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Nadia Effendi joins us again to review the output of the Supreme Court last year, shares her thoughts regarding Chief Justice Richard Wagner’s recent comments about the high number of judicial vacancies as well as comments about restricting interveners to virtual appearance. We discuss some recent judgments rendered (Commission scolaire francophone des Territoires du Nord-Ouest, Ontario (Attorney General) v. Ontario (Information and Privacy Commissioner) and the Reference re An Act respecting First Nations). She also weighs in on cases to watch that were recently granted leave, including AGO v. Working Families Coalition, a rare section 3 Charter case, and Sanis Health, which deals with the BC law that allows recovery of health-care costs from opioid providers.
Effendi is a partner at BLG, based out of Toronto and Ottawa, a member of the CBA’s Federal Courts Bench and Bar Liaison Committee. She is also the chair of BLG's Appellate Advocacy and Public Law Group. Before joining the firm, she served as a law clerk at the Supreme Court of Canada to then-Justice Michel Bastarache.
To contact us (please include in the subject line ''Podcast''): [email protected].
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As Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine hits the two-year mark – 10 years since the invasion of the Crimean Peninsula – the situation is dire. The ground battle had become mostly deadlocked until Ukrainians retreated earlier this month from the town of Avdiivka. Support from Western democracies has been skittish of late. Republicans in the U.S. Congress have stalled sixty billion U.S. dollars' worth of defense aid for Ukraine. Still, there is some hope for the resistance: the unblocking of $ 54 billion in European Union aid; Sweden has announced it will give $682 million worth of military equipment. Canada is promising to donate $70 million worth of drones from already announced spending dating back to the summer.
The word we hear a lot these days is that the conflict in Ukraine is reaching an inflection point of sorts, though shifts in momentum are notoriously hard to read in times of war.
What hasn’t changed in all of this is that the invasion of Ukraine remains a war of aggression – in violation of the United Nations Charter and customary international law. It’s also an international crime under the Rome Statute. Over a fifth of Ukrainian territory is currently under occupation by Russian troops.
Arguably, it should be possible to prosecute a war of aggression committed by Russia's leadership before the ICC, as it should not be difficult to prove.
But that isn’t the case. Although the ICC can charge individuals for war crimes, it doesn’t have jurisdiction over Russian crimes of aggression. Our guest today will discuss why that is and what a core group of members of the international community and Ukraine are trying to do about it.
Dr. Anton Korynevych is the Ambassador at Large of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. He’s a lawyer specializing in public international law, international humanitarian, and international criminal law. He’s the Agent of Ukraine before the International Court of Justice, where he has been arguing the case that Russian President Vladimir Putin abused the U.N. Genocide Convention by using an alleged genocide in eastern Ukraine as a pretext for invasion).
Dr. Korynevych is also in charge of gathering international support to establish a special tribune that could try Putin and his inner circle for the alleged crime of aggression — which no international court, including the International Criminal Court, has jurisdiction to do right now.
To contact us (please include in the subject line ''Podcast''): [email protected]
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Our guest today is Arif Virani, the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada who has kindly agreed to share with our listeners the status of several pressing issues. We discuss criminal justice reform, the recent pause on the expansion of medical assistance in dying and plans to introduce online harms legislation. He also addresses judicial vacancies and the increasing resource challenges that our courts are facing.
Arif Virani was first elected as the Member of Parliament for Parkdale—High Park in 2015. Throughout his career, he has served in various roles, including as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business and Economic Development, as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Democratic Institutions, as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage (Multiculturalism), and as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship.
Before entering politics, he practised law for 15 years, starting his career as a civil litigator at Fasken Martineau and subsequently working as a constitutional litigator at the Ministry of the Attorney General of Ontario, advocating for human rights and access to justice.
Minister Virani previously worked as an analyst with the Canadian Human Rights Commission in Ottawa, an investigator at the Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse in Montréal, and an Assistant Trial Attorney prosecuting genocide at the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.
To contact us (please include in the subject line ''Podcast''): [email protected]
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In the field of law, there are several crucial areas where generative AI demonstrates considerable promise – namely in the efficiencies it can create in contract generation, document review, legal research, and predictive analytics. So it’s expected to become an indispensable productivity tool across the legal profession The question then arises: how can this technology be effectively integrated into a legal practice or department?
