MARCH 28, 2018 | ULTRAVIRES.CA
THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO FACULTY OF LAW
FISHSTICKS HARD AT WORK
FISHY TAKING A WELL-DESERVED REST
Graduating Student Profiles: Fishsticks
KEVIN SCHOENFELDT (3L)
As part of our f inal issue of the year, we were planning to feature a number of questionnaires f illed out by graduating students, but only one student returned theirs in time: Fishsticks, who is set to be U of T Law’s f irst feline graduate. Name: Fishsticks. Fishy to my friends. And, no, my last name is not “The Cat.” I don’t have a last name, but I’ll respond to Mr. Sticks if you insist on being formal. Age: Unknown. I know I’m at least ten, which is seventy to most of you I guess, but before that, nobody knows. Hometown: Montreal, also known as “the Toronto of Quebec.” I’m joking, Montrealers, calm down. Hobbies: Meowing at the wall in the middle of the night lol Favourite Food: Mangos. J/K it’s catfood. Favourite Singer/Band: Cat Power. Not because of her name though, everyone always assumes it’s because of her name. Like what, is every human’s favourite band The Human League? Get out of here. Favourite TV Show: T he Wire, for obvious reasons. Favourite Movie: Ratatouille. I know, I know, but that little rat’s got heart! Least Favourite Movie: I know it just came out, but Isle of Dogs’ portrayal of cats is absolute garbage. But what else would you expect from noted dog propagandist, Wes Anderson?
Life Goal: To get prof iled in U V. HA HA HA HA, yeah right. It’s Supreme Court Justice or bust. Pet Peeve: When people make cat puns to me. Like they ask, “Are you getting a Purrrris Doctor? Are you going to call yourself an Attorney at Paw? Do you want to practice international law because of all the TREATies?” I hate it. I’m not crazy about the term pet peeve either by the way. Best Law School Memory: I got to meet Justice Abella when she was here for the Grand Moot last year, and she scratched under my chin. Can you believe it? Scratched under the chin by Rosalie Abella. What an honour! Worst Law School Memory: I fell asleep in the front row of Evidence with Hamish Stewart and started snoring. He’s my favourite prof and I could see how disappointed in me he was when he woke me up. I’m sorry, Professor Stewart, it’s hard for me to stay awake longer than ten minutes at a time! What advice would you give future law students?: Know that you can do this, but you can’t do it alone. Before I went to law school I had a stroke, I lost my vision, I developed diabetes, but I made it through with perseverance and the help of my #1 human, Kevin. He’s like a son to me. And we’re graduating at the same time, how crazy is that?? Darkest Secret: Remember how there used to be mice in the library? Have you seen any lately? No, you haven’t. Because I called them all names until they moved to a dif ferent building. Do I regret it? Not really. I’m a cat.
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE EXIT THOUGHTS
PERSONAL STATEMENTS: THEN AND NOW
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GUIDE TO CRYING IN PUBLIC: FINANCIAL DISTRICT EDITION PAGE 25
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Ultra Vires is an editorially independent publication. We are open to contributions which reflect diverse points of view, and our contents do not necessarily reflect the views of the Faculty of Law, the Students’ Law Society, or the editorial board.
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Amani Rauff & Aidan Campbell Maud Rozee & Lily Hassall Shari Nathan & Chloe Magee SuJung Lee & Rachel Chan Kevin Schoenfeldt & Norm Yallen Honghu Wang, Daryna Kutsyna, Lily Rosenthal & Robert Nanni Mimi Pichette Nick Papageorge Alexandra Fox Shari Nathan
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Letter from the Editors: We’re Just A Little Tired AIDAN CAMPBELL (3L) & AMANI RAUFF (3L) Don’t be sorry it’s over; be sorry it ever happened in the first place. Kevin Schoenfeldt, c. 2018 (who had been sitting on this great line for years but was never grumpy enough to use it) _________________________________
It’s beautiful outside, there are 25 days left of law school, and frankly, we do not care anymore. We wanted to write something hopeful, touching, and nostalgic. A celebration of what is indeed a genuinely signif icant accomplishment, and—if nothing else—a major turning point in most of our lives. But we’re not really feeling it. We’re both just a little tired and law school is feeling about a year too long. Anyway, might as well use this space for one last good screed... It is useful to remember how this is all kind of made up. We are joining a profession that keeps itself relevant through absurd entrance barriers ($4,859 in licensing fees on top of tuition!?) and effective lobbying. Yes, lawyers might be important, but mostly because of a monopoly we’ve built around ourselves, to the exclusion of others. It’s
nice to remember it’s f iction, if only to keep our egos in check (for example, the administrative staff in our workplaces will be much better-equipped to do much the work we’ll be assigned). We’ll mess up, probably repeatedly (for when that happens, check out this issue’s “Guide to Crying in Public: Financial District Edition”). But much of the supposed stakes of this work are entirely self-imposed. So, when you’re having a nice Saturday night out with friends and you get a work email, hey, maybe leave it for the morning. Maybe just leave it for Monday. And while we caution against taking ourselves too seriously, we must acknowledge the aspects of the work that are serious. The legal profession has managed to make this whole thing up in a way that gives us an incredible inf luence over the lives and livelihoods of others. For some of us this is a jarring shift in status. For those of us that have lived our entire lives this way, we may not feel it as abruptly. But for all of us, we are being granted a social position few others have access to. We will be wielding the power of this position whether we do so consciously or not. This generation of lawyers is forcing a deeply conservative profession to rethink its relationship with a public that it is meant to serve and represent. Just in the past three months, we watched as our justice system,
and adjacent social systems, utterly failed Colten Boushie and Tina Fontaine in an all too familiar way. In the weeks following, law students around the country walked out of class in their honour. It was nice to see so many of us join in. The profession itself is changing, as people in underrepresented groups f ight their way into circles that remain openly hostile to them, and speak up about the challenges they’re facing along the way. In the face of this reckoning, it’s become increasingly clear that maintaining the cushy and exclusive status quo is as much a choice as railing against it. As we graduate we are going to get the chance to do things that aren’t purely pedagogical—maybe for the f irst time. A critical mass of us have never really lived without the end of a term on the horizon. We’re all about to have a work product with impact beyond ourselves. And with our heads f inally clear of the insular bullshit of law school, we have space to consider what that impact will be. Or not, whatever. Like we said, we’re tired. Have a great summer all.
xoxo, Aidan & Amani
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NEWS
March 28, 2018 | 3
Panel Discussion: Colten Boushie and the Gerald Stanley Verdict JAMES SCHNEIDER (3L)
The killing of Colten Boushie by Gerald Stanley, and the outcome of Mr. Stanley’s trial, has led to a national discussion on the justice system’s handling of cases with Indigenous victims. Gerald Stanley, a white man, was found not guilty by an all-white jury of second-degree murder and manslaughter for his shooting of Mr. Boushie, an Indigenous man. On March 1, students and staff at the Faculty of Law engaged in this discussion at an Indigenous Law Students’ Association (ILSA) panel moderated by Leslie Anne St. Amour (1L). The panel was preceded by a community smudge ceremony, intended to prepare both the speakers and the listeners for the discussion. The f irst panelist was Professor Kent Roach. He spoke at length about the dark history of the Canadian justice system’s treatment of Indigenous persons. In the town of Battleford, where the Stanley trial was held, an all-white jury sentenced eight Indigenous men to death, in 1885, for their alleged participation in the North-West Rebellion. Professor Roach stressed the importance of the make-up of the jury, explaining that fact-f inding in any case requires very human ideas and intuitions to decide what likely happened. The criminal process, he said, “is always going to remain a very human process.” But this highly human process is also extremely inscrutable. Juries do not give reasons and, by law, jury deliberations must be kept secret. As a result, there is never a way of knowing a jury’s line of reasoning, nor whether any racist or racially-tinged remarks were made during deliberations. In the Stanley trial, it was not recorded how many Indigenous persons were summoned. What is known is that all visibly Indigenous jurors who attended were subject to peremptory challenges. The result of this was an all-white jury. All-white juries in trials related to Indigenous persons have been found constitutional by the Supreme Court of Canada in the 2015 case R v Kokopenace. As long as “reasonable efforts” are made when selecting the jury, the results do not matter. Professor Roach suggested that we move to a results-based approach: Parliament should reverse Kokopenace with new legislation. He had several suggestions for the shape this legislation could take. One was to amend s. 629 of the Criminal Code to allow
jury panels to be challenged if they do not achieve substantive equality. This might also put pressure on the provinces to make changes to the formation of their jury pools. Professor Roach suggested considering volunteer jurors, similar to how coroner panels are currently formed. Alternatively, removing some exclusions, such as the exclusion of potential jurors who do not speak English or French, or who have previous convictions, could allow for a more representative jury, especially in the Indigenous context. Professor Roach also discussed the contentious issue of eliminating peremptory challenges altogether. Although he cautioned that he does not think that eliminating peremptory challenges alone would be able to improve jury make-up, he believes that, along with other reforms, their removal could lead to a more representative jury by preventing Indigenous jurors from being removed without cause. A more robust system of challenges “for cause” would then allow lawyers to remove potentially racist jurors where they might otherwise have used peremptory challenges. The next speaker was Shannon McDunnough, a Mi'kmaq lawyer specializing in criminal law. Ms. McDunnough practices primarily in Kenora and spoke about her experiences with systemic racism in the criminal justice system. In Kenora, 90–95% of the individuals in remand are Indigenous. Due to the geography of northwest Ontario, Indigenous persons from communities hundreds of kilometres away are brought to Kenora for jailing. Being so far from their families and homes, this creates signif icant diff iculties in posting bail. There are serious issues with accessibility as well. Indigenous persons visiting Kenora for routine reasons, such as medical treatment, are frequent victims of carding and other forms of harassment by police. If they are arrested for minor offenses, they risk become stranded by missing their return f lights back to their communities. Ms. McDunnough explained that systemic issues exist inside the courtroom as well. She said that there is a strong sense of paternalism in the justice system. Judges often see sentencing as an opportunity to “improve” Indigenous persons, such as by setting bail conditions that require alcohol abstinence where the convicted person’s offenses had no connection to alcohol. Ms. McDunnough also shared her opinions on improving jury composition. As a
practicing criminal lawyer, she disagreed with Professor Roach regarding peremptory challenges, which she sees as a valuable tool. Nonetheless, she agreed that it is essential to address the systemic issues in jury selection. She explained the structures that affect one’s ability to participate as a juror, such as employment. Jury pools tend to be overwhelmingly white, older, and middle-class, as these jurors come from public-sector jobs with contracts that allow them to be paid at their normal wages during jury duty. In contrast, potential jurors who make minimum wage will often ask to be excused as they cannot afford to miss work. Similarly, the justice system needs to take into account the diff iculties Indigenous persons face in travelling to towns often hours away to serve on juries. Many lack vehicles or access to reliable transit, and these potential jurors are often heavily involved in child or elder care and cannot be away for days to attend a trial. Ultimately, the only way to address these systemic issues is with f inancial support. Serving on a jury, Ms. McDunnough pointed out, is a public service, and it must be compensated in the same way as other public services. The last speaker was Métis Senator Constance Simmonds, an Elder and Senator for the Métis Nation of Ontario, who works to improve the justice system through participation on the Indigenous Advisory Group for the Law Society of Ontario. Senator Simmonds stressed the importance of creating constructive dialogue between the current justice system and Indigenous voices. She suggests attempting to return to traditional justice circles, which could also incorporate judicial supervision from the conventional justice system. A system like this, Senator Simmonds explained, would allow Elders to have a voice and bring knowledge of Indigenous communities and their experiences to the justice system. Despite the ongoing issues in the justice system discussed by her co-panelists, Senator Simmonds carried a sense of optimism that changes could still be made. Simmonds concluded the panel by reminding everyone of the strength of the Indigenous communities and their ability to overcome: “We are resilient. We are still here.”
NEWS
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ILSA Hosts “Justice for Colten and Tina” Walk-Out and Teach-In MAUD ROZEE (3L) On March 14, students walked out of their classrooms to attend a teach-in hosted by the Indigenous Law Students Association (ILSA) about the verdicts in the Colten Boushie and Tina Fontaine cases. Similar walkouts and teach-ins occurred at law schools across the country. ILSA member Lesley Ann St. Amour (1L) began the teach-in by speaking to the assembled students and faculty about the discrimination Indigenous people face. “I don't remember how many times I've been told I only got into McGill or U of T law school because I'm Indigenous,” St. Amour said. “These systems are the same systems at play [in Tina Fontaine's death].” St. Amour emphasized the importance of law students engaging with Indigenous issues: “These issues are important no matter what type of law you practice. You will encounter Indigenous people whether you know it or not. You need to understand how these other systems interact with how they experience the justice system.” St. Amour discussed the initiatives that Indigenous communities have taken to address the violence they face, including Drag the Red, an effort to find evidence of murdered and missing women in Winnipeg’s Red River, and Bear Clan Patrol, a crime-prevention initiative. The National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women was also raised an example of the long overdue effort to bring awareness to the issues Indigenous people face. Next, St. Amour covered issues with the legal system illustrated by the Colten Boushie case. On the topic of the jury selection, she emphasized that it isn’t just the legal system that needs to change—issues like child care, elder care, and transportation that affect access to justice cannot be siloed. She also noted that law enforcement considerations can be different in rural communities. In most cases, police can’t respond to calls immediately. Still, she said, she fears that the result in the Boushie case will mislead Canadians
about what they're allowed to do under circumstances like those in that case. “What can settlor students and allies be doing?” St. Amour asked. “We don't necessarily know. A lot of it you're doing by just being here. Understanding whose land you're on. That Indigenous people can provide their perspectives.” Next, ILSA co-president Zachary Biech (2L) discussed the historical relationship between the RCMP and Indigenous communities on the prairies. He told the story of the trial of Plains Cree Chief Poundmaker, who was arrested for treason in the 1880s after a clash with a predecessor force to the RCMP sent by the Canadian government in the place of officials to renegotiate treaty terms. The trial in Regina was conducted without an interpreter, and jury deliberations were short. Poundmaker was sentenced to serve time at Stony Mountain Penitentiary, and died shortly after he was released.
CONLIN DELBAERE-SAWCHUK (1L) SINGS “CHANSON DE RIEL”
Biech elaborated on the context of military conquest and forced control between law enforcement and Indigenous communities on the prairies—in his words, “Not a very pretty relationship to have.” Conlin Delbaere-Sawchuk (1L) discussed the Louis Riel uprisings, focussing on the parallels between his trial for treason in front of a jury of six white men and the trial in the Colten Boushie case. Delbaere-Sawchuk sang and played “Chanson de Riel” on his guitar. Finally, Professor Douglas Sanderson spoke briefly about the question of how non-Indigenous students can be good allies. He told an Ojibwe creation story with the message that we each hold within us the ability to identify truth and justice. “Find the cause within yourself,” he said. “Speak truth to power. Learn about us. We have one of the best libraries on the Eastern seaboard here at U of T. Learn about our technologies. Find truth and justice within yourself. Do the right thing.”
LESLEY ANN ST. AMOUR (1L) AND ZACHARY BIECH (2L) ADDRESS THE CROWD
Faculty Council Finishes in Record Time, Approves $2.2MM in Contributions to Student Financial Aid HONGHU WANG (1L) The March 7 meeting of Faculty Council wrapped up in record time: a mere twentythree minutes, of which about f ive were spent counting to see if quorum was met. The brevity of the meeting prompted concerns by Dean Iacobucci that the next meeting, on March 27, would be especially lengthy, as various committees are expected to present their f indings. Sessional dates that were provisionally approved at the last Faculty Council meeting were also formally approved at this session. What is Quorum? Dean Iacobucci clarified that Faculty Coun-
cil’s quorum requirements are dictated by Robert’s Rules, which hold that a majority of members constituted quorum. As Faculty Council consisted of forty-four faculty members and fifteen student members this year, quorum is thirty voting members. [UV incorrectly reported that quorum was thirty-seven members in our previous February issue.]
cial events and outreach efforts, particularly the SLS’s current effort to more broadly disseminate the benef its that JD students are entitled to as members of the University of Toronto Students’ Union ( JD students pay mandatory fees to the UTSU as part of their tuition package).
