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Symposium explores planetary health, planetary crises

Climate change ecololgy global warming

The Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research at York University will host a symposium to explore how human activity is pushing ecological limits to a breaking point, and climate change is a fundamental threat to human life.

Taking place on Nov. 24 from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., both in person at the Keele Campus and online, the Planetary Health for a Planetary Emergency symposium aims to bring together scholars from the Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research and across York University who work at the intersection of climate change and health, to discuss the potentials of planetary health as a driver of just climate action.

This event will also launch the Dahdaleh Institute Planetary Health Research Council which supports a collaborative research community of faculty, postdoctoral Fellows and graduate students committed to planetary health research at York University and beyond. 

The event draws attention to the need for clear associations between climate change and health, and to develop critical problem-solving interventions and advocate for climate action that advances well-being for all. The symposium will explore questions, such as: How do we do this while holding a critical view of the systems and structures which have led us into this climate catastrophe, including the ideologies of colonialism and capitalism that underpin the modern era? How do we advance effective and equitable solutions for planetary health that work against these systems and structures instead of upholding them?

The day’s agenda will include panel discussions with three themes featuring guest speakers.

Water: This panel explores the role water plays at the confluence of environmental and human health. Speakers will discuss efforts to support vital biological and social functions of water in the face of our rapidly changing climate and how such efforts might be positioned to work towards more just, sustainable and integrated water management.

Speaking on the topic of water will be: Deborah McGregor, a Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Environmental Justice and a professor cross-appointed with Osgoode Hall Law School and the Faculty of Environment & Urban Change at York University; Sapna Sharma, an associate professor in the Department of Biology at York University and York Research Chair in Global Change Biology; and Byomkesh Talukder, an assistant professor at the Department of Global Health at Florida International University. Moderating this panel will be Caroline Diana Duncan, a PhD candidate in civil engineering at York with a strong focus on optimizing drinking water in the Arctic using participatory approaches to system dynamics modelling.

Land: This panel examines the role of land in achieving planetary health, taking a wide view across issues of food security, extractivism, urbanization and conservation. This includes examples of how land is inherently interconnected with people and the environment and how access to land and tenure rights are themselves a determinant of human and environmental health.

Discussion on topics related to land will be led by: Dayna N. Scott, an associate professor and York Research Chair in Environmental Law & Justice with Osgoode Hall Law School at York University where she is also cross appointed with the Faculty of Environmental & Urban Change; James Stinson, a postdoctoral Fellow in Planetary Health Education at York University, cross appointed to the Faculty of Education and the Dahdaleh Institute of Global Health Research; Raphael Aguiar, a PhD candidate in the Health Policy and Equity program at York University and a Dahdaleh Global Health Graduate Scholar; and Sarah Rotz, an assistant professor in the Faculty of Environmental & Urban Change. This panel will be moderated by Nilanjana (Nell) Ganguli, a PhD student in the Faculty of Environmental & Urban Change.

Air: This last panel addresses how air is brought into our approaches to planetary health, drawing together a range of fields related to emissions reduction, human well-being, air pollution and climate adaptation. Speakers will consider how air pollution disproportionately impacts low income and marginalized populations as well as the climate policy synergies of tackling air pollution that both damages health and impairs ecosystems.

Participating in this discussion are: Cora Young, an associate professor and the Rogers Chair in Chemistry at York University; Eric B. Kennedy, an associate professor and area coordinator of the Disaster and Emergency Management program at York University; and Jean-Thomas Tremblay, an assistant professor of environmental humanities at York University. Moderating this panel will be Hillary Birch, a PhD student in the Faculty of Environmental & Urban Change at York University, where she is a SSHRC doctoral Fellow.

For more information, or to register, visit the event webpage.

New, free services enhance IP protection, commercialization for researchers

research patent innovation

York University’s Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation (VPRI) is partnering with the IP Innovation Clinic, a legal clinic at Osgoode Hall Law School focused on intellectual property (IP), to offer new streamlined services to enhance IP protection and the commercialization efforts of the University’s research community.

