Asé tsi Tewa:ton,“We Will Renew Ourselves:” The Mohawk Approach to Environmental and Cultural Restoration with Dr. Taiaiake Alfred

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The most common approach to compensating Indigenous peoples for harms caused to their peoples, their lands, and their culture has been to pay them a lump sum of money and call it a day. Taiaiake Alfred, a Professor of Indigenous Governance and Political Science from Kahnawá:ke, however, gave a talk at McGill about an alternative approach to addressing these harms that tends to Indigenous peoples’ actual needs. That is, through the restoration of their land based practices. This program was launched in 2014, in the community of Akwesasne in the US, where master knowledge-holders have since been teaching apprentices how to hunt, trap, and heal through medicinal plants, among other things. 

This talk took place in September 2016 as part of McGill’s 6th Annual Indigenous Awareness Week. The recording is brought to you by LegaLEase’s Emma Noradounkian and Alice Mirlesse.

 

Episode – October 2016 – Abortion, MMIW, Land Defenders

Welcome et bienvenue to LegalEase: a monthly Montreal-based and produced radio show on 90.3 FM CKUT – a broadcast about law, cast broadly. Le collectif LegalEase est un groupe d’étudiants et étudiantes en droit de la communauté montréalaise. This month the program is entitled,  Abortion, MMIW, Land Defenders. Listen to the Episode here.

Professors Shivaun Quinlivan and Susan Cahill shared their lived experiences and insights on the Eighth Amendment of the Irish Constitution. This Amendment equates the right to life of a pregnant woman with that of a foetus and criminalizes abortion in all cases except where continuing a pregnancy would result in death.
You can read Cahill’s story at www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/…grets-1.2542740

Last week, hundreds walked in honour and solidarity of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) at the 11th annual Missing Justice March in Montreal. Hear from Mohawk artist and activist Ellen Gabriel, who cast doubts over the effectiveness of the current national inquiry on MMIW and Stacey Gomez of the Centre for Gender Advocacy, who shared ways to get involved in raising awareness for MMIW.

And finally, Anishinaabe land defenders Vanessa and Lindsay Gray spoke in Montreal last month. Vanessa is facing a 25-year prison sentence for allegedly sabotaging Enbridge’s Line 9 pipeline. We’ll play parts of their talk, in which they discuss environmental racism, organizing in the Chemical Valley, and the importance of defending land defenders.

LegalEase on 90.3 FM is a radio program broadcast every second Friday of the month at 11am EST from Montreal, Quebec. Originally founded by the McGill Legal Information Clinic in 1989, LegalEase is now run by a collective of progressive law students from McGill University. Our weekly radio show deals with legal topics of interest to the community, with the intention of making the law both accessible and engaging. Tune into our show, follow us on Twitter @LegalEaseCkut, email legalease[at]ckut.ca or check our podcast library for past programming.

This month’s edition of LegalEase was produced by Alice Mirlesse, Gwendolyn Muir, and Emma Noradounkian.

https://soundcloud.com/user-895652362/october-2016-legalease

Episode 40 (Dec 2012) – Race, Gender, and Social Context

Welcome et bienvenue to LegalEase: a monthly Montreal-based and produced radio show on 90.3 FM CKUT – a broadcast about law, cast broadly. Le collectif LegalEase est un groupe d’étudiants et étudiantes en droit de la communauté montréalaise.This month the program is entitled, “Race, Gender, and Social Context.”

Listen to the Episode Here

Host Garrett Zehr chairs an array of reflections on the subject of discrimination in Canada, specifically looking at race and gender. First, contributor Alyssa Clutterbuck presents a segment on the nature of discrimination. Sonia Lawrence, Professor at Osgoode law school, discusses the subject – “Is all discrimination alike?” Lawrence is the Director at the Institute for Feminist Legal Studies at Osgoode. Twitter – @osgoodeifls. This pithy presentation is worth listening to several times over.

Second, LegalEase remembers R v. RDS at 15 years – a seminal decision on race and and the judicial system. R. v. S. (R.D.), 1997 CanLII 324 (SCC), [1997] 3 SCR 484, In the case, the Supreme Court of Canada ruminates over the decision of Nova Scotia judge Sparks to take judicial notice of the systemic racism within the justice system. A finding of reasonable apprehension of bias against Sparks was overturned at the Supreme Court. Contributor Alyssa Clutterbuck sets up the piece, explaining why the case remains a chilling representation of the manner in which the Canadian legal system discusses race. Next, Legalease contributor Lillian Boctor interviews Dr. Esmeralda Thornhill James Robinson Chair at Dalhousie University and visiting scholar at McGill.

Finally, LegalEase revisits an earlier story presenting a study by Natai Shelson on the gendered experience of law school. You can find part of Shelson’s study at p 4 of the this edition of the Quid Novi, February 2011.