Amanda Chaboryk joins us for the second time on the show. She’s the Head of Legal Data and Systems within Operate at PricewaterhouseCoopers in London. Having started her career in legal project management, she now focuses on the operational delivery of complex managed legal programs and helps clients navigate emerging technologies. We're also joined by Alex Hawley, an ESG regulatory solicitor for PwC in London. Having started her career as a commercial litigator, she now collaborates with clients new ESG developments and helps them incorporate emerging technologies, including Generative AI.
Last year, PwC announced an exclusive partnership with the legal startup Harvey, a platform built on AI technology from OpenAI.
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We've been talking a lot about AI on the podcast and on CBA National, and one of the issues that keeps coming up is the challenge for a country like Canada in selecting the right approach to regulating AI risk.
It's not as if there's a single model out there. The EU is trying to set the gold standard for the world, much as it did with its GDPR privacy regulation. The US is contemplating various bills, but for the most part, it is applying existing laws and regulations through regulators like the Federal Trade Commission, the Consumer Financial Protection Board, and the US Department of Justice. These agencies have been instructed by the White House's executive order in October to follow eight guiding principles for AI safety. Meanwhile, China's approach is to ensure that all information generated by AI aligns with the state's interest. All are key players to watch as we try to understand where the future of global AI governance is headed. And today, we are going to take a closer look at a perspective coming from the US.
International privacy expert Woodrow Hartzog discusses the state of AI regulation in the U.S., his thoughts on the global dynamics at play, and his concerns surrounding the normalization of surveillance and our reliance on half-measures to save us from the potential harms of AI.
Hartzog is a professor at the Boston University School of Law, a faculty associate at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School, and an affiliate scholar at the Center for Internet and Society at Stanford Law School, a non-resident fellow at the Cordell Institute at Washington University, where he's currently working on a project about AI half-measures in collaboration with Neil Richards.
Hartzog recently testified before the US Senate Committee on the Judiciary on the importance of substantive legal protections when it comes to AI. He’s been arguing that current AI policies and oversights are far too weak.”
To contact us (please include in the subject line ''Podcast''): [email protected]
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One of the significant controversies about AI is the impact of generative software on the use and production of cultural works. The fast-growing popularity of these tools raises big questions about the ethics of AI-generated works and whether they amount to a technologically advanced form of plagiarism. Lawsuits have been popping up around the world as artists, as well as corporate interests, claiming infringement of their intellectual property rights. (A U.S. federal court ruled back in August that art created by AI without any human input cannot be copyrighted under U.S. law).
The question is whether copyright should be the appropriate regulatory tool to determine these questions.
In fact, as listeners will hear from our guest today, the novelty of generative AI raises many questions about the socio-economic dynamics of cultural production – and whether it might not be time to re-examine the role of copyright law in encouraging and incentivizing creativity.
Dr. Craig is Osgoode Hall Law School’s Associate Dean of Research, and she’s recently stepped into the role of Director of IP Osgoode, which is the school’s Intellectual Property Law & Technology program. She joined the faculty at Osgoode Hall Law School in 2002 and is the is the author of Copyright, Communication & Culture: Towards a Relational Theory of Copyright Law (2011), among other writings. In 2018, she held a MacCormick Research Fellowship at the University of Edinburgh. She teaches JD, graduate and professional courses in the areas of intellectual property, copyright and trademark law, and legal theory.
To contact us (please include in the subject line ''Podcast''): [email protected]
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Mary Moreau of Alberta has been tapped to fill the vacancy left by Russel Brown on the Supreme Court. Nadia Effendi gives us some background on Justice Moreau and what her nomination means. Effendi also discusses the Supreme Court’s latest rulings in the IAA reference, Mason v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), La Presse inc. v. Quebec, as well as upcoming hearings in AGC v. Power, Yatar v. TD Insurance, and Attorney General of Ontario, et al. v. Mike Restoule. She also weighs in on the SCC’s decision to produce plain-language summaries of oral decisions.
Effendi is a partner at BLG, based out of Toronto and Ottawa, a member of the CBA’s Federal Courts Bench and Bar Liaison Committee. She is also the chair of BLG's Appellate Advocacy and Public Law Group. Before joining the firm, she served as a law clerk at the Supreme Court of Canada to then-Justice Michel Bastarache.
To contact us (please include in the subject line ''Podcast''): [email protected]
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If you think that description of our criminal justice system is a bit harsh, well, you should read the latest book by our guest today.
Benjamin Perrin is a law professor at the UBC's Allard School of Law. He has served in the Prime Minister of Canada's Office as in-house legal counsel and lead policy advisor on criminal justice and public safety.