Backed by a recent investment from the provincial agency Intellectual Property Ontario, the two York units have increased resources, including new staff, to drive innovation at York and support researchers strategically to transform, protect and leverage their research outcomes via patents, trademarks, other IP strategies and business ventures.

“VPRI is committed to optimizing the impact, outcomes and the commercial potential of university research,” said Jennifer MacLean, assistant vice-president innovation and research partnerships. “Our partnership with the IP Innovation Clinic will help York researchers excel in a competitive environment and turn their great ideas into reality, advancing the University’s mission to drive positive change.”

The range of free services available to York researchers include: IP discussions and strategic information, prior art and patent searches, trademark searches, business development knowledge, IP management and entrepreneurial supports, among others.

“The launch of our new integrated approach will provide York researchers a stronger and clearer pathway to bring their invention, product or service to market,” said Joseph Turcotte, assistant director of the IP Innovation Clinic. “We aim to be a key part of York’s innovation ecosystem and help researchers transition their work from the lab to society.”

Working with VPRI’s Technology Transfer Office and its commercialization managers, the clinic will develop a customized plan tailored to reach researchers’ unique needs, goals and stages of development. By leveraging this internal expertise, York researchers can save on the time and costs associated with finding and hiring external IP practitioners, commercializing their research faster and more efficiently.

“Our aim is to not only provide researchers the peace of mind that their IP is protected, but help simplify a complicated process and avoid errors that can delay the journey to market,” said Courtney Cole, business development manager with VPRI. “We can help York researchers build partnerships and connect them with opportunities that will maximize their innovation impact.”

Founded by the clinic’s director, Professor Giuseppina (Pina) D’Agostino, in 2010, the IP Innovation Clinic has completed over 300 consultations, 169 prior art searches, 115 trademark searches and created 20 IP agreements. It estimates that it has saved clients over $2 million in legal fees.

“Thanks to this partnership with VPRI, we are able to serve many more clients and better scale our reach across York,” said D’Agostino. “We can also provide more hands-on training to our law students, making them more IP and business savvy and better skilled to protect key assets in our disruptive tech economy.”

Researchers looking to advance their inventions or research projects into the market can schedule one-on-one consultations with the clinic by emailing ipinnovationclinic@osgoode.yorku.ca.

Opportunities are also available for IP and commercialization information and education sessions to be hosted on campus, including training sessions and workshops on how to harness IP effectively. Those interested in having their department, program, lab or research unit host a session should reach out to ipinnovationclinic@osgoode.yorku.ca.

Grant supports project to improve court efficiency

Supreme Court of Canada tulips

As Ontario’s under-resourced courts struggle with the impact of delays, Osgoode Hall Law School Professor Palma Paciocco hopes a recent $51,000, three-year Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Insight Grant will help her uncover insights that could improve the justice system’s efficiency and fairness – especially when it comes to the use of often time-consuming expert evidence.

Palma Paciocco
Palma Paciocco

Her current research project, titled “The Gatekeeper and The Timekeeper: Regulating Expert Evidence and Trial Delay in Criminal Courts,” will focus on the competing demands for efficiency and the need to carefully assess expert evidence in the court system. In several high-profile cases in the past, reliance on faulty expert evidence resulted in wrongful convictions, but the process for screening out such evidence can be time-consuming.

“It continues to be a huge issue that looms in the background of all cases,” said Paciocco. “And we do, from time to time, hear of cases where very serious charges are stayed because of delay.”

The Charter of Rights and Freedoms enshrines the right to a timely trial – and the Supreme Court of Canada’s landmark R. v. Jordan ruling in 2016 imposed a presumptive limit of either 18 or 30 months between the time charges are laid and when a trial is concluded, depending on the court.

But issues like legal-aid cuts, limited court resources and the rising number of self-represented litigants have contributed to court delays. And the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic only exacerbated the problem.

While most criminal cases do not involve expert evidence, Paciocco said, it is more likely to arise in trials involving particularly serious charges, where it can play an important role in the fact-finding process.

