffirm.ing the Integrity of the International Hum.an Rights Program.m.e

Predicaments of Environmental Crisis

Ontario Court Defers to Higher Authority Marijuana prohibition found unconstitutional

BY ATIILA ATANER The announcement that the law school would be providing increased funding for the International Human Rights Programme (IHRP) came as a great relief. Amidst rumours last spring that funding had run out, students interested in the Programme grew concerned that so, too, had the1r opportunities.

As a new school year beg~ns, students arrive at the law school who have been drawn to U of T precisely because it offers the programme, and because the programme, in turn, offers unique opportunities both for the summer and for future careers in human rights work . We are fortunate to be able to welcome these students and assure them that these opportunities continue to be ava1lable and even more accessible.

With this increased accessibility comes an increase in wealth. Financially the law school has made the programme richer - by hiring a full-time director and dedicating more funding towards its participants. The programme also gains in wealth each time a Bay Street

law firm goes beyond palm pilots and baseball tickets and sponsors a summer student to be an intern. Finally, the wealth of the school is enriched by each student who participates in the programme. The wide range of experiences and the commitment to affecting change in our society bring insight to the classroom and to the law school community.

The fall brings with it great prospects. We can only hope that those who came to Jaw school w1th a commitment to human rights do not lose sight of that goal amidst the corporate pressures put upon them from day one.

And, we can even hope that those who came to law school for other reasons benefit from the programme either by learning from their peers or by becoming empowered themselves

by the opportunities for participation in international human rights.

Still, our school has some distance to go.

As we await the announcement of the new director, we don't know exactly how far we have come. Will the opportunities be multiplied? Will we gain (rather than lose) professors in the area of human rights law? Will the course selection be wider? Shouldn't the programme one day be as institutionalized as the recruitment process?

The answers to such questions must be affirmative, not least given that much work remains to be done in the human rights field; the scale of the challenges we face is surpassed only by the extent of people's suffering. Accordingly, our efforts cannot be piecemeal.

Let's Play Big-Shot Movie Stars: Sum.m.er Associates in New York

BY BRENDAN VAN NrEJENHUIS Five of us sp\1\ed out ot the hired car tnever a cab) and into a trendy Tribeca restaurant, tipping $20 on a $15 fare. We walked in while the associate, whose credit card would take care of whatever obligations we incurred, yelled at her cellphone, trying to conv~nce those on the other end to come where we were. As we made our way to the bar, she paused between volleys to ask what sort of champagne they offered by the glass. The bartender held up a California product. She grimaced, "I guess we'll have to go with the Veuve then." A litre-and-a-half appeared instead of the single glass. She hung up her phone.

It was just another night in the bizarre circus of excess that defined the three months I spent in New York this summer. With the advent of summer-now year-round--casual dress codes, I can't even say I was paid to show up in a suit. Merely to show up, by ten o'clock or so, and to leave around six, often with a three-hour lunch to eliminate the drowsy middle of the day.

For most of us, being a summer associate in New York or Boston is probably the clos-

est we will ever come to being movie stars.

To be able to get reservations at Jean Georges.

To have the red velvet rope lifted for you and your entourage. To be at a table where companions berate the help and the waiters gladly lap it up, watching the bill and mandatory gratuity balloon. Look: a friend of mine was with some of his firm's lawyers for dinner.

Someone ordered a daiquiri. "I'm sorry," said the waiter, "we don't serve daiquiris." "No daiquiris? Why not?" "We don't have a blender." The resourceful associate contacted the UrbanFetch.com delivery serv1ce, and th1rty mmutes later a blender was delivered to the table, and thence to the bar. "Now," he declared, "we will have daiquiris."

In the end, there's not much new to say about these jobs. The pros and cons have been thoroughly we1ghed. Toronto firms may not welcome you back if you go. But the money is better. Oh, but the cost of living is higher in New York. Ah, but not that much higher Do you really want to live 1n the U.S ? Et cetera.

Of course these are valid po1nts about the prospect of working in New York longer term-bearing in mind that a "long-term"

position, relatively speaking, lasts three years.

As for the summer, they're probably meaningless. The best possible reason to pursue a summer position may be to acquire a longterm position in New York, if that's what one wants. But surely the second-best reason is a taste for the absurd, poisoned, perhaps, with just a touch of taste for the "finer things" in life.

And absurd it is. The 1dea that law recruits-unlike recruits to other Wall Street professions-must be placated with unseemly salaries, seven-course (and seven-figure) lunches, and an exhausting series of events In order to want to work for three or four years for even more money, IS only true because the firms have decided it's true. As another friend of mine noted, if communism was less efficient than capitalism, it must have been unimaginably inefficient. Watching people nurse the idea that they m1ght even deserve this treatment (through the stroke of fate in the LS"AT room or during first year exams) 1s crazier still. All this 1s useful to observe.

The third-best reason, I suppose, is simply the joy of being treated (however briefly) like a movie star. Take your pick.

B Y NELSON CHAN I recently had the opportunity to work as a teaching assistant for a course on environmental philosophy. By way of introducing the issues, we spent the first few tutorials discussing questions like, what's the point of doing environmental ethics, or simply, what are your thoughts on environmentalism? Most of the students hadn't thought very seriously along these lines before, and it was clear they saw this as an opportunity to find expression for their thus-far latent anxieties. At a certain point, a rather disturbing consensus emerged: things were so bad, said the students, and the extent of our carelessness so great, that people will have to start dying before any changes are implemented. Needless to say, this made it somewhat difficult to teach the rest of the course, wh ich was largely about abstract moral debates regarding the value of nature and felt, to many of the students, like a futile and/or superfluous exercise in cerebra l acrobatics.

As it happens, a number of people did die over the summer in Ontario as a consequence of lax environmental standards. And, interestingly, the Walkerton incident exposed a sense of frustration and desperation particularly among those beleaguered sou ls charged with implementing and enforcing environmental standards, but also among the population generally- that closely para lleled the anxieties of the students in my tutonals.

The former mimster of the env1ronment, while running a drastically curtailed operation, is supposed to have uttered sent1ments 'much to the same effect, namely that people would have to die before anyone takes notice.

Of course, currently cnsis-management activity is 1n high-gear. All of a sudden, water has lost the transparency it previously enjoyed 1n our da1ly lives and has become a matter of explicit concern, in much the same way that an otherwise inanimate object, say like a car, turns into something we curse at once it breaks down. The point, though, is just that a clear and ostensible critical event, a breakdown, must transpire before any genuine effort is made towards a solution.

