Steven Skurka, a Canadian criminal lawyer who is attending the trial and writing a blog, said that Osgoode Hall Law School Professor Jinyan Li gave the Conrad Black trial jury a "tutorial on Canadian tax law," and "in a very compelling way, presented the differences. Watching the jury they were captivated, they were very interested," wrote the National Post June 27. That testimony could be critical when the jury considers whether the men acted improperly or were merely taking advantage of a tax loophole like many other Canadian business owners did during that time. For Black and his co-accused, it just might be a tax lecture that saves them from years in prison, said the Post.
Osgoode swaps law professors with province
You can't see it, but there is a revolving door between York’s Osgoode Hall Law School and Legal Aid Ontario, wrote The Globe and Mail June 27. The province has appointed Osgoode law Professor John McCamus as chair of Legal Aid. McCamus chaired the Ontario Law Reform Commission in the 1990s. Earlier this year he was commissioned by the province to update his 1997 blueprint for reforming publicly funded legal aid services, which prompted the province to establish Legal Aid as an independent agency overseeing free legal services for the underprivileged. McCamus is replacing Janet Leiper, who is moving to – you guessed it – Osgoode, where she will be a visiting professor of public interest law, said the Globe.
Xerox funds research project at York
Exploring subjects like how materials stick to surfaces, how to create biodegradable plastics from trees, and how to measure the value of document services, 11 fundamental research projects have been selected for funding by Xerox Corporation at universities around the globe, said a Xerox news release carried on the US-based Business Wire June 27.
The projects are part of the company's long-standing program of grants to researchers at leading universities in the US, Canada and Europe. The funded projects include research by Professor Michael Organ, of York’s Faculty of Science & Engineering, on "Palladium Catalyzed Aminations and the Use of Microwave-assisted Continuous Flow Organic Synthesis." This project will investigate the use of an improved catalyst for carbon-nitrogen bond formation for the synthesis of new materials in conjunction with microwave heating and microreactor systems.
On air
- Ricardo Grinspun, economics professor in York’s Faculty of Arts and a project director with York’s Centre for Research on Latin America & the Caribbean, joined a panel discussion on international conflicts and politics on CTS-TV’s “Michael Coren Live” June 26.
- Irene Knezevic, a doctoral student in the joint York-Ryerson Communication & Culture Program and a teaching assistant in the Advertising & Society course offered in York's Division of Social Science, Faculty of Arts, called in to Montreal’s CFCF-TV to comment on a discussion about organic groceries and shopping locally, June 26.