SLS and GLSA Updates
Contributions to Student Financial Aid
SLS President Katie Longo and GLSA President Haim Abraham provided brief updates on the comings and goings organized by their respective students’ associations at the law school. These included so-
Faculty Council approved $2.155MM in contributions to f inancial aid, including more than a million dollar endowment from the Honourable Henry Newton Rowell “Hal” Jackman. All of the contributions,
each being $25,000 or greater, will be matched one-to-one by the University of Toronto’s “Boundless” campaign, thereby doubling their impact. The contributions establish new awards that will be bestowed with a preference for students who, for example, are f irst in their family to attend law school; are involved with LGBTQ initiatives; demonstrate commitment to the Women in Law club or equivalent; demonstrate interest in corporate law; or have volunteered with the International Human Rights Program. The Dr. Scott Guan China Law Award will also cover expenses for a four-week internship in China with Dr. Guan.
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NEWS
March 28, 2018 | 5
2018 Competitive Mooting Roundup THE MOOT COURT COMMITTEE* With the mooting season officially at an end, the MCC would like to extend a hearty congratulations to everyone who participated in competitive oral advocacy this year. The U of T teams had excellent showings at their various competitions. More importantly, we have heard from many of you how rewarding your time in the mooting program has been and how much you have learned about oral advocacy and the substantive areas of law you mooted. We hope that those of you who are not graduating continue to stay involved with the mooting program as coaches. The MCC would also like to thank all of the coaches for their hard work throughout the season. Our volunteer coaches are truly the backbone of the mooting program at U of T Law and, on behalf of ourselves and the mooters, we cannot thank you enough. We also continue to be grateful to the many alumni and local practitioners who generously give their time to conduct run-throughs with our teams. As the below results demonstrate, everyone’s hard work paid off! We are also very pleased to share that next year’s Moot Court Committee will be comprised of: Holly Kallmeyer, Devyn Noonan, Chris Puskas, Ritika Rai, and Sarah Strban. We wish them the very best of luck and hope that they have as much fun as we did. * The members of the 2017/2018 MCC were Jennifer Heaton, Stephanie Lewis, Maud Rozee, Diane Shnier, and Kerry Sun. **The MCC does not oversee the Arnup Cup/Sopinka Cup or the Kawaskimhon Moot, but wanted to acknowledge the many oral advocacy achievements at the Faculty this year.
Cassels Brock Cup (“Baby Gale”) Moot Team members: India Annamanthadoo, James Aston, Karen Chen, Eileen Church Carson, Tom Collins, Ioana Dragalin, Jake Eidinger, Emily Fraser, Daryna Kutsyna, Julie Lowenstein, Aylin Manduric, Matthew Marchello, Ryan Michael Marinacci, Ki Won (Daniel) Moon, Su Rao, Emma Ryman, Kate Somers, Nicole Thompson, Emily Tsui, Gerard Westland Coaches: Ashley Bowron, Holly Kallmeyer, Julia Kirby, Nicholas Martin, Devyn Noonan, Meena Sundararaj Results: The Osgoode team won overall this year by the slightest of margins (11 points). However, the U of T team had an excellent showing, with Julie and Jake winning the prize for Top Appellant Team, Emily T and Su winning for Top Respondent Team, and Emma and Kate trying with one of the Osgoode teams for Runner Up Top Appellant Team. The team also won the following oralist prizes: Emily T (1st) and Julie (3rd).
Arnup Cup/Sopinka Cup** Team members: Theresa Donkor and Ange Pagano Coaches: Jonathan Shime (Cooper, Sandler Shime & Bergman), Megan Schwartzentruber (Cooper, Sandler Shime & Bergman) Results: The team won the Silver Medal at the Arnup Cup and finished third at the Sopinka Cup in Ottawa. Ange also won the awards for Best Overall Advocate and Best Cross-Examination.
Davies Corporate/Securities Law Moot
Donald G. H. Bowman National Tax Moot
Team members: Adil Abdulla, Dylan Murray, Chris Puskas, Shaan Tolani
Team members: Maria-Christina Christodoulou, Stephanie D’Amico, Mathew Elder, David Rybak
Coaches: Jennifer Heaton, Eric Patenaude, Avram Spatz, Professor Anita Anand
Coaches: Patricia Lahoud, Elizabeth White, Al-Nawaz Nanji (Osler), Martha MacDonald (Torys)
Results: The U of T team placed first overall. In addition, Adil won the top oralist prize and Chris won the second top oralist prize. The team also took home the prize for third place facta.
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Frank W. Callaghan Memorial Moot
The Gale Cup Moot
Team members: Natasha Anzik, Jordyn Benattar, Joshua Favel, Wendes Keung, Hatim Kheir, Chloe Magee, Daniel Milton, Bethanie Pascutto, Christoph Pike, Timothy Shin, John Sime, Kennedy Simpson, Sierra Skoropada, Robin Spillette, Gordon Vance, Michael Xia
Team members: Ashley Bowron, Holly Kallmeyer, Nicholas Martin, Devyn Noonan
Coaches: Brendan Bohn, Ashley Bowron, Jennifer Che, Patrick Harris, Benjamin Pan, Benjamin Shakinovsky, Diane Shnier, Gabrielle Thompson, Professor Hamish Stewart
Coaches: Catherine Fan, Aidan Fishman, Stephanie Lewis, Paul-Erik Veel (Lenczner Slaght), Sinziana Hennig (Stikeman Elliott) Results: U of T placed second overall. Nicholas won the Dickson Medal for Oral Advocacy.
Results: Joshua and Sierra placed first overall, with Wendes and Timothy coming in second. Daniel and Gordon earned the award for Best Appellant Factum, while Jordyn and Bethanie were awarded the prize for Best Respondent Factum. The oralist prizes went to: Daniel (1st), Hatim (2nd), and Joshua (3rd).
Harold G. Fox Intellectual Property Moot
Julius Alexander Isaac Diversity Moot
Team members: Arrondeep Chahal, Nathaniel Bryan, Jacquelyn Smalley, Louell Taye
Team members: Tina Cody, Gaurav Gopinath, Solomon McKenzie, Lynn Tay
Coaches: Maud Rozee, Edward Sullivan, Andrew Shaughnessy (Torys) and Dominique Hussey (Bennett Jones)
Coaches: Theresa Donkor, Anna Spieser, Joseph Cheng (DOJ)
Results: Both teams took home prizes for Best Respondent Factum and Best Appellant Factum. Nathaniel and Louell placed second. Nathaniel also won the award for excellence in mooting—a sponsored trip to compete in the Oxford International Intellectual Property Moot next year!
Results: Tina and Solomon placed second overall and Solomon won the “Spirit of the Moot” prize. The team took the prizes for First Place Factum (Gaurav and Lynn) and Second Place Factum (Tina and Solomon).
Kawaskimhon National Aboriginal Moot**
The Laskin Moot
Team members: Stephanie Lewis and Emily Young
Team members: Aaron Haight, Becky Lockert, Morag McGreevey, Anna Spieser
Coaches: Professor Douglas Sanderson, Bryce Edwards (Olthuis Kleer Townshend), Krista Nerland (Olthuis Kleer Townshend)
Coaches: Jessica Kras, Sarah Corman (Corman Feiner), William MacLarkey (CLOC)
Results: The Kawaskimhon moot is a non-adversarial, non-competitive moot.
Results: The U of T team won Best Team Overall, with Aaron and Becky winning Second Place Pair and Morag and Anna winning Third Place Pair. The team also won oralist prizes: Morag (1st), Anna (2nd), Aaron (3rd).
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NEWS
Mathew, Dinsdale & Clark Canadian Labour Arbitration Competition Team members: Rachel Chan and Lily Hassall Coaches: Tamie Dolny, Emily Young, Stephen Shore (Ogletree Deakins), Maeve Biggar (CaleyWray)
March 28, 2018 | 7
Phillip C. Jessup International Law Moot Team members: Misha Boutilier, Alexandria Matic, Daniel Sisgoreo, Sarah Strban Coaches: Lewis Fainer, Kerry Sun, Professor Karen Knop, Maureen Whelton (Stevenson Whelton MacDonald & Swan)
Results: The team won the second place prize.
Results: The team placed second overall in points and received the prize for Second Overall Respondent Memorial. As for oralist prizes, Misha placed eighth overall while Daniel placed first. The U of T team advanced to the international rounds in Washington, DC, where they will compete in early April.
The Walsh Family Law Moot
The Warren K. Winkler Class Actions Moot
Team members: Emily Dyer, Jackson Foreman, Alexis Giannellia, James Schneider
Team members: Andrew Basso, Brenda Chang, Albert Kwan, Andrew Sahai
Coaches: Ange Pagano, Ashley Peoples, Daniel Smith, Martha McCarthy (Martha McCarthy & Company), Sarah Young (Martha McCarthy & Company)
Coaches: Alex Matic, Amani Rauff, Gaby Schachter, Professor Simon Stern, Mike Eizenga (Bennett Jones)
Results: James and Jackson won Best Appellant Factum and Alexis won Best Oralist.
Results: Brenda and Albert came in second overall. The team won oralist awards: Albert (1st), Andrew (2nd), and Brenda (3rd).
The Wilson Moot Team members: Hayley Goldfarb, Julia Kirby, Ritika Rai, Meena Sundararaj Coaches: Wes Dutcher-Walls, Katie Longo, Maryam Shahid, Professor Lorraine Weinrib, Cheryl Milne (Asper Centre), and Joseph Cheng (DOJ) Results: The team placed second overall. The team also took third place for their factums and Meena was awarded second top oralist.
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FEATURES
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Oh, The Places You’ll Go (Hint: Bay Street)!
Personal Statements from the Class of 2018 AMANI RAUFF (3L) Remember 2015? When Barack Obama was still president? When our courageous trailblazing Prime Minister provided us with his hot take that he was hiring women “because it’s 2015”? Before a giant racist Dorito was threatening everyone from Kim Jong Un to Joe Biden to the media at large for no discernible reason? Do you remember, in short, when the world still seemed kind of okay? Well, things have changed, and so have we. At least, some of us. In the spirit of looking back, we asked the Class of 2018 to submit excerpts from their applications to law school and to contrast them with their post-graduation plans. This year was almost disappointing from an editorial point of view because no one seems sufficiently embarrassed about selling out (though it could be that we at UV have sufficiently alienated ourselves from our peers such that no one wants to share their true shame).
The following have been edited for brevity and clarity. _________________________________
With a clear vision of a career in health law and policy in mind, I started looking at law schools to determine which may be the right fit for me. When I found the description of the combined JD/MPP program offered at the University of Toronto, I thought it was too good to be true. I strongly believe that this program will prepare me to enter the arena of policy making in the health sector. With this degree, I can see myself continuing my work in the field of organ transplantation with the UHN, Trillium Gift of Life Network, or at the level of provincial government at Queen’s Park. All of these employers are located in Toronto; therefore studying at the University of Toronto would not only provide me with the
unique opportunity of completing the JD/ MPP program, it would also allow me to start building a professional network in the city where I plan to build my career. This student did not pursue a JD/MPP, and has no intention of working in health policy after graduation. After clerking at the Ontario Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court, this student will be working in litigation at a large firm in New York. ___________________________________
By the end of my undergraduate education, my initial passion for pursuing law was reignited. In my lectures I learned about the inequality in society, and it perplexed me that such vast inequality still exists in Canada today. […] Our justice system claims to protect everyone equally, but in reality, those that need the most protection have the hardest time fighting for their rights. Contemplating the complex issues and inequalities in society ultimately made me remember the reason why I wanted to become a lawyer in the first place: to help people. This student will be articling at a mid-sized full-service downtown firm that has a focus on insurance defence litigation and business law. _________________________________
opment, public safety, and national security. This student has decided to gain experience in litigation at a Bay Street firm but stay connected to public law issues. She plans to ultimately merge the two by opening a small litigation boutique. She will be seeking partners in… 2028? _________________________________
I would like to study law to pursue the questions that interested me in both my academic and work experience. In art history, for example, I wanted to know how economic and societal conditions influenced the creation of art objects, recognizing, of course, that new artworks then change existing conditions. Similarly, laws are created by societal conditions, which they then change. More practically, I am interested in pursuing a career in public policy after law school. Working for [redacted] has highlighted both the limiting and creative features of laws; understanding the capacity of law would be beneficial for a further career in the public sector. Lastly, law school provides intellectually rigorous education, an end in itself. This student is going to work in the public sector, and “regret[s] being so pretentious.” She is, however, still interested in art and art history. _________________________________
I am motivated to pursue a legal education because I believe that Canada needs more women in policy-making circles, and recognize the vital role that legal practitioners can play in addressing privacy and security challenges. I specifically have a desire to pursue my studies at the University of Toronto because your institution has an unparalleled reputation in corporate and human rights law – two areas that have a critical stake in policies related to citizens’ privacy rights, innovative product devel-
I did volunteer work in an aboriginal reserve knowing that I would help a minority group, but I benefited a lot as well. The reserve was called Aroland and it was an Ojibwe group that resided there. The band in Aroland was hesitant to accept us at first. Many years were spent trying to break down the barrier between us. Every year, a different group went to the reserve and after a continued presence and a collective effort, we are starting to gain the
trust of the band. When I went, we were given sweaters that had the Aroland reserve logo on them. Allowing us to wear the Aroland logo means a lot. It symbolizes the beginning of a positive relationship that took many years to build, and I wear the logo with tremendous pride. Blurring the thick line between Aboriginals and the rest of Canada, even if only a little and with one small reserve, makes me feel like I participated in making a difference. This student is no longer interested in Aboriginal law. She realized that the common law is “pretty annoying” and now intends to practice tax law. _________________________________
This idealistic view of Law as Protection lies in direct contrast with the fear and disdain I felt towards the law; I felt persecuted, my family alienated from society, and none of it felt Right or Just. From a young age I have recognized that people often do wrong for good reasons, such as need and desperation in my parents' circumstances, while the good intentions of the Law often fall short. [...] It may seem ironic or even contradictory that I wish to practice law after living outside of it a having suffered under it as an 'Alien'. Despite experiencing the shortcomings of the law, such knowledge has still been motivation to study it in hopes of someday contributing to a more equitable justice system marked by fewer contradictions. I believe this is possible, as I have seen the community building, restorative potential of the law firsthand. I would use my degree to advocate for a Restorative Justice focus within the criminal justice system so that sentencing practices reflect ideals based on healing and making amends in a way that is meaningful for all those involved. This student, in spending the past three years as a caseworker and credit student at the DLS Refugee & Immigration division, feels that she has further explored how the law in practice can be antithetical to what
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seems just and fair. However, she has decided to “sell [her] soul for a faster route to being debt-free” and will be articling at a boutique business law firm downtown that specializes in transportation and commercial law. _________________________________
The family law clinic is especially appealing to me, as I currently find myself interested in family law. I would like to go to a law school where I can engage with and build close relationships with my peers, which is why the collegial atmosphere of [school] appeals to me. […] I am passionate about riding and it has taught me valuable lessons that are applicable to all aspects of life. The first is to persevere. Horseback riding is a sport in which you literally hit the ground hard, and are expected to get right back up. Riders fall off often, and despite sore muscles and bruised pride they are expected to continue. I have fallen, while trying to execute a difficult turn or jump combination. My coach always expected me to get back on and continue my ride. This is a valuable lesson in life as well as in riding. Struggles, obstacles and even failure are inevitable in life. In order to achieve my goals I need to continue to persevere.
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heid, and the slave trade, and I developed a deep concern for persecuted and oppressed people. The brutal conflicts in Libya and Syria intensified this strong sense of justice and ethical responsibility. Reading the newspaper the morning NATO launched its civilian protection intervention, I still recall how deeply elated I felt that the international community had chosen to stand beside the Libyan people in their struggle for human rights. Yet as the Syrian Civil War raged on, I was appalled by the inability of world leaders to uphold universal legal standards on human rights. […] At the May roundtable I participated in, Mr. Ban [Ki-moon] urged young leaders to forge a secure and prosperous world so that the 21st century will not fall prey to the conflicts that have scourged previous centuries. I share Mr. Ban’s goal, and I seek admission to the University of Toronto Faculty of Law to devote my intellectual abilities, moral conviction, and personal energy to pursuing it. Following clerkships at the Ontario Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada, this student plans to start a career in litigation at a large full-service law firm. _________________________________
This student is proud of “using the falling off the horse and getting back on metaphor,” continuing, “like because I horseback ride.” She calls it “a real gem.”