Th1s dynam1c is endemic to our manner of relating to the environment. We seem to need crisis points around which we can structure our pro-enwonmental activities. Indeed, these crisis points cannot be just run of the m ill, they have to be of major and substantive concern. What's more, even when the crises are major, we have difficulty identifying precise

Editor-In-Chief Melissa Kluger

ULTRA VIRES IS the student newspaper of the Faculty of Law at the University of Toronto. Our goat IS to provide a forum 10 which students can exchange their Ideas. We hope to foster a sense ol commun1ty w1th1n the Faculty of Law, the Unl11erslty as a whole, and the greater City of Toronto. It IS our miSSion to Increase student awareness ollegal and social•ssues and, in tum, to encourage our peers to contnbute to the many commu01t1e& of whiCh we are a part

News Editor

Bus.iness Manager Eileen CosteHo

James Hoffner

Ed1tor\al Page Editor Altlla Ataner

Diversions Editors Noah Gitterman Lori Stein

legal Issues Editor Dan Murdoch

Clubs & Clinics Edilor JenKhurana

Features Editor Dina Bogecho

Production & Design Antonia Vee

Advertising Manager Dan Murdoch Online Editor Andres Pleneur

EDITORIAL

Copy Edttor Mary Liston

Ultra Vlfes is an ed1torially autonomous newspaper Ultra Vires is open to contnbutlons which reflect d1verse points of view. and its contents do not nee· essarily reflect the views of the Fac· ulty of Law, the Students' Law Society (SLS) or the editorial board. The ed1· tol'$ welcome contributions from students, faculty and other interested per· sons. but reserve the right to ed1t submissiOns for length and content.

Communications Centre, Falconer HaU 84 Queen's Park Crescent Toronto, Ontario M5S2C5 ultra. viresOutoronto.ca www.law.utoronto.ca!ultravires Advertising inQuiries should be sent to Dan Murdoch at dan.murdochOutoronto.ca.

Ultra Vires Is published monthly, and is printed by Weller Publishing In Toronto. Circulation 2000.

The next issue is October 17, 2000.

9

12 September 2000

The Ontario Court of Appeal, in the summertime rulings of R. v. Parker and R. v. Clay, has held that t he existing marijuana law IS unconstitutional. But before you pass the dutchie on the left-hand side, I suggest you read the following caut1onary note.

For now, pot activists will have to content themselves with the Court's decision in Parker, which accepted the appellant's argument that the prohibition of marijuana for medicinal uses was contrary to the pnnc1ples of fundamental justice found in s. 7 of the Charter. Parker, who found that smoking the drug eased the life-threatening se1zures he suffers, was arrested for cultivating marijuana.

Although the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act allows some exemptions from the marijuana prohibition, the Court criticized this scheme for the "unfettered discretion" it gives the M1n1ster of Health . Because Parker might be Imprisoned for using a drug that dramatically improves his health , the prohibition was found to violate his security of the person.

In light of the recent U.S. Supreme C:)urt 7-1 decision overruling a Californ ia law that permitted medicinal usage of marijuana, Parker should not be taken for granted by pot activ ists. But the Clay appeal, if allowed, would have been the more dramat1c. Clay was a purveyor of marijuana-related products and cannabis plants in his store, The Great Hemporium. These plants were generally sold

for recreational purposes and, because of this, the Court rejected Clay's argument that the marijuana prohibition violated his security of the person. The more contentious argument relates to Justice Sop~nka's "harm principle," outlined in the Supreme Court's R. v. Butler decision. In that judgment, it was suggested that sanctioning behaviour that does not pose a harm is contrary to fundamental justice.

This formulation was accepted by the Ontario Court.

The question, then, is whether marijuana poses a harm. Clay's evidence, accepted at trial, questions the logic of the marijuana prohibition. Marijuana is less harmful to both the individual and society than alcohol or tobacco, and its prohibition originated 1n racism and irrat1onal, unproven fears. However, instead of becoming an arbiter of relative harm, the Ontario Court reJected Clay's argument, stating that the legislature only has to demonstrate a reasoned apprehension of harm, and need not prove that sanctioned behav1our is more harmful than other behav1our that is not sanctioned.

So the Court has deferred the matter to Parliament, giving them one year to solve the overbreadth of the legislation. The domestiC political environment may leave activists and users th inking that decriminalization is a likely outcome. In add ition to Parker and Clay, the top B.C. Court has endorsed the evidence 1n support of marijuana accepted at Clay's trial, and Justice Prowse wrote a dissenting judgment in R. v. Malmo-Levine finding the prohibition contrary to s. 7, even for recreational use. From more conservative elements, the current Police Chief of Toronto, Julian Fantino, has called for the decrimmalization of mari-

Decnminalizing marijuana could clearly sour relations with the United States, and steppedup border patrols may be only a small part of the respon se . This does not mean that Canada's drug policy should be dictated by Americans; it merely suggests that , considering the potential outside ramifications, the Courts are wise to refer th is to Parliament.

As much as you may w 1sh to live in New Amsterdam , these decisions do not hearken the closure of your neighbourhood Starbucks to make way for the hash bar.

juana, believing that enforcing the law is too great a drain on the force's resources.

There is, however, one major stumbling lock for decriminalization, and that is Canada's relationship with the United States. The U.S. is engaged in a drug war. In the federal prison system, 60 percent of prisoners ers are indicted under drug charges with no violent history. Drug enforcement agencies have openly criticized Canada's lax position against drugs such as marijuana, and reports have shown that the U.S. State Department is considering putting Canada on the "black list" for not pulling its weight in the drug war.

t

I

I

AVG. Sef'

t

I

I

a

I

I

I

!

OGT

1000

1

A Civics Lesson for Harris Conservatives Tories challenge liberal democracy with ]t«licial

Accountability Act

BY DAN M URDOCH In the past legislative sess1on, the Ontario government forwarded a large collection of bills under the "Safe Communities" umbrella that demonstrate its commitment to being tough on crime. It is not easy for a provincial government to be tough on crime, as it has no control over the cnminal law, but they do what they can.

Most of t hese measures target youth: The Safe Streets Act bans squeegie kids; The Safe Schools Act requires school boards to implement stricter disciplinary standards; and The Parental Responsibility Act makes it easier for a plaintiff to sue parents for property damage caused by children. The government has also passed legislation requiring permits for raves, and the Attorney General has spent much of the past year writing letters to the federal government condemning the Young Offenders Act for its leniency.

Although Canada has the highest rate of youth incarceration in the developed world and the second highest rate of incarceration 1n general , the Harris Conservatives want tougher sentences and fewer protections for

the accused. They remain unfazed by the stat istics that have shown crime- including violent cnme- dropping for the past seven years.

The motivation for this attitude is beautifully captured by the completely unsubstantiated remarks of Mr. John Hastings, Conservative MPP for Etob1coke North, dunng Question Period: " We have Statist ics Canada reporting that crimes are going down, but in point of fact, 1f you look at the actual reality, v1olent crime ISn't going down .... " Mr. Hastings proceeded to state that he has gained this knowledge by wa lki ng through the streets of Toronto, an empirical method no doubt superior to the statistical analys1 s of StatsCan that takes place in "unreal Ottawa".

But the dismissal of statistics is not a new political game. The more striking matter is the approach taken by the Tories to manifest a tough-on-crime stance in their second term.

There does not appear to be much left to do within the pesky confines of the Constitution.