“The process for assessing expert evidence is very time consuming but very important to ensuring accurate outcomes,” she explained. “At the same time, judges are aware of the need to ensure that the trial is moving along efficiently. Sometimes those goals can be in tension, and judges need more support figuring out how to navigate that tension on a case-by-case basis.”

Paciocco said she chose to focus on expert evidence and trial delay because of the very high stakes for serious criminal cases and because the interaction of these two legal issues can result in especially pronounced tensions between the needs for efficiency and accuracy in the court system.

As part of her research, she plans to delve deeply into theoretical literature on these competing justice goals, which also relates directly to plea bargaining – another research interest of hers. She will also look at case law from across the country to see how judges have balanced the need for expert evidence with the desire to avoid undue delays. Finally, she will review best practices recommended by commissions of inquiry and other bodies to see how well best practices designed to promote sound expert evidence align with best practices for avoiding or minimizing trial delay.

Paciocco said she plans to translate her research findings into scholarly articles, including a practice-oriented article for judges and lawyers and a slide deck that could be used for continuing professional education.

“I’m hoping the project will contribute to ongoing conversations about improving the efficiency of our courts and ensuring that expert evidence is being carefully assessed,” she said.

In pictures: York’s Convocation celebrates Class of 2023

convocation

Fall Convocation for York University’s Class of 2023 ran from Oct. 11 to 20 and featured six ceremonies on the Keele Campus.

At this year’s Fall Convocation, graduands from 10 York Faculties received their degrees during ceremonies overseen by the chancellor of York University, Kathleen Taylor.

View photos from the Fall Class of 2023 ceremonies below:

Fall Convocation 2023

Seek opportunities to make a difference, Andromache Karakatsanis tells grads

Andromache Karakatsanis

By Lindsay MacAdam, communications officer, YFile

After receiving her honorary degree at an Oct. 13 Fall Convocation ceremony for graduands from York University’s Osgoode Hall Law School, Andromache Karakatsanis (LLB ’80), herself an Osgoode alumna as well as Canada’s longest-serving Supreme Court justice, shared her inspirational story and words of wisdom with the crowd.

Chancellor Kathleen Taylor (left), Justice Andromache Karakatsanis (middle) and President and Vice-Chancellor Rhonda Lenton (right) during an Oct. 13 Fall Convocation ceremony.

Born and raised in Toronto, Justice Karakatsanis is the child of Greek immigrants, whom she credits for her dedication and work ethic.

After receiving a bachelor of arts in English literature from the University of Toronto, Karakatsanis went on to earn her bachelor of laws from Osgoode. There, she met her husband and had the opportunity to work at Parkdale Community Legal Services, which she reflects on fondly as one of the most satisfying experiences of her legal education.

“As a graduate of Osgoode Hall Law School, this is a special homecoming,” Karakatsanis said in her opening remarks. “I feel that life has come full circle, returning to York University for Convocation after a journey of decades that have been enriched by the education, the skill and the values I learned here on this campus.”

Called to the Ontario bar in 1982, Karakatsanis began her legal career practising criminal, civil and family law before shifting her focus to the public service in 1987. As the first woman to lead the Liquor Licence Board of Ontario, she served as Chair and chief executive officer until 1995, followed by a stint as assistant deputy attorney general of Ontario and secretary for Native Affairs. Karakatsanis then served as the province’s secretary of the cabinet and clerk of the executive council beginning in 2000, before becoming a judge of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in 2010 and being appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada only one year later.

“Put simply, Justice Karakatsanis is everywhere when it comes to Canada’s justice landscape,” said Osgoode Dean Trevor Farrow after his glowing introduction. “In 2002, the Law Society of Ontario presented Justice Karakatsanis with an honorary LLD in recognition of her long-standing and tireless service to justice in Canada. So, while we may not be the first to present her with an honorary degree, I think we are certainly the most proud.”

Karakatsanis began her speech by reflecting on her 97-year-old mother’s story of hardship and sacrifice, spending her youth in a war-ravaged country. After losing her father, she bravely left for Canada alone with nothing but hope for a better future. Following her arrival, she met her future husband – another young, Greek immigrant – and together they opened a restaurant and raised three children with lives full of all the opportunity they didn’t have.