I hope that a law degree with a certificate in environmental studies will grant me the tools that will allow me to aid in the administration She continues to find herself interested in family law— of social justice with regards to environmenshe volunteered throughout law school with family law- tal issues, and make a tangible contribution to related projects, and will be articling at a small family the amendment of Canadian and global envilaw firm in Toronto. ronmental policy. I have long known that I feel a strong moral obligation to make some contribution to improving the way we interact _________________________________ with the environment. I wish to give a voice to those harmed by current policies, and I am One of the great loves of my life, and the avenue committed to changing those policies to prethrough which some of my activism takes place, vent such problems from occurring in the first is sports. I learned early on to love the cracking place. I am motivated by the continued social sound a bat makes when it connects with a fast and environmental injustice present in all facpitch, the feel of water sliding over me as I race ets of our society and the lack of effort on the laps in a pool, and the leathery, musty smell of a part of those in economic and political power well-worn catcher’s mitt. I have always wanted to to commit to changing the status quo. help others experience these joys, and spent five This student is graduating with a joint JD/Master of years working at a community centre developing Public Policy and will article with Ontario's Minissports programming for children and for people try of the Environment and Climate Change. Despite with physical and mental disabilities. [...] her success on paper, she feels less than hopeful about I also used my time in [redacted] to contribute to her ability to achieve any real environmental progress an action group for employees with disabilities. as a government lawyer (albeit one who gets to leave at My research with [redacted] on women’s leader- 5 p.m. and have a pension) and is “terrified [she] will ship roles in the field of education has further end up just another career bureaucrat in a comfortable shed light on the ever-present, though thankfully but unexciting job.” thinning, glass-ceiling for women in the workplace. My passion for accessibility and social justice has guided me through these opportunities and challenges and I feel that I am prepared and excited for the next big chapter of my life. Joining the rigorous intellectual community at [school] and obtaining a legal education from such a renowned institution would undoubtedly be invaluable training for a lifetime of advocacy. After graduation, this student will be working at the Public Guardian and Trustee (part of the Victims and Vulnerable Persons Division of MAG). All of the clients have capacity issues and most have a mental illness or disability. She emphasizes that she “thought that’s how you need to write to get into law school.” _________________________________
From a young age, my love for history acquainted me with the horrors of the Holocaust, apart-
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During my first three years of university I worked a part-time retail job. […] One thing I learned particularly in the [retail] position is that the problems are systemic. A lot of my managers were well-meaning individuals who cared about their employees but did not have the budgets to treat people fairly. Corporations are not inherently immoral; they are simply profit-driven. The goals of increasing efficiency and advancing workers’ interests tend to clash. My reading and research in the area have convinced me that organized labour is an important counterweight to corporate power. As a result, I hope to work in some capacity for organized labour, possibly with a union-side labour law firm. This student will be articling at a union-side labour law firm. Her job application, in its entirety, read
“corporations are not inherently immoral; they are simply profit-driven”. She likes to imagine she is less ridiculous now, but is likely still wrong. _________________________________
I also wished to contrast the political workings and historical trajectory of India with the other country that defined me: Canada, which was the other region I focused on over the course of my degree. My undergraduate studies have enabled me to contrast the two nations’ cultural and political history as well as gain further knowledge of the governmental structure of the country that I proudly reside in. However, I have also come to learn that I am a lot more passionate about studying and finding antidotes to the corrupt and unchanging political system in India. This zeal and dissatisfaction with ‘the way things are,’ as it were, has informed my decision to pursue a JD from the University of Toronto—and, eventually, a career in international human rights law—and to work with governments of NICs to work towards reducing oppression of women and limiting levels of corruption. […] It is partly the privilege of having escaped the ‘could be’ life that has encouraged me to travel the path I have thus far and chosen to pursue. I want to be able to offer the life I am able to live, thousands of miles away from India, to those currently living there who might not be
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able to leave. As an aspiring international lawyer, I want to help the disadvantaged women (which, in a country of seven billion people, is a large number) in India live a safer and more comfortable life. Looking back, this student says she didn’t realize how much she “wanted to fix India.” While she will be articling at a boutique litigation firm that specializes in insurance defence, she hopes in the future to return to work aimed at addressing structural issues that women face globally. _________________________________
And like the daffodils echoed spring and the peonies chased the sun, everything else followed naturally. [...] But in that moment, more than a decade after it was sown, long after it had flowered and wilted, love blossomed again. And I harvested love. [...] Perhaps I should write about the moment I realized I wanted to be a lawyer - it was certainly a moment I would remember. This student let me know that she did not go on to write about the moment she wanted to be a lawyer, instead opting to continue her poem about flowers. I asked about this student’s post-grad plans—she answered that she has realized she does not want to be a lawyer.
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10 | March 28, 2018
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When It’s More Than Exam Stress: Free, Discreet, and Easy-to-Access Support in the Legal and Local Community DANICA SERGISON* If you’re struggling with a bit more than just “exam stress”, you’re not alone. When I applied to law school, I had been dealing with mental illness for over a decade. I was prepared to be stressed, challenged and overwhelmed. I wasn’t prepared for how incredibly isolated I would feel—shame, selfdoubt and stigma are a heady mix, especially when you’re a law student struggling with their mental health. I survived, of course. I cried in Alexis’s off ice, saw a great doctor at the on-campus health centre, received accommodations where I needed them, and did a bit of yoga. But what I really needed was connection— someone I could speak with who deeply understood how I was feeling, who wouldn’t judge me for struggling, and who wouldn’t require me to sign up three weeks in advance for a f ifty-minute appointment. Below, I’ve outlined some options to f ind support during the exam season and beyond. The services I’ve included are free, conf idential, easy to access, and usually have no waitlists. Many are also services that you can access discreetly, even if you’re sitting in the middle of the law library. You don’t need to have depression, anxiety or any formal mental health diagnosis to access these services—it’s enough to just be having a bad day, feeling a bit overwhelmed, or need someone safe to talk to. The LSO Member Assistance Plan (MAP), via Homewood Health [1] You can access a lot of great (free!) services through the Member Assistance Program, including counselling services offered in person, by phone, through live online chat, by email, and through video chat. While they will match you with a licensed therapist, you can also change therapists if it isn’t the right f it or request a therapist with a specif ic background or expertise. For example, at least one therapist, Doron Gold, previously worked as a lawyer. He also runs the LSO peer-support program, which I’ll talk about below. When you sign up with MAP, they will ask you for your name, as well as your birth date and other information. This information isn’t relayed to the Law Society, and Homewood doesn’t check against an internal list—it’s considered personal, healthrelated information and is gathered for that
purpose. While you are generally given six or eight sessions to see a therapist about a given issue, you can access the service again for other or ongoing issues. Peer Support The Law Society runs a peer support program, which is a fantastic way to connect with lawyers who have their own lived experience with mental health and/or substance-use challenges. It’s a great way to access support, but it also provides you with someone that you can ask for honest opinions and judgement-free practical advice about navigating the workplace and this profession, especially when there are always some very real concerns about stigma around mental health and addictions. There are also some fantastic options in the community, many of which offer not only one-on-one support with a trained peer, but also offer support groups, activity clubs, assistance with f inding work and housing, and a whole range of services. Progress Place [2], CMHA Toronto [3], and Stella’s Place [4] (for young adults 16–29) are three examples. While some programs offered by these organizations require intake, registration, and waitlists, there are also many drop-in options that you can participate in without commitment, self-disclosure, or even providing your full name. Even if you’re not looking for direct support or just want to check things out, you can drop by Progress Place or Stella’s Place to get some work done in a positive, health-aware environment. Between the two organizations, they also offer programs including free f itness and yoga classes, art classes, and cooking classes—it can be a great way to get outside the “law school bubble” and relieve some stress with other people who “get it”. Online, there are informal peer support options that include anonymous communities on platforms like Reddit or Discord, Facebook groups, or other online forums. For one-on-one sessions with a formally trained peer supporter, you can access Progress Place’s Warmline [5] or Stella’s Place’s BeanBagChat [6] for those aged 16–29 with a Toronto area code (app on Android & iOS, web version coming soon) [disclosure: I provide relief services as an online peer supporter for BeanBagChat].
Drop-In Counselling While there are a lot of organizations that offer free long-term, structured therapy, many of these programs require you to go through a registration or intake process, spend some time on a waitlist, or be seeking support for specif ic issues with your mental health or addictions. In the past couple of years, many places have begun to offer drop-in counselling. While these services typically operate on a f irst-come, f irstserved basis and have limited capacity, they’re an easy way to speak with a professional immediately, without having to do a great deal of planning, and at no cost. Organizations offering drop-in counselling include:
• WoodGreen
[7] (Pape & Danforth, Tues & Wed 4:30–8:30 p.m.)
You can also reach out to the Distress Centres of Toronto [13] by calling 416-4084357 (416-408-HELP) which is available 24/7. They also offer text and online support between 2pm and 2am either through text at 741741, or online at https://www.torontodistresscentre.com/ontx. *Alumni Contributor, Class of 2015, who, in addition to her law degree, studied social work and has volunteered with distress lines and other mental health services. [1] https://www.lsuc.on.ca/map/ [2] http://www.progressplace.org/ [3] https://toronto.cmha.ca/ [4] http://stellasplace.ca/ [5] http://warmline.ca; services also available by text and by phone
• LAMP
[6] http://beanbagchat.ca/
• Sherbourne Health Centre [9] (Carlton &
[7]http://woodgreen.org/ServiceDetail. aspx?id=266
• Family Services Toronto [10] (Dundas W
[8] http://www.lampchc.org/content/ social-work-programcounsellingservices
[8] (Lakeshore W & Islington, Mon 1–4 p.m.) Sherbourne, Tues 12 p.m.)
& Lansdowne, Wed 3:30–7:30 p.m.), and
• Stella’s
Place [11] (ages 16–29, Queen & Spadina, Mon & Wed 3–5p.m.).
If you’re interested in any of these options, I recommend contacting the organization to conf irm the current service dates & times before visiting.
[9] http://sherbourne.on.ca/mentalhealth-services/walk-in-counselling/ [10] https://familyservicetoronto.org/ our-services/programs-and-services/ walk-in-clinic/ [11] http://stellasplace.ca/events
Distress and Crisis Services If you’re feeling overwhelmed to the point that you feel like your personal health and safety are at risk, it’s important to seek professional help as soon as possible. You can call 911 or visit your closest hospital emergency room. Another great option is the Gerstein Centre [12], which is available 24/7 by calling 416929-5200. In addition to telephone support, they have a mobile crisis team that can come to you, and they also have shortterm residential services if you are in crisis and need a safe place to stay until you feel safe again. The Gerstein Centre is a voluntary service and they won’t force you to stay or access treatment.
[12] http://gersteincentre.org/ [13] https://www.torontodistresscentre. com/home-support
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March 28, 2018 | 11
In Vino Veritas TOM COLLINS (1L) Rosé is not just a summer wine, though you would be forgiven for thinking it was. There is undoubtedly something aestival about a chilled bottle of the stuff. There is also no shortage of articles in lifestyle magazines extolling the virtues of rosé in warm weather. I have lost count of how many times I have read that rosé is the summer drink of choice down in the Hamptons. One imagines men and women alike, dressed in pale, unpressed linens and Clubmasters, sitting on breezy terraces, sipping slowly from their glasses. As it happens, I drank my f irst rosé in East Hampton. It was 2014 and my then-girlfriend and I were visiting her best friend, the daughter of Hollywood royalty. I had just taken a dip and I was looking for something to sip by the pool. So, I opened the fridge and found a half-full bottle of fruity, pink juice. It was, f ittingly, the “Hamptons Gatorade,” Wöff ler Estates’ Summer in a Bottle—bottled only ten kilometres west of where I was. I paired it with a handful of the stale Frosted Flakes that I found in the otherwise empty kitchen cupboards. That was a poor pairing. Now, every time I drink rosé, I am remind-
ed of that vacation. That is to say that I think of summer (although the memory of those Frosted Flakes evidently still haunts me). Especially at this time of year, I’ll pour a glass, close my eyes, and think about how close I am to the end of the semester, and the nearest patio. We at In Vino Veritas know that we are not the only ones who would like to fast forward to the end of exams. Below are three rosés to help you usher in your summer.
Danica Rosé season is seemingly upon us, though it certainly does not feel like spring outside. However, I’m a f irm believer that it is never too cold for rosé. While a lot of great rosés come out of Provence and Rhône in France, you don’t have to look further than Niagara region for a refreshing glass of the pink stuff. The Trius Rosé 2016 is a tasty, affordable choice that you can f ind at pretty much any LCBO ($17.95). It’s a medium-bodied rosé with red berry f lavours— strawberry being the most noticeable. This is a drier rosé, so if you prefer your rosés sweet you should probably look to ones
with 20 g or more of sugar per litre (this one has 5 g). But for my fellow rosé lovers who enjoy a dry rosé with a crisp f inish, the Trius is a solid choice.
Jason Rosé is all about style. Gérard Bertand’s Côte des Roses catches the eye with a slender, ornate bottle. Its f loral theme is on display with a decorative rose petal and swirling glass design. The polished and elegant design is complemented by a small glass stopper in place of a cork. The wine itself has a tantalizingly faint pink hue and is very sensitive to background light. The nose gives us the whole rosebush, caressed with hints of strawberry. But the palate is reminiscent of a rose’s thorns, surprisingly dry with raspberry and red currant on a medium f inish. The wine is quite light and not very acidic, so it is built for snack food rather than full courses, bef itting the transition away from hearty winter meals. This Grenache, Syrah, and Cinsault blend from Languedoc is suitably priced at $18.95.
Tom Caves d’Esclans Whispering Angel comes from Sacha Lichine’s estate in sunny Provence. You may laugh at its name, but this is a serious rosé. It is the baby sibling of Château d’Esclans Rock Angel—perhaps my favourite wine—and it is everything that I want in a rosé. First, it is beautiful. Rosés come in a wide spectrum of hues, from the faintest salmon pink to a deep coral red. It depends on how long the wine is exposed to the grape skins. Whispering Angel is like the palest blush of rose petal. It looks delicate and ref ined. And it is. The nose has some f loral notes that I cannot quite place. Second, at 2 g of sugar per litre, it is bone dry. Combine that with its palate of white grapefruit, minerality, and just a hint of peach, and you have a delightfully refreshing wine with which to celebrate the triumph of spring. Pair it with a bagel and cream cheese, or just an effortless coolness. Whispering Angel has recently gone up in price, due to its almost cultic popularity, but it would be ideal for a special occasion. It costs $29.95 at the LCBO and it sells out quickly.
Law Ball 2018 Review: The Delicious Tom Collins ANONYMOUS (DEFINITELY NOT TOM COLLINS IN 1L) “Tom Collins, like the drink.” I must have heard that a hundred times by now. Every class. Every party. Every time he introduces himself, that’s his line. And if you forget his name, he hints, “I’m a delicious drink.” I can’t tell if he is being ironic or if he really believes in his own wit. But does anyone even know what a Tom Collins is? And is it really as tasty as Tom Collins suggests? At this year’s Law Ball, I decided to f ind out.
glass, tossed in a shot of gin, and then poured in some palegreen liquid from an enormous white plastic jug. Finally, she topped up my glass with soda water. I skipped the straw, because I love the sea turtles. I know it was a free drink (albeit one I paid $95, service fees extra, to access), at a school dance, but I thought there would be more graceful ritual involved in the preparation of such an ostensibly classic drink.
The Tom Collins was the signature drink of the evening. Tom Collins had named the Ball and the Law Ball Committee had acknowledged his contribution with that honour. Tom Collins was there. He was dressed in a black velvet evening suit with satin peak lapels. It was an outf it that almost demanded a cocktail as an accessory. And he had one. Guess what it was.
I walked back over to where Tom Collins was standing. He seemed pleased with his new role as tastemaker. I asked Tom Collins what was in his namesake drink. His response was automatic: “Two jiggers [3 oz] of gin, the juice of one lemon—but they’re using limes, here—one tablespoon of simple syrup; f ill the glass with ice and, in whatever room is left, f ill it with club soda.”
Actually, he was drinking a gin and tonic. When I brought that to his attention, he laughed.
“The tallest of tall drinks,” Tom Collins concluded in a goofy, suave tone, quoting attorney and eminent mixologist Mr. David Augustus Embury. Tom Collins watched intently as I took a sip.