The achievements of the last legislative session look like the work of a petty and affluent bourgeoisie doing away with the remaining nuisances in its life, like kids and panhandlers. Ontario is bemg managed as one might manage a condom1n1um for the adult lifestyle: keep out the undesirables and outsource the work.

So it was refreshing to see the Tones take on someone their own size. In April, a private member's bill w1th the ominous title The Judicial Accountability Act was forwarded by a Scarborough backbencher. It ca lls for two

things. Fi rst, the bill would require that a record be kept of all sentences given - and the judge who imposed 1t - for offences with a maximum penalty of five or more years imprisonment. Second, the Act calls for the provincial government to recommend a suitable Supreme Court Justice appointment from Ontario when the time comes.

L1ke most private member's bills, this one rece1ved scant attent1on until -shortly before its second reading in early May - the idea received a surprise endorsement from the Attorney General, Jim Flaherty. Suddenly, instead of JUSt dying on the table, it appeared that the Act might become the little private member's bill that could.

The lustre has s~nce faded. While the bill passed second reading and 1s now 1n committee, it was roundly criticized by organizations as diverse as the NDP and the National Post. Mr. Flaherty, who sa1d in May that it may be possible to ach1eve the goals of the bill without even passing a law, has subsequently stated that the bill is "deeply flawed. " In form, the bill seems quite innocent: it merely calls for a user-friendly record of publicly available information . The matter of making recommendations for the Supreme Court 1s meaningless on 1ts own, espec1ally with a Liberal government in Ottawa. The Pope does not take counsel from Protestant Bishops when naming Cardinals. However, legislation has substance as well as form, and there was no attempt to hide the purpose behind this bill. The presence of the Supreme

Court recommendation suggests that the government would not hesitate to use the information contained in the sentencing record when considering the recommendation , and no doubt when making rud icial promotions over which it has d~rect authority.

Judicial accountability, according to the MPP who tabled the bill , means that judges need to be made accountable to the public, just like other civil servants This 1s fundamentally wrong. The judiciary is only accountable to the Constitution. It must uphold the common law and legislative decrees, such as the Criminal Code, unless they offend the Constitution. In a representative democracy, the public is manifested through the legislature. Saying that judges are accountable to the public is the same as say•ng 1t must be accountable to the legislature, which directly and obviously offends the separation of Parliament and the jud1ciary.

That does not mean the judiciary cannot be held accountable if i t supersedes its authority. There are already disciplinary measures for such abuses of power. But the Tories are trying to make judges accountable to the Provincial government when enforcing federal sentencing guidelines that the Tories deem too lenient. Displeased that the Federal Liberals return its letters unopened, the Ontario government wants to pressure judges into seeing things its way.

see "Pressure" on page 10

LEGAL ISSUES

10

~~--~==--~--------------------------------~--------------~U~I~traVir__ es

Whither Environmental Responsibility? continued from page 8 causes or connecting the dots lead the way from human decision to cntical outcome: somehow environmental problems seem too dtffuse and amorphous. Thus, the government that normally makes a great fuss about people taking responstbility for thetr actions - and t~vours boot camp for young offenders and repnmands for lentent judges- had a great deal of trouble accepting responsibiltty for the Walkerton deaths.

People drive around, alone, in SUVs and minivans (read "light trucks") that can actually fit close to eight, and yet the aggregate effects of their cho1ces just don't seem to register, unless you happen to be an "eco-geek".

Somehow, the resulting premature, smog-related deaths - of which we have more than l, 900 a year according to a recent report by the Ontario Med1cal Association - don't accede to the status of reality. Not, Jn any case, for "analysts" writing in the business pages of vanous newspapers. Corporate-run factory farms - which are so obsessed with technological advance and efficiency that, if only they could, they would happily use genetically-engineered square pigs so as to better fit more of them in their pens - cake millions of tons of liquid manure on fields. Yet, somehow the resulting degradation in the quality of nearby water is seen as a "normal" consequence of "normal farm practices". To put all this n

terms of tort-law discourse: the requisite "proximate cause" seems to be absent.

It's difficult to see exactly why, despite the contmual recurrence of. cnttcal events, we continue to perceive a disjunction between collective human activity and the consequences thereof. On the one hand, there seems to be a great need to individuate and atomize responsibility - to match discrete transgressor with discrete transgression. Any sociologtst will tell you that criminality is a manifestation of broader social problems, yet so far as the criminal law IS concerned, there is nothing more to crime than indtvidual acts deliberately committed by individual persons.

Stmilarly, any one of the 1,600 prominent sctentists who signed the "World Scientists' Warning to Humanity" will tell you that a great range of human acttvities contribute to environmental degradation, yet each critical event is treated in isolation and attempts are made to tie it to some particular agent or group· or institut1on, i.e., some particular perpetrator. (Curiously, far fewer such attempts are made when it comes to poverty, a phenomenon for whtch no one seems to

Ontario Tories

pressure J·udges

be responsible- unless you happen to be of neo-conservative persuasion, in which case the poor are themselves responsible, poverty being one lifestyle chotce among others.) cominued from page 9 On the other hand, responsibility is enormously difficult to individuate and bring into Since this bill, like the weather, was hotfocus, which means that polluters, or those test in spring, it may not seem worth diswho make it possible for polluters to pollute, cussing now that summer has passed. But tend to slip away, only to re-convene on anthis episode, even if over, is disconcerting. other day. Moreover, matching wrongdoer The trifling legislation produced by the Tories with wrong is simply impossible when it as they fiddle around on the periphery of the comes to the environmental crisis we face, criminal JUStice system may raise questions which is more than the sum of 1ts parts. Comwhen scrutinized by the Charter. The Judtprehensive solutions are not forthcoming: we cial Accountability Act, however, actually are compelled to defend nature on a case-bychallenges a fundamental tenet of liberal decase basts, and precisely because of this we mocracy. never get at the underlying troubles. It's as if It is, by now, trite to point out that the we're playing that carnival game where Harris Conservatives are led by ideology and dummy rats keep popp1ng out of an array of not pnnciple. But the separation of powers is holes, one by one, and we keep trying to knock elemental Junior High Civics, not some abthem down, barely able to keep pace with stract principle that the Tories can attribute their pop-up rate. Though next time it might to the meddlesome liberal intelligentsia. The be the atr, the soil or the sun that become a Tones fatled to recogmze the "flaw" in thetr matter of explicit critical concern, as water proposed legislation until it was ridiculed by now is, "Walkerton" will surely pop-up again. almost everyone with a publtc forum who chose to speak on it.

This government is less than a year into its second term, and the Attorney General is bound to get tired of targeting kids. The Judicial Accountability Act was sloppily prepared by a backbencher. The next challenge to our constitutional rights is likely to be a professional job.

/ www.law.utoronto.ca/ultravires

I

Lawyers an Montreal

Join

Canada's Business Law Powerhouse We have over 480 lawyers across the country who understand what business is all about and can provide the advice our clients need to succeed.

Ot ta wa Toronto

Start your career with Fraser Milner Casgrain .

