TORONTO, May 10, 2023 — Should Canada impose a wealth tax on its richest one per cent?

One of the country’s best-known journalists and a leading tax expert will debate that question May 25 at an event celebrating the 30th anniversary of Canada’s foremost graduate program in tax law.

Journalist Linda McQuaig and tax lawyer John Tobin of Torys LLP will go face to face to argue for and against a wealth tax as they join in marking the three-decade milestone for the Professional LLM in Taxation Law program offered by Osgoode Professional Development (OsgoodePD), the continuous learning division of Osgoode Hall Law School at 91ŃÇÉ«.

The special anniversary event is slated for May 25, 2023 at 5:30 p.m. at Osgoode’s downtown Toronto campus, 1 Dundas St. W. on the 26th floor.

It will also include a panel discussion featuring Chief Justice Marc NoŃ‘l of the Federal Court of Appeal, Justice Siobhan Monaghan of the Federal Court of Appeal and Heather Evans, CEO and executive director of the Canadian Tax Foundation. They will be joined by program co-director and Osgoode tax law professor Jinyan Li, as well as Osgoode tax law Professor Emeritus Neil Brooks. 

“Our offline and online offerings in the program are unparalleled in the country,” said Li. “The program prepares people to become better tax practitioners. And on the instructor side, we have some of the top people in the country.”

Originally developed by Neil Brooks and Scott Wilkie, a tax law senior counsel with Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP and a distinguished professor of practice at Osgoode, the Professional LLM in Taxation Law filled a need for concentrated, systematic instruction in the area of tax law, accessible notably to students who had already begun practising in tax.

Over three decades, several graduates have gone on to judgeships with the Tax Court of Canada and the Federal Court of Appeal. And numerous students have won awards for papers they have written.

“In ways we think are different from other universities, Osgoode has made a real effort to create a focus on taxation as a core law school discipline,” said Wilkie, “and one of the consequences of that is it’s been able to draw on a rich adjunct pool with not only academic depth but deep practice experience.”

The program’s part-time and full-time options make it available to students from across Canada – both lawyers and professionals in the field. 

“It’s a program that works for a lot of people,” said OsgoodePD’s Director, Professional Graduate and International Programs Meghan Thomas. “It has a lot of flexibility and makes for a rich environment in learning.”

The full-time program tends to attract many internationally trained lawyers and junior lawyers who are already practicing in Canada, said Thomas. By contrast, the part-time program draws more experienced Canadian lawyers and non-legal professionals working in the taxation field.

John Sorensen, a graduate of the Professional LLM in Taxation Law who now teaches in it, said the experience gave his career a significant boost. He currently serves as the Toronto-based co-leader for tax dispute resolution with Gowling WLG.

Sorensen said the program provides a special opportunity to dive deeply into tax law with like-minded professionals – and its unique combination of academic and policy analysis with practical and vocational training sets it apart.

“What it offers the tax bar is the chance for practitioners to up their game both academically and practically,” he added.

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Osgoode Professor Shin Imai is available to discuss why Canadian lawyers are pressuring the federal government to help ensure the safety of a Guatemalan colleague

TORONTO, Thursday, Jan. 4, 2018 – Canadian lawyers and international organizations are asking the Canadian and Guatemalan governments to ensure the safety of Guatemalan lawyer Rafael Maldonado in a fight against Canadian mining company Tahoe Resources, said , a professor at Osgoode Hall Law School and counsel to the Justice and Corporate Accountability Project.

Rafael Maldonado

Maldonado has actively defended community members concerned about the impacts of Tahoe Resources’ mining operations. He has received death threats, his office has been ransacked and shots were fired at his car earlier this year.

“Canada needs to be seen to be protecting the right to carry out legal representation without being intimidated or murdered,” said Imai.

In June 2017, Maldonado successfully argued that the silver mine should be suspended because the Guatemalan government had ignored the existence of Xinca Indigenous people in the area affected by Tahoe’s Escobal project. Within two days, Tahoe stocks plummeted 40 per cent. Supporters of the Tahoe mine took out advertisements attacking Maldonado’s place of work, the Guatemala Centre for Social and Environmental Legal Action.

“Advertisements like this are very dangerous in a country like Guatemala, which has one of the worst records in the world for the murder of human rights defenders,” said Lisa Rankin, Guatemala coordinator for the Maritimes-Guatemala Breaking the Silence Network. Rankin has supported communities around the mine for the last five years.

International organizations such as Frontline Defenders from Ireland and Amnesty International have also profiled Maldonado as a human rights defender in need of protection.

On Dec. 20, 2017, the Canadian Bar Association wrote to Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland expressing concern for Maldonado’s safety. Earlier in the fall, the Justice and Corporate Accountability Project, a group located at Osgoode Hall Law School wrote to the Canadian Embassy in Guatemala. Letters were also sent to the president of Guatemala by the Law Society of Upper Canada and the Law Society of England and Wales.

