Ultra Vires Vol 2 Issue 3: 2000 November

Law Garnes Contentious

Volume 2 Issue 3 21 November 2000 \lrNrNI/.Iaw.utoronto.ca/ultravires

Dean steps in to provide financial aid

Professor offered

BY BESS JoFFE The Students' Law Society (SLS) has agreed to donate $600 to Law Games after heated debate about whether the funding is appropriate. Various groups of students became involved in the discussion to help students bear the $550-per-person cost attached to this year's event be held in Calgary in January.

According to SLS President Anna-Maria di Stasio, the Law Games Committee submitted a budget proposal requesting $1,600.

When some people at the open budget meeting voiced disapproval at the idea of the SLS provtding assistance to what some percetve to be a "drinking binge," a town hall meeting was arranged.

Between twenty and thirty students from both camps showed up. Supporters of financial assistance argued that the Games are a very important social activity.

Gillian Scott, an assistant organizer of the Games, said Law Games enhances school

y ......_._..~~.~~,.,,.

w •tud<ints across canada get to-

gether, compete in sporting events, and a moot, and meet their peers from other schools. She stated that "U of T had a bad reputation for not attending in the past. In fact, U of T had backed out of hosting Law Games a few years ago," and it was important to remedy this perception of the law school.

Scott also argued that, "the Law Games Committee was looking for the token support of the SLS." Furthermore, she said "it would be embarrassing if there was no support at all, since the other schools are supported by their student governments."

Second-year student Pauline Rosenbaum disagrees. "I am a student who pays mandatory, non-refundable SLS fees, and I have an interest in seeing them allocated responsibly ... this tsn't a new issue - there were letters to Ultra Vires last year about how student fees shouldn't be funding a portion of our student body gomg to have a 'drunken good time."'

Rosenbaum took issue with the financial barrier of Law Games: "I find the idea of student fees gomg to Law Games inherently problematic because in order to have access to this SLS money, students have to shell out at least a few hundred dollars.

see "Bursary" on page 4 also see utters to the Editor on page 7

Coombe to Leave Faculty in January prestigious chair at York

BY MELISSA KLUGER Ultra Vires recently learned that Professor

Halloween Visitors at the Law School (back row. left to right): Mobster, Law School Dropout, Ski Bunny, ~pe I.e Peu; (front row, left to right) The Rock and Magnum P.l.

Bridge Week Seen as Success First..years focus on homelessness BY ] ENNIFER WEINBERGER This year's first bridge week was on homelessness, and generally, seems to be have been a success. Roxanna Sultan remarked that "in general, the bridge was well done, and very interesting."

However, she also thought that "the overall tone of the bridge was pretty left-wing.

Obviously, no one wants homelessness to be a continuing problem, and we definitely understood the criticisms of Mike Harris' policies. However, we never really learned the justification behind why they were instituted in the first place."

This year, the bridge weeks focus on problems, not perspectives, so that the multidimensional character of the law can be represented as it relates to a pressing and timely legal issue. Further, the number of bridge weeks has been reduced to three from four and they are on the topics of homelessness, residential schools and the genome project.

The method of evaluation for the bridges has also been changed, as students need only write one "long" ( 10-page) paper on a bridge topic of their own choosing. For the other two bridges, the paper requirements are shorter and they are marked on a pasS/fail basis.

This change in the bridge program represents the work of the "Roach Committee," a Faculty Council committee chaired by Pro-

Rosemary Coombe will be leavtng the Faculty in January.

Coombe "has given her provtsional resignation" and will be accepting a chair in social science at York University, according to Brad Limpert, an intellectual property lawyer at Gowlings, who was scheduled to co-teach a course at U of T with Coombe tn January.

Coombe gave her notice to the administration over two weeks ago and has notifted colleagues as well as a few students.

When asked to confirm the rumour that Coombe would be leaving, 1\ssociate Dean Mayo Moran and Dean Ron Daniels had no comment. 1\\ the \1me this '5.\o~ wen\ \o pres'S., Coombe ""a"' au\ o\ \he co.m\~ and unavailable for comment.

Coombe Is on s.bl»t!CIII this semester but

is scheduled to teach "Intellectual Property, Development and Human Rights" and "Intelfessor Kent Roach that met last year to relectual Property: Patents and Trade Secrets" view the first-year curriculum. Roach made in second term. It is unclear what will hapit clear that the committee was struck not pen to these courses. According to Limpert, out of "a sense that first year is a disaster," the patents and trade secrets course will still but rather to •make something that was albe taught. When asked about whether he ready pretty good a bit better." "It was stmwill be co-teaching the course with another ply time to critically examine what we were professor he said that this "hasn't been dedoing in first year; to go over it with a finecided." toothed comb, to know what was working Based on her interdisciplinary work tn law, and what was not." anthropology, cuitural studies and political One of the main concerns regarding the theory, Coombe will have a lot to contribute first-year curriculum was the bridge week.

The attitudes of law students toward the to soctal sciences at York. "She lqoks at things from an interdisciplinary approach that we bridge program was generally ambivalent. are moving towards in legal scholarship- eveKatie Sykes, a second-year faculty council reprything from urban space theory to indigenous resentative who sat on the committee, stated knowledge, to internet culture- and relates that "on the one hand, many students felt that the bridge weeks provided vital insight all of this to intellectual property," said Lara Tessaro, who was one of Coombe's research into the working of the law in actual pracassitants this summer. tice." On the other hand, "those who found Coombe has been at the Faculty since 1988. the subject interesting were often frustrated She earned her Ll.B at Western and her J.S.M [by the method of evaluation), and those who and J.S.D. at Stanford. Her current research did not find it interesting were not encourprojects include cultural appropriations, and aged to take it seriously." the history of copyright and colonialism.

Pauline Rosenbaum, another second-year As Coombe leaves the Faculty, new IP prostudent invol ved with the committee, fessors will be arriving. Jonathan Putnam will summed up the dissatisfaction felt by other be teaching "Intellectual Property: Patent, students who "felt frustrated with the fact Copyright and Trademark" in second term and that the perspectives introduced during these Andrew Christie, a visiting professor from the University of Melbourne Law, will be teachsee "Orientation" on page 4 ing "Intellectual Property in the Digital Era."

4

Chiang gives advice continued from f!E_Se 3

NEWS Academic orientation improves first . .year Each of the five interactive lectures addressed a specific area of knowledge that firstyear students of years past have been forced weeks were so isolated from the core curto grapple with unassisted. riculum of first-year legal studies." For many, The subject matter of each session conthe ideas introduced m these weeks were cerned issues such as the relations between seldom more than items for consideration 10 Canadian legal structures, the common law, a 24-hour writing frenzy. the legislative process, and essential practiThe method of evaluation for these bridge cal skills, such as summary-writing. A furweeks was also a source of contention. facther change to the academic orientation proulty members who had to grade these pagram has been the revamping of library aspers were also not altogether satisfied with signments, in an effort to tailor legal research thiS method of evaluation. Assoc1ate Dean skills to an actual paper being researched for Mayo Moran stated that "often, faculty had small group classes. to mark papers where the legal concepts mTo this end, Moran says, the assignments volved had just recently been mtroduced. will be geared toward a more pract1cal goal, Subsequently, the as "they will centre "The program's objective was to legal analysis of around an essay topic these papers was that students must write aahion the jam'ng transition to sometimes a bit for a small-group paper. the realm of legal study." 'wonky,' not because The library component the student was not capable of understandwill have more of a pract1cal purpose than it ing the issue, but because there was a lack did in years past. • of familiarity with legal concepts involved.

Other changes to the first-year curriculum, Because of the limited choices that professuch as improvements to be made to firstsors had in assigning grades to the papers, year Civil Procedure, are still being considfaculty members also felt trapped into giving ered. marks that did not reflect the students' unThe response of first-year students to the derstanding of the issues involved." academic orientation program has varied from In addition to the changes to the bridge the lukewarm to the laudatory- some thought component of first year, the Roach Report the program was quite bas1c while others highlighted the need for some method by thought that the lectures were informative which first-years could get orientated to baand provided a much-needed context in which sic legal concepts early in the academic year. to begin law school. This sentiment was echIn response to this concern, a first-year acaoed by Professor Roach, who stated that the demic orientation program was instituted. academic orientation sessions seemed to have Moran stated that this program's main ob"helped students appreciate how the crimijective was "to cushion the jarring transition nal law fits into the common law system, to the realm of legal study." These academic and seems to have given them a general sense orientation sessions took the form of a series of how the common Ia~ and statutes intero~ lunchtime lectures spread throughout the act." months of September and October.

continued from page 1

UV: Do you have arry advice on the job market?

LC: It's the best JOb market we've seen in years, which Is a good thing ... But in the days when I was in law school, when you weren't expected to get a summer law ftrm job, it was very easy not gettrng one, because more than half your class didn't get one ...

But with such a great economy It may feel d1fferent. Students may feel more compelled to get the jobs because there is more available ... When I was In school, you were really encouraged to do whatever you felt like do10g and not feel compelled to take a law job because you would likely be doing that for the rest of your life, which is probably true. So in one sense it's great to have an economy which is so great that there are lots of JObs around and I think that this can only be good for our students. I personally believe that it's great for students to end up doing something non-law [for the summer) ...