“In another time and place, this woman would have risen to the top of any profession she wanted,” said Karakatsanis of her mother, who sat proudly in the Convocation audience. “But it was because of her sacrifice and her example that decades later she would watch her daughter sworn in as a justice of the Supreme Court of Canada.”

Karakatsanis acknowledged that there are very few countries in the world where the first-generation child of immigrants can become a judge of the country’s highest court, and praised Canada as a “generous and pluralist model for the world.”

“We may not look, speak or pray alike,” she said, “but for the most part we have learned to live together in harmony.”

She then turned her attention to the injustices that are ever-present, and the responsibility that comes with embarking on a legal career.

“We live in a world where vulnerable people must fight to have their humanity recognized, where fear and prejudice often triumph over compassion and kindness, and where justice sometimes is an elusive goal rather than a secured outcome,” said Karakatsanis.

The law, she continued, has undoubtedly played a role in the many historical failures of humanity. “The Holocaust was legal under German law, as was the Jim Crow system in the United States, apartheid in South Africa and the Chinese Head Tax here in Canada,” she said. “They are not relics of the distant past, nor are they inconceivable in the present.”

She emphasized that the lessons of the past should serve as reminders not to take the future for granted: “The values and freedoms and opportunities we hold so dear were fought for with sacrifice and bravery. And just as they were won, they can be lost.”

In her final words to Osgoode’s graduating class, Karakatsanis encouraged graduands beginning their own journeys in the legal profession to seek out opportunities to make a difference.

“As we celebrate our personal triumphs, and honour the people and places that have made them possible, today is also a moment to reflect on what you can do to shape the future, to protect democracy, to build equality, to achieve reconciliation,” said Karakatsanis. “Don’t forget that the values by which you choose to live your life are just as important as any job you will undertake. Those values are how we will ensure that generations to come can stand where we stand today.”

Osgoode Fellow to focus on environmental law, Indigenous land rights

Trowbridge Conservation Area Thunder Bay Ontario Canada in summer featuring beautiful rapids and Canadian Forest with blue sky on summer

Osgoode Hall Law School master’s student Julia Brown, the 2023-24 Environmental Justice & Sustainability Clinic (EJSC) Fellow, hopes she can play a part in ensuring the development of Ontario’s mineral-rich Ring of Fire region, on First Nations land in the environmentally sensitive Hudson Bay Lowlands, does not take place without the free, prior and informed consent of the Indigenous people who live there.

Julia Brown
Julia Brown

Brown will work with leaders of Neskantaga First Nation in an effort to draft the terms of a workable partnership with the Government of Canada as it prepares to undertake a regional environmental assessment prior to any mineral development. The assessment is taking place under Canada’s Impact Assessment Act, which replaced the Environmental Assessment Act in 2019.

Brown said the original terms of reference for the regional assessment gave First Nations in the area only token participation in the process. After strong pushback, the federal agency involved agreed to review the terms.

“That was disappointing,” she explained, “because this legislation was supposed to be a real improvement in terms of the roles that First Nations would play.

“That was a glaring omission,” she said. “Whether development should go ahead really should be up to the people who live there and whose land it is.”

While various levels of government have recognized the importance of reconciliation, they are still reluctant to give up control – especially when it comes to mineral wealth, Brown remarked.

The federal assessment will be among the first to look at a whole region; environmental assessments are typically project specific. Brown said the Ontario government has, to date, declined to participate in the federal process and is carrying out separate assessments focused only on proposed roads connecting the area to the provincial highway system.

“There is no precedent for the federal government in terms of how this regional assessment has to be structured,” she explained. “So we’ll be working on how it could be structured so there is a real partnership between First Nations and the federal government.”

Last year, Neskantaga First Nation marked its 10,000th day of being under a hazardous drinking water advisory, despite federal commitments to fix the problem. Located 463 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay, Ont., the fly-in community is situated amid a vast wetland that acts as a huge carbon sink.