“Yeah, someone got this for me,” Tom Collins said, winking mischievously. I’m not sure what innuendo that wink was meant to communicate. “Where’s your drink?” he asked. “You should have a Tom Collins!” Tom Collins told me that the mixes at the bar were better than the pale ones being shopped around the room by waiters. The bar was crowded. I must have waited for f ive minutes while other partygoers ordered their vodka-waters (or, as I call them, disgusting). It did not, however, take long to make my order. The bartender dropped some ice in my
“How do I taste?” He asked with a cheeky grin and another wink. Well, delicious it was not. It was kind of like f izzy lemonade, but someone had forgotten the sugar. I made a face and Tom Collins laughed. “Yeah, they were better earlier in the night. I think they’ve been watering them down.” Or maybe Tom Collins was just in denial, having invested so much of his unique brand in what turned out to be an altogether ordinary drink.
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Law Students Doing Cool Things: An Interview with Enbal Singer CHLOE MAGEE (2L)
Since Eritrea was recognized as an independent state, the country has been under the control of a one-man dictatorship. Upon reaching the age of 18, all Eritreans must serve an indeterminate period of compulsory military service. UN reports reveal that the regime consistently perpetrates human rights abuses including, among others, executions without trial, arbitrary arrests and imprisonment, and inhumane conditions of imprisonment. Similarly, the recent history of Sudan has been characterized by widespread violations of basic civil and political rights. For over a decade, individuals from both of these countries have been risking their lives to f lee such atrocities, and many have crossed the Egyptian border to seek refuge in Israel. Given that Israel has signed and ratif ied the 1951 Refugee Convention and the 1967 Refugee Protocol, it cannot, pursuant to the non-refoulement principle underpinning these documents, deport asylum seekers back to Eritrea and Sudan. Israel has nonetheless maintained a refugee determination process that is unfavourable to asylum seekers from these countries. Despite being recognized as refugees at a relatively high rate in other countries, very few Eritreans and Sudanese have been granted refugee status in Israel. One implication of this refusal is that, without secure legal status, most Eritreans and Sudanese in Israel are living under the constant threat of detention and deportation. This situation persisted for several years, showing no sign of improvement. Then, in November of last year, things got worse: Israel announced its plan to deport tens of thousands of asylum seekers without their consent. It was against this backdrop that Enbal Singer (2L) decided to do something. Amidst the chaos that is f irst semester of 2L, Singer joined together with fellow activists in Toronto and founded Canadians Helping Asylum Seekers in Israel. She is actively involved as the co-chair and spokesperson for the group, and has received media coverage from outlets such as the Toronto Star and CBC. I chatted with her about the work she is doing for this cause, and about her unique approach to law school. Q: What events prompted you to form the group Canadians Helping Asylum Seekers in Israel? A: In 2014, the government of Israel reached an agreement—a secret agreement,
I should say, as it has never been admitted to—with the governments of Rwanda and Uganda. These governments agreed to take asylum seekers from Israel, who are mostly from Eritrea and Sudan, if they voluntarily deport themselves. This means that asylum seekers would be coerced into signing a document saying that they agree to leave to a safe third country. We don’t know exactly what the governments of Rwanda and Uganda received in return for this, but we think it was the right to purchase arms from the Israeli government. Then, the Supreme Court of Israel aff irmed that it would not violate Israeli law to deport individuals to safe countries that were willing to accept them, even without the consent of the individual involved. This decision marked a major turning point because it meant that, in theory, the government could deport people without their consent (that is, they wouldn’t even need to obtain the signed document f irst). That’s when we knew things were going to get bad, because it provided an opening for the government to proceed with deportations. Once we anticipated that these deportations would start, we began organizing here in Canada. We wanted to help bring people to Canada so that they would be safe and wouldn’t have to worry about all of this, even if the deportations didn’t ultimately happen. So our group came together in order to do private refugee sponsorship in an organized way. We wanted to be a resource for anyone who was interested in sponsoring refugees or donating to the cause. Q. How did your group react when the government of Israel announced its plan to proceed with the deportations? Although we had anticipated this, we didn’t think it would be quite so drastic, so fast. We had to shift our focus a bit. One of the biggest hurdles we’re currently facing is that there are signif icant limitations on private refugee sponsorship (the only route by which a refugee in Israel can get to Canada), which means that there aren’t enough spaces to meet the demand. Also, sponsorship takes a while. It is, at minimum, a twoyear process. But we know that everyone is going to get deported, and soon. Because of this, we’ve shifted our focus towards advocacy. We’re asking the government to increase the space available for private sponsorship. Recently, we’ve been working on obtaining support from the community to make the government aware of the urgency surrounding this issue and of
the amount of people who are willing to sponsor. I’m currently organizing a crossCanada conference call to gain a sense of what everyone has been doing on this issue, what we would like to do, and who’s going to do what. Q. What’s the rationale behind this limitation on private refugee sponsorship? That’s a good question. Immigration is one of the areas of law in which the government has the most discretion. The problem is that refugees are not immigrants; they belong to a distinct legal category. That’s why we have the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. When a refugee comes to Canada, they’re saying “I don’t have a government that will protect me. I need refuge here.” But, the way that politics work, refugees often become scapegoats for various ills of society and are frequently treated as immigrants. Technically, our refugee system shouldn’t be so discretionary. If you read the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, it says that Canadians have the right to sponsor a person who is recognized as being a refugee or in a refugee situation. Q. You’ve been building towards a career working with refugees for a while. What made you pick law school as the next place at which to pursue this passion? I f inished my undergrad in December 2014, and by January I had decided that I wanted to go to law school. I knew I wanted to work with refugees, so I explored the various career options available. As it turns out, there is no “refugees” career; there are a bunch of different careers in which you work with refugees. So I did some exploring, met with various people, attended meetings, and it became clear to me that the lawyers were the ones having the most fun. They were doing the coolest work; they were setting precedent. Back in 2012, the Harper government implemented the Interim Federal Health Program cuts. Under this program, the government removed access to health care for anyone claiming refugee status in Canada. I understood the rationale behind it—they didn’t want people to abuse the system—but it meant that many legitimate refugees weren’t getting health care. The lawyers began taking cases to the courts, and setting precedents that the government couldn’t ignore. This struck me as a cool way to get some wiggle room with a majority govern-
ment that refuses to listen or respond to refugee needs. The law is especially important when it comes to addressing refugee needs; since refugees can’t vote, their needs are often the last priority. Being a permanent resident myself, and therefore someone who has never been able to vote in a formal federal election, I understand how diff icult it is not to have that political capital. I wanted to go into law to change the things that I saw wrong with the system. Q: What advice would you give to other law students who may be considering a non-traditional route? More specifically, how do you balance your advocacy work with a law student’s workload? A: The day that grades are released is a nerve-wracking part of each semester. That being said, people are very responsive to the work that I’m doing, and they can see how passionate I am about it. If you choose to pursue a non-traditional advocacy route, it’s not worth it to obsess about your grades, because that’s not where you’re going to have your successes. I’ve learned to embrace my resumé and my experience. Sometimes we’re made to feel like we have to have both—resumé and transcript—but I think it is important to embrace your strengths and lean into them. To me, this work is so much more rewarding than getting good grades. I would also recommend taking advantage of the opportunities that exist at the law school for students pursuing a non-traditional route. The IHRP has been incredibly helpful in this regard, by providing me with funding over the summer to do employment law work in Israel. Through that opportunity, I was able to make connections and gain a better understanding of the community. I also gained useful advocacy skills through participating in the IHRP clinic. As an example, I learned how to create a brief ing document, which is a 1- or 2- page document that you can take to meetings with members of Parliament. It summarizes the main issue, the background, the key considerations, and your recommendations. Based on what I learned from IHRP, I created one for this issue, and have since circulated it to people meeting with MPs. So, essentially, I would recommend using law school as a helpful tool, rather than allowing it to be a hindrance to your advocacy. Doing something different from my classmates can def initely be a source of anxiety. But it’s about embracing the uncertainty. It takes building networks, making connections, and putting yourself out there. It’s not always going to be comfortable.
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2 3
0 4
1 1
1 6
2 3
2 n/a
n/a
2 0 1 2 0 5 1 n/a
5 1 2 2 2 2 1
11
7 13
n/a 44 2013
19
42 2014
10
15 11 50 2015
13
18 9 63 2016
21
11 n/a 25 55 2017
Total
92% Response Rate
n/a
6 1 1 2 4 3 n/a
Osgoode U of T Previous Years
12 Total Participating Employers
4 Torys LLP
57
6 Sherrard Kuzz LLP
2
Other 1%
Dalhousie McGill Windsor Ottawa Queen's Western
180
0% 2%
245 175 205
11% 1L Class with Toronto Jobs
23
Approximate Class Size
10 13
1 Peacebuilders Canada
did not respond
7 MAG - Various Branches
PCK IP (Perry + Currier Inc. & Currier + Kao LLP)
6 Dentons LLP
2
9 Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP
2
3 4 Borden Ladner Gervais LLP
6%
12
16
290
4
1 1 3
1
4
1 1
1 2
3
2 1 3 10 Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP
2 3 Bereskin & Parr LLP
1 2 Bennett Jones LLP
0%
310 200
0 8 3
4
2
1 2
1
2
1 2 5 Aird & Berlis LLP
4%
0 4
1
1
2 1 JD/MBA JD JD/MBA JD
2%
170
1 2
1
2
2
1
Other Dalhousie McGill Windsor Ottawa Queen's Western
It should be noted that the 1L Recruit only makes up a small fraction of f irst-year summer hiring. Many f irst-year students will work as research assistants at the Faculty of Law, as caseworkers at legal clinics, or on exciting projects funded by the many fellowships offered by the law school. Others may work at law f irms that did not take part in the formal recruit or at jobs unrelated to law. Some, of course, will choose to spend their 1L summer nowhere near anything law-related; that may, in the long run, be for the better.
Osgoode
This year’s 1L Recruit took place during reading week, February 20–22. Overall, Toronto employers hired f ifty-seven students; twenty-three of those were from U of T. Both f igures are similar to the previous year’s, despite the marked recovery in the number of students hired throughout the 2L recruit back in November.
March 28, 2018 | 13
U of T
AMANI RAUFF (3L) AND HONGHU WANG (1L)
2018 Total
Toronto Summer 2018 1L Recruit
FEATURES
Firm
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14 | March 28, 2018
OPINIONS
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“See Yourself Here”… on Bay Street? SUJUNG LEE (2L)
“See Yourself Here” is an annual, daylong event held at the law school for high school students from historically underrepresented communities in the legal profession (i.e. communities with a high percentage of persons of colour and low socio-economic class). The initiative was started by the U of T Black Law Students Association in 2008, in the hopes of increasing the diversity of students at U of T. The event was held on March 9 and students from all across Peel and the Toronto District School Board attended. Interestingly, this year even included participants from schools like Bishop Allen Academy, where students generally come from more privileged backgrounds. The day consisted of a “law school” lecture on contracts law from Professor Niblett, a student panel, a game of jeopardy, and a mock trial of Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz. For an event aiming for diversity, various student volunteers (myself included) expressed disappointment that the law school presented a one-dimensional view of the law. True to U of T’s reputation as a conveyor belt to Bay Street, all three of the student panels were comprised almost entirely of students or alumni who worked in corporate law. To start, the information provided was inaccessible, with panelists throwing around terms like “securities” and “litigation” without
much in the way of explanation; as a 2L student, I still don’t understand some of these terms. If you’re trying to convince high school students to come to law school, it seems parochial to feature corporate law as the main show. Sara-Marni Hubbard, Student Coordinator at U of T Law, and coordinator for See Yourself Here, was aware of this year’s skewed demographic. She commented that this year seems to be an anomaly. The primary determinant of selecting panelists is the diversity of their personal backgrounds, such as persons of colour, members of the LGBTQ community, and low socio-economic class, rather than the diversity of their professional backgrounds. Because the selection pool is so small for such groups, striking the right balance between personal and professional experience is a matter of luck. However, SaraMarni is passionate about See Yourself Here, and is always open to ideas on how to improve the program. While I recognize that it isn’t easy to recruit the perfect group of panelists, there are definite steps organizers can take to move closer to that goal. For instance, they can target firms and ministries in different areas of the law, and members of different communities within that area. This would still prioritize
personal experience, while controlling for a range of professional perspectives. More to the point, I think these steps are integral to See Yourself Here’s goal of diversifying the legal profession.
perpetuating the toxic myth of the legal profession as a path to socio-economic prestige.
A purely corporate focus undermines the purpose of the student panel, which is an opportunity to ask about life in law school and as a lawyer. From my observation, participants were provided with a very narrow perspective on work-life balance, what the average work day looks like (corporate law and criminal law are like comparing apples and oranges), and personal motivations for their interest in law. One student asked, “What is the expected salary of a first-year associate?” to which one of the panelists answered, “$100,000.” While other panelists tried to correct this figure to a more realistic number, the standard was set: you could hear the audible gasp of excited students across the room.
I saw myself in many of these students. As the daughter of Korean parents, it was instilled in me from a young age that law school or medical school would secure a path to financial security. Indeed, getting into law school seemed like the ultimate reward at the end of the immigrant struggle. In some respects, this image of the law is true—lawyers’ salaries will often fall at some point on the upper-middle-class income spectrum, sufficient for a comfortable life. But this doesn’t take into account the amount of time, money, and ultimately, significant life choices that students must invest in exchange for that income—a trade-off that may seem more attractive than it is without all the information. The student panel reminded me of some of my own reasons for coming to law school, as well as reasons why I sometimes question that decision.
Of course, as law students, we know this is a grossly inaccurate picture of the legal profession. As someone who doesn’t intend to pursue a career in corporate law, I couldn’t help but feel a little offended that corporate law was the only side of the law that the school felt was worth showcasing. Moreover, I felt that we were misleading future students and
Focusing only on corporate law does a disservice to the legal profession. There are important areas of the law, like public interest and social justice work, that require talented lawyers. What happened to inspiring the future generation for social change? After all, changing the face of the legal profession is the raison d’etre of “See Yourself Here.”
Faculty Hiring: Is "Just Above" Minimum Wage Enough? DARYNA KUTSYNA (1L) Every year, the Faculty Recruit presents over a hundred positions to students that range from assisting professors with casebook research to working at legal clinics. With a dearth of 1L opportunities on Bay Street, this is an unparalleled method for students to gain useful legal skills while spending a summer in Toronto.
compensation. The common goal of all the Faculty employers, however, is to create as many summer positions as possible while keeping the wages slightly above the current minimum wage in Ontario.
Faculty recruitment positions allow students to develop a wide range of legal skills and the ability to apply the tools learned in class to real world issues. However, the Faculty's desire to provide as many opportunities as possible has an unfortunate consequence. The compensation budget for Faculty hires is f ixed, explains Assistant Dean Sara Faherty, which means that, every year, employers face a diff icult choice between paying students a wage that is barely above the Ontario minimum or cutting the number of available spots.
While that is a commendable goal, it puts some students who are already carrying signif icant debt loads and struggling with high rent in a tough spot. Mandavni Dhami, a 2018 summer caseworker at Downtown Legal Services, explains that the hourly wage (which she estimates to be $16–19 an hour, depending on the hours worked) is diff icult to live on in Toronto and ref lects the often “devalued, feminized character of socialjustice oriented work.” She mentions that, according to the Ontario Living Wage Network, a living wage in Toronto currently sits at $18.52 an hour—a number that may be inadequate for law students given the high tuition and debt loads they face.
Assistant Dean Faherty explained that all of the major employers in the Faculty hire (including the Dean's Off ice and legal clinics such as Downtown Legal Services) collaborate to set student wages but do not have a standardized wage, meaning different positions may offer slightly different
Many of these issues are recognized by the Faculty. However, giving as many students the opportunity to exercise their skills in a legal environment often takes precedence over raising the compensation. “We highly value the work that the students do in these positions,” explains Dean Faherty, but it is
diff icult to make the wages ref lect that while maintaining the maximum number of positions. Despite monetary constraints, the Faculty tries to stay above Ontario minimum wage; for example, the compensation for the Casebook Researcher position was raised from $15/hour to $16/hour to ref lect the minimum wage hike. Students can also count on other benef its, such as receiving several weeks of paid vacation and having the chance to make connections with professionals in the f ield and clients (depending on the type of position). Ms. Dhami mentioned several strategies that employers could consider in their discussions of summer wages. “This goes beyond asking employers to be more accountable and ref lective when deciding the amount of compensation,” she contends. It presents the issue of the law school failing to adequately address accessibility of a legal education for those looking to do servicebased, social-justice oriented work. Other students in the Faculty emphasize that the compensation still hovers above the minimum wage rate that students often receive in summer positions. Aylin Manduric, who will be working at Advocates for In-
jured Workers this summer as a student caseworker, notes that the wage “may be less than what some people are making at the Seven Sisters, but it is more than I have ever made in a summer position before” and over the yearly budget that she set for herself. She further notes that she is thrilled about the opportunity to continue working for her clients and having the opportunity to extend the volunteer work she was doing during 1L. Assistant Dean Faherty also noted that research positions with individual professors may have signif icant differences in compensation due to the varied sources of funding that the professors have access to. Since they are not tied to a common faculty budget, they may pay students a signif icant premium. Enabling as many students as possible to use their legal skills in a professional setting is crucial, especially in a hiring environment that presents a dearth of legal opportunities during the 1L summer. However, there are broader issues that need to be addressed when setting the compensation that will hopefully factor into budgetary discussions in years to come.
