It looks good on paper: protect student mental health, fight against racism, and ensure that costs are transparent. But is it overreach? Bill 166 Explained In May of 2024, the Ontario government amended its Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities Act with Bill 166 (the Strengthening … [Read more...]
About John Cooper
Legal experts dispute the use of federal prisons for refugees
Although Canada has welcomed more than one million refugees since 1980, the challenging path to freedom in Canada continues to be difficult as some newcomers face time behind bars – despite being guilty of no crime at all. Recently, the federal government quietly announced plans to jail … [Read more...]
Hart Pomerantz: Canada’s funniest lawyer
Not everyone can combine an almost six-decade legal career with a comedy career that included writing for Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In and co-hosting The Hart & Lorne Terrific Hour, along other credits, but Hart Pomerantz can. If there were ever a coronation for the king of comedy in … [Read more...]
Ontario’s Fair Accommodation Practices Act: 70 years later and human rights legislation continues to evolve
1954 saw the passing of Ontario's Fair Accommodation Practices Act and, since then, human rights legislation has evolved across Canada, including with the passing of human rights codes and the Canadian Charter. To a passing tourist in the early 1950s, the town of Dresden might seem like the … [Read more...]
Bone up on the law before collecting fossils
Finders keepers is not the case in Canada when it comes to the popular pastime of fossil hunting, with each province and territory having laws that protect and preserve fossils found within its borders. If a leg of lambeosaurus or a woolly mammoth tusk might look good on your fossil-picking … [Read more...]
Canada’s legal responsibilities on international human rights
If passed, Bill C-262 will hold Canadian companies accountable for adverse impacts on human rights in their business activities abroad. Human rights are embedded in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. They are also an essential component of Canada’s approach to both domestic and … [Read more...]
Drug Decriminalization: How attitudes toward drugs are changing the social and legal landscape
Today, attention is on decriminalizing possession of “harder” substances, with an emphasis on compassion, care and support for people who use drugs. Attitudes toward drug use are changing. Gone are the days of “Reefer Madness” of the 1930s and “dope fiend” references finding their way into … [Read more...]
The Charter of Rights and Freedoms and Migrant Farm Workers
Each year, between 50K and 60K migrant farm workers come to Canada. But are their working conditions in violation of the Charter? “The fight is never about grapes or lettuce. It is always about people.”- Cesar Chavez, civil rights and farm labour activist Chavez uttered those words in 1970 in the … [Read more...]
Pandemic Impacts Spur Immigration Changes
Even as COVID-19 continues to pose challenges, the flow of immigrants into Canada will continue. Among the proverbial game-changers in the life of the world, COVID-19 was a big one. The pandemic forced change to happen. We saw the vaccination of increasing numbers of people, the provision of … [Read more...]
Social Media, the Law and Social Justice
We've seen social media as a tool for social justice but its relationship with the law is challenging. Given the rapid growth of our interconnected world, few people would deny the role that social media plays - a repository of information, a driver of ideas and innovation, and increasingly a tool … [Read more...]
