The following is a joint IRIS/ELS blog. Learn more about the Environmental Law Society at York.

First is the provincial private members bill put forward by Peter Julian, NDP - Bill C-323. This Bill amends the Federal Courts Act to permit anyone in the world to bring an action against anyone or any body else for breaches (occurring anywhere in the world) of international human rights or international treaties to which Canada is a signatory, including actions for "wanton destruction of the environment." The Bill provides that there is no limitation period for such actions and prohibits success on forum non conveniens motions where it is clear that the relevant non-Canadian judicial system will not produce a just result.

This Bill is hailed by many as the legislation that would help individuals in other countries to sue Canadian (and other) companies for labour, human rights, environmental, health, and other injuries and abuses. This is particularly relevant in the mining area because Canadian mining companies have a bad worldwide reputation for being engaged in such abuses and injuries. As matters currently stand, it is very difficult for non-Canadians to pursue Canadian companies for abuses caused by the companies outside of Canada, which is something we have recently seen in Ramirez v. TSX. Klippensteins, a firm representing the plaintiffs in Ramirez, is involved in other cases against Canadian mining companies including those for the murder of a plaintiff's husband by a local security force hired by a subsidiary of a Canadian mining company, HudBay (yes, Hudson Bay is indirectly engaged in mining projects). For more information on Bill C-323 and mining see http://this.org/blog/2011/11/01/corporate-accountability-bill-c-323/. For more information on mining injustice, visit MISN or ProtestBarrick.

Bill C-323 is only being introduced into the first reading and its status can be monitored here.

Secondly, Bill C-469, a private members bill put forward by Linda Duncan, NDP from Edmonton, Alberta, is a proposal to create an Canadian Environmental Bill of Rights. Unlike the less teethy Ontario EBR, the Canadian EBR is far more nuanced, complex, and enforceable. For a highly recommended thorough look at the Canadian EBR, see the Alberta Environmental Law Centre's article. The limit of the bill, of course, given the constitutional divide of environmental law into federal and provincial spheres of jurisdiction, is that it applies only to Federal lands, agencies, and governments. It will not permit any action against provincial governments.

The Bill has passed the second reading and has moved through the committee period. It will now go into third reading. To monitor the status of the bill, go to the Parliament website. As with Bill C-323, similar private members bills have been put forward in the past without success. There appears to be some hope for this important Bill, given that it's now going into third reading. If it is passed, it may prompt provincial governments (through grassroots or hierarchal pressure for consistency) to adopt similar measures or amend current measures to be consistent with the Federal Act.

Thirdly, perhaps with a more focused goal, Bill C-305, also a private members bill put forth by Olivia Chow, NDP of Toronto is an Act to establish a National Public Transit Strategy. The bill requires that the Federal Minister of Transportation consult with the provincial ministers in charge of public transit, aboriginal communities, municipalities, as well as other stakeholders to develop a national strategy on public transportation, including funding and implementation of same. At the end of the consultations, the Minister is required to report back to Parliament.

What this bill does is look very similar to the Kyoto Protocol Implementation Act which was passed under a conservative government: it involves (1) ordering the executive government to follow the direction by the legislative opposition; and (2) requiring that the executive report back to the Parliament rather than do something more concrete. In effect, it has no teeth. The only enforcement of this act appears to be a judicial review if the Minister decides not to do what the Act says. Such a judicial review was unsuccessful in the context of the Kyoto Protocol Implementation Act. Therefore, even if this Bill is enacted, its usefulness is limited. However, media attention to this Bill certainly helps to put this issue in front of the politicians.

The bill has just been introduced and has to go through the first reading. Its status can be monitored here.