You will have a lot of law in your life and this will be one of the great opportunities for you to explore your other interests.

Correction: The Common Sense Revolution contemplated a 15·per-cent cut to the university's grants from the proVInce. Tuition fee levels are set based on the Dean's recommendations to the provost. Incorrect information appeared 10 the October JSSue. Ommission: Professor Janet Mosher was absent from the list of up-and· coming short professors at the Faculty.

We apologize tor Uus shortcoming.

Ultra Vires

Bursary too late cmztinuedfrom page 1 Scott says this argument is "a veil for disapprovmg of Law Games." She argued that if this was really the case, "it's unfatr, because it's a value judgment on an activity that some peers want to participate in."

Ultimately, Di Stasio said that the SLS decided to provide $600 of funding for Law Games, "in recognition of the fact that it's an activity from which a large number of students Will benefit, which IS one of the guidelines the SLS adheres to when allocat10g funds ." The Society couldn't provide the $1,600 ''because this is a purely social event which doesn't serve to raise awareness of important issues or add to the legal culture of the school," DiStasio said. However, the Dean stepped in to alleviate the h1gh cost of participation.

The Dean's bursary would have provided $250 per person as a subsidy for up to fifteen people. In order to qualify for the bursary, a participant would have to be receiving financial aid. The Dean stated that there have been bursaries for Law Games in the past, "for 10stance last year [when) the Faculty contributed $2,500 for Law Games. We did so in response to strongly expressed student interest in attending the event... the money was provided to subsidize student travel costs. " And to allay concerns like those of Rosenbaum that the bursary was coming from her "student 'tuition' money," the Dean said that the bursary is coming from the "Excellence Fund -created by alumni to support a broad range of student activities in the Faculty."

Despite the quickness w1th wh1ch both the SLS and the Dean acted, it turned out to be a moot potnt as, in the end, no one took the bursary.

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5

THE FEDERAL ELECTION, SUCH AS IT IS Balancing the Costs of Free Speech NCC Fails to Maintain Injunction on Campaign Spending Laws BYRON LEVY

The Supreme Court, in AG-Canada v. Stephen Joseph Harper, has overturned the Alberta Court of Appeal's decision to grant an injunction that prevented the federal government from enforcing its campaign spending law, which limits third-party political donations to $150,000. However, the National Citizen's Coalition, the main force behind the constitutional challenge, is free to pursue the litigation at the Queen's Bench.

Since the 10ception of the Charter, the NCC has promoted a laissez-faire approach to political speech that is fraught with inconsistencies. With the Charter barely a year old in 1983, an Alberta trial-level court issued a judgment in the case of NCC v. Canada, striking down legislation limiting campaign financing excesses.

Since then, the NCC has persisted, and in the present election campa1gn persuaded an Alberta judge and the Court of Appeal to grant an injunction against sections of federal campaign finance legislation.

The laws, which Parliament has repeatedly resurrected over 17 years, address at .li - - - - - least two complications that emerge from the premise that "money is Cor is necessary for) speech." The first is simple: "resources amassed in the economic marketplace" confer upon some speakers "an unfair advantage in the political marketplace," as even the U.S. Supreme Court recently conceded in Massachusetts Citizens for Ufe. Thus we must impose some limits on spending to equalize the power of citizens to engage in election speech.

Yet the court in the 1983 NCC case failed to grasp even this simple premise. Instead, its reasoning reflected that of the notorious

American decision of a few years earlier, Buckley v. Valeo, wh1ch pronounced that the First Amendment guarantee of free speech "was designed to secure the widest possible dissemination of information from diverse and antagonistic sources." This principle, it was said, forbade limitations on the speech of some (wealthy) speakers in order to give other (ordinary) citizens a voice in the democratic affairs of the state.

The Buckley and NCC cases demonstrate precisely those Charter and First Amendment 10terests at odds with the NCC's fixation on a free market of expression. They neglect to address the prohibitive costs of effective speech that keep all but a narrow class of speakers out of the unregulated political forum. Thus the Courts ensured that information would be disseminated from sources that are neither significantly diverse nor antagonistic.

But in the unregulated political world for which NCC continues to agitate, the internal conflict IS still more fundamental. The classic liberal conception on which this approach is based sees the right of free speech as a shield protecting the citizen from being silenced by the state. There IS no place, on this V.e.~o~, tor ~ meot inteNention on behalf ol some spea~.

But this conception, In turn, rests on a basic assumpt1on: that speakers in the unfettered marketplace of speech are rational. That is, political speech should remain unfettered because, through collective, wide-ranging and necessarily rational deliberation over the affairs of the state, the best ideas will emerge and dominate.

This might be correct. Indeed, we hope it is - that one product of public exchange is the exercise of our wisdom and rationality in collective government. But from this point of view it becomes clear that lessening gross speech inequalities during an election does nothing to

Last month, with the election but a big, bright, obvious glint in the eye of the Pnme Minister, Ultra Vires thought of examining the many constitutional and justice issues that were sure to affect the coming campaign.

Unfortunately, there is little to write. The main justice platform of the Liberals ts the toughening of the Young Offenders Act For those paying attention, this was also the main justice platform in 1997. The Alliance, meanwhile - despite allusions to being tough on crime - has no justice platform. The JUStice section of the party Website is, liter.a/Jy, empty. So, Instead of commenting on wmks and nudges, we are compelled to present articles on election law and the legislative process.

detract from robust public deliberation. The' collective, rational process on which the NCC implicitly premises its laissez-faire view of freedom of expression would gain little where, for example, the contributions of donors together finance $2-million of speech to pursue a single message, as compared with a mere $1.5-million. In the rational forum of public deliberation, excessive spendlOg IS of no use to speakers. After the point, early on, at which messages such as "vote for party X" or "party Y is weak on law and order" enter the forum and are understood by all 1ts participants, an additional $500,000 expenditure tends toward irrelevance.

Repetition of the message is Irrelevant, that is, except to the extent that a vast volume of speech helps to drown out voices of speakers with far less to spend on making their own speech effective. Members of this class - a class consisting of almost all of us - lack the resources to meet the basic threshold of bringing an idea into the public forum. Thus, support for the "shield" model by groups such as the NCC mal<.es l1\\le sense on ' " 0\NI\ ~ any o\het \etms.

Gamp.!•gn donat1on limits have little Impact on the effectiveness of the speech of wealthy donors - at least in light of the rationality assumption that is a necessary part of the NCC's position. Such limits do, however, help promote the broadest possible access to an essential component of our democracy: public speech.

The full text of the Supreme Court judgment can be found at www.lexum. u montrea I. ca/csc-scc/en/rec/h tml/ harper2.en.html.

Canada's Electoral Systetn Needs Refortn First. .past. . the . .post not second to none

BY DAN MURDOCH

If you thrive on challenge, are eager to learn from the best and quickly want to play a central role in our clients' business transactions, commercial litigation or other matters ... DWB is

LEGAL ISSUES

21 November 2000

The present complications in the election down south have given the international community good reason to enjoy a collective belly laugh. Although it is not really to blame, the somewhat anachronistic Electoral College system used to choose the U.S. President has drawn increased criticism, both inside and outside the country.

The College, wh1ch generally results 10 all of a state's electoral votes going to the winner of the popular vote in that state, is accused by some of being contrary to basic democratic principles. Flaws include the violation of the one-person-one-vote principle, and the excess focus it puts on particular "swing states". A slim majority in California, for instance, can give a candidate 20-percent of the Electoral College votes to win the Presidency.

Canadians should not be too smug when considering the U.S. system. There is a valuable motivation for the Electoral College system that would not be satisfied by the Canadian model : it restricts the ability of a candi-

date with very strong regional support from becoming President without considerable national support to back up his or her regional position.

This is of interest because the Canadian Parliament has looked increasingly regionalized since 1993, and our electoral system is a major contributor to the phenomenon. The creation of the Bloc Quebecois and Reform has revealed the tendency of the First-Past-The-Post system to exaggerate the influence of regional parties.

In 1993, with broad national support that garnered 1/5 of the popular vote, the Progressive Conservative Party managed only two seats.

With a smaller percentage of the vote but very concentrated support, the Bloc became the official opposition. The next elect1on saw the Bloc lose some support while another regional party, Reform - admittedly with national aspirations took over the opposition.

Because regionalism has all but eliminated the viability of the other national parties, the Liberals in the past two elections - have essentially been uncontested in Ontario. The Liberal party now looks like a regional party that simply has a firm hold on the most populous region.

A mixed system that allows for some proportional representation would provide a more accurate picture of the will of the people and a strooger natiooal presence in Parliament It 'Ml.lld also increase incentives to vote in districts with a dominant party. The United States, Britain, India and Canada are the only countries still us1ng First-Past-The-Fbst. The United States does not use it to select its President, and Britain is studying other systems.