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OPINIONS
March 28, 2018 | 15
Exit Thoughts: U of T Law Does Not Suck YONCA UMUR (3L) I like it here. It’s strange, isn’t it, seeing those words written out? We’re so focused on the negative that we’re almost conditioned to react with disdain to anything positive within these stark white walls. But I do, I really like it here. Gaining acceptance to U of T was a milestone achievement in my life, of which I am still (gasp) proud, despite the never-ending criticism of the institution’s admissions policies. Yes, they may be highly arbitrary, and yes, we could stand to be more diverse, but I happen to like our class. Arbitrary or otherwise, they managed to pool together a very interesting, talented, and high-achieving group of people. So, flaws aside, they must be doing something right.[1] As I sit in the bright post-daylight-savings Torys reading room, mere days away from being done, I can’t help but feel a twinge of sadness. Three years flew by in the blink of an eye, and as eager as I am to have exams and the like behind me,
I’m also viscerally aware that, with their completion, I say goodbye to some of the best years of my life. Yes, it’s been stressful, and yes, we’re emerging battle-scarred after our time in the trenches wrestling with #gate after #gate, but we’re also emerging more skilled, more enlightened, and more mature than we were when we donned our unforgivably unflattering Viva Laws Vegas OWeek shirts. Whether this is as a result of our time within the Faculty of Law itself, or all of the peripheral experiences that come with being in law school, I’m not sure. I don’t think it really matters. Many of the courses were lacklustre, many of the exams were unfair, many (read: all) of the administrations decisions were questionable, and—real talk—many of our internal strifes were frivolous (see, most recently, #booniegate and #gradtripgate). Nonetheless, from unwinding with friends at guaranteed weekly pub nights, quick chats in line at Goodmans Café lamenting the overpriced offerings, and commiserating as we run into each
other on our umpteenth bathroom break from Admin, it is undeniable that law school offers a highly social atmosphere which will be difficult to recreate when everyone goes on to be too busy achieving great things. It is no secret that the 3L year is fraught with division but, soon enough, we will be apart by no choice of our own. And so I end this reflective musing with this: the 1Ls might actually have it figured out. Contrary to popular belief, being nice actually is cool. As for the 2Ls, you’re almost in 3L, and with half the class away on exchange, the year flies by faster than any other; soon you’ll be taking heinous grad photos of your own, so you might as well #carpediem the shit out of what’s left. I’ve been saying since 1L that I want to write for UV, or be in Follies but, much like everything else I do, I left it to the last minute. Turns out, school is even more fun when you do more than just complain about it. As for the 3Ls, I personally would really rather not graduate by paying homage to Nearly Headless Nick, so it would be nice if we stopped
trying to bite each other’s heads off. Rather, quoting Elle Woods (a far more desirable role model), we did it! We should hold each other up for this, not tear each other down. As I look forward, the future brings change, unfamiliarity, and a kind of “reality” that is free from the safety net that is academia. We’ll meet new people, make new friends, and watch as our peers become Supreme Court Justices, the voices of the underprivileged, really good corporate lawyers, or abandon law in favor of feline stilllife photography. Really, the possibilities are endless, but never forget that they were made possible by your time here. _________________________________ [1] Does this mean there are many qualified candidates who are not granted admission as a result of these processes? Probably. But the ones that are here sure seem to deserve it (which contributes greatly to the imposter syndrome I have felt on-and-off over the last three years).
Exit Thoughts: Apr1L SUHASINI RAO (1L) It’s dangerous to reflect in the middle of March. Depending on who you are, the summer job hunt starts roughly in January. By March, offer in hand or not, everyone develops a reflexive ability to type “thank you for your consideration” at the end of emails.[1] Whether the job hunt has ended for you, or is still going on, the middle of March is only a few weeks away from April exams.
Nevertheless, because of my innate thoughtfulness,[2] I undertook the dangerous task of reflecting on the year since August. We’ve somehow arrived at the end of a school year. For the 1Ls, this has meant an overabundance of hugs, cookies, and peer support.[3] For the upper-years, this has probably meant sassy group messages, screenshots of online drama, and their own version of ‘The Lottery’.[4]
So if you sit down to reflect in March, such reflection may provide a dangerous amount of calm. Extracurriculars are wrapping up, there are only a few weeks of classes left, and you can almost feel the Sun on your skin. Still, April looms around the corner.
Since starting school, terms like volenti non fit injuria have become a little easier to digest, studying seems to make a little bit more sense, and the word ‘reasonable’ has worked its way into my daily vocabulary. There are not too many major complaints for this year.[5] Acquaintances
will occasionally ask me for ‘legal’ advice I can’t actually give.[6] Polite strangers will inform me that University of Toronto’s law school is actually called Osgoode, and I’m misinformed. My shoelaces sometimes come undone when I’m walking, but that one is on me. Good luck with exams. And, if I can ever provide any help (hugs, cookies, and peer support), as a card carrying 1L, I’m obligated to do so. _________________________________ [1] Unless the job is with an academic in Contract Law. Then it’s not a reflex, you did it on purpose.
[2 ] Procrastination. [3] #booniegate never happened. [Hashtag credit: C Miller] [4] à la Shirley Jackson, not OLG. [5] Major: something that is > $36,440.36. [6] I don’t know what your landlord can or can’t do. I don’t know your landlord.
Exit Thoughts: Failing Better KEVIN SCHOENFELDT (3L) This is the last article I’m ever going to write for UV. In less than a month, law school will be over. And for maybe the first time since joining this paper, I’m at a loss for words. You didn’t see it, but I just wrote four different follow-up sentences to that and then crumpled up my laptop and threw it into the garbage. Reflection is hard. I have a million thoughts that have yet to develop into a grand theory of law school. So, instead, here’s one thing that was true for me about law school: I was bad at things and then I learned to get less bad at things. I was bad at things before law school, too. I’m bad at sports, I’m bad at splitting bills in my head at restaurants, and I’m bad at going to the doctor even though that thing on my leg is now the size and shape of a baby triceratops. But those things are all easy to avoid. I don’t play sports very often, I am trained in the use of a calculator, and that thing on my leg is getting better, it’s definitely getting better, I don’t need to go see a doctor, okay?
At law school though, I’ve failed at things in the sort of spectacular way that makes life a superfun thrill ride. For instance, last year, I tried out for a competitive moot and, as I wrote about in this newspaper, I bombed like I’ve never bombed before. Any intelligent thought I had in my brain about the moot problem seemed to spontaneously shoot out of my sweat glands as soon as I was asked a question. So, if I am remembering correctly, in place of actual arguments I just used my best cry voice and shouted out nonsense syllables until the panel asked me to leave. I did not get a moot. Then it happened again at a substantive job interview. Then it happened again during the first few weeks of Trial Advocacy. Then I decided I needed to put some work into not having a nervous breakdown every time I had to talk law in public. Then it happened a few more times in Trial Ad. BUT, after some more practice, I successfully made it through a fake trial and the Up-
per Year Moot without once melting into a puddle. Progress! So another thing I’m really bad at is making friends. Before I started at U of T, I was excited to meet new people and I was sure I would make tons of new friends. But that’s because I forgot how bad I am at making friends. Once I got here all my fight or flight instincts kicked in. I met person after person who I thought was interesting and funny and someone I’d want to hang out with and then, inevitably, the next time I saw them I’d try to avoid eye contact and rush off somewhere. This is not a good friend-making strategy. So, understandably, I did not make close friends in first year. Over the next two years I joined the editorial board of UV and then the exec team of Follies and do you know what that means? It means that there were people who were forced to hang out with me two or more times a month for meetings;
it meant that I got to know some of my extremely smart, engaged, and funny fellow students; and it meant that I walked around with my eyes firmly aimed at the ground less than I used to. In other words, guys, I made some friends! Is that a pathetic thing for a fully-grown adult to be excited about? No, it’s not. Making friends as a fully-grown adult is hard. Don’t get me wrong, there are other things I’ve failed at during law school, but one other thing I’m bad at, and trying to improve, is keeping my word count reasonable, so I’m going to wrap things up here. Law school has been three years of highs and lows for me and, I assume, for most of you too. I think everyone here has failed at something and I think everyone here has probably learned to fail better the next time. We’re all going to fail more in the future. The only thing we can do is try to keep learning.
16 | March 28, 2018
OPINIONS
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The Case of the Missing Candidates ROBERT NANNI (1L) On Tuesday, March 21, we all received an email from our beloved Chief Returning Officer (CRO) Aidan Campbell with the SLS candidates’ statements. As someone who is running for 2L StAG Representative, I was both excited and nervous to receive this email. A small part of me wanted my role to be acclaimed, to relieve the stress of campaigning as exams approach, but the rest of me wanted it to be contested. Give me struggle, give me drama, give me democracy! As soon as I saw the email, I quickly scrolled down the list to the heading “2L StAG,” where I saw three candidates’ names, one of whom is acclaimed for VP StAG, subject to a vote of confidence. You’d think I’d be relieved, but instead I felt disappointed. Fellow students congratulated me, but this wasn’t a deserved win. This was a position I did not feel I had earned.
The only contested positions are President and VP Social Affairs, whereas VP StAG is acclaimed subject to a vote of confidence and each year representative is acclaimed. Come Fall, the incoming CRO will have to hold byelections for two more 3L Social Reps, one more 2L Social Rep, and two more StAG Reps. I can’t pinpoint the source of the apparent election apathy, so I ask you: Where are all the candidates? Is it the time of year? Perhaps with exams and final papers drawing near, students were not looking to add yet another stressor to their plates. In the event that someone was to enter a contested election but didn’t have time to campaign, they might feel overwhelmed. Is it the nature of elections? They tend to be a popularity contest, unfortunately. You vote for the name you recognize, the student with
whom you’ve spoken, the one who posts a lot in Facebook groups. The nature of an election tends to be less about who has the best platform points (because what someone says they’ll do and what they actually do aren’t always aligned) and more about who you want in the role. Is it some sort of an accessibility issue? Does the SLS come off as this mysterious body with which students think they can’t get involved unless they started as a 1L Rep? The only fresh faces we saw in this election cycle were three new 3L StAG Reps (kudos to you for running!) who perhaps have watched SLS from the outside and now want to contribute on a more hands-on level. But to them I ask, where have you been? By waiting until your last year of law school to join student government, you miss out on helping enact direct change to your experience here.
Moving forward, I want to informally task next year’s CRO with finding the root of this issue and working to remedy it. This means holding elections earlier and working with the SLS to promote involvement. Some students with whom I spoke feared running and losing, thereby having wasted their time. In my opinion, this is not the right way to view elections. This is a time to contribute your ideas, to challenge the status quo, and to hold the SLS accountable while defying stagnation. Ultimately, students will only be interested in voting if they have someone for whom they can vote. Whatever changes are made next year, they need to be impassioning students to run and, by extension, to vote.
Ryerson Law: Well-Intentioned but Misses the Mark ROBERT NANNI (1L) The other day I was talking to a family member who, by no fault of their own, doesn’t really understand this whole law school thing. The idea of being a Bay Street lawyer isn’t something with which they’re at all familiar but, like most adults, they’ve met with lawyers from smaller f irms before. Their idea of what it means to be a lawyer goes something like this: you work for someone else to gain experience and then go off to a less populous area to start your own practice. It was this conversation that really led me to think, “Why is Ryerson University opening up a law school?” Now you might wonder how I made the connection between that conversation and this thought, but it’s clear to me: there are evidently many underserved populations in Ontario, and throwing another Toronto law school in the mix will not be helpful. North of Toronto, the only law school you’ll f ind is Lakehead; to the west, you won’t see a law school until you hit Western; and to the east, Queen’s. There are several “university cities” along these paths—Hamilton, Kitchener-Waterloo, Oshawa—that are currently underserved and might benef it most from having a law school in their communities. While Ryerson’s (laudable)
aim is to produce “practice-ready graduates,” the Toronto legal market is not the one that needs these graduates the most. While this city is oversaturated with legal graduates, there are underserved populations that struggle to attract students to article at their f irms away from the big city. While the f irst cohort of Ryerson Law graduates wouldn’t enter the legal market until 2023, this discussion is an important one to have now. The ramif ications of opening another law school in a city that already has two of them will have an even greater impact on the current issues surrounding articling. While U of T likes to boast of its impressive articling placement statistics, we are an anomaly in the law school scene. Many Toronto-based f irms are unable to pay their articling students or compensate them at above minimum wage. I f ind it is absurd that anyone would want to add yet another cohort of law students to the mix of those who, having spent tens of thousands of dollars on this education, and on the schooling prior to law school, will make less money than someone with a high school degree working in the fast food industry. Now, of course, it isn’t all about the money, but when tuition is anywhere from $20,000
(at Ryerson) to nearly $40,000 per year (at yours truly), it’s certainly a considerable factor. Instead, opening a law school in a smaller community would encourage lower tuition, enable students to pay less money in rent, and promote remaining in that community for articling. It doesn’t solve the crisis by any means, but it desaturates the Toronto job market and enables graduates to take lesser paying jobs without the looming overwhelm of as much debt as, say, one of us. Ultimately, Ryerson’s law school will have severely negative impacts on articling and, as a result, mental health. We can all attest to the stress and anguish we face while seeking jobs, with much of our focus being success and paying back our lines of credit. A similar setup can be seen in the medical school graduate community, which is facing a shortage crisis in residency positions. In September 2016, after two rounds of applying for residencies, a graduate from McMaster Medicine died by suicide. While this could be attributed to inadequate mental health services, the student made it clear that his action was driven by an inability to obtain a residency spot. Not to be dramatic, but this is exactly the
issue to which Ryerson Law contributes. Some people who support the creation of Ryerson Law claim that it will keep potential law students in Canada and prevent them from going abroad to attain a legal education. Frankly, this isn’t a viable reason to support Ryerson’s move. Opening another law school without increasing the number of articling positions available does nothing to solve the problem. This is not to undermine the students who come to law school with no intention of practicing law, who are not the target of this article, but rather to highlight the vast majority of wannabe lawyers who simply can’t f ind articling positions. So what can we do? Well, I guess not much. Ryerson Law is scheduled to open in Fall 2020. My only advice moving forward is to support future law students through mentorship and networking. We will be legal professionals one day with the ability to be relatable and helpful to the law students of the future. Be aware of their stressors, meet with them for coffee whenever you can, and tune into mental health concerns that you might notice. If the Law Society doesn’t seem to be functioning in the best interests of law students, we should assist them however we can.
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March 28, 2018 | 17
Unpopular Views: 2018 Bestows Trilogy of Terrible Art LILY CHAPNIK ROSENTHAL (1L)
A piece of wisdom in our modern Western society is that, with each passing year, we are meant to advance. Culturally, politically, technologically, each year is meant to build positively upon the year previous. This axiom has, however, been proved horribly and tragically wrong. The advent of three truly terrible pieces of art has proven that 2018 has quite simply ‘Not Measured Up.’ An LP of a year thus far, if you will.
with a weird lagoony creature in a Cold War-era research facility. It was, quite frankly, a stupid story, like Beauty and the Beast for the bestiality crew. We know CGI effects are nice, but basing a whole movie on it without much plot in and of itself is the stuff of a summer low-budget flick, not a Best Picture-worthy movie.