He's also the national best-selling author of Overdose: Heartbreak and Hope in Canada's Opioid Crisis, and before that Invisible Chains: Canada's Underground World of Human Trafficking.
His latest work is Indictment: The Criminal Justice System on Trial – a deep dive into a system that, in theory at least, is supposed to help keep Canadians safe while supporting victims of crime.
We talk a lot about victims in this conversation – and offenders, too – and their struggles. Please keep an open mind as you hear this conversation. And a content warning: There is sensitive material covered in this episode that touches upon substance abuse, police brutality and a lot of discussion around trauma.
Benjamin Perrin - Criminal Justice, Overdose
Podcast — Myrna McCallum
https://indictment.simplecast.com/
https://johnhoward.on.ca/research-topic/incarceration-health/
To contact us (please include in the subject line ''Podcast''): [email protected]
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Kristen van de Biezenbos, a law professor at California Western, teaches environmental, energy and climate change law and has written extensively about energy justice and electricity regulation. Her research has also brought her to Canada – she taught for several years at the University of Calgary, where she focused on Canada’s energy transmission policy. She continues to serve as an expert on the mitigation panel for the Canadian Climate Institute, which advises the federal government on climate change.
To contact us (please include in the subject line ''Podcast''): [email protected]
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Jordan Furlong is an analyst and forecaster for the legal sector, focused on the most important trends shaping the provision of legal services and the formation and regulation of lawyers. He’s the author of a weekly Substack on a range of critical topics for the legal profession, and of the book Law Is a Buyer’s Market: Building a Client-First Law Firm.
To contact us (please include in the subject line ''Podcast''): [email protected]
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Yves Faguy catches up again with Nadia Effendi of BLG to brief us on the latest at the Supreme Court of Canada. Effendi is a partner at BLG, based out of Toronto and Ottawa, a member of the CBA’s Federal Courts Bench and Bar Liaison Committee. She is also the chair of BLG's Appellate Advocacy and Public Law Group. Before joining the firm, she served as a law clerk at the Supreme Court of Canada to then-Justice Michel Bastarache.
Effendi discusses the Supreme Court’s latest rulings in Canadian Council for Refugees, Deans Knight, and Hansman v Neufeld, as well as recently granted leaves to appeal in AGC v. Power, Yatar v. TD Insurance, York Region District School Board v. Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario, and City of St. John’s v. Lynch. She also weighs in on who might fill the top court’s seat, left vacant following the departure of Justice Russell Brown, and the legacy of the late former Justice Louis LeBel.
To contact us (please include in the subject line ''Podcast''): [email protected]
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Yves Faguy speaks with Justin Safayeni, partner at Stockwoods LLP, about defamation law, anti-SLAPP legislation, and their effects on freedom of expression.
In today's digital age, information has become a powerful tool, capable of spreading rapidly and influencing public opinion like never before. However, this very same power can also be weaponized. Individuals or groups can engage in targeted campaigns of misinformation, and use online platforms to amplify false narratives and defamatory content. And now there's the rapid growth of artificial intelligence and deepfake technology, which presents new challenges in defamation.
Now defamation laws are designed to discourage false claims and, in some circumstances, have proven helpful in combatting disinformation. But taking legal action is lengthy and costly, and it's also possible to use defamation law to shut down speech, and so we must always strike a balance between protecting individuals' reputations and safeguarding freedom of expression. But it's a balance that requires ongoing scrutiny and adaptation to keep pace with the rapidly evolving digital landscape.
To discuss the topic with is, we asked Justin Safayeni to come in as a guest. He is a partner at Stockwoods LLP, and his expertise lies in administrative and public law, media/defamation law, and commercial litigation and appeals.
Justin has a particular interest in "anti-SLAPP" proceedings, the legal mechanism designed to protect individuals from strategic lawsuits against public participation. He's written and lectured extensively on the topic. He has also represented interveners before the Supreme Court, offering his expertise on the leading cases in this area.
To contact us (please include in the subject line ''Podcast''): [email protected]
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In 2022, Canada experienced a major milestone as it welcomed over 437,000 immigrants, leading to annual population growth of over one million for the first time in history. The country has set an even more ambitious target of welcoming 500,000 new immigrants yearly by 2025. While there are compelling arguments in favor of accelerating immigration, such as addressing labor shortages and countering an aging population, implementing the plan is no easy feat.