Some have called the region the “lungs of Mother Earth,” and the First Nations people there call the region the “Breathing Lands.” In total, the Ring of Fire region spans about 5,000 square kilometres and is rich in chromite, nickel, copper, platinum, gold, zinc and other valuable minerals – some of which are required for battery production.

Brown, who previously worked as a lawyer for Toronto-based OKT Law, the country’s largest Indigenous rights law firm, said she feels fortunate to be working with the Environmental Justice & Sustainability Clinic and its current director, Professor Dayna Nadine Scott – and the feeling is mutual.

“We feel very fortunate this year at the EJSC to have someone with Julia’s depth of knowledge and experience to be stepping into the role of clinic Fellow,” said Scott.

As part of her graduate research, Brown will focus on the issue of emotion in judicial reasoning and how that influences Indigenous title cases. Her research adviser is Professor Emily Kidd White.

Alumni Awards recipients powerful examples of positive change

Audience clapping

For more than two decades, the York U Alumni Awards have been a platform for celebrating alum who embody the principles of York University, have left an indelible mark on their respective fields and have contributed positively to the world.

This tradition of recognizing the remarkable accomplishments of alum will continue Nov. 15, when this year’s distinguished awardees will be honoured at a ceremony.

Each year, the York University Alumni Awards recognize outstanding alum who have achieved the extraordinary and are working to right the future by creating positive change in their fields. The Awards celebrate the broad York alum community of innovators, activists and researchers and its long-standing commitment to the public good.  

This year’s recipients are Harry S. LaForme (LLB ‘77, LLD ‘08), Fatima Israel (MBA ‘06), Flavien P. Joubert (MES ‘03) and Temo Primrose Gare (BA ‘12).

“This year’s recipients represent the positive contributions York alumni are making around the world,” says Julie Lafford, assistant vice-president, Alumni Engagement. “In addition to their many accomplishments, exceptional leadership, philanthropic support and meaningful engagement with the alumni community, the 2023 award recipients continue to set an example for future generations of students and alumni alike. It will be a pleasure to honour them this fall at the Alumni Awards ceremony.” 

Outstanding Contribution: Harry S. LaForme (LLB ‘77, LLD ‘08) OC, IPC, senior counsel, Olthius Kleer Townshend LL.P 

This award goes to an alum who has made a significant contribution to the advancement of York and its students through exceptional service, commitment and/or philanthropic contributions.

Harry S. LaForme
Harry S. LaForme

Harry S. LaForme is a retired judge who received a bachelor of laws and a doctor of laws from Osgoode Hall Law School. In 1994, he was appointed a judge of the Superior Court of Justice, making him one of three Indigenous judges to be designated to this level of trial court in Canada at the time. He dedicated his career to furthering the rights of Indigenous Peoples, Canada’s 2SLGBTQ2IA+ communities and the rights of all other marginalized groups living in Canada. In 2004, LaForme became the first Indigenous judge to be appointed to an appellate court in Canada with his appointment to the Ontario Court of Appeal. 

During his tenure, LaForme specialized in Indigenous law with a focus on Constitutional and Charter issues and represented Canadian Indigenous interests internationally. In 2018, LaForme retired from the judiciary and currently works as senior counsel with Olthius Kleer Townshend. LaForme has received honorary degrees from various universities and numerous accolades, including the National Aboriginal Achievement Award in Law & Justice and the Order of Canada. He’s also published numerous articles on issues related to Indigenous law and justice and speaks frequently on Indigenous issues, Indigenous law, constitutional law, and civil, equality and human rights.

Outstanding Achievement: Fatima Israel (MBA ‘06), EY Canada chief marketing officer

This award goes to an alum who has achieved distinction in their field and whose integrity and ability inspire alumni, faculty, staff and students.

Fatima Israel
Fatima Israel

Fatima Israel is a marketing officer with a master of business administration degree from the Schulich School of Business who is transforming the industry with her expertise in professional services, telecommunications, technology, health services and fintech. Israel is an advocate for putting people at the heart of transformation to drive innovation, catalyze progress and deliver on purpose. She boldly combines ambitious ideas with insights to build a better working world for her clients and communities. 