But don't take our word for it. experience in a number of

• Our mentors will help you develop skills in the area of law that interests you

well-respected firm with

• We offer competitive compensation and benefit packages.

• Our rotations give you the benefit of experiencing different areas of law.

• We foster an environment that puts our people first.

Ca lgar y Vancouver

different practice areas, at a

For more 1njormat1on about our arllclmg program please colllact:

Karen Groulx Telephone: (416) 863-4618 l.:aren groulx~fmc-lawcom

approachable lawyers. " -Jane Percival, Toronto articling student.

Fraser Milner Casgrain

Shayne Kukulowicz Telephone: (416) 863-4740 shayne.kukulowacz(u fmc-law com Theresa Kellen

"Fraser Milner Casgrain is a large, national firm with a small firm atmosphere. The people are extremely friendly. down-to-earth,

Telephone: (416) 863-4365 torontoanacl•'lg coordanator@fmc·lawcom

I First Canadian Place 100 l<..mg Street West Toronto, Ontario M5B 182

Fax: (416) 863-4592

and professional. " Rebecca Finn. Toronto articling student, Fraser Milner Casgram

or ws11 our lfeb s1tr: at www fmc- law com

•

FRASER MILNER CASGRAIN

LEGAL IssuEs·

..............

~~-----~--------------------

11

A Last Word from. the Valedictorians of the Class of 2000 old of a second fifty years, it IS time to look over the past and ask what is the animating principle of this law school, and what should it be.

Today also marks the end of our time here as students, a time that has not been without changes. For example, there are now double the number of computers for the medical students to check thetr e-mail. We have interactive classrooms as the climate control system demonstrates more effectively than any torts professor the requirements of a nuisance. I had expected to see another change today - I'm waiting for one of the downtown VALEDICTORY ADDRESS OF DAVID firms to sponsor a moose and dress it up 1n their 1mage of a law student to put in front of BRONSKILL Flavelle - you know... dressed in Gap Clothing, an Eddie Bauer bag flung over its shoulOur graduation would appear to coincide der, coffee mug in one hand, a complimenwith many milestones. First of all, there is tary copy of the Toronto Star in another, dolthe 50th anniversary of the modern law lar signs in its eyes .... school. We are justified in celebrating this But the biggest change for me is the addimilestone, but we should not forget that the tion of another golden head to end Bora law school d1d ex1st before 1949. That school Laskin's lonely featured a very divigil.

Dean verse program of Wright's golden study, where students As Ot4r sch()ol is invaded by American bust now sits in could take a broad corporate fimls, as the dreaded spectre the foyer of spectrum of courses of Btry Street haunts first years from Flavelle as a conand explore the nathe first moment of Orientation, as stant reminder of ture of the law 1n a d ebt loads itzerease to match tuition, our past. His preswide variety of areas.

While we now flirt we should not let the pursuit of the ence across from the mysterious with such a diverse dollar overshadow our privileged place "Heritage Table" syllabus, the reality is and corresponding resp()nsibility withitz brings to mind one that the modern law of Dean Wright's school churns out a om· communities. favonte questions seemingly endless to students, as seen in the 50th Anniversary stream of intelligent and high-quality lawyers video: "What is the law, and what should it who just f it neatly into the already existing be?" Whatever the reason, Dean Wright's system. The diversity we do have is too often question from the past has released a ilood pushed to the fringes and our core upper years of questions within me. Why do we applaud courses still centre around practical corpoa Young Offender's Act that perpetuates the rate tratning. Ralph Nader would say that myth that youth crime is a serious problem all we have been taught is the freedom to and that harsh punishment IS the answer? roam 1n our cages. We have many things Why do we let Mike Harris use the law as a right at this school and I feel privileged to weapon against the less fortunate? Why do call myself a U of T graduate, especially as a we blame everyone except his government future J.D.. But as we stand at the thresh-

The following speeches were given at the Faculty of Law convocation reception on June 20, 2000

"You will get a well-rounded

• We will give you the training you need to become a successful lawyer.

• Students who article in the Toronto office are guaranteed positions.

Edmonton

12 September 2000

V ALEDICfORY ADDRESS OF jENNY FRIEDLAND

Bozhoo Niichiaagen. Which I'm told means, hello friends, tn Ojibway. I would say I am honoured to be here before you today.

But it may be more accurate to say I am actually somewhat ashamed. Not only am 1 not the sort of valedictorian I'm sure the Dean would li ke up here- not a top grade american style valedictorian. But judging from the number of ballots cast (which is the way it's done up here. eh) most of you didn't even vote. So I am a little ashamed to be up here claiming to speak to you, for you, on behalf of youwhatever the hell I'm supposed to be domg here today. Nonetheless, I thank you for your apathy. It is an honour to be here.

Now some of you have asked that I be funny here today. But the only funny story I could think of in advance was the one about that time Beatty kicked me out of his office saying I had no manners. As you can well imagine, that is a funny story. But of course it would be wholly inappropriate to even make mention of it here.

Others have asked that I use my time here today to take the administration to task, to speak about increases in tuition and access to th1s school ....

And of course I've had other temptations too. To spend my time convincing you , for example, that we could do away with half the prisons in this country, not to mention half the rules of evidence, if only we would decriminalize drugs. I could hold forth on that subject- speak about the racism inherent in those laws; query why it is that alcohol -

the drug clearly proven to be most linked to violence- is plainly available right here at our own cash bar, while other, more peaceful drugs, remain illegal. But I won't get into it.

for our current climate of conflict? However, these are more senous topics that can be left behind for now - instead, I'd like to talk further about the lessons I have learned at law school.

1) I learned there is no more welcome a phrase 1n the law school lexicon than "Why don't we discuss thts in my office hours".

2) I learned that law students will always push the automatic door button, no matter their physical well-be1ng.

3) I learned that a Laptop Alcove never contains any laptops. They are all in the stacks or right behind me in class.

4) I learned that tax is just a big game of basketball with every deduction a zone defence and every capital gain a pick and roll.

5) I learned from David Beatty that mooning is protected by the Charter.

6) From Professor Ziegel I learned that the day never starts too early and that hts great scholarship is matched only by his tremendous kindness.

From Professor Friedland, I learned the virtues of combintng academic excellence and public sp1rit. Desp1te h1s accomplishments, he always treated me as an equal and let me be myself. On one more formal occasion, he was wearing his Order of Canada pin. I asked him if I could wear 1t for part of the evening.

He looked over, paused and replied: "No, but you can stand near it." I've been lucky to get even that close.

I hope that our class takes a leadership role across this country and reinvigorates our communities and political system w1th public spirit and a commitment to the greater social good. As our school is invaded by American corporate firms, as the dreaded spectre of Bay Street haunts first years from the first moment of Orientation, as debt loads increase to match tuition, we should not let the pursuit of the dollar overshadow our privileged place and corresponding responsibility within our communities. Law schools address the most basic building block of society and, as graduates of th is institution , every one of us constitutes a delicate strand in this vibrant culture.

