Faculty in the News

Harper's Supreme Court pick soothes a self-inflicted wound: Chris Hall 
Publication: CBC News
Suzanne Côté has been appointed to the Supreme Court as judge for Québec. Carissima Mathen, Common Law Section, hopes that this will turn the page on the Marc Nadon case. "What we need to see is a return to normalcy in terms of the relationship between the judicial and executive branches of government. There are more substantive issues to be discussed now.''

Quebec lawyer Suzanne Côté named to Supreme Court of Canada 
Publication: Toronto Star
Parliament and the public were not involved in the appointment of Suzanne Côté as the Supreme Court judge for Québec. Adam Dodek, Common Law Section, said “I don’t think that is any longer acceptable to the Canadian people, in part because of the arguments that the Conservatives made while in opposition and while in government.”

Higher taxes on rich sounds fair — but flat tax on investments may help more 
Publication: CBC News – The Exchange with Amanda Lang
A new study urges the federal government to change its taxing ways. Some say it's rising the rising level of income inequality is similar to that of the United States. Vern Krishna, Common Law Section, believes that "comparisons with the US tend to be a bit misleading, in the sense that when they talk about high income earners, they're talking generally around 1450,000 and so on." He adds that the implementation of a tax on investment, as the study suggests, might create more tax avoidance, which would be counter-productive.

Tom Mulcair to reveal new health policy while Justin Trudeau talks US politics 
Publication: CBC News – Inside Politics
The government's proposal to boost the powers of CSIS to monitor and track suspected terrorists will undergo a second round of committee review. Among the witnesses are Craig Forcese, Common Law Section and Wesley Wark, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs.

How likely is Jian Ghomeshi to be convicted of sexual assault? 
Publication: Global News Canada
Elizabeth Sheehy, Common Law Section, says a conviction may depend on whether a jury gets to hear evidence from more than one complainant. “Generally such evidence can be excluded in criminal trials on the basis that it is highly prejudicial to the accused person. However, if it is seen as extremely probative because, for instance, it reveals a highly similar and unusual pattern of behaviour, it can be admitted in the trial,” she said. Holly Johnson, Department of Criminology, argues that sexual assault cases that are charged are often under-classified and prosecuted as a less serious form of sexual assault than they really are.

Montreal MP Massimo Pacetti 'troubled' that NDP accuser alleged sex crime in media report 
Publication: National Post
The Liberal MP accused of sexually assaulting an NDP MP has called for a process that would allow the allegations against him to be tested. Lawyers say that what the complainant described in her interview may meet the definition of sexual assault in the criminal code. “I would say prima facie based on what she says, there’s a basis to charge sexual assault,” said Elizabeth Sheehy, Common Law Section

Uber's Got a Privacy Problem 
Publication: The Tyee
In this Op-Ed, Michael Geist, Common Law Section, discusses the app-based car service Uber and the debate around its arrival in Canada. He notes that the company is collecting a massive amount of sensitive geo-locational information. "The failure to develop Canada-specific protections raises serious questions about whether the company sees itself as outside the scope of more than just local taxi regulations," he says.

Animal charter of rights drafted with policymakers in mind 
Publication: CBC News Ottawa
A Canadian animal rights group is promoting its “Charter of Rights and Freedoms for Animals”. Carissima Mathen, Common Law Sanction, explains that adding such rights to Canada's legal system might be an issue. “One of the core rights of any person is the right not to be exploited and we use animals in a variety of ways. That's really not for the benefit of animals, it's for the benefits of humans. There would be huge problems with that.”

Deal raises hopes for use of Canadian vaccine against Ebola 
Publication: Ottawa Citizen
NewLink, the small U.S. company that holds the rights to a Canadian-developed Ebola vaccine has agreed to licence it to vaccine giant Merck, which should speed the development of the product. Amir Attaran, Common Law Section, published a letter in British medical journal The Lancet two weeks ago calling for Canada to withdraw from its agreement with NewLink, arguing that a bigger company could get the product in the field more quickly. He stated that “Canada needs to find a partner that is capable of replacing NewLink and Merck is an outstanding partner with the ability and the facilities to do so.”