Shin Imai and Lisa Rankin are available to discuss why Canadian lawyers are pressuring the Canadian and Guatemalan governments.

*Backgrounder is available upon request.

Photos:

Rafael Maldonado, credit Front Line Defenders

Nobel Laureate women visit peaceful resistance against Tahoe in Guatemala, credit Nobel Women’s Initiative

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 champions new ways of thinking that drive teaching and research excellence. Our students receive the education they need to create big ideas that make an impact on the world. Meaningful and sometimes unexpected careers result from cross-disciplinary programming, innovative course design and diverse experiential learning opportunities. 91ŃÇÉ« students and graduates push limits, achieve goals and find solutions to the world’s most pressing social challenges, empowered by a strong community that opens minds. 91ŃÇÉ« U is an internationally recognized research university – our 11 faculties and 25 research centres have partnerships with 200+ leading universities worldwide. Located in Toronto, 91ŃÇÉ« is the third largest university in Canada, with a strong community of 53,000 students, 7,000 faculty and administrative staff, and more than 300,000 alumni. 91ŃÇÉ« U's fully bilingual Glendon Campus is home to Southern Ontario's Centre of Excellence for French Language and Bilingual Postsecondary Education.

 of 91ŃÇÉ« has a proud history of 129 years of leadership and innovation in legal education and legal scholarship. A total of about 900 students are enrolled in Osgoode’s three-year Juris Doctor (JD) Program as well as joint and combined programs. The school's Graduate Program in Law is also the largest in the country and one of the most highly regarded in North America. In addition, Osgoode Professional Development, which operates out of Osgoode’s facility in downtown Toronto, offers both degree and non-degree programming for Canadian and international lawyers, non-law professionals, firms and organizations. Osgoode has an internationally renowned faculty of 60 full-time professors, and more than 100 adjunct professors. Our respected community of more than 18,000 alumni are leaders in the legal profession and in many other fields in Canada and across the globe.

Media contacts:

Sandra McLean, 91ŃÇÉ« Media Relations, 416-736-2100 ext. 22097, sandramc@yorku.ca

Virginia Corner, Communications Manager, Osgoode Hall Law School of 91ŃÇÉ«, 416-736-5820, vcorner@osgoode.yorku.ca

The post Lawyers support Guatemalan colleague in fight against Canadian silver mine appeared first on News@91ŃÇÉ«.

TORONTO, September 27, 2017 – Osgoode Hall Law School at 91ŃÇÉ« today announced substantial new investments in financial accessibility to ensure that a greater number of students are able to access legal education.

Following on the heels of a $1 million investment in new financial aid funding in 2015 that allowed for the creation of the first-in-Canada Income Contingent Loan Program (ICLP) and the awarding of 50 bursaries a year over two years to commemorate Osgoode’s 50th anniversary at 91ŃÇÉ«, the Law School is now investing a further $200,000 this year to expand the ICLP from five to seven students annually. The duration of the pilot program will also be extended from five to seven years to the year 2022.

In addition to the ICLP expansion, Osgoode will also invest an additional $500,000 in its Accessibility Fund, which will be allocated to a range of bursaries, including Wendy Babcock Social Justice Awards, aimed at alleviating the burden for students graduating with high debt and intent on pursuing public interest career opportunities.

“Rising tuition is a serious barrier to access to legal education,” said Osgoode Dean Lorne Sossin. “We believe that every admitted Osgoode student should be able to obtain legal education regardless of financial means, which is why we are committed to expanding our existing financial assistance initiatives and developing new approaches to financial accessibility.”

The ICLP, which already has enabled 15 students to pursue a Juris Doctor (JD) degree, is one of a range of ambitious accessibility initiatives that Osgoode has introduced in recent years. In the 2016-17 academic year, the Law School distributed more than $5 million in bursaries, scholarships and graduation awards to Osgoode students, and offered paid public interest summer internships for law students with financial need, as well as a free “Access to Law and Learning” LSAT prep course for prospective law students with financial need. Finally, Osgoode’s “Flex-Time” initiative is making it easier for JD students to balance work and/or care commitments with their legal education.

Osgoode’s 2017-18 academic year commenced on August 24, 2017 with the arrival of approximately 300 entering JD students. First-year tuition for domestic students is $26,245.78.

Beginning in the fall of 2018, seven eligible students will receive ICLP funding covering the cost of tuition for each of the three years of the JD Program. Each student will be given up to $15,000 annually as a bursary that they do not have to pay back. The remainder will be a loan that the students must agree to repay after graduation over a 10-year period once they are employed and earning a predetermined amount. If their income sits below the predetermined threshold in any of the years of the repayment period, the loan repayment for those years will be forgiven.

