Mayor-elect David Miller has gathered an eclectic mix of people from across Toronto – including York University Chancellor Avie Bennett and Alok Mukherjee, a York researcher and a consultant on equity issues – to serve on an advisory group to guide him through the key transition period, reported the Toronto Star Nov. 21. The transition advisory group, which will be co-chaired by former mayor David Crombie and urban affairs guru Jane Jacobs, will have its first meeting today.
Youth need to be involved in libraries
Second-year York University political science student Okeima Lawrence was a member of a youth advisory group that suggested more youth programs and better Internet access at the Maria A. Shchuka Library, reported the North York Mirror Nov. 20. “For me, I think a library is an institution filled with books, young people running around and senior citizens. I don’t think of it as being youth-friendly or accessible for youth,” said Lawrence. He suggested having a youth representative sit on the library board to advocate issues. “Youth need to be involved and take ownership of the library,” he said.
Law profs question added jurisdiction of courts
Constitutional law experts Patrick Monahan, dean of of York’s Osgoode Hall Law School, and Peter Hogg, law professor, were quoted in the Nov. 17 issue of Law Times about a recent Supreme Court ruling that gives courts the right to enforce government compliance with court orders. “Are the courts really equipped for that kind of role?” Monahan asked. “I’m not so sure that they are. It seems to me that courts need to be very cautious before they enter into a position of supervision of government compliance with their orders.” Hogg, former Osgoode dean and now scholar-in-residence at Blake Cassels & Graydon LLP, said the case represents “a radical new development for our courts.”
On air
- Wesley Cragg, policy professor at York’s Schulich School of Business, was interviewed on “Jim Chapman Live” on Rogers Television, London, Nov. 19.