However, elected officials are not always in the best position to consider electoral reform because they have benefited from the present system. This brings us back to the U.S. example. The courts are currently tied up with disputes over the elections in florida and other states. This is unfortunate, as courts are not designed to decide elections. However, they may be well equipped to consider challenges of the process - even the Electoral College. Canada should look closely to any jurisprudence coming out of the United States that examines the constitutional issues arising from challenges to electoral systems that do not adequately address the needs of a country.

Alliance Challenges Parliamentary Supremacy BYAzlM EssAJI & DAN MURDOCH The Canadian Alliance leadership has done its best to campa1gn on what it 1s not - part of the "broken promises, arrogance, waste, patronage and secrecy" of the Liberals- rather than on what it is. However, a recent leak of internal documents clearly demonstrates the Alliance's dissatisfaction with not only the federal government, but also the constitution.

These documents suggest that, if elected, the Alliance would introduce a referendum law. Under this plan, those advocatmg the change or enactment of a law can mandate a referendum by demonstrating that a signiticant number of Canadians- say, about 3 percent of the populat1on- support their position.

I~ non-bindin&, a re~erendum becomes a snapshot m public opm1on at a moment in \.\me \ha\ can a~~~ \he Y,(;Nemmen\ \n aetennmmg the best course olle&Jslatlon. If thts IS the intent, the Alliance government mtght be encouraged to look at polls - statistics are cheaper and probably just as reliable.

If the Alliance IS instead contemplating binding referendums, the criticisms become more fundamental. Our political system places Parliament as the sole and supreme law-making authority. While some hold politicians in contempt, and a new batch of cynical, self-deprecatory politicians abhor government, any derogation from parliamentary supremacy is infeasible thanks to s. 91 of the BNA Act. A more likely possibility is that the referendum law Wlll be 10 the middle: the Alliance may pledge to enact the will of the majority without expressly binding all future legislatures.

This approach also creates constitutional concerns. In the divisive issues that immediately come to mind as fodder for such a referendum law-capital punishment, abortion, samesex riW'lts - Charter questions are paramount.

A recent pronouncement by the Alliance suggests how the party may approach these constitutional issues. Stockwell Day has announced that he would use s. 33, the notWithstanding clause, to salvage the child pornography law 1f overturned by the Supreme Court in R. v. Sharpe.

Mr. Day has picked a generally non-contentious issue -child pornography- to suggest that the Alliance will resort to s. 33 rather than otherwise frame its laws within the bounds of the Charter.

No federal government has ever enacted s. 33, and Quebec's use of it to pass B1ll 101, the language laws, was roundly criticized by the rest of the country. Nevertheless, an Alliance government w1th a strong commitment to enacting the results of referenda may use majoritarian will as the justification for an increased use of s.33. This is contrary to the principle of minonty protection enshrined in the constitution. And used with any frequency, it would call into question the entire constitutional framework of this country.

F6 ==========~~~~==~~========~E~D~IT~O~AEIA~L~~~~~~~~========~~U~It~ra~V~irefs~--~--2_1_N_o_v_e_m_b_e_r_2_o_o_o____________________E_D_I_T~O_A_IA~L________________________________~7 Editorial Letters to the Editor LA€

Bar Admission Course Changes

,fillll•lllll

Bar Admissions Course New, Not Improved Just when you though~ th1rd y:ar was easy, it got harder. As of last Monday, third-year law students across Ont~no were_ mtroduced to the new model of the Bar Admissions Course (BAC). Rumour had 1t that th1s new model was established in the interest of students- an effort to make the whole procedure of becoming a lawyer in this province faster and smoother. !n reality, ~he new procedure is hardly "student friendly." Indeed, the start date for Bar Ads IS somethmg clos7r t_o student torture. Students have been quick to discover that the first day of Bar Ads comc1des n1cely with the last day to hand in final papers at the law school.

If papers are due at 4 p.m. and classes start at 9 a.m. that only g1ves third-years negative seven hours to cel7brate the completion of three long years of law school. It also means that many of us w11.1 be in school for eight months (January to August) without anything more than_one readmg week and a few statutory holidays as breathers.

And holidays should be the least of our concerns. One larger issue is timing more generally. Students remain unclear as to whether they can delay any of the phases by a year or two and then be called to the Bar. As well, timing remains unclear with respect to the date of t~e call to ~he Bar. While the current date is set for October, 2002, when pressed, the Law Socu~~ explain~ th~t the date could be moved up and that this is something that "the adminiStration 1~ s~1ll wo_n<mg through." For st~dents with families and/or life events to plan, these so-called glitches leave many students 1n needlessly uncertain situations.

A second big issue is cost. The new system now allows students to do Phase 1 ("Skills Phase") and Phase 11_1 ("Substantive/Procedural Phase") of the BAC back-to-back from May to August, w1th articlmg to follow. Some employers have put pressure on their students to take advantage of this option_.. For students who pay their own tuition fees (note: Bay Street generously pays both your tUition fees and your salary), this means four more months of not working and $4,400 of additional tuition fees to pay (a 10-per-cent increase from last year).

You would expect that the Law Society has anticipated these problems and has taken the necessary steps to assuage our predictable concerns. And, on the face of it they have.

Students are invited to call the "Articling and Placement Information Lme" or check out a ~ouple of Websites for more information. Funny. When you call this so-called information line _you are greeted with a friendly voice informing you that "we have not yet set up this serv1ce." And the Interne~? Despite its potentially informative purpose, there is little to be found on the Web. One s1te boasts that "the information contained in this site reflects the old articling term policy. The information will be updated as soon as possible." The other s1te, referred to specifically in the BAC application reads: "The information you have requested has been reorganized ... please change your bookmarks."

Looks like the Law Society is still getting organized. Yet, third-years can't afford patience when the application deadline is Dec. 4. We now have three weeks, a defunct hotline and a "reoganized Website" to assist us in making a decision that will effect a fairly significant l~ month ?enoo o\ out lives.

Editor,

-~

c:a"

Typed or Handwritten Exams: Which Get Ns?

Was 1t just Stanl~y. or was th~ computer lab always clos~d for som~ kmd of "tra1n1ng''

NCA Students Left in Litnbo

BY G IBRAN VAN E RT

What would you call a law student in the following situation? She takes some first-year courses, but doesn't have small groups or bridge weeks. She takes some upper-year courses, but doesn't do moots. Furthermore, she doesn't choose her upper-year courses herself, but instead 1s required to take certain courses that for you are just electives. She seems to know a lot-suspiciously much-about some courses, but appears to have no background at all in others. She has no U ofT student card, yet she's permitted to withdraw books from Bora Laskin (but from nowhere else). Having no student card, she has to pay $5 for a new white photocopy card at the library, $120 per term if she wants a membership to Hart H ouse,

and about 20-per-cent more for every course she takes. When she's done studying here she'll Judging by the number of sleek laptops being ~""' q,..,...., ~9JIN!-<I}f~ leave without a degree. But she's already got carried about at the law school, it looks as if ( a ..c. ~ ~~wtJt.ro~, \ rone anyway ... a significant number of us will be churning The answer is "NCA student." But that's '--'s ~ If> ~'S~ ~cr "-!>.....-,.._ out neatly typed answers at our (already loomnot much of an answer, because most people ing) exams. Alas, some of us will have to ~~~~~~~ don't know what an NCA student is. er.~~ ~ ~make due w1th chicken scratch. This gives 1p NCA is the National Committee on Accredirise to the question: Do those endowed with ~ . ~~\')~~ · tation. Its purpose is to assess the legal qualitechnology have an unfair advantage over fications of foreign and Quebec-trained law~~~1>~ . ~ those who aren't? yers seeking to practise in common-law ~ ~ ~ '(:. C0~~-.3~ To be sure, a typed document is more polCanada. The lawyer (or law student) sends ished and clean looking, not least because ~~-~~~~~ the Committee his transcripts, employment word-processors allow for easy editing (e.g., ov&L ~ -w s~-!MoCO ~ history and a cheque for $450. The Ottawalast minute line insertions). And, arguably, typbased COmmittee reviews his credentials and "2:> (,o ~~ ~ n~-o«t.Jt.S...r '-~ ~ing is faster (depending on your proficiency). determines what is needed to turn him into On the other hand, perhaps full legibility ~ ~ ~ ~ \.oo6U~~ the equivalent of a Canadian-trained common and clarity IS not advantageous, for it denies ~0.%'~~~~ law lawyer. In most cases, the Committee ~he examiner the opportunity to be generous, ~1' & "1V\C~-~~ ­ will require the applicant to enrol in a Cana1.e., to read some insight into what is other- ' ~} tn,.o, ~, ~!S dian common-law school for a while- somewise merely muddled scrawl. Either way, we ~~ .~ ~~~,~ times only a term, sometimes up to two years need to look into the matter. Do professors ~~~~~~~t4f - and take specified courses. Having done favour typed answers, either consciously or unthat, the applicant is granted a Certificate of consciously? If so, it might be necessary to ~~ . ~~~~~ ­ Accreditation from the Committee that he make laptops available to all who wish to use \.100..."""' ~u~«'t "«> ~~" can present to the Law Society of his com,e,w ~ :641lr'\ ~ l~ Uot\r ~s them or, alternatively, to seriously restrict laptop mon-law province of choice and sit its bar usage to those who need to type because they ~~~ - ~~,u$ exams. really can't write. For, despite many years of t4fQ ~ ~ ~~~ Q:, ~ As you can see, it's much harder for a forschooling, some cl us really can't. ~(.Ct._~ ~~~~~we-? eign or foreign-trained lawyer to get admis-

OYA-.,.