LegalEase on 90.3 FM is a radio program broadcast every second Friday of the month at 11am EST from Montreal, Quebec. Originally founded by the McGill Legal Information Clinic in 1989, LegalEase is now run by a collective of progressive of law students from McGill University. Our weekly radio show deals with legal topics of interest to the community, with the intention of making the law both accessible and engaging. Tune into our show, follow us on Twitter @LegalEaseCkut, email legalease[at]ckut.ca or check our podcast library for past programming.

Copyright Law – Look What They’ve Done To My Song, Ma

Check out the Saturday, February  9, 2013, edition of the CBC Program “Under the Influence”. Great analysis of Court cases regarding the use of songs in commercials and for commercial purposes. Very fun episode.

Read on here:

http://www.cbc.ca/undertheinfluence/season-2/2013/02/09/look-what-theyve-done-to-my-song-ma/

Listen here:

http://www.cbc.ca/undertheinfluence/popupaudio.html?clipIds=2333357564

Episode 38 – The Status of Status

Welcome et bienvenue to LegalEase: a monthly Montreal-based and produced radio show on 90.3 FM CKUT – a broadcast about law, cast broadly. Le collectif LegalEase est un groupe d’étudiants et étudiantes en droit de la communauté montréalaise.This month the program is entitled, “The Status of Status.”

http://archive.org/details/LegaleaseOnCkut90.3Fm-Episode38october2012-TheStatusOfStatus

Listen to the Episode Here

Give your temples a massage and let your mind be a sponge, because this week LegalEase delves deep into the dynamics of legal discourse and case analysis. This month, LegalEase assesses new develops in Canadian laws concerning HIV status and Aboriginal status.

The Supremes

In our first segment, Jean-Philippe MacKay and Rosel Kim break down the recent Supreme Court of Canada decisions on the subject of HIV status non-disclosure. R. v. D.C., 2012 SCC 48 (CanLII) and R. v. Mabior, 2012 SCC 47 (CanLII).

The second segment looks at the Canadian State’s most recent ruminations on Aboriginal Status. Eden Alexander presents the recent Ontario Court of Appeal decision, United States v. Leonard, 2012 ONCA 622 (CanLII). You may find, as did the learned Sharpe J.A., that this piece “shocks the conscience.”

LegalEase on 90.3 FM is a radio program broadcast every second Friday of the month at 11am EST from Montreal, Quebec. Originally founded by the McGill Legal Information Clinic in 1989, LegalEase is now run by a collective of progressive of law students from McGill University. Our weekly radio show deals with legal topics of interest to the community, with the intention of making the law both accessible and engaging. Tune into our show, follow us on Twitter @LegalEaseCkut, email legalease[at]ckut.ca or check our podcast library for past programming.

Episode 35 – Rethinking Legal Structures

Welcome et bienvenue to LegalEase: a monthly Montreal-based and produced radio show on 90.3 FM CKUT – a broadcast about law, cast broadly. Le collectif LegalEase est un groupe d’étudiants et étudiantes en droit de la communauté montréalaise.This month the program is entitled, “Rethinking Legal Structures.”

“C’est pas extrêmement du fun.”

Listen to the Episode Here

Law?

Host Garret Zehr guides us through three main topics, all of which force a reconsideration of the present legal structure in place. In order: 1) the Quebec Student Movement and the legal struggles of CLASSE and other activists in the courts – J-P MacKay speaks with Me Sibel Ataogul; 2) Adelle Blackett offers an evaluation of the legal framework of labour law, especially as it applies to workers from the global south and in relation to domestic workers; and 3) Me Étienne Poitras sur la sujet des mouvements sociales et les droits de manifestants.

LegalEase on 90.3 FM is a radio program broadcast every second Friday of the month at 11am EST from Montreal, Quebec. Originally founded by the McGill Legal Information Clinic in 1989, LegalEase is now run by a collective of progressive of law students from McGill University. Our weekly radio show deals with legal topics of interest to the community, with the intention of making the law both accessible and engaging. Tune into our show, follow us on Twitter @LegalEaseCkut, email legalease[at]ckut.ca or check our podcast library for past programming.

Episode 33: Courage – Legal Decisions and Social Change

Welcome et bienvenue to LegalEase: a monthly Montreal-based and produced radio show on 90.3 FM CKUT – a broadcast about law, cast broadly. Le collectif LegalEase est un groupe d’étudiants et étudiantes en droit de la communauté montréalaise. This month the program is entitled, “Legal Decisions and Social Change.”

Listen to the Episode Here

“Sometimes law precipitates social change, sometimes its the other way around.” This month Garrett Zehr hosts a fine assortment of pieces: discrimination and the law, Insite and its impact across Canada, as well as an opening segment by Stephany Laperriere on law and social movements. What are the contradictions and strengths of legal decisions and social change? LegalEase investigates.

en greve!