One significant hurdle lies in the fact that Quebec sets its own immigration targets, which happen to be significantly lower than those set by the federal government in Ottawa.
Moreover, the episode explores the emerging questions surrounding the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in processing the vast number of immigration applicants. As the applicant pool expands, the effectiveness and fairness of AI systems come under scrutiny, raising important ethical considerations.
We also examine the challenges involved in the management of refugees and asylum claims.
Lisa Middlemiss is a lawyer with Gomberg Dalfen in Montreal. She works on immigration-related matters with an emphasis on temporary residence, Labour Market Impact Assessments and permanent residence issues, such as spousal sponsorships, She also advises on the Quebec Skilled Worker and Express Entry programs.
She is also the National Chair of CBA Immigration Law Section, and will open the upcoming CBA Immigration Law Conference, to be held in Ottawa from June1 to 3rd.
To contact us (please include in the subject line "Podcast"): [email protected]
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L'intelligence artificielle représente une avancée technologique majeure et transformationnelle. Alors que les voix s’élèvent pour réclamer une pause sur l’utilisation de l’IA, le temps de reprendre le contrôle de « ces boîtes noires imprévisibles », les tribunaux administratifs sont en quelque sorte les cobayes de leur emploi dans notre système de justice, au sens large. Mais cela soulève de nombreuses questions. Comment éviter de réduire les décideurs humains à de simples exécutants dans les décisions prises par des algorithmes ? Comment assurer une approche humaine pour l’avenir ? Comment aligner les outils de l’IA à nos valeurs de société ?
Nous abordons ces questions avec notre invitée, Mélanie Raymond, qui est juge administrative depuis une quinzaine d'années, au sein de deux des plus grands tribunaux administratifs du Canada — le Tribunal administratif du travail et la Commission de l'immigration et du statut de réfugié. Elle s’intéresse depuis quelques années aux enjeux entourant l’IA et la justice, et d’ailleurs elle en parlera à titre de conférencière le 8 juin dans le cadre de la Semaine nationale du droit administratif, un événement conjoint du Conseil des tribunaux administratifs canadiens et l’Institut canadien d’administration de la justice.
Vous avez des questions ou souhaitez obtenir plus d’information ? N'hésitez pas à nous contacter à : [email protected] avec le sujet « Balado ».
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To most legal professionals, Guy Pratte doesn't need an introduction. He is a senior counsel at Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, a highly sought-after lawyer with vast experience in commercial litigation, class actions, administrative and constitutional law, and public inquiries.
He's a veteran of the Supreme Court of Canada, and courts of appeal in Ontario and Quebec, and a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. He is a recipient of the OBA award of Excellence in Civil Litigation and is President of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Legal Studies.
Last year he was named to the Order of Canada, in recognition of his contributions as a lawyer, notably to pro bono work. This year, he was appointed Chairperson of the National Arts Centre's Board of Trustees for a four-year term.
His latest distinguished title is podcast host — of the series "The Art of Persuasion," available on BLG’s website and the usual platforms, in which Guy Pratte speaks with lawyers, politicians, actors, musicians, fashion designers, and doctors about how to persuade people in their trades.
https://www.blg.com/en/insights/perspectives/blg-podcast#art-of-persuasion
To contact us (please include in the subject line "Podcast"): [email protected]
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Yves Faguy speaks with UNB associate law professor Kerri A. Froc about gender equality rights, the notwithstanding clause and why the Supreme Court’s composition matters.
Kerri is an associate professor at UNB Law, as well as a Trudeau and Vanier Scholar. She has taught courses at Carleton University, Queen’s University and University of Ottawa on feminist legal theory and various aspects of public law, among others.
Before completing her doctorate, she spent 18 years as a lawyer, as a civil litigator in Regina, a staff lawyer for the Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF), and a lawyer in law reform at the Canadian Bar Association.
She is also the co-editor, with Howie Kisclowicz and Richard Moon, of an upcoming collection of writings, “The Surprising Constitution,” being published by UBC press.
To contact us (please include in the subject line ''Podcast''): [email protected]
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In this episode, Yves Faguy catches up again with Nadia Effendi of BLG to brief us on the latest at the Supreme Court of Canada. Effendi is a partner at BLG, based out of Toronto and Ottawa, a member of the CBA’s Federal Courts Bench and Bar Liaison Committee. She is also the chair of BLG's Appellate Advocacy and Public Law Group. Before joining the firm, she served as a law clerk at the Supreme Court of Canada to then-Justice Michel Bastarache.
