When Nigel Wright took a leave of absence from Onex Corp. to become Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s chief of staff nearly two years ago, hard questions were asked about potential ethical conflicts, wrote a columnist in its Sept 19 issue. The PMO has denied Wright has broken any rules in subsequent dealings with lobbyists from Barrick Gold and Omers pension fund. Some outside observers suggest the government is setting a low ethical bar. A key point is how things look matters along with what actually transpired. “From my perspective,” Lorne Sossin, dean of 91ɫ’s Osgoode Hall Law School, says in an email, “the real question is whether a public official should act in a way to advance or appear to advance private interests.” Sossin goes on to ask: “So, is the PMO aspiring simply to ‘follow the rules’ or to lead by example when it comes to providing access to lobbyists?”
More than 75 per cent of 20- to 29-year-olds in GTA municipalities are still living with their parents, according to newly released census data, reported the Sept. 19. Arian Saffarian, 26, and his 31-year-old brother are both still living at the Oakville home where they grew up after their parents emigrated here from Iran in 1996. Saffarian is in his final year at 91ɫ then has student loans to pay off.
91ɫ's student newspaper was the subject of a demonstration Wednesday, reported Sept. 19. Jane Finch Action Against Poverty organized the rally near Excalibur's office.