LegalEase on 90.3 FM is a radio program broadcast every second Friday of the month at 11am EST from Montreal, Quebec. Originally founded by the McGill Legal Information Clinic in 1989, LegalEase is now run by a collective of progressive of law students from McGill University. Our weekly radio show deals with legal topics of interest to the community, with the intention of making the law both accessible and engaging. Tune into our show, follow us on Twitter @LegalEaseCkut, email legalease[at]ckut.ca or check our podcast library for past programming.

Episode 32 – Police, Protest and Peaceful Assembly

Welcome et bienvenue to LegalEase: a monthly Montreal-based and produced radio show on 90.3 FM CKUT. We broadcast law broadly. Le collectif LegalEase est un groupe d’étudiants et étudiantes en droit de la communauté montréalaise. This month the program is entitled, “Police, Protest, and Peaceful Assembly.”

Listen to the Episode Here

This month LegalEase non-violently confronts the topic of Police, Protest and Peaceful Assembly. Back-drop – wide-spread protests in Quebec on tuition issues as well as the annual march against Police Brutality. Who polices the police? What does protest entail? We have an all-star line-up to discuss the pithy issues – Natalie DesRosiers, David Eby, Fo Niemi, Judy Rebick, Alex Hundert and others. The episode will bring the controversy to the table, tackling G20, Occupy and other examples of assembly from the past decade.

The G20 Sound Cannon

LegalEase on 90.3 FM is a radio program broadcast every second Friday of the month at 11am EST from Montreal, Quebec. Originally founded by the McGill Legal Information Clinic in 1989, LegalEase is now run by a collective of progressive of law students from McGill University. Our weekly radio show deals with legal topics of interest to the community, with the intention of making the law both accessible and engaging. Tune into our show, follow us on Twitter @LegalEaseCkut, email legalease[at]ckut.ca or check our podcast library for past programming.

Episode 31 (Mar 2012) – Quebec: Le Plan Nord and Student Protests

Welcome et bienvenue to LegalEase: a monthly Montreal-based and produced radio show on 90.3 FM CKUT. We broadcast law broadly. Le collectif LegalEase est un groupe d’etudiants et eudiantes en droit de la communaute montrealaise. This month the program is entitled, “Quebec: Le Plan Nord and Student Protests.”

Listen to the Episode Here

PLAN NORD

Plan Nord is an example of the new wave of Canada’s 21th century resource extraction strategy. LegalEase focuses on Plan Nord this month, looking at environmental, Aboriginal, and women’s issues. Paul Holden and Stéphany Laperriere bring us pieces on the subject. In a final segment, J-P Mackay interviews Me. Poitras at the inaugural conference of L’association des juristes progressistes taking aim at the increasing criminalization of student protest in Montreal.

Police subdue Students

LegalEase on 90.3 FM is a radio program broadcast every second Friday of the month at 11am EST from Montreal, Quebec. Originally founded by the McGill Legal Information Clinic in 1989, LegalEase is now run by a collective of progressive of law students from McGill University. Our weekly radio show deals with legal topics of interest to the community, with the intention of making the law both accessible and engaging. Tune into our show, follow us on Twitter @LegalEaseCkut, email legalease[at]ckut.ca or check our podcast library for past programming.

Episode 30 (Feb 2012) – Addressing the Medium

Welcome et bienvenue to LegalEase: a monthly radio show on 90.3 FM CKUT. We broadcast law broadly. Le collectif LegalEase est un groupe d’étudiants et étudiantes en droit de la communauté montréalaise. This month the program is entitled, “Addressing the Medium.”

Listen to the Episode Here

The Medium is the message. Yes. This month LegalEase ‘instant messages’ the medium – in addressing the stale form of legal instruction and thought as well as the burgeoning role of social media in revolutionary struggle. Has the social media primary functioned as a catalyst for rebellion or mechanism for repression?

Seminal text

First, LegalEase delves into the ever-evolving topic of social Media and revolution. Specifically, we hear from a panel: Professor Payam Akhavan, McGill University Faculty of Law, on social media under Totalitarian regimes, Assistant Professor Julian Awwad, Concordia University, Department of Communication Studies, and recent McGill Law grad and Grotius Scholar Kirk Shannon.

Second, Garrett, Preeti and Lena break down the Winter 2012 student-initiated Critical Race Theory Seminar. Wikipedia defines Critical race theory (CRT) as “an academic discipline focused upon the application of critical theory, a critical examination of society and culture, to the intersection of race, law, and power.” Want the syllabus? Send a message to legalease@ckut.ca

LegalEase on 90.3 FM is a radio program broadcast every second Friday of the month at 11am EST from Montréal, Québec. Originally founded by the McGill Legal Information Clinic in 1989, LegalEase is now run by a collective of progressive of law students from McGill University. Our weekly radio show deals with legal topics of interest to the community, with the intention of making the law both accessible and engaging. Tune into our show, follow us on Twitter @LegalEaseCkut, email legalease[at]ckut.ca or check our podcast library for past programming.