No matter where we work, we are well-armed to be trustees of the best that has been accomplished through tnspiration and labour by men and women before. It is our duty, through our skills, knowledge, and, yes, competitive nature, to build upon those accomplishments and, where necessary, attack their foundations in order to construct a more just and fair society. As Professor Ralph Scane says in a wonderful and moving speech to his classes that I wish we had the time to hear today, this is a noble profession and we should be proud to call ourselves lawyers, but with that designation comes a corresponding responsibility from which we should never back away.

If the past is only prologue. then there is much greatness in front of us.

But don't forget the past - don 't forget the friends you've made, the things you've learned, the changes you've witnessed, the time it's been. Above all, don't forget the agttation that stirs your soul. As you leave here today, don't forget why it is that you ftrst came.

earth, of having fulfilled our duty, and - at Instead , I w1ll return to my opening comthe risk of sounding cheesy, I am convmced ments. For I would like to retrieve some words it is a duty- to at least try to make the world I earlier let fall. The words are honour and a better place for everyone. And by everyshame. one, of course, I mean everyone. Not just Of course it is an honour to graduate from ourselves. law school , especially this one, or so I'm told.

Now I suppose I should pause for a minute, But that honour is over and done with as of in case this notion has never occurred to some today. Whether we will have honour m our of you before. After all, some of you may alcareers as lawyers, as ready be convinced of what you learned in professors, or wherever Bus. Org. or the Law and Economics bridge we go with our LLBs. - that the goal IS not to save the world but this is another question rather to maximize wealth. I don't blame you altogether.

Now I'm not talking if that's what you 're thinking. I mean, hell, this school doesn't even offer a course in savabout honour like becoming a senior partner, • ing the world ; whereas course after course teaches that wealth maximization is not just or being appomted to a good thing, it's the proper thing, the right the bench, or becomthing .... ing a politician. I have So I realize that some of you may have no doubt that some of quite innocently arrived at the conclusion that us, or some of you, at wealth maximization really is the goal here. any rate, w 1ll merit But snap out of it, if you will. Because with such honours. I am talkall due respect that has got to be a crock of ing about a different sort shit. of honour. The honour So let's talk about poverty for a minute. that each of us either Consider, for example, last week's riot right w1ll or will not be able to claim, as we lie on our deathbeds, pondering what we've done w1th our law degrees. I am talking about the see "Shameful Rules" on page 12 honour of having made a difference on this

FEATURES

12

Ultra Vires

law Makers Can Change Shameful Rules

..

on that reserve because I thought it would be a good idea to sue Hydro Ontario. They had built two dams around that reserve. Forced the relocation of two entire communities.

Flooded the wild nee crop. Fucked up the fishing. The band was compensated, sure, but one may nonetheless ask why rt happened there, and not - say - where whitey happened to be Irving- because there was water there too, you know, that could Just as easily have been dammed.

there are people 1 know on that reserve who sometrmes go days with less food than is in one of these box lunches. Justifiable infringeyonder at Queen's Park. Now on one level , ment my ass. that was just violence. But on another level And of course, this is not a unique example. that violence represents a frustration and deThrnk of the more extreme profits behind spair that most of us here will never ever Noranda MacMrlfan Bloedel, etc. Whose forknow. The frustration of having nothing ests do y~u thrnk those were? Whose homes, little money, less opportunity, little to eat, since trme immemorial, were restrng on those lrttle even to wear, sometrmes nowhere even mrnes? Why are the shareholders rich and to sleep - yet surrounded by people with the stakeholders dying? Is that really justrfiwealth and power, the power to provide all able? Well, friends, of these things. Surely we are all somewhat law makers made ashamed, knowing that this came about beWhat 'sgoingrokeeptbegeneralpublicfromhatlng those shameful cause the maj ority of voters thought their rules. And law makown tax cuts were the most pressing con- tiS like lhf!J' hate abnost every other lawy er? What's ers - that'll be us cern. gof11g to keep tiSfron~ hating us? From dy ing ill the can change them.

And how about those Indians, eh? You But I suppose I I company ofshame, rather thmz h01zour, beCause of know I lived on a reserve for a few years prior better stop. I have to law school and, short of bursting intp tears what wefaded to do with our law degrees? already alienated right here, I could not possibly express the those who wanted sadness and despair, the poverty and death me to be funny up that is the reality on that reserve. Now you But what did I learn upon comrng to law here. My comrc reputation sacrificed, and may have your own explanations. But there school? That this was perfectly justifiable. for what? At least three quarters of this graduis only one explanation that a/ways holds true.

And you learned it too, right? Delgamuukw ating class is on its way to Bay Street where And that is that they are there suffering befirst year property- mining, forestry, economic the clients are rich and the job is to keep cause we are here prospering. Yes ladies and development, hydroelectric power - these are them that way. It is not going to be easy to gentlemen, despite the ease with which we considered justifiable infringements on Abongifulfil our duty. I mean the hours alone leave ignore it, this privilege which we enjoy here nal rights and title. Interesting, eh? Considlittle time for saving the world. So what-are today is rooted in drsgrace. This very instituering no one up there finds those dams justiwe going to do? What's gorng to keep the tion resting on /and that was not ours and is fiable. But what the hell ... the president and general public from hating us like they hate not ours, but for the imposition of law and CEO of Hydro Ontario makes over half a milmost every other lawyer? What's going to language on First Nation Peoples .... lion dollars a year, not includrng benefits. And keep us from hating us? From dying in the But let me tell you something personal. I those two dams, last year alone they garcompany of shame, rather than honour, bedecid~ to come to law school while living nered $35 mrllion dollars in profit. Meanwhile, cause of what we failed to do with our law

continued from page I I

degrees?

Well how about this: Why don't we start, each of us, by vowrng to always do some pro bono work. And not just that which is handed to us by our principals. For example, instead of just stepping over the next homeless guy, why not stop and talk to hrm. Perhaps he could do with some help.

Or why don't we vow to take some risks.

For example, to tell a client whose pulp and paper mill has just poisoned some river, that he ought to settle because that would be the morally appropnate thing to do, regardless of how certain a win might be at trial .. .. Maybe that's all rt would take: a word, a reminder, that he too could better this world .

Or why don't we vow to improve the world the democratic way, by voting not for our own tax breaks, but for whatever party promises to do the most for those with the least, for those who we are otherwise too prone to ignore.

Ladies and gentlemen, there are many thrngs that we could do to try and make thrs world a better place for everyone. Let us dismantle the prison system. Support gay marriage. Lobby for breakfast programs. Make banks pay more tax. Work to restore First Nation soverergnty. There is much to be done, people. And we are entering a profession that can get shit done. Let's pursue that profession with honour.

After, there will be time for funny.

Meegwetch.

~ g~ea1 p\ace to build

your legal career.

McMillan Binch is committed to its student program as 1ts prima ry source o f new lawyers. We a re confident that our firm's atmosphere, our attitude toward students, our investment in training and our approach to the practice make McMillan Binch o ne of the finest firms in which

W e know our strengths. So do the hundreds of Fortune 500 companies we serve. Practise full-strength IP and technology law at Smart &. Biggar.

