Faculty in the News

The Agenda With Steve Paikin: Regulating E-Cigarettes 
Publication: TVO – The Agenda
The Ontario government introduced a bill to regulate the selling of electronic cigarettes. David Sweanor, Common Law Section, discusses the science behind e-cigarettes. According to him, "the reason people get sick isn't because of the nicotine, it's because of the smoke. You suck smoke into your lungs, there's a good chance it's going to kill you. (...) If you can deliver nicotine without the toxins, you can do something that will save a tremendous number of lives."

Telecoms Offer to Build Surveillance Tools into Networks 
Publication: The Tyee
In this Op-Ed, Michael Geist, Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-Commerce Law, discusses how in the future, Canadian telecom providers may build networks that will feature interception capabilities by default.

Canadian Telcos Want to Build Surveillance-Ready Networks 
Publication: Huffington Post
In this Op-Ed, Michael Geist, Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-Commerce Law, discusses how government might cooperate with telecommunication companies to obtain user information as part of a surveillance framework, one that might be in place, regardless of legislation.

India-led BRICS opposes UN arm's move on model drug law 
Publication: Economic Times
An expert group within UN Office on Drugs and Crime hopes to provide a model legal framework to punish falsified drug-related crimes. India has spearheaded a move by BRICS countries to oppose this. Amir Attaran, Common Law Section, comments.

Pirate Bay: Why illegal downloading will continue with or without it 
Publication: CBC News 
Jeremy de Beer, Common Law Section, comments on copyright infringement, says many countries have comprehensive laws when it comes to copyright infringement, but it's difficult to enforce them across geographical borders. As in the case of The Pirate Bay, "people will move their servers or their investment accounts in order to take advantage of favourable legal climates. That's an intractable problem."

Decisions by Refugee Appeal Division members vary widely 
Publication: CBC News
An analysis of past decisions by current members of the Immigration and Refugee Board's appeal division shows discrepancies in the rate of positive decisions. According to Peter Showler, Common Law Section, "it's totally inappropriate. There clearly are members with an extreme negative bias and it is outrageous that they would be appointed to the Refugee Appeal Division."
 
Government documents reveal telecom providers envision surveillance-ready networks: Geist 
Publication: Toronto Star
In this Op-Ed, Michael Geist, Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-Commerce Law, discusses how government might cooperate with telecommunication companies to obtain user information as part of a surveillance framework, one that might be in place, regardless of legislation.

Too big to ail 
Publication: The Economist
Steven Hoffman, Common Law Section, comments on funding received by the World Health Organisation. Its reliance on voluntary donations means that the WHO struggles to shift funding fast or to decide how to spend a big chunk of its budget in the first place. “The director-general is highly limited in how she can address global health challenges, given that she has very little control over the budget,” says Hoffman.

Canada's top court rules cellphone searches legal, with caveats 
Publication: Reuters
The Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that police may search a suspect's cellphone without a warrant under specific conditions. "I have to say I'm surprised given the court's very strong recent privacy record ... I'm surprised that a divided court came out permitting some warrantless searches of cell phones," said Michael Geist, Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-Commerce Law.

Court backs police's powers to share wiretaps 
Publication: Globe and Mail
Craig Forcese, Common Law Section, comments on a Supreme Court ruling regarding Canada’s intelligence agencies ability to share information with foreign countries.

The trouble with charging Canadian ISIS fighters 
Publication: Global News Canada
John Maguire has yet to be charged under the Combatting Terrorism Act. “It’s very difficult sometimes to extract information from an overseas jurisdiction, especially one that is in the midst of a war, and then deploy that evidence in a court… and satisfy standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt,” said Craig Forcese, Common Law Section.

Why Canada's Communication Policy Misses the Forest for the Trees 
Publication: The Tyee
In this Op-Ed, Michael Geist, Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-Commerce Law, discusses the current state of the telecommunications market in Canada. He believes that, although the CRTC has yet to unveil its report, "it is not too early to declare the entire system broken."

Sexual assault law in Canada: What women need to know 
Publication: Rabble
Elizabeth Sheehy, Common Law Section, gives an overview of significant changes to Canada's sexual assault law and the way it is implemented, from 1982 to the present.