Her passion for leadership and advancing the marketing community has earned her awards from the Canadian Marketing Association and the Globe and Mail’s Report on Business. Israel strives to channel this passion to support the next generation as an executive mentor and advisory council member for the American Marketing Association, a mentor for the EY Women’s Athlete Business Network and a regular judge for marketing industry award programs.

Tentanda Via: Flavien P. Jourbert (MES ‘03), minister for agriculture, climate change and environment on the island of Seychelles

This award goes to an alum who has demonstrated innovative, unconventional, and daring leadership and success, reflecting the University’s motto “The way must be tried.”

Flavien P. Jourbert
Flavien P. Jourbert

Flavien P. Joubert currently serves as the minister for agriculture, climate change and environment on the island of Seychelles. Before attaining his master’s degree in environmental studies at York University, Joubert completed his higher national diploma and graduate studies at the Manchester Metropolitan University in the United Kingdom. During his studies, Joubert rediscovered one of the rarest bat species in the country and co-wrote two research papers on the subject. In his role as minister, Joubert has continued to promote research and conservation on bat species.  

Joubert’s career with the Ministry of Environment began in 1996, where he held several key positions, including director general for Wildlife Enforcement and Permits, chief executive officer (CEO) of the Seychelles National Parks Authority and CEO of the Landscape & Waste Management Authority. Internationally, Joubert has represented Seychelles in many fora related to chemicals and waste, and he served as a prominent figure in the Basel and Stockholm Conventions. He also played instrumental roles in initiatives around chemical safety in Seychelles. In 2015, Joubert was recognized by the United Nations Environment Programme for his leadership at the Eighth Conference of the Parties to the Nairobi Convention. In 2020, he was appointed minister for agriculture, climate change and energy.

One to Watch: Temo Primrose Gare (BA ‘12), journalist, television host, executive producer, Fibe TV; founder, Okavango Media

This award goes to an alum who has made a significant impact in their field and/or community within 15 years of a bachelor’s degree or 10 years of a professional/graduate degree.

Temo Primrose Gare
Temo Primrose Gare

Temo Primrose Gare is a journalist, accomplished television host and executive producer with years of experience in the media industry. Gare received a bachelor of arts from York University, where she laid the foundation for her passion for journalism and communication. She later pursued her master of media in journalism and communication at Western University. In 2018, Gare was honoured with the Raveena Aulakh Memorial Award in recognition of her academic achievements and contributions to journalism and communication.

Since completing her studies, Gare has worked at CTV News, BNN Bloomberg and NewsTalk, and produced two television shows for Rogers Communications and Bell Media. Gare currently serves as the host and executive producer of the television show “Our Stories” and is the founder of Okavango Media, her production company that provides a space for her to shape and amplify compelling stories that resonate with audiences on a deeper level.

About the awards

The York U Alumni Awards were inspired by Bruce Bryden, who was an exceptionally committed and influential leader at York University for many years. He was a member of York’s first undergraduate class, was the founding president of the York University Alumni Association (now the York University Alumni Board/YUAB) and was a member of the York University Board of Governors. The York U Alumni Awards recognize and honour his vision, exemplary leadership and extraordinary achievements.

For information about The York U Alumni Awards, visit yorku.ca/alumniandfriends/connect/events/yorku-alumni-awards.

Copyright could make or break artificial intelligence, says prof

Artificial intelligence: A human hand shakes a robot hand

Osgoode Hall Law School Professor Carys Craig is stepping into the role of associate dean of research and institutional relations at a time when her own scholarship is posing fundamental questions about society’s next technological shift and the future of artificial intelligence (AI).

Carys Craig
Carys Craig

Craig, who will serve in this new role over the next year, argues in a series of recent articles and presentations that the text and data mining required for AI to produce anything could potentially clash with copyright law, significantly hampering the development of the technology or changing its direction.