Stephanie Willson Director of Student and Associate Programs

Smart &. Biggar is Canada's largest and most respected

(416) 865-794 7

law firm practising exclusively in the field o f intellectual

swillson@mcbinch.com

p roperty and technolo gy law . For full information on how

www.mcbinc h.com

and when to apply for a position w ith us, please visit the Recruitm ent area o f our Web site: www.smart-b iggar.ca.

MCMILLAN BINCH Suite 3800, South Tower, Royal Bank. Plaza Toronto, Ontano, Canada M5J 2J7 Fax: (416) 865-7048

,

FEATURES

BY ADRIAN Dl GIOVANNI Lured by its moniker and the promise of canopied rows of farm-fresh produce, I set out at some point last year, on my now defunct orange ten-speed, rn search of the famed Kensington Market. I was new to Toronto, how was I supposed to know any better?

Cradled between College and Dundas, bordered to the east by Chinatown and Spadina, and tapering off to the west of Augusta, what awaited me definitely stretched the notion of market, but fell squarely under the rubric of the eclectic. And so began my proverbial lovehate relationship with Kensington Market.

Strong words, you say? Perhaps.

The pastoral images that had set my wandering mind in motion - of the restless chatter of the marketplace- were quickly replaced by the reality of an entirely different yet organic scene. And a scene it is. What struck me right away, moreso than the narrowness of the rntersecting one-way streets or the transient shoppers such as myself, were the resident hipsters who inhabit the market, and who I felt had somehow already spoken for it. It was as though they had staked a claim to the market by vrrtue of some self-defined coolness. Yes, a distinct brand of cool, marked by the nonchalance of watching the afternoon drift by, with an espresso at the corner of Baldwin St. and Augusta (a very good one at that, 1 might add). It's an anti-elitist E:litism, which is somehow conspicuous in how inconspicuous it actually tries to be; as if to say, "don't mind us if we block the road while

we hack, we're just keeping it real. But that's not what's really real here."

This self-proclaimed legitimacy only serves to add tone to the true voice of the market: the backdrop of grocers and restaurants. A veritable world beat - from Portuguese, to Asian, to Middle-Eastern, Caribbean and Latin American -of bakeries, health food stores, dried bean and spice shops, bargarn fruit and vegetable stores, butchers, fish mongers and cheese shops; not to mention the many second-hand clothing stores which are worth an afternoon alone in search of the perfect shirt.

My personal favourite is the Roti Factory, on Baldwin St., which offers excellent homestyle Trinidadian cooking and always warm and friendly conversation. For a quick snack, I recommend the "doubles" (curried chick peas and potato wrapped in two deepfried preces of dough, a steal at only $1 each).

Further down the street is Akram's Shoppe which has the best falafel I've had this side of Cairo ($2 for a pita sandwich). For an inspiring faux-meat vegetarian meal , King's Cafe offers complete meals for around $6 and also boasts a rating of outstanding cleanliness from Toronto Public Health.

But the possibilities are endless. No, I wouldn't change anything about Kensington Market. It's one of those corners in Toronto that give the city texture, and at once captures its multicultural mosaic. It's not to be missed. And whatever your reasons for heading down, you can be sure of one thing. There

BY

PAUUNE R OSENBAUM

Twenty law students, together for 120 days, rsolated in the Bora Laskin Law Library's computer lab dungeon. Our only lifelines: unlimited Internet access, the telephone number to Ned's lunch specials, and free photocopy cards. Our mission: to survive four hot, humid summer months trapped as research assistants in the air-condrtioned library without being voted out by our professor employers.

Alliances, yes, there were some. Four students in the powerful Coombe tribe, plotting and strategizing at all hours of the day and night. The Roach tnbe, dissecting judgments for their leader's later use. And the dark horse, the Women's Human Rights Resources alliance, whose nearly imperceptible subterfuge took everyone by surprise. Finally there were the unpredictable "floaters", mercenaries hlfing themselves out to any professor with enough cash .

The producers of this show did their share to break our spirits. "We'll empty the vendrng machines! Then we'll break the door to the computer lab! They'll never be able to get out! We'll turn off all the lights and they'll eat each other alive!" But we foiled their nasty plan time and time again, hrding out until the wee hours of the morning, finding the light switches despite the odds against us. Undaunted by this vrctory, the library con-

are no moose here.

SMART &.. BIGGAR lnt~Utctuar

Prol"lrty &. Twchnology Law

LoRI STEIN

Whrle sightseeing in Paris this summer, found myself glowing with pride during a tour of the impressrve Palars du Justice. At the Musee d'Orsay, I nodded sympathetically at Paul Cezanne's portrait of a lawyer in his study.

A sense of affrnrty came over me when I read the gold nameplate "Rendeau & Welliers, Avocats," posted tastefully on an office door in the tiny wine town of Beaune, Burgundy.

My keen attention to things legal while traveling rs an amplification of a tendency that I have experienced almost daily since beginning raw school. I feel a gentle swell in my chest just reading legal news rn the Globe and Mail, or passing a palf of gowned lltigators as they emerge from 393 University Ave. When did this happen? When did I create some sort of ficticrous, trans-national legal world , and then anoint myself a part of it?

When did I incorporate "law student" into my list of personal qualities, right between "chocoholic" and "Bob Dylan fan"?

I fear that my psycho-phyisological reactions to courts, lawyers, and legal issues may be symptoms of the legal elitism that we law students perpetually lambast. I wonder if, at th1s tender stage in my legal education, I have already bought into the superiority and distinction of the bench and bar from the huddled lay masses. Is it wrong to be excited about becomrng a lawyer? Is it arrogant to identify with the legal community? Many law students seem to wince apologetically when responding to the question, "So, what do you do?" I, on the other hand, beam proudly rnside, but answer deadpan so as to cover up my enthusiasm.

trol centre commenced a strategic and Widespread book removal, emptying shelves on all floors. They even sent in a troupe of high school students, allegedly participants in some kind of "mentorship" survival prograf"' as yet another obstacle in the path to research success: they were tricky, those kids, wrth their hostile takeover of the last four functioning computers.

Oh, the challenges were mrghty. Distractions every way you turned, designed to drvert attention from Qurcklaw and Lexis. It was so tempting- which of us would choose to photocopy the whole text of the Secunties Act rather than witness the filming of a quality horror flick like D2K: Dracula 2000 rn the Flavelle reception hall? It would have been so easy to be led astray by Chapters and Indigo, only a stone's throw from our reserved -personalized -carrels, our only haven from the tension of the computer lab. How simple to just wander away from this mecca of summertime learning for - dare I say - a break.

But no, RAs are a hardy bunch, set on searching high and low for that case from 1822, oblivious to the workings of the "real world." Kind of like academrcs. Hmmm .. some foreshadowing perhaps? Tune m next summer when a whole new group of keeners holds the portrait of Pierre Trudeau hostage until the library staff agrees to buy better photocopiers.