ULTRA VIRES Is the studonl newspaper of the Faculty of Law at tile UniVersity of Toronto. OUr goal IS to provide a forum in which students can ex· chango their Ideas. We hope to foster a sense of community within tha Faculty of Law, the Umvers1ty as a wllola. and the greater Torantq area. OUr miSsion is to inerease student awareness of legal and social issues and, In tum, 10 encourage our peers to contrlbuto to the many communitieS o1 which we are a part.

Business Manager Eileen Costello

Editor-lo-Chiel Menssa Kluger

News Editor James HoHner

Editorial Page Editor Attila Ataner

Diversions Editor Noah Gitterman

Legal Issues Edrtor Dan Murdoetl

Clubs & CliniCs Editor Jen Khurana

Features Editor Dina Bogecho

Production & Design Anlonla Vee

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sion to a Canadian bar than it is for Canadians to practice in New York. The Committee itself doesn't always make things easy. For instance, they often require NCA students to take courses which aren't required for ordinary U ofT students (especially Tax and Bus Org).

There are ten NCA students in the Faculty this year. Some of us come from as far away as the West Indies, Britain, and Papua-New Guinea, although one is from Quebec and another (me) from British Columbia. We don't all know each other, because we're not all in the same courses. And many of us don't know ordinary law students very well, either. That's one of the crummy things about being an NCA student: it's difficult to get to know people.

Another problem for NCA students is money.

The gove rnment doesn 't subs idize the cou rses

we take. In fact, we're not registered in the university at all. (I was once told that U ofT admits NCA students only as a favour to the Law Society.) This has financial consequences.

Had I been an LL.B student here this year, I would have paid $325 a credit. As an NCA student, I pay $400. Why the government does not help NCA students-the vast majority of whom are recent immigrants-is something I'd like to know. After all, we all intend to practice, just like ordinary LL.B students.

Before I came to U of T, I was warned to expect a rough ride from the professors and administrators. ''They just can't understand why you didn't go to U ofT," my Canadianborn, foreign-trained, NCA friend warned me.

But on the whole my experience has been good . This year, for the first time, NCA students are allowed to apply to the Scotia Bank's Professional Line of Credit program. The Faculty deserves credit for prevailing upon the Bank to include us. Also, the Faculty has arranged for NCA students to be permitted to get memberships at Hart House and access to some other services that require a student card. The Career Service is available to us.

And the library generally tries to accommodate us - although we should really get a break on those photocopy cards.

Ultra Vires is an editorially autonomous newspaper. Ultra Vires is open to con· tributlans which reflect diverse 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 ed1tortal board The edl· tors welCOme contrtbutiOns from stu· dents,laculty and othor lnterasted per· sons. but reserve the right to edit sub· miSsions for length and coraent

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Tile next 1ssue Is January 23, 2001

The recently announced changes to the Bar Admiss1on process has caused much consternation among third-year law students. Two points in particular stand out. First, a 14-percent reduction in work time has been accompanied by a 50-per-cent reduct1on in paid vacation time. N1ce. Second, and of greater concern to many, is the requirement to start Bar Ads on April 30- the second term deadline for papers.

Many will be able to enjoy the convenience of submitting their final (extended?) paper(s) on the way to their first Bar Ad class! In response, the recently formed Bar Admission Review Committee (BARC) will be meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 22 at noon (see Headnotes for location) to air concerns and determine how to best express our needs and circumstances to the Law Society. If you also feel that the changes do not adequately take into consideration the needs of those who are said to be the intended beneficianes, drop by the meeting. Given that in order to have our voices heard, we will need to gain mput from law schools across the province and the country, those who have contacts elsewhere are particularly encouraged to attend. This is an issue that should concern all second and th1rd-year students.

Gavin Leeb (Ill)

U ofT Law can Learn

Lessons from McGill Editor, I am a U of T law student on an exchange at McGill law school this semester, and of course, hailing from U of T, I tend to compare r:Nery a~ pect of McGill to our esteemed faculty. Don't get me wrong - the course selection and, in some cases, instruction, here does not compare with U of rs, but it's the little thmgs I keep noticing.

Take the McGill Faculty of Law Cafeteria, for example. On my first visit there, I couldn't believe the select1on. There are freshly baked muffins and cinnamon rolls, homemade pizza, hot entrees, and a variety of salads, as well as burgers and hot dogs sizzling on the patio barbeque. When it's warm outside, groups of students cluster at the picnic tables and sprawl on the grassy lawn. Indoors, people lounge on a multitude of couches and chairs set up throughout the ample student space, and check their e-mail in one of three large computer labs. I am awed by the amount of student facilities offered at McGill, where tuition fees average $3,000 a year.

Many McGill professors set up course Websites where optional reading material, problems, and old exams are posted. One of my professors put a casebook on-line to lower the cost of his course. Another professor established a "Class Committee" to act as a liaison between himself and the students. The group meets frequently to offer the professor feedback, and to discuss potential evaluation methods. Instead of weekly, hard copies of Headn<Xes, McGill law students receive daily e-mail notices reportIng upcoming speakers, meetings, and events.

The administration's focus on students was apparent from the first morning of orientation. Dean Peter Leuprecht devoted his opening address to introducing the students to one another. He described the makeup of the firstyear class in detail, lauding their diversity and cataloguing thelf numerous achievements.

Law Games Brou,haha Editor,

tive function and are thus deserving of any support they receive from this school. Law Games is not only about getting together and drinking. This aspect of the Games is an inevitable by-product of uniting many students with common interests.

The SLS was designed to fac11itate the interests of U ofT law students. Thirty. five of these students are travelling to Calgary to represent this faculty in a national event.

This is a valid student interest and, as such, should be supported by the SLS.

There has recently been some controversy within the law school over the issue of whether Law Games should get funding from the Students' Law Society. Some students within the Faculty felt that it was inappropnate for the SLS to divert funds toward this particular student activity because of the significant economic barriers to access. Underlying these arguments were objections based on the nature of the event itself, specifically the fact that it is perceived Laurie Jessome (II) as a sort of elitist drunken orgy. As a member of the Law Games committee, I attended Editor, these meetings and heard from most sharmg this concern. I would like to take this I am writ ing in regards to the recent brouopportunity to comment on their objections. haha over the Law Games. I am not trying It seems to me that the mandate of the to be a spoilsport; however, I am concerned SLS is simply to fund student activities.

There is no qualification on that mandate with two ideas at the heart of t his debate: access and normative choices. First of all, I aside from a general principle to refrain from recognize the sincerity of the dean's gesfunding food and drink. There is also no reture in offering money to assist students in quirement that all students be able to acattending the Law Games. However, I doubt cess every single SLS-funded activity. It was that 15 students could be found who would argued that the SLS should adopt a "prinnot have otherwise gone to Law Games. cipled" approach to funding, based on the Instead, those who will benefit are those idea that no club or event should be sponalready willing to shell out. Throwing money sored unless every single student could, theoat accessibility issues in the hopes that they retically, access his or her SLS fees through will disappear reveals a very thin notion of participation in that event. access.

Many students just can't pick up There are several problems with this apand leave their jobs and children for four proach. The first is that it would, in effect, cripdays. If more than 15 students did ask for ple the SLS as an activities-based society. Stufundmg, should a lottery determine which dents experience many other barriers to full lucky students wi\1 receive hundreds o~ dolparticipation apart from economic constraints. lars? And more broadly. what does the dean's • Many popular and "worthy" groops would be offer say about the administration's willingdenied funding for being underinclusive. Econess to finance a Calgary booze-up at the nomiCconstraints are an unfortunate barrier to drop of a hat when students are struggling participating in a given activity. However, they to pay rising tuition fees? These access conare not the only constraints operating oo the cerns have not been adequately addressed. choices of law students.

Secondly, we need the SLS to adopt a Although the objections to the funding principled approach to funding. Activities are were initially couched in these concerns NOT value-neutral and the SLS should NOT about the availability of this activ1ty to the fund just anything. Could I get an ecstasy entire U ofT law population, I believe that budget for a Ravers In Law Club? Or travel the true issue here was the quality of the expenses for the ultimate "Disneyland Le-· activity in question. My initial reply to this gal Experience?" Without a set of princiobjection would be that it is not within the ples directing funding, some groups will discretion of the SLS to refuse funding on suffer: The SLS has cut out food and drink these grounds. However, assuming this was from clubs' budgets, when attendance at an option for the SLS executive, I would awareness- raising events is often influenced like to address this idea. by the Food Factor. It is naive to think that I believe that Law Games is as worthy we can fund certain events without implican activity as any other funded by the SLS Itly promoting some values over others. in that it Is a nationally recognized event that U of T students are interested in attending. Participants attend in a representaLara Tessaro (II)

When welcoming the president of the McG1II Law Students Association (LSA), Dean Leuprecht emphasized the value of a fruitful, communicative relationship between the Administration and the LSA. One of orientation week's highlights was a dinner where the tables were organized by small group, enabling students to meet their professors for the first time in a non-academic setting.