Effendi discusses the Supreme Court’s latest rulings in McGregor, Hill and Canada (Transportation Safety Board) v CarrollByrne, recently granted leaves to appeal in Jim Shot Both Sides, Franck Yvan Tayo Tompouba v. K and Earthco Soil Mixtures Inc. v. Pine Valley Enterprises Inc. She also weighs in on the decision to grant leave in five military justice cases. Also discussed are upcoming decisions and rulings, as well as the court’s new electronic filing system and the recent absence of Justice Russell Brown and what it means for the court’s work.
To contact us (please include in the subject line ''Podcast''): [email protected]
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Yves Faguy speaks with Vancouver lawyer and advocate Rob Laurie about B.C.'s decriminalization pilot and what governments need to do for it to succeed.
We're still in the early stages of a ground-breaking change in drug policy in British Columbia. For the next three years, adults will not be charged for possessing up to 2.5 grams of certain hard drugs for personal use. Those include opioids (fentanyl), cocaine, MDMA, and methamphetamine.
Some people call it a big experiment, in some cases pejoratively. But the War on Drugs was also a grand experiment that was neither based on health science and compassion nor, as some are now arguing in the courts, on human rights considerations.
B.C.'s decriminalization pilot required buy-in from the federal government. In May 2022, the federal health minister granted B.C. an exemption under section 56(1) of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA).
The sale and trafficking of drugs are still illegal in B.C. and will be subject to criminal prosecution. But the goal of the pilot is to reduce the stigma and harm caused by drug use. Less certain is whether it will succeed in providing those drug users access to the resources they need to overcome addiction.
Rob Laurie is with us to walk us through the challenges ahead for governments in making the pilot succeed. He's an international lawyer, qualified in England, and called to the British Columbia Bar. He has spent the better part of his career working to reform drug laws – specifically to improve medical patient access to cannabis, psychedelics, and sacred plant medicines so that doctors can provide treatments for anxiety, depression, addiction, and PTSD. He founded his practice, AD LUCEM LAW CORPORATION, in Vancouver in 2013. It focuses on corporate, commercial, and administrative law, as well as licensing, regulatory, and constitutional charter issues concerning medical access to cannabis and psychedelics.
To contact us (please include in the subject line "Podcast"): [email protected]
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Notre invitée est Céline Castets-Renard, chercheure régulière au Centre de recherche en droit, technologie et société de l’Université d’Ottawa, et professeure titulaire à la Section de droit civil de la Faculté de droit. Elle est titulaire de la Chaire de recherche de l’Université sur l’intelligence artificielle responsable à l'échelle mondiale.
Au cours de cette émission, nous abordons les derniers avancements de l’IA – notamment le générateur de texte, ChatGPT 3, récemment livré au monde par la société OpenAI -- et des enjeux éthiques et juridiques quant à l’élaboration de lois et de la règlementation qui régiraient l’IA.
Vous avez des questions ou souhaitez obtenir plus d’information ? N'hésitez pas à nous contacter à : [email protected] avec le sujet « Balado ».
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In October, CBA National reported on findings from a recent national study, spearheaded by the Federation of Law Societies of Canada and the CBA, that rang the alarm on the wellness of legal professionals. The study shone a light on the heavy toll that daily work takes on legal professionals. The research revealed significantly higher levels of psychological distress among legal professionals than experienced by the Canadian working population (57.5% compared to 40%) and similarly higher levels of anxiety (35.7%, compared to 13%). It also showed that alcohol and drug use among legal professionals has reached worrying levels. According to the study, the proportion of men with risky drinking behaviour increases from roughly 27% to 34 % between five and ten years of practice. For women, the figures run from 18% to 24% in the first five years.
But let's not forget that behind the number are real people. It's why I'm so appreciative to have had the opportunity to speak with Jason Ward – a well-known and highly-regarded litigator from Lindsay, Ontario, who has recently retired from the practice of law. Jason started his career as a Bay Street commercial litigator before deciding, with his wife, to launch their firm in 2003. Over the following couple of decades, they grew Wards PC into a thriving midsize law firm. Then, in his early- to mid-forties, when discovered that alcohol and drugs gave him an escape from all the demands of running a practice and building his firm's brand.
Please take the time to listen to Jason Ward's story. The legal profession needs to have these conversations, as unsettling as they are, if we want mental health outcomes to start moving in the right direction.
To contact us (please include in the subject line ''Podcast''): [email protected]
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