Contact: Sally Woods Dtrector, Profess1onal Personnel (416) 868-3468- sallywoodsâ&#x201A;Ź tor.faskcn.com

Love Thyself, Future Lawyer\

I I

For more information please contact:

RA Survivor

Kensington the Elusive

BY

lawyers can start their careers.

13

12 September 2000

Perhaps we have blurred the distinction between arrogance and enthusiasm about our future as lawyers. Our acute awareness of deep flaws in the legal system has made us feel almost guilty about becoming a part of it. However, each of us has the power to decide what kind of legal career to pursue, and it is legitimate to feel excited about the many opportunities available.

There is no need to apologize about becoming lawyers.

or our U of T sludenls: Summer Ramsey Air (416) 868-3329 Koker Chri~lenscn (41 6) 868-3495 Alex1s Kerr (416) 865-4483

Fasken Martineau DuMoulin 14~111. 1 SHIII.I AM O

Vancouver

A rticling Kristian Bonn (416) 868-3358 Stephanie Marric (416) 868-3471 Judy Mrchacly (416) 868-3481

LLP

I OLICit OIII.S

4200 Toronto Dominion Bank Tower, Box 20, T-D Centre, Onl, Toronto MSK 1N6 Toronto Montreal Quebec N-.w York

London

The Best Movie Deal in Town!

BY LAURIE ]ESSOME One dollar and fifty cents to see a movie in a theatre? Is it too good to be true? Krnd of. It's cheap (you can't rent a film for $1.50 anymore), but the Eaton Centre theatre on a Tuesday night is not a place for the faint of heart. Below rs ? hst of a few of the potential problems: 1) you are at the Eaton Centre. The biggest mall in the city attracts a lot of preteen drama queens and kings, and even waiting in a ticket line with them can prove to be a daunting experience. I knew I was old when I started to be afraid of teenagers - but rather than stripping away the stereotypes which inform this fear, my nights at this theatre have only reinforced my anxiety and reveal it as merely a healthy sense of self-preservation.

2) the physical surroundings. This is not a state of the art facility. Dolby Digital junkies and their ilk are advised to steer clear. This

is not the place to see the latest George Lucas marvel or big studio "nature goes wild" production. The smaller theatres can comfortably be compared to sitting in a musty basement, watching a screen roughly the size of your grandparents' old floor model television.

3) the selection. It seems the operators of the Eaton Centre choose their films by their proximity to "newness" , i.e. the most recently released. Unfortunately, the Centre is primarily a second run theatre, showing only those films whrch have exited from "real" theatres.

Conclusron: the Eaton Centre is a showcase of recently released films that were not good enough to last in real cinemas.

4) the audience. This is really the deal breaker. Even if you've found a movie you want to see, braved the hormonal reek in the lobby, and selected a rare seat that isn't damp from past cinematic adventures, there is still the audience to contend with. The $1.50 ticket price is an open invitation t o anyone who

needs a place to be for a few hours Nhere climate control and entertainment (such as it is) are avarlable. In my few excursions to the theatre, I've shared viewing space wtth an intense make-out session , a group of overly emotional preteen girls, and a few potenltal masturbators (I tried not to investigate this particular possibility but was disturbed nonetheless) . During a showing of Beyond the Mat, audience members felt free to drink beer, belch, holler at the screen, cheer for their favourite wrestlers, and rage at the inJustice of life in the WWF. If you are not fully prepared to endure running commentary from intoxrcated audience members or to change seats because of unwholesome activity conducted in your vicinIty, then I must advise steering clea-r of Tuesday at the Eaton Centre. However, rf the idea of a sort of "extreme movie-going" appeals to you, then the EC has my highest recommendation. Bring your beer and some rotten fruit.

DIVERSIONS .

Ultra Vires

14

15 12 September 2000

This is Me in First Year, Baby...

Ultra News: Not-so-Real News from Around the Law School Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics: Why Did You Go to Law School?

BY JACOB GLICK

Firms Hire Out of the Womb

Squirrel Attacks Law Student on Back Lawn

BY jACOB GLICK

Br NOAH GnTERMAN

The Law Society of Upper Canada announced thiS week a new set of rules that w1ll allow firms to recru1t students from the womb.

"This satisfies a need," noted a senior downtown lit1gator. "We're always looking for young bodies to fiJI cubicles."

When asked how they would identify these pre-natal Greenspans firms responded that New York and Boston have had success with feeling the firmness of the mother's belly-much like one feels for ripe Honeydews.

"Besides," added a Law Society representative, "it's no more arbitrary than the current model."

1) I needed to defend myself on those

obscenity charges - 2% 2) There's been nothmg to do since I was

voted off the island - 3% 3) I didn't have my fill of masturbation in

graduate school - 11% 4) Pad my resume - 14% 5) Buy1ng into www.asparagus.com IPO failed - 18% 6) Be a tool for the establishment - 25% 7) My parents made me- 27%

Some Wise Advice?

BY MATT Dum I was recently asked by Mr. Noah Gitterman to write a quick blurb on something law related for this year's first edition of Ultra Vires .

Clearly Noah was desperate. My initial response was, "No way\ I am a research assis\an\ ~m ?ro\e<i.Wf '~<.en\ Roach and I will not sacrifice his important time on trivial matters such as these." Then I realized that I could easily bill Prof. Roach for my efforts, and, rather than look up incredibly mundane

preambles in the Canadian statutes or compare the thrilling academic citations of Dickson and Laskin, I could get away with writ1ng something a little more amusing (no offence Prof. Roach). So, realizmg that I had little else better to do with my time, I agreed.

Here is some insight into what U of T law school is like from the eyes of a prairie boy:

own exams.

11 It pays to suck up to upper-years-basically they run the show.

12. By cheating on your library assignments you are only cheating your self--so as long as you're comfortable with that I recommend it.

13. First-term exams are an ideal time to go on a bender 14. You pay an obscene amount of money to go to school here--take advantage of as much of the free booze and free food that the firms shell out as pos sible.

15. In April, the library is an excellent place to gather and talk loudly about week end plans.

1. Summaries are essential--get some.

2. Arnie Weinrib knows everything about

A law student had a harrowing encounter with a deranged, aggressive squirrel on the back lawn of the law school this past summer.

Anne (II) was eating her lunch in peace when she spotted a lone, grey squirrel at the other end of the lawn. It approached her and began circling her position on the concrete steps. As it started to close in, Anne realized that it was clearly unwell, and was probably bent on her destruction. At that point she grabbed what was left of her lunch and ran for cover inside the school.

"It almost bit me," Anne said after the encounter.

This incident is just one m a recent wave of attacks near the school. Earlier this year, Adam (II) was minding his own business while walking to DLS when a squirrel pounced on him .

"It grabbed onto my pant leg," he said. He now follows a different route on h1s way to the clinic.

An expert on urban squirrel behaviour, reached at her home in Michigan, stated that this problem will probably not get better until someone intervenes.

"These squirrels are s1ck," she sa1d. "They need help."

First-years getting to know each other.

S1gnmg up at the clubs fair.