McGill's plentiful student space and services foster a sense of community that is not evident at U of T. Here, clubs and clmics organize widely attended extra-curricular events almost weekly. Thursday afternoons the student body gathers for coffeehouse to unwind with cheap beer and live mus1c. While the academic conferences and speakers at McGill may be less prestigious than at U of T, the social cohesion and energy around the law school makes daily life enjoyable.

Having spent two years at U of T, there is no doubt that the legal education we rece1ve

is outstanding. We have a huge variety of courses, consistently excellent professors, and many opportunities to develop our legal skills through clinics, the Law Review, and so on. However, law school should be about more than academics and career-onented schmoozing.

As I relax 1n the spac1ous atrium of McGill's new law library, I can't help but wonder ... where are my $9,000 U ofT tuition fees going? What happened to the planned renovation to increase student space?

Why did half of my professors never know my name? Why do our students have to hike up to Bloor to get a decent bagel?

I do not regret my choice to attend U of T at all. I believe it is a great law school. But visiting McGill for the semester has shown me the value of a school that put students first. By orienting itself more toward student needs, U of T can become even better.

Lori Stein (Ill)

Faculty Council Responds to Dean Ed1tor, In the last edition of this newspaper you printed an interview with the dean regarding the tuition fee levels at this law school. The student caucus of faculty council would like to comment on this subject.

The administration sets lofty standards for this institution. It would like the U ofT to be an internationally pre-eminent law school with a global reputation for excellence. This goal, on its face, does not tell us much. There are many different definitions of excellence, just as there are many different ideas about what it means to be a pre-eminent law school.

There are also many ways to go about achieving these ends.

We challenge the institution to begin a broad and open dialogue with the school com· munity to discuss the concrete aims of this law school. What prec1sely does excellence mean for us, and how can we most effectively actualize our vision?

We believe this IS a crucial process that the administration has yet to embrace. If we want to be an international leader, we cannot continue to raise tuition without being absolutely clear about the purposes for whfch we are ra1s1ng it. Saying that we are "seeking to enhance our international stature" is insufficient given the profound effects on accessibility and the diversity of our student body that rising tuition levels entail.

If we are clear about what excellence means to us at this law school, we can begin to make a list of pnorities and consider the

most effective means of achieving our goals.

This must be a debate with broad participation and much creativity. Only then will we be in a position to assess where, exactly, we must allocate our resources.

This newspaper is an excellent venue to begin this discussion, but it must be continued in other public forums such as town halls.

The question is this: how do we, as a community define what it is to be a nationally and internationally pre-eminent law school?

Once we know that, we can ask the second question: what is the most effective and efficient way to realize our vision? We believe that these issues must be given serious thought and subjected to open debate before the faculty considers further tuition increases.

Sincerely, The Students of Faculty Council Sarah Corman (1), Kevin Doyle (1), Edan Howell (Ill), Claire Hunter (I), Brian Mayes (Ill), Trish McMahon (II), John Provart (II), Gary Quedado (Ill), Sanjana Rajan (1), Benjie Shinewald (II), Katie Sykes (II), Misha Wilson (Ill)

ultra. vires@utoronto.ca (write letters)

2 1 November 2000

8

Running From the Law: On The Right Track BY

SALLY HEw.~G

Members of the running world's elite showed up in full force for Running from the Law's Retrospective 2000 gala reception held at the Royal Ontario Museum earlier this month.

The reception highlighted the 50-year history of the running club, which was started

by Coach Bora Laskin in an attempt to bring mind and body into harmony in the study of law.

The event's keynote address was given by Justice lan Binn1e, who fondly recalled his days with the club as a "manly dress-up party."

The evening was rounded out with a 25-km "Tort Case Book Fun Run," which involved a tour of Toronto sites where landmark incidences of negligence have occurred.

Stockwell Day, a Friend of Running from the Law, led the run. Day used the opportunity to showcase some of his new fall line of spandex running gear.

The gala reception was organized by Donovan Bailey, who has always regretted his decis1on to pursue running instead of law. Unfortunately, the demands of producing such a prestigious event were partly responsible for Bailey's withdrawal from the Sydney OlymPICS in September.

Of course, those who have a keen interest in historical accuracy may prefer a more modest version of the club's history. The current incarnation of the modern running club was born four years ago by Graham Williamson and Michael Bussmann, who were in their second year at the law school at the time.

1he pair had started running together in f1rst

club, but by the end of the marathon, Running from the Law was formed.

In the club's second year, it expanded from just the two founding members to three or four regular runners. Now, in its fourth year, the club has more than twenty participants and its members include first, second and third-year students, a graduate student and two faculty members. The runners' expertise ranges from those who have just started their running careers to others that have been running for more than a decade.

There are many interesting routes that are easily accesssible and within easy distance from the campus, including scenic routes through Forest Hill, Rosedale, the Moore Park ravine and the Green line Beltway.

Brian Mayes, a third-year student, is the

Route Guru, frequently amazes the group with his knowledge of running routes throughout downtown Toronto. Mayes is often responsible for planning the Wednesday afternoon Theme Runs, which prove to be very popular.

One of this year's runs was the "Spadina Expressway Run," where the runners took the subway up to Eglinton West station and then ran back downtown, following the route of the Spadina Expressway that, although never built, was to have extended from the current Allen Expressway down to the corner of Bloor and Spadina. Another theme run this year was the "Property Case Book Run," which involved a tour of various properties that have been featured in first-year property cases on easements and expropriation. Coming theme

thon tn the fall of their second year, and it

was during that race that the club was invented. Neither Bussman or Williamson can remember which came first, the name or the idea for an organized law school running

runs include the Second Annual Alumni Run , and the Brian Mayes Farewell Tour.

Professor David Duff, who joined the club this year, has expressed an mterest 1n developing a "Tax Case Book Run," which would likely entail running downtown to Bay and King, and then running from bank tower to bank tower, while learning about the various tax lawsuits in which each of the major banks and corporations have been involved.

On Oct.15, eleven members of the club participated in the Toronto Marathon and Half Marathon, raising money for breast and prostate cancer research. Benjamin Shinewald, a second-year student who plays a large part in the club's organization and in motivating members, would like to see the club continue to participate in organized races and charity runs, and plans to arrange involvement in the Terry Fox Run for next year. Shinewald's rendition of the club's histoty that appeared in Headnotes this September has been credited with sparking the increased participation in the running club.

Members of the club say that Running from the Law provides ~ good way to get to know downtown Toronto while keeping fit. Running with a group inspires members to stay active when they might otherwise lose motivation .

Anne Graham, a second-year student, commented that going for a run with the club is like going for recess. It affords a nice break from studies and a chance to play outs1de.

Running from the Law meets for runs four times a week: Tues and Wed. afternoon, Fn mid-afternoon, and Sun. morning. Runs range between s1x and fifteen km, but are typically about eight or mne km long. The club meets at Bora's Head, then. aces over to Hart house to run rrom there.

year, anO e'-lentua\\y started tra\n\ng ~Of the\r first marathon. They ran the Niagara mara-

Runners from the Law stop for a moment to pose at Hart House.

Running from the Law always welcornes new members. Anyone interested In joining should contact Benjamin Shinewatd (II) at benjamin.shinewald@otorooto.ca

Students Launch Burma Hutnan Rights Group

BY THE

Cunm B URMA G ROUP

lice were waiting to arrest him for the third time. Unable to face the torture and horrors of prison again, he fled to Thailand where he Ko Aung* learned English 10 a dank prison cell in Burma. Scraping bits off the wall to now runs a group to support Burmese politifashion brick-tainted paint, he wrote on the cal prisoners and their families. floor with the sharpened end of a stick. Each Before all this began, he was a young uniday as he was led to the toilet, the old Engversity student in Rangoon. The universities lish teacher down the hall whispered words in Burma are now closed and have been for to him: the shape of letters, the verb 'to be,' years, because every time the ruling m1litary and the words 'I am a student.' junta allows young people to gather and study, He was eventually able to teach new stupro democracy demonstrations break out. The dents the language, and later, after his first legitimate government, elected in 1990, has release, he was able to tell members of the never been able to convene; many of its International Committee of the Red Cross of members are in prison, in exile or silenced. the squalid prison conditions and routine torMore than 100,000 refugees have fled into ture inflicted on political prisoners. He spent neighbouring Thailand, escaping the military a total of 11 years in prison, enduring countcampaigns that target ethnic minorities. Vii· less beatings, interrogations and deprivations. lagers are taken from their homes and forced The first arrest followed his pro-democracy to carry supplies and equipment for the mili· speech on a street corner in Rangoon. tary. Many are used as human mine detecHe had been an assistant to the student tors. Soldiers rape and torture with impunity. leader, Min Ko Naing, who remains in prison Entire villages are driven from their homes, today. His second prison term came after he forced to resettle in areas incapable of growassisted the underground student movement ing food. To keep its stranglehold on the counand met with human rights mon1tors. Last try, the military regime plays an active role in • year, as he was walking home, a neighbour the highly lucrative heroin trade. Burma is stopped him and informed him that the po- . the source of 90 per cent of the heroin from

Southeast Asia, the origin of 60 per cent of the heroin on Canada's streets.