“The way I see it now, copyright is the thing that could make or break AI,” she said. “The question about whether training AI involves making copies that constitute copyright infringement is an enormous issue.”

An internationally recognized intellectual property (IP) law expert, Craig said that, more than ever, the interaction of law and technology is forcing legal scholars to re-examine legal principles and concepts that may have been taken for granted – especially when it comes AI. In many areas, she added, Osgoode is at the forefront of that process.

“When you have a technology that has this paradigm-shifting capacity,” she observed, “suddenly you’re looking at the law and you’re thinking, well, we always knew, for example, what copyright laws protected when something was authored, but we didn’t really know what an author was because we hadn’t really encountered that question before.

“We want to future-proof the law,” she added, “but we need to understand that the law will evolve and so we need to look at how technology is shaping the law, as well as the potential for the law to shape technology.”

In her new role as associate dean, research and institutional relations, Craig said she will be focused on continuing to enhance Osgoode’s vibrant research community post-pandemic, supporting its researchers, communicating their successes and improving the public’s understanding of the importance of legal research.

In particular, Craig said, she will work hard to ensure that students feel that they’re an integral part of Osgoode’s research community. The law school’s curriculum aids in that by ensuring students are engaged in legal research and scholarly writing, especially with its upper-year writing requirement, editorial opportunities with its leading law journals and the annual JD Research Symposium.

“It’s easy for them to get caught up in their studies and their deadlines and their exams and their grades, but being at Osgoode gives you a real opportunity to participate in an intellectual community,” she said. “We want to see the students here and engaged in that scholarly conversation.”

In addition to her role as an associate dean, Craig is director of IP Osgoode, which explores legal governance issues at the intersection of IP and technology. She is also editor-in-chief of the Osgoode Hall Law Journal. A recipient of multiple teaching awards, she is often invited to share her work and expertise with academic audiences, professional organizations, policymakers and the press. Her publications are regularly cited in legal arguments and judicial opinions, including in several landmark rulings by the Supreme Court of Canada.

To read some of Craig’s recent work on AI and copyright law, visit works.bepress.com/carys_craig.

Exceptional scholars earn Dahdaleh Global Health Graduate Scholarships

Global health

Ten scholars will advance York University’s growing global health research community as recipients of the 2023-24 Dahdaleh Global Health Graduate Scholarship.

The program was created to support graduate research and related scholarly and creative activities in line with the three themes of the Dahdaleh Institute: planetary health; global health and humanitarianism; and global health foresighting. The scholarship is granted annually to graduate students who demonstrate outstanding academic achievement in global health research.

This year, the Dahdaleh Institute renews seven exceptional scholars and welcomes three new graduate students from the Faculty of Graduate Studies, the Lassonde School of Engineering and Osgoode Hall Law School.

2023-2024 Dahdaleh graduate scholarship recipients
2023-24 Dahdaleh graduate scholarship recipients

This year’s new recipients are:

Alexandra Scott – The Myth of “Good Enough”: Law, Engineering, and Autonomous Weapons Systems

Scott is a PhD student, Dahdaleh Global Health Graduate Scholar, and Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council doctoral Fellow at the Osgoode Hall Law School at York University. Scott’s work explores the development and deployment of autonomous weapon systems (also known as “killer robots”) under international law and the role that engineers play in both.

“Beyond providing me with the financial means to pursue my PhD studies, my involvement with the Dahdaleh Institute has already allowed me to not only collaborate with and learn from esteemed academics, but become involved with research areas I had long hoped to delve into but could never quite figure out how,” says Scott. “The Dahdaleh Institute has already opened several doors to me and I am thankful to be part of such a welcoming and supportive program.”

Caroline Duncan – Optimizing Water Safety in Cambridge Bay Using Participatory System Dynamics

Duncan is a PhD candidate in civil engineering with a strong focus on optimizing drinking water in the Arctic using participatory approaches to system dynamics modelling. As part of the Lassonde School of Engineering, and under the guidance of Professor Stephanie Gora, her research seeks to understand the complex factors that affect the quality and accessibility of drinking water in the Arctic using an interdisciplinary and participatory approach.