Beware, the menacing squirrel.

Once again, we welcomed this year's incoming class with a solid week of intense, firm-sponsored socializing. Orientation2000 (or, if you will, 02K) featured everyone's favourite events fro~ past years, and was bolstered by the addition of 'croozapalooza', a moonlit jaunt aboard the famed R1verboat Gambler. !he cruise (or, if you will, Boat2000) was surely a highlight, although some may have regretted the co~bma­ tion of an all-you-can-eat buffet, two well-stocked bars, and the roiling s~~s of a bluste~ Lake Ontan~. The laundry bag of goodies was also filled to the brim this year, clearly benefltmg from the mse~1on of a smgle, individually-wrapped chocolate-covered coffee bean generously donated by Osiers. All mall, 1t was a fa~tas­ tic week and thanks should go out to co-chairs Karen Park and Scott Patriqum, the Onentat1on Comm1ttee, upper-year volunteers, and of course the big firms, without w~om orientation week would probably have been reduced to one night of the 'name game' followed by a Jello-eatmg contest.

Bowling. Quite possibly the most fun ever.

~~~~~~~-~~~~

•

Providing opportunities for students and lawyers throughout Canada and around the world

you--and often holds it against you.

3. Years of substance abuse DOES affect one's mental capacity.

4. Nudity at Law Follies is NOT funny.

5. Lionel Hutz is not a legitimate academic reference.

6. It is not a good idea to get drunk and harass your small group professor at the Law Ball- sorry Prof. Reaume.

7. Some weeks we m1ss classes just to sit around listening to people ramble on aimlessly--these are called Bridge Weeks.

8. The portrait of Trudeau in the Library was not drawn by the child of a faculty member.

9. Don't hesitate to fabricate facts to swing trial ad in your favour--the lawyers will respect you even more.

10. Unlike Bev Hills 90210, there is no legacy key so be prepared to write your

5300 Commerce Court West, 199 Bay Steet, Toronto, M5L 1B9 Tel: (416) 869-5500 Fax: (416) 947 0866

EnJoying another free lunch.

Listening to Pro Bono speaker David Corbett.

TOf!ONTO MONTRfAl OTTAWA

VAHCOIMR hEW YORK LONOON

HONG KONG

SVONEY

Duffy: Deep thoughts ...

DIVERSIONS

... --.. - -------------------------

--- ---- H~_o_ging out in .~ D~'s ~~~=--~----

---. ·-

Ultra Vires

16

A Very Short and Very Selective Guide to Some Potentially Useful Stuff Around the School Wokking on Wheels (truck, in front of Robarts) - A huge amount of food served out of the back of a truck. Almost too cheap.

BY NOAH GITTERMA'l AND LoRI STEIN

\Vhcrc to get your hair cut: Hart House (Hart House): Cheap cuts.

Toni and Guy (Bloor, west of Avenue): Expens.ve cuts (but d1scot.mts for students).

\Vhere to copy: Krishna Copy (Bloor, E of Avenue) - The l1bra,Ys a rtp-off (although we fina~ly got new machines th1s year). Head here for cheap \

cop1es.

Coffee, Tea, or Me (Bloor, E of Avenue) Sandwiches are overpnced, but those with bad habits pay to be able to sit in the smokIng sect1on.

Green Mango (Yonge, S of Bloor) - Thai Tasty and popular. Not as good as the ltne-up m1ght indicate.

Where to cat cheap:

Where to work out:

Love and Scandal (Cumberland, upstairs and just across from the rock garden thing)- If you have never experienced bubble tea, well' you should All the way from the far east. and now taking Toronto by storm, bubble tea is, according to one law student, "the best thing srnce sltced bread." Get it here.

Hart House (Hart House) - Fine facilities, with a pool and track (but you might bump into your prof in the showers).

Second Cup (Bloor and Avenue, NW corner) -self-explanatory.

Starbucks (in the Chapters on Bloor, E of Avenue) - same.

Grabba Jabba (Harbord and St. George) For those who are "anti'' the above two.

Where to sec a movie:

Bagel Boys (Bloor, W of Avenue) - M1ght be cheaper than Ned's, and you won't run into your profs.

Pho Hung (Bloor, W of Avenue, upstairs) Vietnamese. Cheap and tasty if you're s1ck of sandw1ches. Don't ask Adam Maerov about what he once encountered there. This place 1s too good to d1sm1ss because of one mmor mc1den\.

Where to drink (alcoholic): Duke, Bedford Academy (Prince Arthur, N of Bloor, E of Avenue): Beer and stuff. These are the best of the sl1m pickings around the law school. Everything in Yorkvl e ·s overpnced, Gabby's and the otber Bedford just don't have good food, the Madison has been ltkened to a pit of despair (albeit w1th a large patio), and the Park Hyatt and Four Seasons are a little out of our league. Really, 1f you have any say in the matter, there's no reason to ever have to go out drinking around the law school. Head down to College or Queen or something.

Vires)

Tom's (Kensington Market)- Not really that close to the law school, but you're gonna have to get one eventually, and this place has good deals.

Where to clean your suit:

u

Ned's (Charles, E of Queen's Park) - Soups and sandwiches and the whole damn law school. Don't forget to call the menu hotline for dai'Y specials.

Athletic Centre (Spadina and Harbord) More and b1gger facilities than Hart House (But not necessanly better - see our upcoming review in the next issue of Ultra

Where to buy a suit:

Biryani (Janeway, E of Yonge, S of Bloor)Indian. Cheap and tasty. Green Mango already gets enough bus1ness.

Hart House cafeteria (Hart House)- Sandwiches are a little fuss1er than at Ned's.

Might be more expensive. Crowded at lunch.

Where to drink (non,alcoholic):

The law school is virtually surrounded by movie theatres (and very close to all the action at the Toronto International Film Festi val). Varsity (Manulife Centre at Bay and Bloor), Uptown (Yonge, S of Bloor), and Plaza (Hudson's Bay Centre) all show first run Hollywood films. Cumberland (Cumberland, E of Avenue) is an independent cinema and runs smaller, more independent or foreign-type stuff. Bloor Cinema (Bloor, E of Bathurst) is a repertory theatre that shows old classics, good second run stuff, and hosts a lot of smaller film festivals.

Platis cleaners (Bedford, N of Bloor): Close, and they've got a great student special: 25% off regular pnce!

Where to see dinosaurs for free: ROM on Friday Nights (beside the school): A martini bar and a building full of mummies and prehistoric an1mals. The best of childhood and adulthood in one evening, under one roof.

•In-house • Private Practice •Locallv • ProvinciaiiV • Nationauv • lntemationallv

can 1-800-401-9TI3 ., vtslt www.zsa.ca rellnd aut more C A IN ' A ,.

A • $

L I G A IL

I 1l C I I I I M I Ill 1

f I I

M

,

..

.VAN(O\IVER • CAIGAPY • 10l0M10 • MONIR[Al • NI:W YORK • IONOON •

HONG

O:ON~

•

•.

·j