The leader of the pro democracy movement, Nobel Laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, remains under virtual house arrest, her movements restricted and her supporters under constant threat of arrest and interference.

She has asked the world to join in supporting her people, stating, "please use your liberty to promote ours.''

A new student group at the law school is working to support human rights and democracy in Burma. Our first task is to ensure that the University of Toronto does not support the military regime through investment. As Burton Levin, former ambassador to Burma said, "foreign investment in most countries acts as a catalyst to promote change, but the Burmese regime is so single-minded that whatever income they might obtain from foreign sources they pour straight in to the army while the rest of the country collapses."

Any investment into the country goes through the military. Many fore1gn companies invest in joint ventures with the Union of Myanmar Economic Holding, 40 per cent of which is owned by the Directorate of Defense

CLUBS & CLINICS

Ultra Vires

CLUBS & CLINICS

Procurement and 60 per cent by shareholders in the armed forces. In addition, drugs are the country's main income earner, and businesses owned by traffickers and their families invest heavily in infrastructure projects designed to attract and facilitate foreign enterprises. As a result, investors, particularly those in hotel and property development, have problems finding partners whose capital isn't derived from the drug trade.

Many well known companies have already pulled out of Burma, including Pepsi, Apple Computers, Motorola, Hewlett Packard, and Eddie Bauer. However, General Motors Canada recently announced a new joint venture w1th Suzuki Japan, which continues to invest in Burma today. There is still much work to be done.

A Worker Protection Act that Meets the Needs of m.ployers, Not Employees

BY ESTEE GARFIN

Employees will earn less money than they do now if overtime eligibility is increased to 132 hours over three weeks. Currently, someone who works 35 hours in week one plus 60 hours in week two and 35 hours in week three will receive 16 hours of overtime pay.

Under the proposed changes, that same person would not be entitled to any overtime pay because the sum of hours worked over the three weeks is 130, which is below the required 132 hours over three weeks.

Again, this allows employers to meet market demands by paying employees less, but less money does nothing to benefit workers or help balance the demands of work and family.

Eliminating the requirement that workers have a day of rest once a week will likely mean that workplace accidents will increase if workers are forced to work 12 consecutive days. Moreover, it may make it more difficult for people to spend time with their families.

This change will allow employers to schedule employees for their busiest periods and force employees to take their days of rest during a time that is slower.

There are many more proposed changes that would make workers more vulnerable to pressure from their employers to agree to work schedules and payment arrangements that are not beneficial. One suggestion that is an Improvement is fam1ly-cnsis leave that would allow workers to have up to 10 days of un-

ont.,~rir"•at the Centre for Spanish SpeakPeoples Student Legal Clinic provides volnteers with a practical perspective of the One of the goals of the clinic this year is to --.,,.rt;,.;ruot" in more legal education and activism the community, in part because of the prolegislation that will affect our clients.

One of the latest attempts of the Harris to erode human rights in this provis the recent consultation paper concernthe Employment Standards Act (ESA), hich sets the minimum working conditions everyone in Ontario. These standards are important for those who are most vulerable i n the labour market, namely lowworkers, young workers, women, workwho are new to Canada, and workers of . This paper sets out various proposals amend the ESA. The paper's stated objecve is to modernize the Act: standards do not always accommodate needs of employers to run their businesses a way that meets market pressures, new anufactunng processes or the intensive reuirements of high-technology industries. The ours of work standards also do not accom_..,rv~"t" the needs of employees to vary workhours according to individual preference or and family responsibilities." l.sr..,;,:.;:~~.;·J;: goal of better accommodating Is lauelable, the proposals show paid leave per year for family emergencies. at more concern has been given to the Unfortunately, this would only apply to of employers and that protections for workplaces of more than 50 employees. All _,,...,.,,..., would actually be weakened with new employees deserve family-crisis leave t1me, Some of the suggested changes which would help address the needs of famre as follows: ily and work.

Extend the maximum number of hours More flexibility for employees is a praiseof work to 180 hours over three weeks worthy objective, however the above changes from the current 48 per week; would give employers increased control over Increase the number of hours worked for the terms of employment. If the government eligibility for overtime pay to 132 hours wants to make it easier for employees to deal per three week period from the current with the changes of the modern economy, it 44 hours per week; should look to increasing the minimum wage Replace the One Day's Rest in Seven (which has not kept pace with inflation and Act with a law requiring two days of rest has not been increased in five years), and it in 14 days. should extend family-crisis leave to all workIncreasing the maximum number of hours ers and improve the mechanisms that comwork over three weeks may allow some pensate workers for work-related injuries and 11/l::>rkers to earn more money at one job rather violations of the ESA so that they are able to having to hold down numerous jobs at a get fair settlements in a timely fashion. The .-Jw.,JJ::~c7P rate. However, longer hours may suggestions of the consultation paper would to more workplace accidents and it will make people work longer and more erratic • P•rr"'""" the time that workers have for tamhours for less money: this is bad public policy. and leisure. Conversely, longer hours do The Clin1c is involved with the movement the needs of employers who may choose to oppose these changes. The legislation has employ fewer people for more hours thereby not yet been tabled in the provincial legisla• E!CrE!asi·ng the amount paid in benefits; this ture, but is expected shortly. Help defeat the I help employers meet market demands. government's attacks to workers' basic rights.

*Name has been changed to protect the individual.

If you are interested in promOting human nghts and democracy in aurma, please join us. Contact: warren. ragoonanan@utoronto.ca nielsene@interlog.com allyssa. case@utoronto. ca.

Ultra Vires is looking for two new editors for the Features and Clubs & Clinics sect ions. If you are interested in being an editor in second semester, please contact Melissa Kluger at ultrQ.vires@utoronto.ca or see Headnotes for more details. Students from all years are encouraged to apply.

Applications are due Nov. 28, 2000.

9

I oppose the recent suggestions to amend the EmployStandards Act that would force workers to work

ment

more hours befor€ earning overtime pay; that would increase the maximum ~Howable hours Of work per week; and that would eliminate the One Day's Rest in Seven Act. The Ontario government should support workers with an increase to the mtnimum wage, extend family crisis leave to all workers, and improve enforcement of the Employ· ment Standards Act. Yours truly:

-----------------------

Place Stamp Here

Chris Stockwell, MPP Minister of labour 400 University Avenue 14th Floor Toronto, Ontario M7A 1T7 (416) 326-7600 Fax(416) 326-1449

Members oi the Bangkok Working Group held a bake ~ale at the recent Coffee House to raise funds for the Bangkok Lc~;al Clinic.

Student-Run Legal Clinics: An Endangered Species BY }ULIANA SAXBERG

Downtown Legal Services' (DLS) claim as the last student-run legal clinic in the province is in jeopardy as Dean Ron Daniels finalizes plans to hire an executive director. The executive director was supposed to be finalized on August 12 and three candidates were shortlisted.

However, no one has been hired and it is unclear why things have been left hanging.

Not many students ·know very much about DLS's governance, nor about the Dean's plan to install an Executive Director in response to so-called problems with the traditional student-exec model; still fewer care much. Believing as I do in the importance of dialogue, these things need to be said.

In late fall of 1998, the Dean published a memorandum in Headnotes, in the re: line "Mancfate to Review Governance Structure of DLS". It appears that there were some problems with specific review counsel, a position held by lawyers who supervise our filework. These professionals are both hired and fired by the executive, which consists of six students and three "standing members" including one civil review counsel, one criminal review counsel, and the office administrator. I don't know what happened back then, but you can imagine: faced with the challenge of firing one of their own, there being no other effective mechanism in place to discipline review coonsel or hold them accountable, I bet the student executive went to the dean.

The dean is like the Queen was to Canada before Trudeau. He is statutorily "top dog" in DLS under our enabling legislation, The Legal Aid Act ( 1990). I can say from my experience that I have never seen hair nor hide of Ron Daniels at the various clinic offices, not once. The community loves us and we look great in the brochures, especially to the allimportant incoming crowd of law students we are perennially losing to the States with their highly developed clinic programs.

Sometimes we get into trouble and that's when we really need the Dean.

DLS is one of two clinics in the city that shoulder the vast majority of criminal matters not covered by Legal Aid, and we also have well-reputed practices in landlord &tenant matters, income tribunals like Ontario Works, consumer rights, and employment, that get us referrals from other Community Legal Aid clinics and administrative bodies

such as the Ontario Rental Housing Tribunal.

Our clients are no more important than any of the folks you usually don't notice, when you pick up the paper or coffee in the morning. They are the most important people m the world to us.

