Faculty in the News

Chris Selley: In the skirmish over copyrighted material in attack ads, the government and media both look awful 
Publication: National Post
This article discusses the federal government’s possible copyright reform. The author quotes Michael Geist, Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-Commerce Law, who said he is "not a fan of attack ads, but attempts to use copyright to claim absolute rights over the use of a portion of a video clip is surely counter to basic principles of fair dealing.”

How safe are we from Ebola? 
Publication: Macleans
This article discusses the risks of Ebola spreading. According to Amir Attaran, Common Law Section, the Ebola vaccine developed in Canada could be more effective than its competitor, as it requires only one dose.

Power Play: Court seemed "open to arguments" 
Publication: CTV News
Carissima Mathen, Common law Section, discusses the Supreme Court case on the right to a medically supervised or assisted death. She said the court seemed open and prepared to consider the issue.

Canada's response to Ebola outbreak woefully lacking: expert 
Publication: Yahoo! Canada
This week, Canada stepped up Ebola screening efforts at airports to catch any inbound travelers from affected regions of West Africa potentially infected with Ebola. However, Steven Hoffman, Common Law Section, said that “airport screening for Ebola is definitely more about quelling the public’s fears than offering any real boost to public health security.”

Supreme Court gathers next week to hear arguments for and against doctor-assisted death 
Publication: National Post
The nine justices of Canada’s highest court gather in Ottawa Wednesday to hear arguments into whether terminally ill Canadians should be granted the constitutional right to a doctor-assisted death. In 1993, the Rodriguez assisted suicide case was decided on a 5-4 split, with now-Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin in dissent. She is the only justice still on the Supreme Court bench since the Rodriguez case, notes Amir Attaran, Common Law Section. “She was in dissent on Rodriguez. It’s not tough to decide where she’s going to land on this one. For the eight other judges, it’s a toss up."

Back to the future: assisted suicide and the Charter of Rights 
Publication: Toronto Star
In this Op-Ed, Carissima Mathen, Common Law Section, explains both sides of the assisted suicide debate.

Canadian-made Ebola vaccine starting clinical trials in humans 
Publication: Toronto Star
Clinical trials are now starting for an experimental made-in-Canada Ebola vaccine. At this time, however, it’s unclear if the vaccine will ever reach people on the ground in West Africa. However, “The competing vaccine is way ahead of where we are," said Amir Attaran, Common Law Section.

Editorial: An unnecessary copyright kerfuffle 
Publication: Ottawa Citizen
This editorial discusses the federal Conservatives' plan to add copyright provisions. Michael Geist, Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law, is quoted as saying that copyright law shouldn’t be used to stifle legitimate speech. “I am not a fan of attack ads, but attempts to use copyright to claim absolute rights over the use of a portion of a video clip is surely counter to basic principles of fair dealing (in Canada) or fair use.”

Drug companies well short of research spending they promised in exchange for longer patent protection 
Publication: National Post
As patent protection for drug companies is set to be lengthened once more, new statistics suggest that research-and-development spending fell sharply again last year. “It is striking how the industry has for years now failed to meet its commitment,” said Michael Geist, Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-Commerce Law.

Ontario health minister to review secrecy involving doctors 
Publication: Toronto Star Online
Lorian Hardcastle, Common Law section, comments on Ontario’s health minister’s order to review  a controversial piece of legislation.

Report on Indian drug makers: India's legal threat a 'shocking overreaction', say US researchers 
Publication: Economic Times
The Indian government is threatening to sue the authors of a report about Indian drug makers sell inferior drugs in poor countries. The group have called the Indian government's threat of legal action against them a 'shocking overreaction' to an academic work. Amir Attaran, Common Law Section, is a member of said group.

Federal government cuts blamed for Syrian refugee backlog 
Publication: CBC
An internal government indicates a backlog in bringing Syrian refugees into Canada. The reports blames a lack staff in the department’s centralized office in Winnipeg. Peter Showler, Common Law Section, calls the long processing times inexcusable.

Unvetted Quebec judge Clément Gascon takes Supreme Court seat 
Publication: Globe and Mail
Justice Clément Gascon will fill the Supreme Court seat for Québec. No selection panel of parliamentarians put his name on a shortlist and no public hearing was held in Parliament about his appointment. Carissima Mathen, Common Law Section, explains “one of the byproducts of the Nadon fiasco is ‘we’re going to blame the process, instead of looking at ways to fix it. We’re just going to appoint whoever we want.’ There’s no sense of the considerations that fed into the government’s ultimate pick,”