The Shape of Water
The Greatest Showman
Picture the scene: a Saturday night in January dawns (can a night dawn?) dark and cold, and Illustrious Author and Dear Husband settle in to have the craziest night they’ve had in a while as busy law/grad students, and watch a movie [downloaded illegally] at home. Our intrepid protagonists did not believe that a movie which won Best Picture would prove to be one of the most disappointing experiences of their cultural lives. Yet, what is a night off of law school without inevitable disappointment and misplaced guilt? We should have known something was wrong when, five minutes into the movie, the mute main character is shown masturbating in an oversized bathtub for absolutely no reason. This was the beginning of what Dear Husband aptly put as a “weird art piece trying to masturbate to itself… the same old shit just trying to be different.” (The use of the word “masturbate” was, interestingly enough, not in response to the actual masturbation which occured. Coincidence?) The movie’s plot centers around the aforementioned mute protagonist shallowly falling in love
Rating: 2 stars—maybe.
The good news is, if you have been looking all your life for kitchily-inspired lyrics added to the tunes of every weird-ass pop rock song from the early 2000s, you have found it here. The bad news: This is a truly terrible movie.[2] Despite the title, this film involves very little actual showmanship. Instead, it features a weirdly contrived plot, which is supposedly about allowing disenfranchised and beaten-down minorities to shine through the Freak Show of P.T. Barnum’s original circus. It’s a cute feel-good story about bearded ladies and obese people being appreciated for the first time for their innate talents, regardless of their challenges. How lovely. The issue is that this is an insult to the memory of these people, who were actually terribly exploited by Barnum. This is the same guy who began his career by enslaving someone, and then charging an entrance fee to watch her body being cut up after she died.[3] Also, the one character who was deemed to be worthy of love was an extremely light-skinned, non-disabled African American
woman who had the body of the average supermodel. Radical inclusion, sure. Between the gaudiness of the music and the tastelessness of the exploitation, I was left mourning the fact that we hadn’t spent our evening seeing Black Panther instead. Author’s Rating: Half star DH’s rating: Twoand-a-half stars.
Hart House’s production of Titus Andronicus
DH and I are Hart House Theatre yearlong subscribers, and we found the majority of this year’s season to be impressive and of a high quality for the price we paid. We expected the same from the last production of the year, Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus. Let’s just say that it is not usually our practice to walk out of a play we paid good money for at intermission, but I would have paid someone to NOT have to sit through the rest of this play. Although the professional actors were not terrible, overall this felt like a high-school level production. It doesn’t help that Titus Andronicus itself is not one of Shakespeare’s best tragedies, lacking the depth of themes that make its counterparts, such as MacBeth and King Lear, so compelling. What the play does have, however, is lots and lots of gore. For example, a girl is raped, has her hands and tongue cut off, and then must stuff another person’s severed hand in her mouth. The issue was that, although this violence is de-
[1]
picted in the text, the production did a terrible job of showing the grisliness. Two severed heads were, for example, clearly just balls in garbage bags. This just didn’t cut it, especially as the gore seems to be literally the only redeeming factor in terms of this play’s watchability. The costume design was also bizarre and confusing—it seemed like they were going for a hipster look, but with no clarity or consistency. It seemed as though the production was sponsored by a skinny khaki factory. All I know is we were far from the only disgruntled theatregoers to walk out at intermission. Rating: 2 stars
Bonus: Hart House Chapel
If you have never stepped into the chapel of Hart House, HOLY CRAP IT IS COVERED IN EYELESS, SOULLESS DEPICTIONS OF THE BABY JESUS. ENTER AT OWN RISK. _________________________________ [1] With extensive opinions from Shimon Rosenthal (Molecular Genetics) [2] Please note that this is the opinion only of Illustrious Author. Dear Husband was apathetic. [3] https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/true-story-pt-barnum-greatest-humbugthem-all-180967634/
Not Working Well: Volunteer Note-Taking RACHEL CHAN (2L)
On March 9, Assistant Dean Alexis Archbold sent an email with the following statement: “Like last term, 100% of the courses that require notes have volunteer note takers. We are proud and grateful that the system is working well.” Ultra Vires reached out to students and many expressed frustrations with the status quo of academic accommodations. In fact, of the eighteen students who responded to a survey on the efficacy of the current system, seventeen indicated that they do not think that it is effective. The final student said that it was relatively effective, but only once someone is signed up for each class. Major concerns included: 1) Timely access 2) Volunteer burden 3) Quality 4) Known Alternatives
commodations, for it to be acceptable that over half a course can pass before students receive notes. Fulfilling accommodations is not optional.” Another student was so dissatisfied that they have “given up on signing up for it as it takes weeks to get them. By the time I get them it is too late for me to gain anything from them.”
2) Volunteer Burden “A major concern is that the responsibility of academic accommodation has been foisted onto the student body as a voluntary service. This is particularly troubling when it’s coupled with the competitive nature of the program.” “I know of acquaintances who refuse, even within their own friend circles, to share notes or summaries, even well into the upper years. The stakes are simply too high. In any case, expecting law students to haphazardly hand out notes is a bit insane, given the monetary stakes at play.”
1) Timely Access
3) Note Quality:
Nearly one month into second-semester, there were still twenty-four classes that did not have note-takers signed up.
Quality is a critical barrier, both for volunteer note-takers and those who require them. Many students are apprehensive about submitting notes because they are concerned that they will not be detailed or clear enough. Students often feel like there is a significant amount of effort required to
One student commented: “It is an ineffective system, and insulting to students who require ac-
get their class notes to a level that would be helpful to others. “Regarding the quality of notes, I have been a note taker and, while I wish we had more training, I think that note takers do their best to ensure their classmates receive quality notes. That said, for students who are entitled to recordings, it seems obvious that reading someone else's notes doesn't even come close to hearing the lecture yourself, deciding what is important, and taking your own notes.”
4) Known Alternatives One student noted that “students raise the same predictable, easily remedied critiques every year.” Some alternatives (which other law schools across the nation have successfully implemented) include paid note-takers and lecture capture. Last year, the SLS advocated for better compensation for note-taking and, in response, note-takers who submit 75% of the notes per class now receive $50 gift cards. While this is a step forward, it has not been strong enough as an incentive ,considering how dozens of classes had no note-takers several weeks into the semester. Stephanie Lewis (3L) commented that the “SLS has not received a satisfying answer as to why lecture capture has not been implemented. At the Mental Health Town Hall in 2017, Assistant Dean Archbold stated that it was ‘an Associate
Dean’ decision and that the SLS could raise it again with the Administration if desired. Anecdotally, I have heard that some professors do not want their lectures recorded. However, I have faith in our professors' willingness to ensure an equitable environment for students with disabilities. I firmly believe that if the Faculty implemented a lecture capture system that was only open to students who are (a) registered with Accessibility Services and (b) entitled to lecture capture as an accommodation, (and perhaps, in addition, students who, for compassionate reasons such as a death in the family, may apply and receive approval to access the recordings from the Assistant Dean), and explained this to professors, those professors would see the value of such a system. In my time on SLS, we were never advocating that lecture capture should be available to all students at all times. And, while I have the utmost faith in the reasonableness of our professors, this is, quite frankly, a human rights issue and the mere fact that some professors dislike the idea should not weigh heavily in the balance.” Some students suggested boycotting note-taking, thereby forcing the administration to step up, but that would harm those who require the services immediately. In light of these concerns, it is apparent that the current accommodation system is not “working well” for those who rely on it.
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RIGHTS REVIEW International Human Rights Program at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Law An independent student-led publication Co-Editors-in-Chief: Karlson Leung and Bethanie Pascutto Editors: Faye Williams and Sarah Firestone
“2030 IS OUR LAST CHANCE”: THE RIGHT TO HOUSING TO ENSURE NO ONE IS LEFT BEHIND By Lauren Pinder (3L)
RIGHT TO HOUSING MANDATE TEAM ON THE WAY TO THE PANEL. PHOTO BY LAUREN PINDER
Dumbstruck with excitement, and a bit jet lagged. That’s how I would describe the feeling I had as I hustled into a side meeting at the 37th Session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. Around the table sat Leilani Farha, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to housing, Kate Gilmore, the Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, and Emilia Saiz, the Secretary General of United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG). These three women represent the founding partners of The Shift - the movement to reclaim and realize the right to housing. On that afternoon, in that room, they met to discuss last minute preparations for their panel on how to #MakeTheShift. What brought these three committed advo-
cates together on a snowy day in Geneva was the same thing that brought states together in 2015 to commit to the Sustainable Development Goals: the path that the world is moving down is untenable. As the population increases at an unprecedented rate, so too does global inequality, with recent estimates stating that the 42 richest people in the world hold as much wealth as the 3.7 billion poorest. Climate change, natural disasters, pollution, and failing infrastructure have a disparate impact on the world’s poor and marginalized, as their access to universal human rights is in many ways nonexistent. In response to these nightmarish realities, governments and civil society created Agenda
2030. Agenda 2030 includes a list of commitments that states must achieve to end poverty and save the planet, with the pledge that “no one be left behind”. It has been three years since the world embraced these ambitious and necessary commitments. There are now only 12 years until the deadline. Cognisant of this fact, I can’t shake something I had overheard a national human rights commissioner say that week: “2030 is our last chance.” So, what does this have to do with the right to housing? Simply put, housing as a human right is the vehicle for ensuring equality, and equality is necessary to ensure no one is left behind. Adequate housing is integral to ensuring health, life, community, sustainability, and ulti-
mately, to protecting human dignity. But when treated as commodity, housing embeds and exacerbates the very inequality Agenda 2030 seeks to address. Financialization of housing equates homes to safety deposit boxes for corporations and the rich, while low and middle-income families are priced out of their homes, out of communities, and out of cities. The result? More and more people finding themselves turning to sidewalks, parks, overcrowded apartments, unsafe houses, and informal settlements to rest their heads. Enter The Shift. In response to the financialization of housing
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and the coinciding housing crisis, Ms. Farha, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and UCLG founded The Shift. The Shift brings together actors from around the world and from various sectors including national and local governments, architecture, urban planning, and finance – all united in the rejection of housing as a commodity and all committed to meeting Agenda 2030 and SDG 11.1 – adequate housing for all. But making global change requires allies from around the globe; Shifters, if you will. At the #MaketheShift panel during 37th Session of the Human Rights Council, the South African Human Rights Commissioner, Mohamed Ameermia joined panelists to speak to state officials and civil society representatives about the role that they all must play in realizing the right to housing for all. At the panel, 12 states were represented (including Germany, Namibia, and Finland, each of whom supported the event), alongside various civil society representatives. Deputy Commissioner Gilmore opened the panel, inviting the room to “understand the home as a rights-based place” and calling on everyone to “prevent urban spaces from becoming prisons of poverty and entrenching inequality.” Secretary General Saiz reminded the audience that “[i]t’s not a global north problem. It’s not a global south problem. It is a universal problem.” Homelessness exists in every country. Some of the richest countries in the world are home to sprawling informal settlements. States in the global north, despite their wealth and resources, have shirked their right to housing obligations, actively supporting the profitmaking of corporations and financial institutions instead of promoting inclusive housing systems. This is not surprising to those of us living in Toronto, where walking past homeless people and hearing about the unaffordability of rent is normalized. But when people around the world hear of individuals sleeping outside when it’s
-10 or -20 in a country as wealthy as Canada, they are shocked. And they are right to be. The cruelty of the deepening issue must be understood as a clear violation of human rights. A core component of the panel discussion was the necessary and collaborative roles that all actors must play to address this human rights crisis. This is different from the standard discussion at the UN that almost exclusively focuses on national governments. The Shift recognizes collaboration between all sectors and actors as the strongest asset, and necessary to realizing the right to housing universally. Commissioner Ameermia, speaking from his position within the human rights system, stated that “national human rights institutions must play a key role in reclaiming the right to live in dignity and comfort and in meeting SDG commitment to adequate housing by 2030.” The crucial role of local governments, over 200,000 of which are represented by UCLG, was emphasized by the panel. Local governments are often responsible for housing, as well as zoning, transportation, services, and local infrastructure. These are all necessary elements to fulfilling the right to housing. And of course, a discussion on reorienting housing systems would be utterly incomplete if it did not address the role of private actors. At the general Human Rights Council session the previous day, multiple state delegates stood up and outlined that they would be relying on private actors to fulfill their right to housing obligations, to address housing shortages, and to provide affordable housing. Financial institutions, developers, and investors occupy a dominant space in housing. Some, such as the private equity firm BlackRock Inc., have taken the position that they have a social responsibility in their operations. But overwhelmingly these actors are responsive only to the profit they stand to make. And in housing, they stand to make a lot. The Shift invites all actors to recognize how they engage with the
REPRESENTATIVES OF THE THREE FOUNDING PARTNERS OF "THE SHIFT". PHOTO BY LAUREN PINDER
right to housing, and to adjust practices accordingly. While corporations’ narrow focus on profit may not change, Ms. Farha emphasized that states have the duty under international human rights law to ensure that the actions of the private sector are oriented toward the right to housing. Where they are relying on corporations to finance, build, and manage housing, states remain accountable to human rights law and must regulate accordingly. As Ms. Farha put it: “States cannot contract out of human rights.” As the panel closed, stakeholders in the room appeared motivated to work toward the real-
ization of the right to housing and making housing systems work for everyone. This echoed my experience in the earlier meetings and events that week. If 2030 is our last chance at ensuring no one is left behind, I find comfort in knowing that these individuals are leading the global efforts to Make the Shift. Here in Toronto, we can be Shifters by participating in the current consultation on National Housing Strategy - telling the federal government that though laudable, it is not sufficient to say it is a rights-based strategy. It needs to recognize the right to housing as a claimable and legally protected right; and ensure that the no one is left behind by ending homelessness and its structural causes by 2030.
THE PANEL AS DEPUTY COMMISSIONER KATE GILMORE DELIVERS HER OPENING COMMENTS. PHOTO BY LAUREN PINDER
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RIGHTS REVIEW
EXPLOITATION OR ECONOMICS? OUR YEAR LEARNING ABOUT MIGRANT WORKER RIGHTS AND RECRUITMENT FEES By Ramz Aziz (3L JD/MBA) and Alexis Vaughan (3L) nerability in Canadian society. The goal was to allow the lived experiences of migrant workers to shape and direct the project. We knew from existing reports that migrant workers in Canada frequently suffer unjustifiable abuses, including unsafe working conditions, unfair wages, lack of access to adequate healthcare and forced payment of extortionate recruitment fees. Despite this research, the full scope of these abuses is unknown as migrant workers are often unwilling and/or unable to report employers’ abusive practices due to exploitative systemic factors. Migrant workers’ work permits in Ontario are tied to a specific position with a specific employer. If a worker loses their job for whatever reason they are at risk of being sent back to their home countries. This system is built on an extreme power imbalance between employer and employee that spawns exploitation and abuse with no avenue for recourse.