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of 91ŃÇÉ« has a proud history of 128 years of leadership and innovation in legal education and legal scholarship. A total of about 900 students are enrolled in Osgoode’s three-year Juris Doctor (JD) Program as well as joint and combined programs. The school's Graduate Program in Law is also the largest in the country and one of the most highly regarded in North America. In addition, Osgoode Professional Development, which operates out of Osgoode’s facility in downtown Toronto, offers both degree and non-degree programming for Canadian and international lawyers, non-law professionals, firms and organizations. Osgoode has an internationally renowned faculty of 60 full-time professors, and more than 100 adjunct professors. Our respected community of more than 18,000 alumni are leaders in the legal profession and in many other fields in Canada and across the globe.

is known for championing new ways of thinking that drive teaching and research excellence. Our students receive the education they need to create big ideas that make an impact on the world. Meaningful and sometimes unexpected careers result from cross-discipline programming, innovative course design and diverse experiential learning opportunities. 91ŃÇÉ« students and graduates push limits, achieve goals and find solutions to the world’s most pressing social challenges, empowered by a strong community that opens minds. 91ŃÇÉ« U is an internationally recognized research university – our 11 faculties and 26 research centres have partnerships with 200+ leading universities worldwide. Located in Toronto, 91ŃÇÉ« is the third largest university in Canada, with a strong community of 53,000 students, 7,000 faculty and administrative staff, and more than 295,000 alumni. 91ŃÇÉ« U's fully bilingual Glendon campus is home to Southern Ontario's Centre of Excellence for French Language and Bilingual Postsecondary Education.

Media Contacts:

Virginia Corner, Communications Manager, Osgoode Hall Law School of 91ŃÇÉ«, 416-736-5820, vcorner@osgoode.yorku.ca

Sandra McLean, 91ŃÇÉ« Media Relations, 416-736-2100 ext. 22097, sandramc@yorku.ca

The post Osgoode Hall Law School makes new investments in accessible legal education appeared first on News@91ŃÇÉ«.

TORONTO, Monday, August 21, 2017 – This week in Thunder Bay, more than 25 Aboriginal youth from across the province will gather to develop ideas for technology solutions that aim to improve youth access to justice in their communities in a way that is reflective of Aboriginal experiences and responsive to Aboriginal traditions.

Funded by the Law Foundation of Ontario, and organized and designed by the Winkler Institute for Dispute Resolution at 91ŃÇɫ’s Osgoode Hall Law School, this youth-driven and centred workshop will help accelerate the implementation of the recommendations found in Feathers of Hope – Justice & Juries: A First Nations Youth Action Plan for Justice. A Youth Leadership Team comprised of Aboriginal youth from Ontario will facilitate and direct the workshop.

This workshop aims to create a safe and supportive space for Aboriginal youth participants to take ownership over the exploration of technology as a means to address issues related to the justice system and police relations. It will culminate with a listening table comprised of a wide range of justice stakeholders and community members and leaders who will be presented with the ideas and prototypes by the youth that have been developed and designed in the days prior.

This project is planned in close collaboration with the Ontario Justice Education Network, Justice For Children and Youth, and the Feathers of Hope initiative (supported by the Office of the Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth).

Jean-Paul Bevilacqua, Project Coordinator, Winkler Institute, is available for comment on the workshop.

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The Winkler Institute is based at Osgoode Hall Law School, the Winkler Institute for Dispute Resolution is a vibrant center for research on innovation in dispute resolution, access to justice and the future of the legal profession. Our projects range from exploring to the potential for human centered design and legal technology to transform justice services, to innovation in ADR and dispute prevention, to new ways of thinking about the profession, legal education and empowerment. Since opening its doors in 2014, the Winkler Institute has become a leading voice in Canadian justice innovation and reform.

91ŃÇÉ« is known for championing new ways of thinking that drive teaching and research excellence. Our students receive the education they need to create big ideas that make an impact on the world. Meaningful and sometimes unexpected careers result from cross-discipline programming, innovative course design and diverse experiential learning opportunities. 91ŃÇÉ« students and graduates push limits, achieve goals and find solutions to the world’s most pressing social challenges, empowered by a strong community that opens minds. 91ŃÇÉ« U is an internationally recognized research university – our 11 faculties and 26 research centres have partnerships with 200+ leading universities worldwide. Located in Toronto, 91ŃÇÉ« is the third largest university in Canada, with a strong community of 53,000 students, 7,000 faculty and administrative staff, and more than 295,000 alumni. 91ŃÇÉ« U's fully bilingual Glendon campus is home to Southern Ontario's Centre of Excellence for French Language and Bilingual Postsecondary Education.

Contact:
Jean-Paul Bevilacqua, Project Coordinator, Winkler Institute, jbevilacqua@osgoode.yorku.ca

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