Bob Rae and Omar Ha-Redeye at a fundraiser in 2007

Hon. Bob Rae spoke this morning at the University of Western Ontario Law School on A Changing World: New Directions for Canadian Foreign Policy.

He said that Canada needs to find its own voice on the international scene.  If we disagree with our American neighbours, this does not mean it is anti-Americanism.

We have our own national interests we need to pursue.

Notes from the talk can be read on Law is Cool.

Some attribute the following quote to Otto van Bismark,

I have about made up my mind that laws are like sausages — the less you know about how they are made the more respect you have for them.

Omar Ha-Redeye and Deb Matthews during the 2007 Provincial election.

Deb Matthews, MPP, a current member of the provincial cabinet in Ontario, shed some light on the inner workings of legislation.

“The Intention of the Legislature”: The Role of Politicians, and process of government in creating social amelioration laws was delivered at Prof. Jeff Schlemmer’s class, Law and Social Welfare.  They were joined by Prof. Sam Trosow‘s Urban Law class.

Omar Ha-Redeye sat in.

There are many steps a law has to go through, and many shareholders that provide their input.

Budgetary considerations are consistently paramount, especially when a ruling party has committed not to run a deficit or raise taxes.

Despite all the hurdles, Min. Matthews managed to shed light on the legislative process while still retaining respect and appreciation for them.

RCMP Asst. Commissioner Mike McDonnell spoke at UWO Law today.

He talked at great length on the relationship between the RCMP and the legal community.

But he also fielded some tough questions from the audience regarding recent RCMP tactics, including over-breadth towards counter-terrorism, staff shortages and allegations of incompetence, and the use of tasers.

One attendee specifically asked about RCMP complicity in torture in the cases of Abdullah Almalki, Ahmad El Maati, and Muayyed Nureddin.  He pointed out that Foreign Affairs official Jonathan Solomon was aware as early as October 2002 of the likelihood of torture, citing pp. 208-209 of the Arar Report,

The RCMP are ready to send their Syrian counterparts a request that Al Malki be asked questions provided by the RCMP, questions relating to other members of his organization. Both ISI and DMSCUS/HOM [Ambassador Pillarella] have pointed out to the RCMP that such questioning may involve torture. The RCMP are aware of this but have nonetheless decided to send their request.
[Emphasis Added]

These three individuals are expected to visit London, Ontario in the coming weeks to relate their story, and the issue of “the other Arars” has become one of interest to the community here.

At the External Moot Meeting, Omar Ha-Redeye had the opportunity to select a moot for the January 2009 term.

Based on his high placing in the Lerners LLP Cup, he was able to enroll in the Canadian Corporate/Securities Law Moot Court Competition.

This moot was the most highly coveted last year, and the 2008 team at Western won the top prize.

Prof. Richard McClarren, a highly distinguished scholar in corporate and securities law, is the coach for this moot.

The University of Buffalo Law Library picked up on a post on Law is Cool about the use of social media, specifically LinkedIn, and how lawyers are monetizing off it.

Related posts included Jurafide, a new social network for lawyers seeking American clients, and the advantages that these sites offer law firms.

But everything about social media sites are not positive, and another recent post addressed recently filed patents that would follow and rank social media users.  Abuse of facial recognition technology is also an emerging concern.

Hon. Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance, spoke at the University of Western Ontario law school today.  Paul Mayne of Western News covered the event.

Omar Ha-Redeye was interviewed by CBC Radio over the students’ reactions to Min. Flaherty’s speech.

Omar responded to Min. Flaherty’s comments on his dialogue with Premier McGuinty over taxes in the manufacturing sector.  Flaherty was quoted and highly criticized for his remarks about the economy in Ontario in March 2008,

It discourages investment in the province of Ontario.  If you’re going to make a new business investment in Canada, and you’re concerned about taxes, the last place you will go is the province of Ontario.

When Omar asked him personally about how this could potentially be interpreted internationally and affect investment in Ontario, Min. Flaherty said the statements were taken out of context.  Omar did not think a public statement to this effect would address or resolve the issues that Min. Flaherty raised.

Min. Flaherty also spoke at great length about the sub-prime mortgage crisis, and the state of the Canadian economy.  He claimed Canada was highly respected among G7 countries for its economic stability.

Omar told the CBC that the 2007 The Conference Board of Canada report, Mission Possible: Sustainable Prosperity for Canada, predicted the current volatility in American markets.  They recommended Canada strengthen its economy by diversifying its trade partners.  Omar felt that Canada was not doing enough to strengthen trade ties with the EU, China and India.

Finally, Omar raised the issue of the Afghan mission.  The Harper government initially refused to release information about the cost of Canada’s role in Afghanistan, only recently succumbing to pressure and agreeing to provide the figures.

Some analysts have previously estimated that by March 2008 the mission has cost Canadians $7.2 billion, or $100 million every month.  This has reflected a 26% increase in our military budget, bringing us from 16th to the 13th in the world in military spending, and 6th in NATO.  The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives suggests that Canada spends more on the military today than it did during the Cold War.

Most Canadians believe that the Afghan mission, which has proven that military solutions are ineffective, is a failure and is costing our nation too much.

Omar said that the financial and political cost of an expensive commitment that fails to have clear goals, objectives, or definitive end date, should be evaluated in context of our fragile economic times.  This would be an especially important consideration in light of the Federal election, and he hoped that the information would be made public so that Canadians could be better informed regarding the manner in which their government spends their taxes.

Omar Ha-Redeye participated in the finals for the Lerners LLP Cup at the University of Western Ontario.

He was awarded the Mr. Justice CD Stewart Trophy for Appellate Advocacy.  The award is given to the team with the highest score during any of the preliminary rounds.  Omar shared shared the trophy with his partner Lawrence Gridin, who also writes on Law is Cool.

The winner of the Lerners LLP Cup this year was Christopher Crighton.

Lawrence Gridin, Leitch J, Kileen J (ret), O'Reilly J, Omar Ha-Redeye

Coverage of the event can be found on the UWO Law website.  A special thanks goes to Prof. Mysty Clapton and Lerners LLP for hosting the event.

Omar Ha-Redeye qualified as a finalist in the Torys LLP Negotiation Competition.

The University of Western Ontario describes the event,

In mid-September, interested students sign up (in teams of two) to participate in the competition. Teams are provided with a negotiation problem and a detailed outline of their fictitious clients’ interests, which they are able to study for a limited period prior to Preliminary Rounds. At the Preliminary Rounds, students negotiate with opposing teams while being observed by lawyers from Torys LLP, who assess the students’ negotiation strategies. The goal of these negotiation is to advance client interests while achieving outcomes that are acceptable to opposing counsel. The negotiations are largely “free form”, with very few rules governing student conduct.

Winners of the competition proceed to represent UWO at the ABA Negotiations Competition.

Omar Ha-Redeye competed this year with Amelia Phillips-Lewis.  He partnered with Amelia last year to win the Borden Ladner Gervais LLP Client Counselling Competition, and represented the school at the ABA Client Counseling Competition.

The “Black Ops of Politics,” that’s what they’re calling blogging.

Omar Ha-Redeye and Devin Johnston were interviewed by the CBC on the use of technology in politics.

You can see one of these clips here.