Government urges more spy powers; Safety minister says legislation needed to stop terrorist attacks 
Publication: Ottawa Citizen
Craig Forcese, Common Law Section, comments the federal government's proposed anti-terrorism legislation changes. “It’s a fixer upper. It’s not a bill that’s response to the current preoccupation say with homegrown terrorism, although these things tend to be interlinked in fact.” 

Why Kinder Morgan relies on a civil injunction rather than criminal sanctions to punish protesters 
Publication: Georgia Straight
Pipeline survey protesters are being arrested in Burnaby, British Columbia. The article mentions a paper written by Amir Attaran, Common Law Section, in which he said that "on occasion those involved in public demonstrations come into conflict with the law and obstruct or interfere with the rights of others. The use of criminal sanctions in these situations is generally not appropriate."

India threatened to sue over study 
Publication: National Post
Amir Attaran, Common Law Section, and researchers in the United States recently conducted a study on drugs made in developing countries. The study was published by a U.S.-based economics think tank. 

Prescription drug recalls triple in less than 10 years: 'This is a threat to every Canadian's life' 
Publication: National Post
The number of recalls and alerts for defective prescription drugs in Canada has increased over the last nine years, often highlighting problems that could put patients in significant danger, a new study reports. According to Amir Attaran, Common Law Section, “what we now know, more often than not, is that when Health Canada warns about problems, it is because the drug is unstable, contaminated or defective, which can kill you. This is a threat to every Canadian’s life.” 

Judge selection process remains a mystery 
Publication: The StarPhoenix
Nine new supreme court judges will soon be selected. Adam Dodek, Common Law Section, says "more was known about the process for electing a new Pope than about the process for selecting a new Supreme Court Justice."

The new anti-terror conversation: Will Canada adopt ‘glorification legislation’? 
Publication: iPolitics
The federal government is weighing its options for new anti-terror legislations. The British model is one of those options. Craig Forcese, Common Law Section, comments: "The legal advice that I imagine is coming out of the Justice department is that it’s not worth the agony in terms of the inevitable constitutional challenge.”

Canada should cancel NewLink Ebola vaccine contract, critic says 
Publication: CBC – The Current
Amir Attaran, Common Law Section, explains why the federal government should revoke NewLink's Ebola vaccine contract. "It didn't do clinical trials. It didn't even register the intent to do clinical trials. It only began the clinical trials in October 2014. Four years, at least, were lost."

Aminu Tambuwal: Whose Presidential Race? By Chidi Oguamanam 
Publication: Sahara Reporters
In this Op-Ed, Chidi Oguamanam, Common Law Section, discusses the central issues of Nigeria’s upcoming elections. He also profiles Aminu Tambuwal, a potential presidential candidate in Nigeria. He says that “in a country where the more one looks the less one sees, Tambuwal may or may not be in the presidential race. And if he is not, time will tell.”

Women's Parliamentary Association: from catcalls to champions of change 
Publication: Metro Ottawa
The author discusses changes for women in parliament. Penny Collenette, Common Law Section, recalls the 1970s. “Whenever a woman got up to say something, especially if it was on an issue related to women, oh my god, the catcalls and the booing,” she said.

Carbon tax based on BC model appears inevitable 
Publication: Calgary Beacon
This article presents the advantages and disadvantages of a carbon tax similar to the one implemented in BC, which has had positive effects. Stewart Elgie, Institute of the Environment, explains that “when you charge more for something, people use less of it. So you don’t have to be an economist to understand why raising a carbon tax will make people use less fuel.”

Refugee appeal division gives more claimants 2nd chance 
Publication: CBC News
The first available figures from Canada's new Refugee Appeal Division show more refugee claimants are being given a second chance than under the old federal court review process. "They're doing a better job, a much better job than the previous federal court process," said Peter Showler, Common Law Section.

La danse intime de Natasha Bakht 
Publication: Le Droit
Cet article porte sur le spectacle de Natasha Bakht, Section de common law.