Preparing for battle: political parties stockpiling millions for election

Election spending limits will only kick in for political parties once the campaign officially starts in September 2015 (if the government sticks to its fixed election date), so parties will likely unload huge dollars on ads over the summer months and early September when there are no expense caps, reported the Ottawa Citizen Nov. 10. “This makes the period before the election a money-spending free-for-all for the manipulation of voters,” said Robert MacDermid, a political scientist at York University in Toronto who specializes in political party financing. Read full story.

And after unpaid internships? Then what?
“Government and private sectors don’t want to make long-term commitments to people, and they require flexibility and demand flexibility,” said York University Professor Steven Tufts, who studies economic geography and labour issues, in the Financial Post Nov. 7. “It reduces liability and pensions and everything else.” Read full story.

Are anti-corruption laws really tackling the problem?
“Our legislation can be very transaction focused as opposed to looking at the system as a whole or the economy as a whole,” said Poonam Puri, a professor of law and associate dean of research, graduate studies and institutional relations at York University’s Osgoode Hall Law School, in Canadian Lawyer Nov. 10. Puri was speaking as part of a panel titled: “Foreign corrupt practices acts and the adequacy of whistle-blowing protections” held last Friday at Osgoode, part of a two-day event called Understanding and Taming Public and Private Corruption in the 21st Century. Read full story.

Jobless
What is it like to be looking for work in Toronto these days? On Nov. 10, Matt Galloway of CBC’s “Metro Morning” spoke with Jennifer Moxon, who has spent the past year looking for work in Toronto, and Bernie Wolf, an economics and international business professor at York University. Listen to full interview.

Jesus married with kids: New book claims Jesus had a family
According to the Washington Post, the book The Lost Gospel: Decoding the Ancient Text that Reveals Jesus’ Marriage to Mary the Magdalene is scheduled for release Nov. 12. Authors Barrie Wilson, a York University professor of religious studies in Toronto, and documentarian/historical writer Simcha Jacobovici studied an ancient Syriac manuscript written in Aramaic, reported Examiner.com Nov. 10. Read full story.

York win CIS Championship and cap big year in Ontario soccer
The Canadian University Men’s Soccer championship was played this weekend in Charlottetown, P.E.I., and as expected York University made the final, reported Red Nation Nov. 10. What wasn’t really expected was York’s opponent in the Final as the Lions played division rivals McMaster in an all Ontario West finals. Read full story.

Need for Out of the Cold spreads
York University’s Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness estimates 235,000 Canadians per year go through a period of homelessness, at a cost to the economy of $7 billion, reported the Catholic Register Nov. 8. Read full story.

OUTlaws want B.C. government to reverse TWU law degree approval
Yesterday, leaders of Canada’s LGBTQ law students wrote a letter to British Columbia’s Minister of Advanced Education Amrik Virk asking him to reverse his ministry’s approval of Trinity Western University’s law degrees, reported Canadian Lawyer Nov. 7…. “We opened ourselves up to a meeting – we said if you want to meet with any of our members to discuss these concerns in person, we would be happy to attend,” said Douglas Judson, member of Osgoode Hall Law School’s OUTlaws chapter. “We have expressed that we hope to hear back from him, and we’re hoping by making this a very public, transparent campaign that will motivate action on the part of the ministry.” Read full story.

DART aims to take money worries out of career decisions
The Osgoode@125 debt relief initiative has a strong access to justice component, as its mandate is to provide much-needed support for those Osgoode Hall Law School graduates whose career choices involve providing legal services to Canada’s under-serviced communities and demographic groups, reported Canadian Lawyer Nov. 10. Read full story.