MEMBERS OF MIGRANTE BC SPEAK AT MAKE A CLAIM CAMPAIGN. PHOTO COURTESY OF PETRA MOLNAR
Each year tens of thousands of temporary foreign workers enter Canada to perform jobs that the sponsoring employer has demonstrated no Canadian is willing to do. Many of these workers come from economically-precarious communities around the world, with the hope that the opportunity to earn Canadian wages can lift their families out of poverty. We were tasked with aiding the International Human Rights Program’s advocacy around greater protection for migrant worker rights in Canada. We needed to understand the scope of the problem, and figure out how our advocacy would be most valuable to existing actors in the space. Given that migrant workers are often exposed to numerous human rights violations, we had no shortage of issues to focus on. After extensive consultations with affected parties, we were asked to focus on the practice of charging recruitment fees from migrant workers. To that end, Alexis reviewed Canada’s obligations to migrant workers as determined by its international commitments and Ramz analyzed domestic federal and provincial legislative and regulatory instruments that informed both governments obligations to protect migrant workers. When we began our project, we felt privileged to interact with and advocate for the migrant worker community. We hoped to interview migrant workers directly to gain first-hand insight on how racialization, economic circumstances, and language barriers contribute to their vul-
In order to assess where our efforts would be most impactful, our team met with various organizations that were already working with migrant workers. We were particularly impressed with one such organization, Migrante Canada, and have been lucky enough to partner with them for this project. Migrante Canada works to promote the rights of migrants and to protect their dignity against all forms of discrimination, exploitation and abuse in the workplace and in the community. Team lead and staff lawyer with the IHRP, Petra Molnar, highlighted the importance of partnering with such an established group, stating that “it is crucial for lawyers who work on advancing access to justice to take a collaborative community-based perspective and support groups like Migrante who are the experts on determining how to frame issues and work with the community.” After meeting with several migrant workers, it became obvious that the payment of exorbitant recruitment fees is highly prevalent throughout the temporary foreign worker industry. Although charging migrant workers recruitment fees is technically illegal in Canada, existing domestic laws do little to prevent this practice by recruiters in sending countries. The lengthy, costly, reactive, complaint-driven process to recover recruitment fees also discourages workers from seeking protection under domestic legislation. For a migrant worker to secure a minimumwage job in Canada, they often have to pay between $4,000-$10,000 in recruitment fees. In her 2014 report, Profiting from the Precarious, Fay Faraday found that this amount of money typically represents “between six months to two years’ earnings in the workers’ home currency and in some cases considerably more.” Paying recruitment fees often results in migrant workers and their families taking on crippling debt, risking everything for the chance to improve their lot in life. Often, their only source for a loan is the recruitment agency itself. Recruiters use this loan as a further means to prey upon the vulnerable, charging inflated interest rates that inevitably place the worker even further in their debt. This practice effectively places the worker in a state of debt bondage in
POSTER ON MIGRANT RIGHTS BY MIGRANTE BC. PHOTO COURTESY OF PETRA MOLNAR
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which they are forced to perform whatever labour is demanded of them. According to Jesson Reyes, an organizer with the Migrant Resource Centre Canada, "Canadians have the responsibility to ensure the safe welcoming of all migrant workers to Canada and the most effective way in doing so is holding the Canadian government accountable to its workers by ensuring equal and fair treatment for all. Canadians must be in solidarity with migrant workers on the basis that we are all settlers to this land." It is time for Canada to take responsibility for its role in perpetuating exploitation of this vulnerable group. Both federal and provincial governments need to do more to fulfill their obligation to uphold the human rights of migrant workers. Although Canada has ratified several international human rights conventions that guarantee basic human rights of migrant workers and the Charter protects migrants from discrimination based on their citizenship or nationality, Canada has consistently refused to sign international legal instruments such as the United Nations Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families that address the vulnerability and abuses specifically faced by migrant workers.The federal government should also make it easier for migrant workers to obtain permanent residency, allowing them equal access as with other expats. Provincially, Ontario can look to models in Nova Scotia, Manitoba and Saskatchewan to bolster protections for migrant workers under the Employment Standards Act and Employment Protection for Foreign Nationals Act (EPFNA). These other provinces mandate recruiter licensing, a proactive enforcement system that monitors employers, and have removed the prohibition barring migrant workers from pursuing concurrent civil/statutory claims. An example of one of Migrante’s current initiatives is the "Make a Claim Campaign: Labang Ang Abuso", encouraging workers who have been affected by illegal and abusive recruitment practices to come forward and learn about their rights under EPFNA. Although our project was initially conceptualized primarily as a fact-finding endeavour, our team is now exploring litigation options with migrant workers as claimants, providing an avenue for them to recover the recruitment fees they have unjustly paid. We hope that litigation may provide a remedy to the affected individuals and also set a precedent that will serve to protect the thousands of migrant workers who are subjected to similar conditions. Over the course of the year, we have had the privilege to meet and learn from many people within the migrant worker community. Several of these individuals were undocumented workers who live in fear of sudden repatriation. Although even speaking about their situation carries incredible risk that could lead to the loss of their families’ only source of income, these individuals entrusted us with their stories. We are humbled by their courage and thank Migrante for partnering with us on this meaningful project.
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THE RIGHT TO HOUSING: REPORT FROM A VISIT TO THE HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL By Jeremy Greenberg (2L)
It's appropriate that on my recent trip to Geneva I stayed in a youth hostel. Hostels are not the most pleasant environment. Not horrible, mind, but a far cry from the comfort of home. Even just the option to stay in one for a few nights, then return to one’s own bed, is a luxury we sometimes overlook. I certainly couldn’t imagine living this way - or worse - for much longer. And then I walked over to the United Nations to talk about housing. This past March, I travelled to Geneva for the 37th annual session of the Human Rights Council, as part of my work for Leilani Farha, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing. I started this work last term as a clinic student with the Faculty of Law's International Human Rights Program (IHRP). I was joined by Lauren Pinder, a fellow classmate whose expansive experience with the Special Rapporteur is also covered in this issue of Rights Review. Last term, Lauren and I researched and helped to write the Rapporteur's annual report (available here http://www.undocs. org/A /HRC/37/53) on the importance of a human rights-based approach to housing. The report highlighted the importance of things like access to transportation and to a justice system capable of enforcing human rights, and the fact that adequate housing constitutes more than just four walls and a roof. The conditions that we advocated for are decidedly worse than those found in a youth hostel in a wealthy country. But they aren't much worse than the conditions faced by the 30,000 Canadians who are homeless on any given night of the year. Not to mention the housing conditions facing Indigenous peoples in Canada, which are so severe the Assembly of First Nations has estimated 85,000 new housing units need to be constructed. Currently there are 1.6 billion people worldwide living without access to adequate housing. That is a massive human rights violation on a global scale. It so happened that the week I was in Geneva, there was an historic snowfall that made most of Western Europe look like
Yellowknife on a good day. Freezing temperatures, thick snow, major transport shutdowns. I had to hike to the Palais des Nations because the busses weren’t running, trudging through the snow with diplomats and foreign dignitaries flowing in from decidedly non-frozen countries. The hostel kept the heat on blast, and we propped windows open to prevent suffocation in our dingy sixteen-person dorm. I don't know what Europe's homeless did that week, but I do know that in 2017 one hundred homeless people died in the streets of Toronto. I know that earlier this year, a homeless person died in Toronto after an influenza outbreak at a shelter. I know that our shelters continue to run over-capacity, and I know that our federal, provincial, and municipal governments refuse to budget for more. When we worked with Leilani (a fellow Canadian) on her new report, we made a strategic choice not to foreground Canada's new - in fact, first-ever - housing strategy. While it’s fantastic, and long overdue, that Canada now has a housing strategy, and that it’s explicitly couched in human rights language, it’s also long overdue. That it took until 2018 to develop a national housing strategy should be a source of shame for Canadians, not of pride. So Canada was left out this year, and it remains to be seen what impact this policy will have. That said, I am hopeful that when it comes time for the 2019 report, there will be some exciting and promising new information about Canada’s housing implementation. While the Special Rapporteur has done an admirable job of promoting this less-wellknown human right, we had the added task this year of explaining what a human right lens actually means. That is, the report’s object was to convince countries to design housing strategies based on human rights, and not just making passing mention of them. We developed ten principles, including the need to “base the strategy in law and legal standards” (Principle 1), “have human rights-based goals and timelines” (Principle 6), and “clarify the obligations of private actors and regulate financial, housing and real estate markets” (Principle 10).
ihrp.law.utoronto.ca/page/rights-review-magazine
That means ensuring housing for all through various strategies, including the growing field of "Housing First" policy making. “Housing First” foregoes shelters, halfway houses, various forms of institutionalization for people with mental illness, addiction, or other difficult life circumstances, and focuses on providing them with housing. It's a controversial approach, because it often means putting individuals with addiction and mental health challenges into living circumstances that they may not be prepared to handle on their own. This is why the policy is tied to things like social support services and in-house medical care, for example, by having psychologists or counsellors live in the same building. At a more practical level, our time in Geneva consisted of long days at the Palais des Nations, prepping notes and doing last-minute research, then taking up our positions in the famously-ceilinged main chamber to watch Leilani advocate in front of the Human Rights Council. She presented the report, sat on a panel with other thematic rapporteurs, and hosted a special panel on strategic litigation for housing rights. Undoubtedly the highlight of witnessing Leilani’s advocacy was the Q& A portion, during which states and NGOs submitted questions to the Special Rapporteur, who responded with eloquence and a depth of knowledge. I came into this work not even knowing that housing was a human right. The past half-year of work has led me to believe that the fact there is anyone in the world, let alone in Canada, with no hot water, no public transportation, no waste disposal, no court to hear their cases, and no government-enshrined housing strategy, is an inexcusable tragedy. I am grateful to the IHRP for this incredible work experience, and to Leilani, Lauren, Bruce Porter (executive director of the Social Rights Advocacy Centre, commissioner at the Ontario Human Rights Commission, world-renowned housing expert), and the rest of the team for all the leadership and expertise they have provided.
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Then and Now: A Photo Essay KEVIN SCHOENFELDT (3L) Law school f lies by. One day you’re at O-Week trying to f igure out the best way to sneak out before the social events start, and the next day you’re graduating, trying to f igure out the best way to sneak out before the social events start. ( Just kidding, I am a very normal and social human person. Please invite me to things.) It sometimes feels like time doesn’t really exist at law school. But the truth is, we graduating students have been here for a long time. The following photo essay illustrates just how much has changed since we f irst started.
Then: Kevin Schoenfeldt On the First Day of Law School
Now: Kevin Schoenfeldt at the End of Law School
Then: This Jar of Jalapeño Peppers In My Fridge In 2015 - Unopened
Now: This Jar of Jalapeño Peppers In My Fridge In 2018 - Still unopened, but now with stuff beside it.
DIVERSIONS
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Then: Page and Word Count for Notes From a First Year Class
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Now: Page and Word Count for Notes From a Third Year Class
My Running Route in First Year
My Running Route in Third Year
And finally, a graph.
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Intra Vires HONGHU WANG (1L) Faculty Council Hires Sergeant-at-Arms Facing declining attendance, Faculty Council on March 7 approved the provisional hiring of a Sergeant-at-Arms, who will be charged with rounding up members of Faculty Council before every meeting, guarding the coveted sandwich table, and barricading the doors to prevent members from leaving before quorum is met. Apparently, law and economics professors do believe in such a thing as a free lunch. Professor Benjamin Alarie was rumoured to be the top contender for the new position. Professor Alarie was last seen marching on the third floor of the law school balancing a golden mace on his shoulder. He could not be reached for comment. 1L Class Copies 2L Charm After seven splendid selfie-posting months, the 1L class has finally devolved into drama llamas befitting the prestigious University of Toronto Faculty of Law, following in the footsteps of the upper-year classes. Upon further investigation, however, it appears the main instigators were not even 1Ls at all. As Intra Vires was going to press, the 1L class had not yet decided on an appropriate definition of “the boonies.”
Law Students Celebrate Rankings, Student Debt, and Public Interest Law University Magazine recently ranked the University of Toronto Faculty of Law as the top law school in Canada. University Magazine describes itself as a “class project for alternative media & digital activism course at the University of Windsor.” The rankings were brought to the attention of the student body by a diligent law student. Separately, the Intra Vires University Rankings released its first rankings of law schools; U of T ranked first in “Canadian Rankings of Schools that Care the Most About Rankings,” second in “Student Debt” (behind McGill), and last in “Graduates in Public Interest Law.” Faculty of Law Review Spotted Using “Wrong” Punctuation, Says Prescriptive Grammarist As reported by a different, diligent law student, the University of Toronto Faculty of Law Review was recently spotted using hyphens in lieu of en dashes, to the surprise of no one, not even the exactly two people who read the paper.
Election Scandal Mired in Search of Popsicles
Is UV Inflating the Goodness of the Graduating Class?
Ultra Vires Co-Editor-in-Chief and SLS Chief Returning Officer Aidan Campbell is rumoured to return next year as SLS President despite allegations of rigged voting booths that were “helping vote in the tyrants who will reign once [the 3L class is] long departed.” He is alleged to have bought votes with “all the marbles.” He was also indicted on charges of conspiracy to “blow this popsicle stand” at the upcoming convocation. As Intra Vires was going to press, we were still searching for this popsicle stand—a popsicle stand, any popsicle stand.
A rigorous analysis [Editor’s Note: it was not] of personal statements by the graduating classes published by Ultra Vires shows a steady year-overyear rise in the percentage of Grads Doing Good Things™. Are graduates really staying true to their personal statements or is this a conspiracy by the editors to get in the good books of the graduating class?
Legal Locutions to Class Up Your Exam Writing II HONGHU WANG (1L) WITH TRANSLATIONS FROM THE EDITORIAL BOARD Whereas the writers for Ultra Vires desire to help students complete their examinations with a style and verve which might showcase their most fulsome potential; and Whereas the writers draw inspiration from cases past; Therefore we present a brief guide containing phrases that you can drop on your way to an HHH, with translations provided for those who have not attended a British boarding school.
Regarding farming Legislate until the cows come home And then they can finally legislate for once. Like, where are they even? The peculiar value of news is in the spreading of it while it is fresh Which, coincidentally, is the best use for Ultra Vires. You cannot reap what you do not sow None of you are cut out for subsistence farming.
You can’t take two bites at the cherry You can, however, take two bites at the apple.
Regarding gardening No doubt a garden is a pleasure - on high authority, it is the purest of pleasures. My garden is a private space and I don’t recommend walking in unannounced.
Regarding investments As a general matter, the law sometimes protects investors from the 'free riding' of others; and sometimes it does not. Or, the story of how we're going to copy the Osgoode Hall Law School student newspaper from now on. Stock in trade What exactly a stock is remains unclear, Business Organizations no longer being a required course.
The sauce to meat is ceremony We’re getting sauced. The falsehood is a little more subtle, the injury a little more indirect, than in ordinary cases of unfair trade, but I think that the principle that condemns the one condemns the other. It is a question of how strong an infusion of fraud is necessary to turn a flavor into a poison If you fall asleep before you finish reading my decision then it doesn’t matter if it makes sense or not.
Sine qua non From the Latin for “I don’t actually understand Latin”. Sui generis Important for understanding compound interest.
Regarding legal French: Bête noire Probably racist. Pur autre vie In which you wrote a best-selling novel and retired to the south of France. Pur sa vie In which you work weekends so that a senior partner can retire to the south of France.
Regarding literary quotes
A fortiori Used to express a conclusion for which there is stronger evidence than for a previously accepted one.
"Sit a monkey in front of a typewriter and by chance it may be able to write Romeo and Juliet of Shakespeare, however, it is unlikely" (Umberto Eco) It is more likely that it will write an HH Constitutional Exam.
Ab initio My original six-pack abs before I started law school.
Regarding parts of the body:
Ipso facto Ipso facto that I didn’t actually ever have six-pack abs.
It doesn't lie in your mouth... It lies in mine, gimme.
Inter se Person A: Knock Knock Person B: Who’s there? Person A: Intersession Person B: Inter sePerson A: [Interrupting] Don’t even fucking talk to me about intersession.
You can't blow and suck at the same time No comment.
Regarding Latin: Regarding food
Publici juris When a Supreme Court Justice goes streaking.
Regarding respect As s/he then was Just in case you missed the memo on my/their promotion. With respect You are a moron. With great respect You are a moron and also you’ve got a dumb face. With the utmost respect You are loathsome, arrogant, and fundamentally unjust. You hide behind your status like a coward. You have a chronic inability to master any social skills. You are pedantic, aggressive and petty in your daily life. You have obliterated any humanity from your judicial position. You have non-existent listening skills. You have a propensity to use your court — where you lack the courage to hear opinions contrary to your own — to launch ugly, vulgar, and mean personal attacks, which not only confirms that you are as loathsome as suspected, but also casts shame on you as a judge. You are unable to face your detractors without hiding behind your judicial position.
Regarding trial strategy At the trial his plight was plain Lookit this poor fuck. Belt and suspenders approach With respect, the honourable counsel needs to adhere to the Law of Fashion. Man and boy defence With great respect, the honourable counsel needs to stop copying Muddy Waters’ hit single as a defence strategy. Splitting hairs With the utmost respect, the honourable counsel needs a better hair care regime.
DIVERSIONS
ultravires.ca
March 28, 2018 | 25
I Made a Lot of Mistakes: An Apology to the 1Ls (And Everyone Else) KEVIN SCHOENFELDT (3L) As many of you know, over the past months I have been involved in a lawsuit with the 1Ls. I called them too nice, I called them not that hungry, I called them the absolute worst, and I said they made me sick. It is not unreasonable to read the words of my January article, “The 1Ls Must Be Stopped,” and think that I was suggesting that the 1Ls were over the top, maybe even faking their niceness. Well folks, I am here to say that I was wrong. I was wrong to question the sincerity of their kombucha. I was wrong to write “1Ls? More like Dumb-Ls” on the wall of a bathroom stall in Jackman Hall. I was wrong to post on the 1L Facebook page that I had forty extra bags of Cadbury Mini-Eggs in the Rowell Room and then eat them all in front of the 1Ls when they showed up. I was wrong. I see that now. I hereby publicly retract all of the bad things I said about the 1Ls, whether in print or in conversation. 1L class, please accept this sincerest of freelygiven apologies: I am sorry. I will gladly apologize to any one of you in person upon request. In thinking about this situation, I have come to realize that the 1Ls aren’t the only people I’ve hurt. I’ve made so many mistakes in my life. As a gesture of good faith and in no way part of a confidential settlement agreement, I will publicly
humble myself below by listing some of the worst of those mistakes.