Through her research, Duncan will work closely with the Municipality of Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, collaborating with community members, government and non-governmental organization stakeholders involved with drinking water from source to tap. Through this collaboration, a model will be developed to test treatment and policy interventions to optimize drinking water safety.

Eyram Agbe – Digital deprivation: ICT education and social vulnerability in Ghana

Agbe is a master’s student in the Development Studies program. Her research seeks to understand the diverse psychosocial impacts of COVID-19 on basic school teachers in Accra, Ghana, and how these factors affect their ability to support new curriculum implementation as schools have returned to in-person classes. This study seeks to centre the critical role that social vulnerability plays in education, specifically how teachers’ health outcomes are situated within contentions over techno-political visions by stakeholders.

With the commencement of a new school year, the Dahdaleh Institute is excited to see the continued excellence and remarkable research of all the Dahdaleh Graduate Scholars. Those renewed will be exploring the following research areas:

  • Hillary Birch – More than Access: The urban governance of water quality in Lusaka, Zambia;
  • Michael De Santi – Improving Water Safety in Humanitarian Response with a Novel AI-Enabled Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment Model;
  • Nawang Yanga – Tuberculosis in Tibetan Refugee Settlements in India: Insights into Lived Experiences;
  • Nilanjana Ganguli – Assessing community resilience to the gendered health impacts of climate change in Malawi’s Lake Chilwa Basin;
  • Raphael Aguiar – Urban Political Ecologies of AMR and other interdependent threats;
  • Sukriti Singh – Building a Model of Global Mental Health Governance to Support the Mental Health of Health Professionals; and
  • Yuliya Chorna – Anthropology of global health policy-making and financing of Tuberculosis response.

To learn more about the research projects graduate student scholars are undertaking, visit yorku.ca/dighr/ten-exceptional-scholars-awarded-2023-2024-dahdaleh-global-health-graduate-scholarships.

Supreme Court justice welcomes first-year students to Osgoode

gavel and notepad

Andromache Karakatsanis (LLB ’80), Osgoode Hall Law School alumna and Canada’s longest-serving Supreme Court justice, welcomed Osgoode’s Class of 2026 with an encouraging speech and some words of wisdom.

Andromache Karakatsanis
Andromache Karakatsanis. Photo by Jessica Deeks Photography,
Supreme Court of Canada Collection

Appointed to the Supreme Court in 2011, Justice Karakatsanis looked back fondly on her legal education at Osgoode, and especially her experience at Parkdale Community Legal Services, which she called “transformative.”

“That was one of the reasons that I came to Osgoode,” she told the students. “I grew up in an immigrant household, in a warm, supportive environment. At Parkdale, I encountered people who had not had that, and it really opened my eyes. It brought home for me that the law is about helping people.”

Karakatsanis, who grew up in Toronto working in her parents’ Greek restaurant, told the students that they will quickly learn in the legal profession that their reputation is everything. And that, while advocacy is important, it should not cloud their ethical standards, analytical skills or good judgment. 

“How you live your life is as important as what you do in your life,” said Karakatsanis. “So how you can enrich the community, the human connections we make and the small kindnesses are just as important as any grade you achieve.”

During a question-and-answer session following her speech, incoming Osgoode Dean and Professor Trevor Farrow noted that Justice Karakatsanis’s message resonated strongly with the school’s distinctive emphasis on legal ethics – beginning in first year with its first-semester Ethical Lawyering in a Global Community course.

Karakatsanis went on to advise students against feeling the need to have a grand plan for their law career. “No matter what you choose to do in life, law school will serve you well,” she said. “These skills will prepare you to open your mind to the world and to become involved in your communities. Be open to opportunities that interest or challenge you.”

She left the students with one final takeaway about dealing with career or academic disappointment and persevering despite it. After law school, she said, her goal was to become a Crown attorney, but she was passed over. “I was devastated,” she recalled. “I thought my career was over before it began.

“Why do I tell you this story?” she asked. “Because when one door closes, another opens.”