University of Alberta Faculty of Law Blog

Follow the Chicken

This is a dramatization of a legal deposition where a plaintiff claimed the loss of his chickens. The NYT dramatized the transcript.

Pro Bono Lawyers Needed to Assist with Syrian Refugee Sponsorship Applications

The Edmonton Community Legal Centre is coordinating a training event for pro bono lawyers who are interested in assisting local groups who are sponsoring Syrian refugees.

              No background in immigration and refugee law is required.

The training for this initiative is being conducted by the Refugee Sponsorship Support Program (RSSP) which operates out of the University of Ottawa, and will be held on Wednesday January 13 from 3:00 – 6:00 pm, location in Edmonton TBA. For more information about the Ottawa-based RSSP go to http://refugeessp.ca/home/.  

In addition to the legal assistance provided by pro bono lawyers, the local groups will also be connected with Edmonton community agencies for assistance with other areas of need:

http://edmontonjournal.com/opinion/columnists/paula-simons-edmonton-pulls-together-to-prepare-for-syrian-refugees#

Please consider attending the training session on January 13 even if you are unsure about committing yourself for assisting with sponsorship applications.  The training session will be an opportunity to connect with other lawyers in the Edmonton region who may be able offer support to each other in assisting with the Syrian refugee initiative.  

To sign up for the training session, please send an e-mail to Kate Nunn nunn@ualberta.ca with “I will attend the Jan 13 training session

More information here: Download CALL FOR EDMONTON REFUGEE PRO BONO SUPPORT

Nine Terrifying Words

Ronald Reagan famously said that the "The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help."

This story about how the City of Winnipeg is threatening to jail an elderly couple for not painting their house just proves that.

 

Case of the Day

"The appellants were convicted ... of conspiracy ... between the appellants and 17 other[s] ... to ... disobey, defy and subvert His Majesty's laws ... in relation to nudism, arson, and refusal to comply with the Vital Statistics Act ...."
R. v. Veregin (1951).

That is a true thug life!

Two More Reasons to Axe the Iacobucci Tobaccogate Review

Not only is the Iacobucci review inappropriate (see here), it is increasingly starting to look like it is premature.

Two reasons.

One, based on a CBC news report today, it appears likely that a criminal investigation is about to begin.  If tobaccogate stems from criminal wrongdoing, then what is left to review?   And who will want to talk to Mr. Iacobucci if there is criminal investigation that is also ongoing?

Two, how about this bombshell (in bold) from Mr. Cyr (W) at the Public Accounts Committee on December 1^st

What do we know about this contract? We know that an impartial ranking process did not happen. We know from leaked documents that senior civil servants rewrote a memo to satisfy the whims of the minister. We know that the company that eventually got the contract did not make the first cut of the possible bidders, but then they were added to the list of bidders, and they were awarded the contract under conditions that don't stand up to scrutiny. What else do we know? We know that civil servants in the two departments who should have blown the whistle didn't. We know that some of those civil servants were promoted to hold top-level offices. We know that the Justice department is fighting an officer of the Legislature in Court of Queen's Bench to keep hidden documents which would shine light on the whole sordid mess. Why that is going on, we don't know.

I am really surprised that the opposition has been so complacent. It should be demanding that this information be disclosed to the public immediately, and if appropriate, the police. And why by the way is the government running interference in preventing the disclosure of information in this affair?

If the government would just release the information about what happened, and the police are allowed to conduct their investigation (if it comes to that), there may be nothing left to review.

And don't expect Mr. Iacobucci to pull the plug.  The terms of reference in the letter to Mr. Iacobucci (inexcusably vague) will allow him to do a review of some sort.  And again, this review could cost taxpayers a lot of money.  According to Wikipedia, Toronto Police Services paid Mr. Iacobucci $985,000.00 for a 400 page report with 84 recommendations.  We don't know what this report will cost since terms of compensation have not been disclosed by the government.

So again, Minister, please pull the plug on this review – at least until we know there was a problem worth reviewing (and paying for) and not just the misfeasance of certain individuals. 

Ms Magna Carta speaks to The Gateway!

Click here to see an article about Magna Carta in the Gateway!

Penile Swabs at the SCC

Apart from invoking giggles, penile swabs are causing legal conundrums at the Supreme Court.  It also is a chance for the UofA's faculty of law to showcase its talent at the SCC. The case pits police expediency against privacy concerns. It also has our own instructor Peter Royal, QC arguing against another instructor Maureen McGuire and alumnus David Lynass.

I will post the oral arguments when available, but stay tuned. 

Dr. Carolyn Harris

As part of the Magna Carta events, the Centre for Constitutional Studies along with the Ms Magna Carta team presented Dr. Carolyn Harris.  She spoke on the Magna Carta: