Sean Rehaag, an assistant professor at Osgoode Hall Law School, has recently concluded a study of the Immigration and Refugee Board which reveals distressing differences in refugee acceptance rates between individuals board members, raising the specter of bias in both individual board members and the appointment process.
An interview with Prof. Rehaag about the results of his study was broadcast last night on CBC Radio’s As It Happens. A podcast of the interview can be accessed at the link below (The interview begins around the 8 minute mark)
Read NOW magazine’s Ellie Kirzner’s report on the G20 and Civilian Oversight of Policing panel from the Law Union of Ontario’s 2011 Conference: Let the Right Not Prevail
** This Conference is eligible for the Law Society’s “Continuing Professional Development” Credits
Total CPD = 6 credit hours, with no professionalism content – Not accredited for new LSUC members.
LOCATION: Hart House, 7 Hart House Circle, University of Toronto
Cost of Admission:
· Students vand Community Members: PWYC (suggested donation $20 for the day, $5 per session)
· Professionals: $60 for the day, $20 per session
· Lawyers/Paralegals using the conference for CPD: $100 for the day, $30 per session
Schedule:
8:30 – 9:30: Registration and Coffee
9:30 – 11:00: Three Concurrent Panels
1. A Charter Right to Housing
· Moderator: Tracy Heffernan (Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario)
· Doug King (Pivot Legal Society, Vancouver)
· Peter Rosenthal (Roach, Schwartz & Associates)
· Leilani Farha (Executive Director, Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation)
· Linda Chamberlain (Dream Team)
· Laura Sky (Film Producer/Director)
2. Truth in Sentencing: What Harper’s Law & Order Agenda means for defense lawyers
· Moderator: Dyanoosh Youssefi
· Andras Schreck (Schreck Presser LLP)
· Paula Rochman (Rochman Bawden)
· Paul Berstein (Burstein Bryant Barristers
3. The Tories’ Anti Immigrant Agenda
· Moderator: Barbara Jackman
· Avvy Go (Clinic Director of Metro Toronto Chinese & Southeast Asian Legal Clinic).
· Justicia for Migrant Workers (J4MW)
· Kathy Ramsey (immigration lawyer)
· No One Is Illegal – Toronto
· Jean Vecina (Care Giver Action Centre and soon to be articling with Carranza LLP)
11:15 – 12:45: Morning Plenary
The Bedford decision and the decriminalization of prostitution
· Moderator: Karen Andrews (Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario)
· Ron Marzel (Marzel Law, counsel on the Bedford case)
· Christine Boyle (University of British Columbia)
· Kara Gillies (Board member from Maggies)
· Karen Busby (University of Manitoba)
12:45 – 2:00: Lunch
During Lunch 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.: Moving Forward after the G20: Mass Movement Defence Debrief
The massive violations of civil and human rights by police and security during the G20 represents not a simple misstep in the handling of large-scale protests, but instead, the most obvious and recent example of a long tradition of targeted police and state interference against progressive activists and critics of government. The LUO’s Movement Defence Committee provided direct legal support for activists leading up to, during, and after the week of protest against the G20. This session will draw on those experiences to kick-start a discussion of ways we can strengthen our capacity and commitment as legal workers to defending – and promoting – social justice movements. Join us for pizza lunch and collaborative discussion.
2:00 – 3:30: Three Concurrent Panels
1. Cruel and Unusual Treatment: Prisons for Women in Canada
The Law Union Ontario’s application for intervenor status on the matter of costs in Schaeffer et. al. v. Ontario (Ministry of Community Safety and Corrections Services) et. al submitted October 26, 2010.