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Page 6 March 16, 2015 • Law Times www.lawtimesnews.com COMMENT two worthy justice efforts t's nice to see two fairly enlightened efforts at improving the justice system — one on sexual violence and assault and the other on fetal alcohol spectrum disorder — coming from opposite sides of the political spectrum. In Ontario, Premier Kathleen Wynne recently announced the government's action plan to deal with sexual violence and assault. Given the renewed discussion on the issue, it's a timely response to concerns that the justice system doesn't do a good job of handling sexual assault cases. But rather than merely come out with punitive measures (something the province admittedly has a limited role in since the Criminal Code falls under federal jurisdiction), Wynne an- nounced a host of measures ranging from a pilot project to provide independent legal advice to victims to education on issues such as healthy relationships and consent. It also seeks to expand victims' ability to seek other remedies by eliminating the two-year limitation period for civil sexual assault claims. In addition, the plan would provide for increased community supports. To be sure, the plan also refers to training for prosecutors and an enhanced prosecution model tailored to sexual assault cases, some- thing that seems fair given the concern over the low rates of report- ing complaints and the low numbers of prosecutions and convictions. There's an obvious concern about swinging the pendulum too far the other way, but what's promising is the province's effort to take a sys- temic approach that looks at the issue as a social problem. As Dalhou- sie University Prof. Elaine Craig told Law Times last week, "It reveals some understanding on the part of the government that this is a so- Time to debate overhaul of legal education By KaThy Laird For Law Times n mid-February, I received a letter from the new dean at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law asking me to consider donating to its student finan- cial aid program. I'm sure thousands of alumni got the same letter. The dean's letter told us Ontario lags behind other provinces in government support for higher education. The letter didn't mention that, at more than $30,000, the dean's law faculty has the highest tuition across the province and the country. For that information, you could read the sad tale in the Toronto Star recently about law students at the University of Toronto trying to support their colleagues by giving up a day of pay. The idea, which organizers have since decided not to pursue, was that students with summer jobs would offer to give up one day of wages to support those with unpaid social justice jobs. There is something very wrong with this picture. The dean's letter asks for donations to preserve the faculty's "tradition of accessibility." I doubt many young people growing up in poverty in this province would characterize that law faculty as providing an accessible education. As the United Way reported recently, Toron- to is the income inequality capital of Canada. The report identified the top priority as access to jobs for young people. It also highlighted jobs as a pathway to stability and emphasized the need to remove barriers based on circumstances. The dean's letter included an insert from a current student, Hana, telling us that at the University of Toron- to, "meritocracy continues to diversify the student body and challenge the assumption that socioeconomic status limits what promising young students can achieve." Notwithstanding the hopeful message from Hana, surely we have to acknowledge that socioeconomic sta- tus does in fact limit what promising young students can do. It limits whether they can pay law faculty tuition of more than $30,000 a year; it limits whether they can accept volunteer work for the summer; it limits whether they can follow the career path I followed when I gradu- ated from the same school that focused on a poverty law practice at legal clinics for 15 years. The dean's package tells us that because of donor sup- port, Hana has had the opportunity to represent low- income clients at Downtown Legal Services, compete in mooting competitions, and contribute to scholarly publications. I took advantage of the same opportuni- ties when I was in law school and my tuition was less than $1,000 a year. I note with affection that several of the professors who taught me are still at the law school decades later. They were great teachers who engaged with their students and their communities. I doubt the position, put forward by the law school, that the massive tuition hike was necessary to keep them all from run- ning off to American universities. Ontario law schools recruit students with dreams of changing the world for the better and Hana is no exception. Perhaps alumni and faculty, not students, should give up a day of earnings to sup- port Hana and other students like her. But more im- portantly, we need to start a new conversation in the profession about what a truly accessible legal education would look like going forward. What are the costs that are driving tuition up and how important are those items to the students and the actual education of com- petent and well-prepared lawyers as opposed to the quest for excellence at our law schools? Our law schools send their graduates out into an em- ployment market with increasingly limited opportuni- ties. Given the shortage of articling positions and the need to establish the Law Practice Program with addi- tional fees and, in some cases, unpaid placements, now is the time to consider a more fundamental overhaul of legal education in this province. Why aren't our law schools leading the way in starting that discussion? LT uKathy Laird is executive director of the Human Rights Legal Support Centre. She served for a number of years as a vice chairwoman at the human rights board of inquiry and the Pay Equity Hearings Tribunal. She's a recipient of the Society of Ontario Adjudicators and Regulators award for outstanding contribution to the administrative justice system in Ontario. u SPEAKER'S CORNER ©2015 Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reprinted or stored in a retrieval system without written per- mission. The opinions expressed in articles are not necessarily those of the publisher. Information presented is compiled from sources believed to be accurate, however, the publisher assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions. Law Times disclaims any warranty as to the accuracy, com- pleteness or currency of the contents of this pub- lication and disclaims all liability in respect of the results of any action taken or not taken in reliance upon information in this publication. Publications Mail Agreement Number 40762529 • ISSN 0847-5083 Law Times is published 40 times a year by Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. 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Among other things, it would allow judges to order an as- sessment of someone they suspect suffers from the disorder and consider the condition as a mitigat- ing factor on sentencing. Somewhat surprisingly, the bill is from a Conservative MP, Yukon's Ryan Leef. The CBA would still like additional changes to allow for discretion when it comes to mandatory minimum sentences in such situations, but the bill is a welcome response to an issue that has been on the justice system's agenda for some time. And with the federal government increasingly embracing pri- vate members' bills on justice matters, this one has at least a prospect of passing. — Glenn Kauth I I

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