What’s next in housing? Getting ready for the 2015 election

July 2nd, 2015 by Safia Lakhani

This post was first published on rabble.ca

Toronto’s housing crisis is well documented: the skyrocketing and prohibitive cost of rent, the lack of funding for repairs to community housing structures, and the growing wait list for affordable housing are just a few of the issues that have received media attention in the past year.

The facts are equally grim across the country: one in four Canadians spends more than 30 per cent of their income on housing, and an estimated 733,275 low-income Canadians are in extreme housing need, spending more than 50 per cent of their income on housing. Over 235,000 Canadians experience homelessness every year, and some 365,000 households are at risk of rent increases or eviction as a result of the end of operating agreements.

Continue reading “What’s next in housing? Getting ready for the 2015 election”

The Kokopenace case and Aboriginal representation in the administration of justice

May 29th, 2015 by Shelina Ali

This post was first published on rabble.ca

The recent backlash over the actions of prosecutors in the criminal trial of Bradley Barton, accused of the first degree murder of Cindy Gladue and found not guilty by a panel of 11 jurors, raised concerns over the treatment of Aboriginal victims by the justice system and how Ms. Gladue in particular was dehumanized by the way prosecutors presented evidence of the crimes committed against her. Some commentators noted that underrepresentation of Aboriginal peoples on juries in Edmonton was a problem and asked whether this underrepresentation played a role in the outcome in this case.

Continue reading “The Kokopenace case and Aboriginal representation in the administration of justice”

Come article with us!

May 12th, 2015 by Iler Campbell

We’re currently accepting applications for the 2016 – 2017 articling year. We’re looking for like-minded, progressive people to join our team. Please submit your application (including cover letter, resume, reference letters and copies of your transcripts) by Friday, July 3 to [email protected]. We look forward to hearing from you!

Why carding is back: Toronto Police lack effective civilian oversight

April 30th, 2015 by Brian Iler

This post was first published on rabble.ca

Carding, the infamous police practice of stopping individuals for questioning, is back with a vengeance in Toronto.

Its devastating impact on the lives of thousands of Torontonians is vividly and brilliantly illustrated by Desmond Cole’s piece in this month’s Toronto Life: “The Skin I’m In: I’ve been interrogated by police more than 50 times — all because I’m black.”

A 2010 exposé by the Toronto Star showed that carding was in widespread use, and inflicted on Black people at disproportionately high rates.
Continue reading “Why carding is back: Toronto Police lack effective civilian oversight”

Access to justice crisis: 15 years too long to wait for solutions

March 26th, 2015 by Celia Chandler

We have all heard about Canada’s increasingly underfunded legal aid programs, escalating private market legal costs, and the scarcity of lawyers, especially in smaller, rural and remote communities. This has resulted in what many have termed an access to justice crisis. Indeed, the Canadian Bar Association has set targets for 2030 to equalize access to civil justice, as reported in this column in August 2013. The Toronto Star recently reported on programs in New York City, Windsor, and England and Wales where Self-Represented Litigants (SRLs) get support from students and other advisers who are not lawyers but have some training to find their way through the system — significant in those jurisdictions. But 2030 is 15 years down the road and a long wait for large‑scale system change; in the meantime, we have to live with the significant negative consequences to the legal system.

Read more on rabble.ca

CRTC levies $1.1 million fine for violation of Anti‑spam legislation

March 24th, 2015 by Shelina Ali

Earlier this month, the Canadian Radio‑television and Telecommunications Commission’s (CRTC’s) Chief Compliance and Enforcement Officer, issued a hefty penalty of $1.1 million dollars to Compu‑Finder for failing to comply with Canada’s anti‑spam Legislation that came into force in July of 2014 (commonly referred to as CASL).   The penalty was issued with respect to four alleged violations between July 2014 and September 2014.

Compu‑Finder is a Quebec based training company with a long history of sending unsolicited commercial emails. The CRTC reported that complaints about Compu‑Finder accounted for 26% of those submitted that related to training companies. Continue reading “CRTC levies $1.1 million fine for violation of Anti‑spam legislation”