Canada AM 
Publication: CTV News
Amir Attaran, Common Law Section, comments on the case of 15 year-old charged for trying to leave Canada to participate in terrorist activity, as well as armed robbery. According to him, "there's a big gap between burglar and terrorist, which hasn't been explained here." He asks "isn't it an overreaction to say 'We're going to charge this kid with terrorism'? Under the law, the sentence is ten years, but if we try him as an adult, maybe we'll lock him away for life."

Why secret Supreme Court appointments are likely here to stay 
Publication: Globe and Mail
In this Op-Ed, Adam Dodek, Common Law Section, discusses the federal government's secret appointment of Supreme Court Justices. He argues that "when faced with the choice between commitment to its asserted principles of transparency and accountability and maintaining absolute control over the process, the Harper Government has chosen the latter."

Has Canada Forgotten the Harsh Lessons of SARS Already? 
Publication: Huffington Post
In this Op-Ed, Colleen Flood and Steven Hoffman, Common Law Section, explain why they believe the federal government shouldn't demote the chief public health officer, for a new one to be selected by the government. "Demotion and politicization of the chief public health officer," they say "is a wrong-headed move. It seems to be linked more to the public gagging of our government scientists than about promoting health or the public good."

Opposition values fall by the wayside 
Publication: Hamilton Spectator
Supreme Court Justices can be  appointed by the federal government directly, without agreement from parliament. Carissima Mathen, Common Law Section, thinks the process allows the prime minister to use his prerogative to appoint justices that reflect his policy ideals. Justices will be "cautious, restrained and not visionary," she says.

Demoting top doc isn't about promoting health 
Publication: The Province
In this Op-Ed, Colleen Flood and Steven Hoffman, Common Law Section, explain why they believe the federal government shouldn't demote the chief public health officer, for a new one to be selected by the government. "Demotion and politicization of the chief public health officer," they say "is a wrong-headed move. It seems to be linked more to the public gagging of our government scientists than about promoting health or the public good."

Stacked against victims; Seeking justice following sexual assault an uphill battle 
Publication: National Post
The author of this article argues that the first encounter with police is what makes the judicial process so difficult for complainants of sexual assault. “In some jurisdictions, it’s up to one-third of women who report rape who are told, ‘We’re not prosecuting, we’re going no further.’ Some women are even threatened with charges if they persist — for mischief or obstructing police,” said Elizabeth Sheehy, Common Law Section. 

Why Ottawa moved quickly on Thalidomide survivors 
Publication: Globe and Mail
In this Op-Ed, Penny Collenette, Common Law Section, discusses thalidomide survivor compensation. She believes that "governments can’t always right wrongs but lessons must be learned and retained, both for regulatory and compassionate reasons."

Legal experts debate aboriginal right to refuse chemo for child 
Publication: CBC
A conference titled Aboriginal Rights & Refusing Life-Saving Treatment for Children took place on campus which discussed First Nations people’s constitutional right to pursue traditional medicine. “I've never seen a judge recognize a broad right for a First Nation like the Mohawk Nation to have their medical practices — their traditional ways of life regarding health and healing — protected by the Constitution under Section 35,” said Larry Chartrand, Common Law Section. 

Apotex suing health minister over refusal to license Parkinson's drug 
Publication: Toronto Star
Health Canada has refused to license a Parkinson’s medication from Apotex. In response, the company has sued the Health Minister, asking a federal court to order the government to approve their drug. Amir Attaran, Common Law Section, said the company’s request is “a shocking corporate attack on the regulatory process.”

Should We Be Shocked When Sick Kids Opt Out of Chemotherapy? 
Publication: The Tyee
Darren O'Toole, Common Law Section, argued at the Aboriginal Rights & Refusing Life-Saving Treatment for Children conference held on campus that a lack of understanding of Ojibwe culture has perpetuated anger at the court's decision to let a young girl stop her chemotherapy treatment. "The way they look at death is very different than Western culture, so right away there's room for a total misunderstanding on that basis," he said.

Ottawa residents say scofflaw cyclist more dangerous than driver speeding in school zone 
Publication: Metro Ottawa
A new City Matters survey conducted by MQO Research showed that just over 56 per cent of those polled felt that a cyclist who does not obey signs or traffic lights is a bigger safety hazard than a speeding car in a school zone. Craig Forcese, Common Law Section, comments.