Some readers of Slaw will be saddened to hear that Ralph Scane has died. His death notice is in today’s Globe & Mail.

I was a colleague of Ralph for some 20 years at U of T and I remember his kindness, integrity and wide and eclectic legal knowledge. He came to the Faculty from practice and brought with him a refreshing, real-world point of view. At the same time, he was a meticulous scholar and teacher. He was, I think, the first Associate Dean we had and clearly demonstrated his strong administrative abilities; he did much to make the . . . [more]

From an Access Copyright press release:

Monday, April 8, 2013: Canada’s writers and publishers take a stand against damaging interpretations of fair dealing by the education sector.

Access Copyright is taking legal action—on three fronts. The actions focus on York University, ministries of education, school boards and post‐secondary institutions that copy—and promote the copying—of copyright‐protected materials without a licence.

Read the full press release here. . . . [more]

Windsor Yearbook of Access to Justice
Call for Papers on Access to Knowledge

We invite submissions dealing with social justice in access to knowledge in the broadest sense. Without
limiting the scope of the subject-matter and its treatment, we would especially welcome timely and
topical papers that focus on access to knowledge and its intersection with development issues, cultural
rights, intellectual property rights, international human rights, international trade, open access publishing,
the A2K movement or any combination thereof. Deadline for submissions is MAY 31, 2013

Articles, case/legislation comments and notes, book reviews, or other manuscripts will be considered
for review. . . . [more]

but aims it at Justice Karakatsanis of the Supreme Court of Canada.

The editorial, published April 3, 2013, is here. It has the title “A Supreme Court justice struggles to make an impact”. As one might expect, the editorial is not signed and does not provide sources.

If I were marking that editorial, on the merits, I’d fail it, even if its assertions were correct. That’s because the editorial provides no valid basis for its claims. The sole reason the editorial gives for its conclusion is the number of judgments Justice Karakatsanis has authored to date (without any mention . . . [more]

I’m pleased to announce the creation of the deClawedbies – the Canadian law blog version of the “igNobles” – to be awarded annually on April 1 before noon (PST*).

Notwithstanding the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the right to nominate candidates for a deClawedbies will be restricted to “human” persons (as defined by Ontario civil procedure: see Joly v. Pelletier, [1999] O.J. No. 1728 [QL], 1999 CarswellOnt 1587, 1999 WL 33187845 (Ont. S.C.J.)) who maintained Canadian law blogs during the preceding lunar calendar (Jewish, Chinese or Mayan calendars) year who, if they participate, . . . [more]

I love this time of year: many companies traditionally announce some of their more “out of the box” improvements right at the end of the first quarter or beginning of the second quarter. Here are just a few I noticed in my mailbox; you will see Google is the real leader in 2nd quarter upgrades:

Google Fiber to the Pole

Making the Internet more accessible when you are on the road. . . . [more]

I heard Josh Linkner speak yesterday at a TechAlliance event. He talked about 5 growth traps for business, and as I reflect upon his message, his 5 traps are things that lawmakers fall into constantly.

1. The over correct. Going overboard to correct problems.
2. The money trap. Throwing money at problems rather than creativity.
3. Religion over science. Vision is important, but you can’t ignore the data.
4. Complexity. Using your own technical language rather than making it simple.
5. Gorging. Trying to do too many things and not knowing when to say no.

  . . . [more]

Six young men from the Cree community Whapmagoostui in northern Quebec have been snowshoeing and walking–along with a guide–an incredible 1,600 kilometers from their home on Hudson Bay to Ottawa in support of the Idle No More movement. They are scheduled to arrive today at noon ET at Victoria Island for a welcome ceremony before the last leg of their walk to Parliament Hill.

According to the Idle No More website:

So with temperatures apparently hovering at around -50C, he [David Kawapit Jr.] and six others left home on Jan. 16, trekking on snowshoes and pulling their supplies, stopping

Google giveth and Google taketh away. The most recent taking was, of course, the wildly popular Google Reader. And the new gift today is Google Keep, a kind of reprise of the older (and discontinued) Google Notebook.

Keep was announced today on the Official Blog. If you’ve got an Android device you can give it a whirl — let us know what you think. The rest of us will have to wait until Google fulfils its promise to make it accessible via Google Drive.

The woods are full of notetaking apps, the most prominent perhaps being Evernote. It’s going . . . [more]

There’s been something of a fuss in the media in the last couple of days concerning a relatively new, or newly explicit, Code of Conduct at Library and Archives Canada that’s said to create the possibility of “muzzling” librarians or of their being snitched on if too outspoken. (See the story in the National Post and the buzz on Twitter.)

I thought Slaw readers might be interested in the fact that the whole Code of Conduct is available on Scribd. The most often mentioned portion is section 3.2.2 Duty of Loyalty:

3.2.2 Duty of loyalty

Employment in the

Over the last week, several colleagues had outlined how they had felt disconnected from their law firms at various times. One lawyer described her difficulty in getting someone to explain billing practices at a new firm. In a nutshell, she didn’t feel she could ask someone to explain billing practices because they couldn’t bill for giving the explanation. Other lawyers described similar catch-22s and illogical situations which left them feeling disconnected and at arm’s length from their work environment.

A recent Harvard Business Review blog post by Mitch Joel (Six Pixels of Separation) talks about unlocking new ways . . . [more]

Nominations are open until May 1, 2013 for the Stephen Hanson Awards for Excellence in Journalism (formerly the Justicia Awards)

Organized by the Canadian Bar Association, the Awards recognize “outstanding journalism that fosters public awareness and understanding of any aspect of the Canadian justice system and the roles played by institutions and participants in the legal system”.

There are awards for French or English stories in two categories: print and broadcast media.

The judges evaluate submissions based on “accuracy, originality, effectiveness in explaining issues to the public, informational value, and insight”.

The rules state (among other things):

• Any article published