HomeLessNess is Over

Pivot Legal Society in Vancouver has launched a new campaign entitled, Homelessness is over.

The site implores Canadians to write to our very own (styling) federal minister of Human Resources and Skills Development Diane Finley.  The message reads as follows:

Dear Minister Finley,

I am adding my name to the movement to end homelessness in Canada.
Canada is the only G8 nation without a national strategy to ensure everyone has access to quality, affordable housing. The result? A growing homelessness crisis that the UN has described as a “national emergency”.

Bill C-304, An Act to ensure secure, adequate, accessible and affordable housing for Canadians, would help put an end to this national shame.
I am asking Pivot Legal Society to carry my voice to Ottawa and demand you do your job and create a national housing strategy NOW!

Here is the Honourable Member’s contact information:

* Remember – all letters to Parliament Hill do not require any postage.

Hon. Diane Finley – Hill Office

House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6
Telephone:	(613) 996-4974
Fax:	(613) 996-9749
EMail:	FinleD@parl.gc.ca
Web Site:*	www.dianefinley.ca/
Preferred Language:	English

LegalEase Podcast- CKUT 90.3 Montreal – November 2009 – Community and Rights

http://www.archive.org/details/Legalease-Ckut90.3Montreal-November2009-CommunityAndRights

This month’s LEGALEASE show draws on the work of three contributors and one great host. First, Phil Duguay interviews Kevin Matthews, Executive Director of the National Campus and Community Radio Association, on the future of community radio in Canada. This is in light of recent hearings by the Canadian Radio Telecommunications Commission on the subject.

Next, Mae Nam offers a glimpse into a gender sensitivity training session for the Philippine Judiciary. In conclusion, we turn to Canadian Dimension’s Alert Radio. Their piece looks at the Gitxsan proposal to give up their status under the Indian Act. Check out more from LegalEase at https://legaleaseckut.wordpress.com/ or contact the collective at legalease[at]ckut.ca

Schoolhouse Rock!

Are you ever sitting in class thinking: how can I make the perfect pop rendition of this lecture? Look no further than the Schoolhouse Rock!

Wikipedia describes Schoolhouse Rock! as a “series of animated musical educational short films” which aired during Saturday morning cartoons. Question: is this a good way to teach youth about law? Below, the indie-rock band Pavement does a rendition of the series’ historical sketch of the origins of the American Republic, No More Kings. What does it all mean? I’m holding out for the Canadian versions.

OCTOBER INSTALLMENT OF LEGALEASE – Womyn’s Voices and Freedoms

LegalEase McGill – CKUT 90.3 Montreal – Womyn’s Voices and Freedoms
http://www.archive.org/details/LegaleaseMcgill-Ckut90.3Montreal-WomynsVoicesAndFreedoms

Welcome to Legal Ease – a monthly Montreal-based, produced and broadcast radio show concerning “The Law”. The collective is composed of law students from McGill University.

In our first half, we discuss Buffy Sainte-Marie and her legacy. The CIA black-listed 1960s Cree singer has been a strong voice on women’s equality, native issues, and peace for half a century. Her recent concert as part of POP Montreal offered an opportunity to reflect on her legacy and play a few songs.

In our second half, LegalEase looks at the recent controversy at McGill. After organizing an event entitled “Echoes of the Holocaust” comparing abortion to genocide, Choose Life McGill, a SSMU club, was subject to criticisms and protests by other McGill students. The university administration organized a follow-up townhall on controversial events at McGill. LegalEase contrasts reproductive rights and freedom of speech, while considering some relevant legal issues.

LEGALEASE on CKUT- Summer shows archived for your aural enjoyment

McGill Law’s Radio show LEGALEASE on CKUT 90.3 FM is available online now! Unlimited quantity. Here is a look at some of the trouble we’ve been stirring up this summer. We are a collective of law students at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

1. EPISODE 1: Wrath (July 10, 2009) –

http://www.archive.org/details/Legalese-Ckut90.3Montreal-July102009

This week we first look at the situation in Iran post the 2009 elections and popular protests. In the second portion we read law into J. Steinbeck’s novel The Grapes of Wrath.

2. EPISODE 2: Judges and Improv (July 31, 2009) –

http://www.archive.org/details/LegalEase-Ckut90.3Montreal-July312009-JudgesAndImprov

Here we consider the following question: is the Judge an improvisatory virtuoso?

In our first half, LEGALEASE takes a look at the recent conference ‘Lex Non Scripta, Ars Non Scripta: Law, Justice and Improvisation’ which took place at the Sala Rossa on June 19th and 20th, 2009, featuring an address by Jonathan Neufeld, an assitant professor of philosophy at Vanderbilt University.
http://www.vanderbilt.edu/AnS/philosophy/faculty/neufeld.html

In the second half of the program we speak with Venezuelan Supreme Court Justice Fernando Vegas Torrealba on being a revolutionary lawyer, the 1999 Constitution, and other fun topics (i.e. socialism). http://www.tsj.gov.ve/eltribunal/magistrados/fernandovegas.shtml