NEWS
20 Obiter Dicta
Slaves
» continued from page 6
and accountability under the Leahy Law as a condition of continued US support (Eggers, 2015).
This decision is especially complicated for US
Military on the ground. Ben Anderson’s documentary, “This is What Winning Looks Like” provides
a discouraging insight into the challenges faced
everyday by soldiers such as Commanding Officer
Major Bill Steuber (Anderson, 2013). Steuber claims
that certain concerns often need to be “let go of.”
He explains the difficult balance between educating
Afghans about the rule of law while allowing them
to exercise self-governance, rather than impose an
American system. In short, doing the latter would
undermine efforts to create a stable and independent government and for the US to successfully leave
Afghanistan. However, Steuber is continually disheartened as he observes Afghan officials participating in sex slavery and remaining in positions of power
despite reports against them. He worries that this is
taking away from any good being done in these areas
because it destroys the relationship between local
communities and Afghan authority.
Uber
There is no obvious answer to how the international community and the US Military should respond
in situations of human rights violations in conflict
zones. Sex slavery is not unique to Afghanistan, but
rather is a global issue that requires many different
types of action. While the abuses should be neither
ignored nor tolerated, it is arguably a better policy
that the US continues their presence in Afghanistan
with a goal focused on creating an effective judicial
system that will hold the government and police
accountable in a meaningful way.
This article was published as part of the Osgoode
chapter of Canadian Lawyers for International Human
Rights (CLAIHR) media series, which aims to promote
an awareness of international human rights issues. ◆
ê Photo credit: shariaunveiled.wordpress.com
t humbs down
» continued from page 2
masse—the industry is abjectly terrible. The goal isn’t
to compare Uber to taxis and declare one a winner. It’s
to acknowledge that neither are ideal—or even acceptable—and demand better.
When the support of consumers influences how
lawmakers regulate a corporation, we are giving the
corporation an astounding level of power. This power
needs to be used in a manner that results in a real benefit to society. We need laws that allow for innovation,
but not innovation that includes unsafe conditions for
consumers, poor data handling, shady practices and
lies. Innovation should reward everyone; we need
laws that reflect that goal.
Your Managing Editor,
Erin Garbett u
Rape culture
» continued from page 8
personal jab at Madam Justice L’Heureux-Dubé.
Indeed, judges making wildly inappropriate remarks about sexual assault complainants is
nothing new. Justice Michel Bourassa once reduced
Aboriginal complainants to “a pair of hips” to which
a man “helps himself” and suggested that Aboriginal
women are sexually assaulted because they are often
drunk and passed out. His lax sentences were legendary—he once handed down a sentence of one
week imprisonment plus eight months probation to
three men convicted of sexually assaulting a developmentally challenged 13-year-old girl. In another
case he suggested that non-Aboriginal women
suffer vaginal tears and psychological trauma from
sexual assault, while Aboriginal women do not. Such
Trump condoning attacks against rally
protester
sentiments call to mind Shylock’s famous speech,
but no amount of poetic eloquence can disabuse
judges like Bourassa of their bigotry.
The Camp case and the other examples cited
underscore the importance of defence counsel proffering only proper evidence for proper purposes.
Unfortunately, it is simply impossible to rely on
judges to separate the wheat from the chaff in sexual
assault evidence when they are still evoking the prohibited myths and stereotypes themselves. When
these comments come from the bench, it is particularly pernicious.
These comments are written in black and white;
there is no “he said, she said” here. The federal court
has decided to keep him on the bench, at least for
the time being, but has, thankfully, said that it will
keep him from hearing similar cases. Federal judges
can only be removed by an act of Parliament, and it
is very rare that it will choose to do so. If the CJC
recommends removal, it is possible that the judge
will simply resign to save what face there may be left
to save. Camp has issued a standard form apology,
and like Dewar, has promised to take a gender sensitivity course. This is not about gender sensitivity,
however: it’s about rational thinking, and unfortunately, there are no courses that can help with deficiencies in that arena.
The relatively progressive state of the law is
thrown into sharp relief when one sees how sloppily
it is applied—or ignored—by the bar and bench. u
Auctions
» continued from page 12
million in May 2015. In total, the 9 November sale
realised nearly half a billion dollars ($491,352,000)
for only twenty-four lots sold, including Roy
Lichtenstein’s painting Nurse that sold for $95.3
million, almost doubling the previous record for the
artist of $56 million.
PHILLIPS - $66.9 million, auction total
For their November auction, Phillips decided to have
an inaugural “20th Century and Contemporary Art”
sale. Totalling $66.9 million, a highlight included
Willem de Kooning’s Untitled XXVIII that sold for
$11.4 million. The sale was different from previous
Phillips auctions as it tried to focus on blue chip artwork rather than the usual cutting edge, emerging
artists Phillips is known for. The auction total was
just above the low estimate, however these numbers will not remain this low for long. In September,
Phillips revamped their 20th century and contemporary art departments, with former Christie’s specialists leading the way. It will be interesting to see
what their May auction brings. ◆