Sometimes things go wrong. We do our best, but there is always the sceptre ot the "complaint to the Law Society~ hovering over

us which is likely why the role of review counsel can be difficult. In the end," 1t's their in· surance and their reputation on the line. It would be great if we had a mechanism in place to ensure accountability of review counsel. If that was all the Dean wanted to do, I wouldn't have a problem with it. However, the governance report talks about problems with the student executive members "shirking," 1t refers to "incentives" to make students do more, it talks about "integrating" the clinic with the academic program of law school. Sure, those are legitimate concerns.

What it doesn't talk about are our clients.

It doesn't talk about the all-important posi· tion we occupy in the web of Legal Aid services that are provided in the province, the. work that falls to us that no one else can do.

If thmgs were that bad with the student executive, we wouldn't have the reputation for excellence that we do, and we wouldn't continue to assist the sheer number of litigants and defendants that would otherwise go unrepresented.

I guess my concerns about the installat1on of an executive director are that simple. Will she scale back the services that we are providing in favour of "academicizing" the participation of students? Will she put the brakes on our more serious and interesting cases, like representing women and men who are charged with domestic abuse offenses? Will she honour the work that the current executive has done to improve our community presence, through outreach and public legal edu· cation? Does she know, can she know, how much our clients need us? Will that continue to be the most important thing at the end of the day? I'm afraid that if our independence is threatened, if we are accountable to the Faculty not the community, if someone 1s given the choice to make for us, we'll be hanging up our worsted wool robes and going to class. And it's not just the client that is going to lose if that happens. It's all of us.

DIVERSIONS

21 November 2000 10 ----------------------------~D~IV~ERSIONS

A Law Student's Guide to the New Grad Residence "Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months."

- Oscar Wilde Being a law student does not necessarily imply that you should not know or care about the arts. There are many reasons for developing an interest m, say, architecture. Should your house m Rosedale, New Canaan or Tuxedo Park have to be remodelled, you'd know what to 9sk for from your architect. Moreover, it can sometimes be useful to have an opinion on topics outside of law and business.

Who knows, you may eventually meet people who, believe it or not, find law-talk boring. Take the Grad Residence at Harbord and Spadina. Yes, it's weird. But if you had to sustain a longer conversation on it and avoid the snooty French label "inculte," here is what you could say.

Before attacking the beast, you must know about the distinction between "high" and "popular" art. [Very] roughly speaking, art is said to be "high" when it flies above the heads of the plebes. On the other hand, popular art usually attracts readers of the Toronto Star and the National Post- plebes and ex-plebes wtth money. Popular art is not the same as Andy Warhol's "Pop Art," which ts really tonguein-cheek htgh art. Popular art is usually cute, pretty, figurative and pre-World War Two. High art is meant to be understood and appreciated at an intellectual level. The fewer who get it, the better it is. You're fine as long as others think that you understand. High Art is a state of mind and a pedantic posture. It's 'NI"Ia\ mal<.es Mon\realers ana Ne'N '(or\<.ers tne

way they are. It's what makes pP.Ople brag about reading the The Globe and Mail and Wallpaper Magazine.

The "0" above Harbord is a good example of high art. It is meant to be "read." Reading a building is really about trying to figure out explanations for its silliness. For example, if we "read" Robarts, we can find the clever link between its shape and its function:

tions of the possibilities given by computerized design tools (look at all the things I can do with a pen ... ).

Architects have realized that the tools they use tend to influence their designs. For long, T-squares and straight-edges have accounted for boxy buildings. Computers now allow them to design surfaces to be cuNed in more than one directton, and architects like Mayne are

The new Grad Residence in all its architectural splendour. library- knowledge repository - vamty- strutting your stuff- big concrete peaoock. Get it?

In the Grad Residence, Thorn Mayne, of a California firm called "Morphosis" (imagine a law firm called "Settlement" or "Euphemism"), chose to express many things, which is to say the building can be "read" on many levels. One level 'Nas the explora-

trying to push the lim1ts of what can be done with new medium. In that respect, this building is a mild example of Morphosis' work.

The university was not quite rich or daring enough to allow Mayne to go all the way.

A second level of reading is the challenge to the traditional palette of building materials. Since Gehry, architects all over are questionmg preconceived ideas about building en ve/opes, and replacing the traditional brick, wood clapboard or stone with plywood, steel, chain-link, tires, etc. Here too, Mayne attempted to redefine traditional notions of aesthetics by using exposed steel. So what if it rusts. So what if it leaks. It's different.

A third reading IS the architect's attempt to incorporate new conceptions of space and fluidity provided by cyberspace. On Websites, depth ts created with moving layers of different colours and texture, as well as with degrees of transparency. So is, supposedly, the "skin" of the Grad Residence. Moreover, Websties need labelling, and this building marks the Western gateway to the university. Accordmgly, Mayne put up a "University of Toronto" label 10 Helvetica 25,000 points.

Not much of thts relates to the people who live in the bUIIdmg. The targeted public here is other architects, other universities and potential wealthy patrons; not users. The president of the university can now go around and brag about his Morphosis piece. We are now a "World Class" university with "World Class" buildtngs. We are fashionable. "It's Lacro1x, darling sweety."

On the bright s1de, though, bu ildings like these should bnng smiles to your budding-lawyer faces. They prov1de for a bonanza of law suits. Delays of more than a year are boo-boos that often breach contracts.

Moreover, thanks to our own consumerfriendly Justice Laforest in Winnipeg Condo , contractors, subcontractors, architects and engineers can always be sued for negligence in causing economic loss; even 15 years after construction.

Their duty of care does not even translate into a duty of good maintenance by the owner. In 20 years, when the building is nothing but a leaky pile of rust with dirty, unwashable windows, the university will be able to turn around and sue the archi· tect in negligence for not thinking that experiments with materials do not wothc l .. roN.-<1 '

Toronto's c11mate as well as they do Cal fornia's. Even pedestrians who get whacked by icicles raining down from the "0" can joi n the fun and bring a tort action. You see, now you know why the Grad Residence is so much more than weird.

Jimm.y Page Fails to Appear at Coffee House Law students put down their books and showed off their talents at this semester's coffee house. Everyone was no doubt encouraged by the realization that, yes, people have lives outside of law school.

Anyone who has descended on the Haight Ash bury district of San Francisco of late will likely have remarked on the irony of how the one-time scene of radical thought and acid-dropping insurrection is now a trendy hamlet, home to day-traders and SUV-driving conformity. Having strolled past the former home of the Dead and Janis Joplin's old pad, I decided to peek into Jack's Record Cellar.

After a short and aimless perusal of some of the stacks of old vinyf, I soon found myself standing in the jazz section - "Just maybe they have it," I thought to mysetf now anxiously flipping through the records marked off under "W." In high school, I had a french teacher who had come over from France in the late60's when the schools were becoming ripe with revolution, and who respected his students enough not to take himself too seriously. "So you like jazz .. ." he said to me one day 10 conversation. The next day he brought tn a bunch of old jazz LPs; and buried amongst them was a copy of the album I was now holding in my hand, some years later and nearly a continent apart, the dub of which I would later leave in a friend's car somewhere along the way, and which squeaked anyways from having been played so often. The record was Phil Woods and his European Rhythm Machine, Uve at the Frankfurt Festival.

A wise man once said, "All I got is a red guitar, three chords and the truth." With this album, Phil Woods affirms on alto sax

that truth is to be found on a whole other plane of reality. It's been said also that music is the space between the notes. If that's the case, then the only music here is the pause between songs - which might give you the chance to catch your breath or perhaps ponder your new found musical inadequacy. Overall, this album has a very cool groove to it, with Gordon Beck (piano), Daniel Huma1r (drums) and Henri Texier (bass) to complement Woods' mystifying horn playing and hypnotic fingering. My favourite song is the first one entitled "Freedom Jazz Dance, • notable for its seemingly never-endmg licks.

With allusions to Mohamed Ali, Phil Woods "floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee." If they called Charl1e Parker the "Bird," then in Frankfurt on that evemng in 1971, Woods was like a canary on a runaway steam engine bolting toward the honzon in the night. "Are you sure you're playing it at the right speed?" the guy behind the counter (Jack, I presumed) asked me as I listened to the first track, as if to imply that I might not know the difference between a 45 and a 78. "No, this is just what I'm looking for," I answered back dismissively.

A few years ago I was talking with a seasoned jazz saxophonist and this album came up in conversation. "You know I was living in Frankfurt at that t1me," he told me, "I used to stop in that club once a week and sit in with the visiting musicians, but for some reason I didn't go that week. " I could see the look of regret still hanging on his face after all these years. Don't make the same mistake this album's not to be missed.

..

Dear Agnes and Zelda Dear Agnes and Zelda, My latest crush thtnks we're ''iust friends" but I want more! How do I let her know?

Signed: confused and pathetic Dear Pathetic, Take the subtle route. At your next study group, try caressing your constitutional text book suggestively - this will let her know you're in touch with your sexuality (and your reading!). If she doesn't get the hint, take more drastic action: caress her constituttonal text book. If she still doesn't get it, try.some tort action!

P.S. Don't get carried away - it's a study group, not a study grope.

Dear Agnes and Zelda, My best buddy keeps fondling my textbooks and shooting me suggestive looks it's freaking me out. Is he all right?