Adam Ragusa Sometimes the truth hurts. Adam, I apologize.
I sneezed on someone’s laptop I won’t say the person’s name here, but in first year I sneezed in criminal law without covering my mouth and a glob of sneeze goo flew onto the screen of the laptop of the person sitting in front of me. The right thing to do would have been to apologize profusely and get something to clean it off with and maybe offer to pay for some sort of laptop cleaning. Instead I just got up and walked out of class and never looked at that person again for the rest of law school. I’m really sorry to that person.
I once said ‘actus rea’ instead of actus reus when answering a question in class I’ve never stopped thinking about it. Forgive me, please.
I ate a huge tupperware container full of canned tuna in Torys Hall I know there’s no food allowed in the library, but I was really hungry. I recognize that an excessively large amount of canned tuna that had been sitting in my bag all day was not the correct choice and was disrespectful to the other occupants of the library. I’m sorry. I told everyone that I’m in my 30s I’m actually 87. Sorry youngsters. I did a really, really good impression of
For a period of time I was a member of the Dean’s spy network It was my job to notify Dean Iacobucci every time somebody complained about one of his policies. In my defence, I turned double agent and informed for the SLS secret service. Still, maybe there shouldn’t be any spy networks at a law school. My bad I guess. I found half a cookie with a shoe print on it in the bathroom and I ate it I don’t know what to say. Whoever it is whose cookie I ate, I’m sorry. I painted the super creepy portrait of Pierre Trudeau that’s in the library I WANT IT TO HAUNT YOUR DREAMS. And I’m sorry for that. Intersession was my idea One day last year I was talking loudly in the atri-
um about how much I love deemed days because it meant an extra day of class and I love going to class so much, and I said, “Wouldn’t it be great if we had a whole extra two weeks of class that were mandatory?” And the curriculum committee members all happened to be walking by right when I said it. I know you’ll never forgive me for that, but I’m sorry. I’m actually an actor prepping for a role I’m now fully prepared to inhabit the role of Background Law Student #47 in the remake of The Paper Chase, starring George Clooney as… whoever’s chasing the paper, I guess? I don’t know. I haven’t seen the original. Anyway, sorry for being dishonest. I lied about actually being an actor I’m just the regular, 87-year-old, former spy, painter, weird food eater, gross sneezer, Adam Ragusa impression-doing, intersession-inventing person you’ve always known. I just thought you’d think I was cooler if I was going to be in a movie after we graduate. Oh well. For all of these things and for anything else I may have forgotten, I am truly sorry. I hope all of you can forgive me someday.
Guide to Crying in Public: Financial District Edition MAUDE WOODS* If you are a person living in the world, the odds are pretty good that, at some point, something is going to make you cry. Throw in some sleep deprivation, a little caffeine dependency, and aspiring to membership in a profession that is, statistically speaking, terrible for your mental health, and these odds get even better (worse?).
give into that impulse and let it out of your system while in transit? While it’s true that there may be a lot of people around, they’re probably too caught up in the podcast they are listening to or the crushing weight of their own despair to notice you.
2.
Of course, not everyone cries at work. Some people seem to have figured out the elusive secret to maintaining an even keel in all circumstances— their priorities are in order, they are the human embodiment of balance, the world bends at their will. Other people are maybe actually robots, highly efficient law drones for whom the feeling of ever having been even slightly overwhelmed is but a distant memory. For everyone else, however, crying at work remains a distinct possibility. Lest it catch you unaware, read on for one young professional’s road-tested guide to places to cry in the financial district.
1.
TTC vehicles and platforms: As a general rule, no one is having a good time when they are commuting. Being confronted with the futility of human existence first thing in the morning or after a long day at work is enough to move anyone to tears, so why not
3.
Food court two buildings over from the building where you work: In a similar vein to the caution against shitting where you eat, it can sometimes be advisable not to develop a reputation as “that crying girl” in an environment that you may also wish to frequent on less emotional days. The anonymity of a neighbouring food court is perfect for this. Let yourself disappear into the mass of identicallydressed business people as you weep, safe in the knowledge that you don’t need to see any of these people ever again. Bonus: it’s extremely unlikely that anyone will try to sit too close to you if you are audibly sobbing. The great outdoors (seasonal): In the warmer months, the aspiring-to-be-greenbut-actually-mostly-cement spaces between the Financial District’s shiny towers fill up with professionals trying to catch a fleeting
moment in the sun. Come winter, however, these spaces are reduced to their fundamentally ugly and brutal nature and, weirdly, they really empty out. The mix of cold air and the cigarette smoke is the perfect atmosphere for really leaning into feeling just the most sorry for yourself, and those cows outside of the TD building will never hold your breakdown against you.
4.
Your office hiding place: Desperate times, as they say. Maybe someone just yelled at you and you’re feeling like the Platonic form of an idiot, maybe you just found out you had to have your cat put down, maybe you haven’t really slept in two days and it hurts to be alive. Whatever the reason, you may find yourself at your desk knowing for sure that you are about to cry, with no time to escape. If you are so blessed as to have an office with a door, the ability to close that door is ideal, but if you do not, it is a good idea to figure out which pieces of office furniture you may be able to hide behind/under/inside of. If you find yourself resorting to this option frequently, you may want to consider investing in some anti-redness eye drops to use before re-emerging.
You may also want to consider therapy.
5.
In a bar (off-peak hours): To be clear, this is not a recommendation to drink your sorrows away—while there is possibly a time and a place for that, I have heard that it’s maybe not the healthiest coping mechanism. However, the low light of most bars combined with the low odds of running into a coworker make them ideal locations for a low-key cry, even if you’re drinking club soda. If you anticipate that the cry you are about to have will be a manageable one, why not grab a friend and make an outing of it? Some of the best friendships are forged in difficult times, and there’s a good chance your colleagues are feeling just as overwhelmed as you are. Taking a quick time out from the light of day could do you both a world of good.
Go forth and weep openly! NB: In a shocking twist, the author of this list will not be returning to the Financial District next year. *Alumni Contributor, Class of 2017
DIVERSIONS
26 | March 28, 2018
ultravires.ca
Lecture Notes KEVIN SCHOENFELDT (3L) This semester, for no apparent reason, I started bringing my laptop to class for the f irst time. To show you how well that’s going, below I’ve created an accurate depiction of my class notes from a Biz Org lecture if I took notes on everything that I was paying attention to while the professor was teaching.
Lecture, March 28: Shareholder Remedies Oppression Remedy
Hypothetical
•
CBCA s. ?? (didn’t hear), says something about what the oppression remedy is I guess?
• •
I’ve read all the articles at Vox already
• • • • •
Prof thinks that there are lots of issues to think about, because th
•
Somebody just posted on the Class of 2018 Facebook page. Oh, there’s a property law panel at 4 pm today. Great. Super exciting. No free food even.
That was very cute
•
Now she’s watching one of those food making videos and there is so much cheese involved. Should I go get a snack from the Goodman’s Cafe?
Business, business, business, shareholders, majority, directors, business, conduct
•
Prof is talking about BCE again, definitely try to read it before exam
What am I going to have for lunch? And dinner? And lunch and dinner tomorrow?
• • • • •
• •
At least one of those better be pizza
•
Wwwwwuiwuiwuiwuiwuiwuwuiwuiwuiuwiuwpaoijaspoijfa;lkwjqnwie
What’s that video the person three rows in front of me is watching? IT’S A KITTEN!!!!
Oh finally, someone sent a message on our Facebook group chat But it doesn’t really have anything to do with me Send Parks and Rec gif anyway
People are asking a lot of questions, so I’m going to just check Vox again to make sure
I am boreddddddddddddddddddddfdddddddddddddddddddd;alksfa;lskdas;dkf a;slkdja;
Nobody is responding to it. What about now? Still no. The Three Things That Will Guarantee You a Passing Grade on the Exam
Ferguson v Imax Systems Corp
•
Husbands and wives own shares, but wives own non-voting shares or something, i.e. sexist
• • •
Conduct was oppressive for some reasons Oh shit, Donald Trump is at it again If I leave five minutes before the break and come back five minutes after, I probably won’t miss anything and I’ll get a 20 minute break. Super smart.
• • •
If I leave and go home now I will get a rest of the day break. Hmmmm
• •
Prof says it will definitely be on the exam
• • •
I better refresh Facebook again
• •
I missed the three things
Should I start going on Twitter again? I worked pretty hard one day last week, so I think I deserve to take the afternoon off to eat candy and watch old episodes of Brooklyn Nine-Nine that I’ve seen four times already This is why I’m not going to graduate
I should stay. I’ll just read this article about the Royal Wedding Oppression remedy means something to do with reasonable expectations and unfair conduct and I don’t think I care about the Royal Wedding, should I keep that a secret?
Writing Tips for the Summer NORM YALLEN (2L) I know some of you folks are going to be doing jobs this summer. Whether it is professional rock climbing or working in a law office, you are probably going to need to write stuff. They claim to teach writing here in LRW, Advanced LRW, and LRW Deluxe Supersoaker Edition 3000, but those are for nerds. I write some stuff here, and I know how to wryte [sic] a thing or two. Here is how to write in the real world. Try to write exclusively in second person: You might think this is an outlandish idea, but you would be very wrong. When you write in second person you build an immediate connection with the reader (you). Preface any opinion by calling it a “hot take”: This way, if someone disagrees, you can just say you were being challenging and provocative.
They probably just did not understand your innovative and controversial mind. You cannot be held liable for any opinion if it is a hot take. Use a thesaurus: The bigger the word, the smarter you are. Or the further capacious the locution, the more ingenious you are. Be concise: Does the person you are writing to really need to know that much? Instead of writing an entire memo on the law, try doing a simple haiku. I tried to do a haiku for this, but it was kind of hard so I gave up, which is a good attitude to take when writing. Abbreviate: Write any memo the way you would an MSN chat from when you were ten years old. Why say ‘really’ when you can say ‘rly’? “Our client might end up going to prison, laugh out
loud” does not have the same ring to it as “Our client may end up going to prison LOL.” Use the words “derivative” or “tautological”: These two words win any argument. The context doesn’t matter. You can use these words as a substitute for citing and researching any Supreme Court case. Refer to the client creatively: It is boring to refer to the client as,“the client” or “Mr. Smith.” Instead try something new and different like calling your client “Jerry Ferrara (the guy who played Turtle on Entourage).” A boring sentence is, “Our client likely has no legal liability”; an interesting sentence is, “Jerry Ferrara (the guy who played Turtle on Entourage) likely has no legal liability.”
ultravires.ca
DIVERSIONS
March 28, 2018 | 27
The Ones That Got Away: Articles I Didn’t Get to Write KEVIN SCHOENFELDT (3L) Including this issue, I’ve written fifty-one articles for UV over the last two years. I just counted them. And I know what some of you are thinking. You’re thinking, “That’s way too many articles, Kevin. Don’t you think that’s too many articles? Have you ever heard of self-editing? Shouldn’t you maybe do some school work?” In a sense you’re right. But in another, more correct sense, you’re wrong. It’s not too many articles. It’s NOT ENOUGH! Not even close to enough! I want to write MORE, MORE, MORE! Alas, time is like an ethics lecture, it just keeps going on no matter how badly you want it to stop. So, since I’m out of time, here’s a list of all the articles I didn’t get to write:
Lists
• Ten Signs That the Dean has Been Replaced by a Jazz Musician Look-Alike 1) His hour-long saxophone solo at this month’s Yak’s Snacks. Only a jazzy impostor would mishear Yak’s Snacks as Yak’s Sax.
• Fourteen Different Ways to Say “It Depends on the Facts” • The Seven People You Should Befriend and Use to Get Better Grades • Seven Tricks to Convince People You are Actually Their Friend • Seven Ways to Sincerely Apologize to People Who You Were Using to Help You Get Good Grades, But Now You Realize That They Are Actually Beautiful Human Beings and You Are Just a Sad Lizard Person Who Needs to Learn to Be Better
• Eleven Signs That Someone is a Lizard Person Using You to Get Better Grades
1) They make you a peanut butter sandwich and then say something like, “I don’t know about you, but every time I eat a peanut butter sandwich I really want to share maps with people.”
Self-Indulgent Articles Nobody Will Ever Read
• Could You Walk Any Slower?: A 14-Part Series About the World-Record Setting Slow-Walkers Attending the Faculty of Law
• 8,000 Words by a Made Up Legal Scholar About the Emerging Field of Corporate BBQ Law - Sample subheading: Do We Need Better Steakholder Protection?
• Deans From My Father: An Unauthorized and Inaccurate Book-Length Biography of Dean Iacobucci
Non-Joke Articles
• In a Sentimental Mood: Everything That Has Ever Made Me Sad in My Entire Life • So Long and Thanks for All the Boiled Eggs: Boiled Eggs as a Metaphor for Law School Somehow in One Final Reflective Article
• One Good Joke and Seventeen Dumb Jokes About Some Law School-Related Thing • Six Ways To Find Out if You Are the “One True Lawyer” As Prophesied by Grismerelda the Legal Oracle
• Top Ten Criminal Offences to Frame your Parents For to Get Them to Stop Asking You About Your Grades
• 36,440.93 Reasons You Shouldn’t Have Gone To Law School - Get it? It’s a tuition joke.
Find Your Talent
Articles Using Song Titles/Lyrics as Their Titles
• Trap Queen: You’ll Never Believe Which SLS Member Is Setting Booby Traps All Over the Basement
• How You Remind Me: It’s Not Like Yoon to Say Sorry [No, I don’t know what this article
would actually be about, okay editors? Can you please just give me a break? This is how you remind me of what I really am. (A hack).]
• You Can Call Me A.I.: Blue J Legal Unexpectedly Takes On the Personality of Paul Simon • Who Let the Dogs Out?: Doggie Day Deemed Disaster After Five Furry Friends Freed from
“The lawyers I have worked with are truly interested in providing me with meaningful learning opportunities and fostering my development as a lawyer.”
Faulty (F)Leashes
• Sabotage: Dean Iacobucci Unmasked as Mastermind Behind Mass Mutt Mania on Doggy Day
• It’s Been One Week Since You Looked At Me: I’m Sorry for the Embarrassing Thing I Did at Pub Night, Can We All Just Forget It Happened?
• (You Can’t) Give It Away Now: Court Grants Injunction to Stop Anyone From Having to
Lauren Crosby - 2017 Associate - 2016/2017 Articling Student
Hear the Red Hot Chili Peppers Ever Again
• I Will Always Love You: An Acrostic Ode to Vincent Chiao • Uptown Funk: What is That Smell Coming from the Faculty Kitchen? • Blowin’ in the Wind: What is That Smell Outside the Law Building? • And I’m Telling You I’m Not Going… to Graduate Because I Failed Ethics
Partner Intensive Program Mentoring Program Hands-on Experience Supportive Work Environment
“News”
• Law Review Reviews Law, Gives it One Star: “Is this really all we’ve got?” • The Grand Toot a Great Success • UV Writer Apologizes for Hilarious Headline Typo • UV Writer Apologizes for Calling Typo Hilarious, Resigns in Shame • Law School Tool Leaves Pools of Drool on Library Stools for April Fool’s • “I Stole the Art for Love”: The Art Thief Tells His Side of the Story in an Exclusive Interview • Art Thief Caught After Granting Interview to UV • In Celebrated Decision, Supreme Court Declares it Unconstitutional to Require Employees to Wear Anything Fancier Than Sweatpants
• First Law School Opens Under the Sea • In Response to University Magazine Declaring U of T Law #1, Students Ask, “If U of T is So
Good, Then Why Was Kevin Schoenfeldt Admitted?”, School and Kevin Have No Good Answer
• UninChestered Consequences: Study Finds That Cheeto Consumption is Up 300% After Infamous SCC “Sweatpants” Decision
- For you young punks who might not know, Chester Cheetah is the Cheetos mascot, so the title of this article is a really clever and awesome pun.
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