Signed: friend of a fondler Dear F-F, No. He's obviously a creep and needs help.

Move on.

Top left photo -- from left: Gennady Ferenbok (II), Scott Patriqum (II) , Gillian Scott (II), Megan Ferrier (II), and Pauline Rosenbaum (II) enjoy the drinks and entenainment.

Dear Agnes and Zelda, A saucy intruder stole my girlfriend at the Halloween Party - what should I do?

Signed: lonely and depressed with a touch of melancholy

Top right photo -- Kathy Bromley (III}, not on ly organized the event, but played violin, too.

Dear Lonely, Possession, as you know, is nine-tenths of the law - however as a matter of public policy we have to asl<.: should we rea\\':f treat boyfflends and glflfriends as chatteJ? On the other hand, why did your girlfriend allow herself to be "stolen?" We suspect there are underlying issues the two of you need to address. You may want to have a heart-to-heart with your girl and figure it out. Alternatively, forget the nasty cheater and move on.

Bottom right photo -l)Jnna

jAn ttetlted the

audience to a beautiful

ballad.

Bottom left photo -\Vann a be rock star Derek Allen.

The Best Albmn Ever Recorded

BY ADRIAN DIGIOVANNI

11

Ultra Vires

l'n1 a Peacock, What are You?

BY STEPHEN pARKS, WITH FILES FROM jULIANA 8AXBERG

You're a first-year. You start writing your first exam. Your first word is "Pussy." Pause. Your second word IS "willow." Every law student gets a pseudonym. Nobody goes public, just like herpes.

Pseudonyms date back to Dean Cecil B. Wright (1900-1900), who challenged his staff to come up with dozens of bird, flora, and animal names. Luckily, current professors are much less gullible. They know that the second-year birds are m fact third-year animals. Thus, there is no potential institutional discnmination. Further, our vegetative first-years have their own classes to protect the bottom of the food-chain. Unfortunately, as with health care, this two-tier system is at the mercy of the powerful bottom-tier lobby.

Also, animals do not exist. Much like sweat shops, they are agitprop, invented by stssies too scared to vote according to their homophobia (natch). The only wildlife sanctuaries you'll see from your Bay Street window are the strip bars on Yonge Street. More evil sullied the purity of our school when we included token minorities, and the Records Office went to the liberal Internet to expand

the pseudonym lists. Thus, alongside regular biblical animals, such as Unicorn and Dragon, is the non-Christian mythical "Dinosaur. • A glimmer of hope remains for alienating conservative bureaucracy. Celia swears the pseudonyms are randomly assigned by the computer. No doubt. But the prophetic nature of pseudonyms is reassuring. What professor could resist squashing Babbler and Snail? Bias is an essential part of training for the bench. There have been justifiable complaints among our brothers, for instance, a bald "Bald Eagle."

This may explain why Weasel is not on the list. Interestingly, there are plenty of vulgar pseudonymS: Swallow, Shag, Bushbuck, Polecat. Further proof that our good and proper brethren are shy about sex. Luckily, feminists have not successfully infiltrated our school to protest Anaconda. Admittedly, Peacock is an oversight.

Progressive conseNative reforms:

1. Use case names. Birds are not in our summanes and are thus too difficult to spell.

2. Use the names of American law firms.

Alternatively, we could recognize the sufferings of our sinful poor by using disease names. Pleurisy, Candida, Eczema, Botulism, Consumption, Lupus, Black Lung, and Acne, would seNe as reminders of the grace of Our Lord. Remain vigilant and protect our innocent first-years from evil hippies who would add Cannabis, Peyote, Agave, Coca, Weed or Hemp to the list.

Finally, we should add martyrs like Khadafi, Pol Pot, Hussein, Stalin, Reagan, Thatcher, Noreiga, Caligula, and Kim Campbell.

P.S. For the times when you get to pick your pseudonym, be subversive. Stephen Parks got away with Choad. What could top that? "Annabel Chong?"

1bp 5 worstsecondayear pseudonyms: Top 5 most lewd pseudonyms: l) chicken 2) turkey 3) buzzard 4) bufflehead 5) cuckoo TopS worst third-)•ear pseudonyme;: I) toad 2) waterhog 3) bovine 4) vak 5)monkey

1) stallion 2) swallow 3) shag 4) nuthatch 5) polecat

The pseudonym everybody wants: rockctfroo0

Dear Agnes and Zelda, My boyfriend wants me to take "the next step, • but I'm not sure I'm ready - ts it alright to wait?

Signed: real person Dear Real Person, Wow! Thanks for the letter! Any adviser worth her salt will tell you to take your time and if he's worth it, he'll understand. And what better way to know if he's "the one" or not? Th1s is an important step in your life and you shouldn't take it until you're absolutely comfortable both with your boyfriend and with yourself. Doing a cross-word puzzle together is a big responsibility and not one to be taken lightly- better to stick to your own until you are sure that this is where you really want to go. And when you are finally ready to take the plunge, it Will be all the more special and rewarding.

P.S. If the jerk won't quit pressuring you you know what to do!

Dear Agnes and Zelda, I've lost my umbrella, what should I do?

Signed: inspired by the sun setting over Philo!~Jpher's Walk as I ponder the nobility of the legal profession from the bowels of the Bora Laskin Ub'rary (2nd floor, 8th desk from the righfJ Dear We~rdo, Go buy a new one, and baby:, move qn!

' to mterNeed.adv1ce? Want Agnes and Zef<fa fere tn your life? Send us your fetter care of Ultra Vtres (ultra.vires@utoronto.ca)!

•

· Ultra Vires

DIVERSIONS

12

Ultra News: Not-So-Real News Frotn Around the Law School Suggestion becomes reality

Squirrel, 3, found dead

BY NOAH GITIERMAN

A squirrel was found dead on the side of the road late last week. It was only 3 years old.

Penny, a third-year law student, was possibly the first to discover the body. "I was walking down Queen's Park Crescent, and I saw a small, furry, shape in the gutter." She said.

"Then I went to my basketball game at the AC." The cause of death is not yet known, but it is feared that this tragedy is linked to contmual factional violence between the squirrels and the p1geons.

The law school brokered Squirrel-Pigeon Accord, one of the Dean's crowning achievements of his current term, may now be in tatters.

"We condemn the violence on both sides," stated a press release sent out by the administration. "There is enough room around the law school for both pigeons and squirrels to forage for garbage and live together peacefully."

BY NOAH GITIERMAN

A suggestion placed in the little-known Bora Laskin Law Library suggestion box became reality earlier this month.

Sometime this summer, an anonymous student suggested that the popular and wellliked McGill Guide be tied to the reference desk, so that people would stop stealing it.

The book is now tied down with a long, slender, golden chain.

Many students have found this new development to be an uplifting and heartwarmmg encouragement to us all.

"This shows us that everyone, even law students, can change the world for the better, • said Eva, self-appointed suggestion box co-ordinator. "Dreams can come true."

Some students, however, see the new addition as an ominous sign, and are concerned that it creates a more "prison-like" atmosphere.

"What's next?" Frank (Ill) asked. "Are they gonna frisk us before we leave? Chain us to our carrels?"

The administration disagrees, and believes that the box will have a rosy future at the school.

"This is a tremendous achievement," said the library's chief. "It shows that our suggestion box can compete on an intemationallevel with suggestion boxes from law schools around the world."

.........

Dean's list secret discovered BY }ACOB GLICK

Justin (II) admitted last week that he and the other students on the Dean's List succeeded on last year's exams because they had the "legacy key."

Annually passed from an upper-year student to a first-year student, the so-called legacy key is actually a master key to the entire school. With 1t, students opened professors' offices where they retrieved not just the exams but also the ultra-classified answer sheets.

-;. . A iz S . ~ ;

";. ...

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.

• r

Mike Hollin~r (II) making his dream~ come true.

"All that time spent 1n the library was just a clever ruse," admitted Justin (II). "We decided we would make it look like we were working really hard so as to avo1d suspicion."

Apparently this startling confession was motivated by the care-taking staff, who discovered the scam and threatened to expose the cabal of under-achieving over-achievers.

In return for coming forward, the Dean's List students willingly accept any sanctions the school levies against them. Their only demand is that Donna Martin graduates.

First..year students admit to resume padding BY ]ACOB GLICK

Most common false claims made on the firstyear class' applications to law school: • can walk on water • invented the semi-colon • faster than a speed1n2 bullet • saw Britney Spears naked on the Internet • for real dude • care about the poor and underprivileged

ZSA, Canada's legal recruitment firm, is proud of its involvement in assisting University of Toronto Law School students by way of the ZSA Award for Innovation Law.

Continuing in this same vein, ZSA has established a number.of part-time, legally related jobs to provide law students with extra spending money while at the same time learning more about the industry field in which they are about to enter. To work around student schedules, these jobs will be "flextime", performance-based, as opposed to time-driven in nature and capable of being done at a home computer terminal. For more information on these opportunities, please contact Michelle Dalos, Office Administrator at ZSA Legal Recruitment at (416) 368-2051.