Apart from monitoring, these Bills require our attention and effort to become law. All of these Bills are very important in advancing social justice. It is imperative that we all take steps to ensure that they are afforded sufficient attention and, ultimately, become law. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your perspective), the only way to affect political decisions is to engage in political process and discourse. However you decide to engage, you will have to do so by affecting your local MP (easy-to-use find-your-MP-info is provided by Elections Canada) and/or affecting the media which, in turn, hopefully leads people to affect their MP. So write, call, petition, leaflet, and spam (e-mail persistently) your MP until they hear you. As a law student/professor/legal professional, we have a duty to further social justice. Although this is a more political process, we, as individuals who understand the intricacies and effects of the current and proposed laws should engage in the political process in furtherance of social justice.

Marie Sydney
Ex-ELS Co-Chair, now articling student

Last week, here at the Institute for Research & Innovation in Sustainability (IRIS), we were very fortunate to be able to host a talk by Dr. Bob Willard and to launch his latest book, The Sustainability Champion’s Guidebook.  I enjoyed the talk very much because; this book succinctly explains the case for why a sustainable business is a smart business. What personally struck me was the fact that, being a Human Resources management student, I have been taught that change has to be top down in order for it to be effective. We learn in our course, that it is top management’s responsibility to create a vision and ensure that the whole organization shares that vision. Top management has to “walk the walk and talk the talk” to show commitment to any significant change. However, this perspective does not allow us to take into account of how change can be initiated at any level of the organization. Dr.Willard’s new book, The Sustainability Champion’s Guidebook, calls for a paradigm shift and emphasize the fact that any employee, regardless of their position can encourage and initiate change. This book provides a step-by-step guide on how to inspire a shared vision and mobilize commitment and embed and align change within any organization. Dr. Willard kindly shared his slide show with us.

As my final days at York approach, I find myself thinking about the campus and the projects that I am proud to have seen flourish as well as those that have stagnated while I have been here. I hope projects like these continue, so that that upon a return visit in the next decade it does not look like a previous front page of the YU Free Press.

I used to have a difficult time justifying engaging in on-campus groups because I felt it would not have an impact on the issues I had with our society. What I have come to understand throughout my undergraduate degree is that universities all over the country are microcosms. The university is a space of change, where changes here can and do have an effect on our communities. To me, this means that our university should be a place where we can be proud of a few cornerstones.

The first is a free press. It is important for the university to have an active journalist community that can publish articles that support or denounce mainstream values and institutions. We currently have this at York; the YU Free Press publishes and supports critiques and alternative viewpoints that may have otherwise been excluded. These projects are becoming increasingly important as this becomes a frightening reality with Harper proposing a government controlled media center.

The second is a campus environment that supports student run businesses. Just as it is important to support local, family run businesses in our communities, it is important to have businesses that students can have control over on their campuses. I have participated in two IRIS surveys; one on Sustainable Foods and the other on Volunteerism and Engagement. One of the themes that was exceptionally clear in both surveys was that students are unhappy with the types of foods offered on campus. They have also noted that they could increase their engagement if incentives were offered, like learning a skill for the workplace or monetary compensation. I am excited to report that there are projects that account for all of these factors currently underway. For anyone who is interested in beginning a student run business and potentially work on a business model that would offer alternative, healthy food options on campus, there just happens to be a group meeting next Monday, April 18th. You can visit this event posting, or e-mail the group (yorkustudentbusiness@gmail.com) for more information on this initiative.

Lastly, I would love to know a York campus that is safe and takes a strong stance against those who attack members of our community, instead of participating in a system of re-victimization. Gendered violence is rampant at York, and I am tired of hearing York officials and those invited to speak on our campus blame the individuals hurt rather than the attacker. Apparently, others feel the same way and demonstrated their frustration at Slut Walk Toronto a couple of weeks ago. In my opinion, one of the greatest goals this university could strive to achieve is making its students feel safe and supported. This may be idealistic, but perhaps if we could achieve this here it could act as a step to bringing down a culture that breeds a need for power and that generates fear.

My York experience would not be the same if I had not become involved in groups, struggles, and campaigns on campus. If students do not get involved, I am sad to say that our campus could one day look like the one presented by the YU Free Press. Upon return, I hope to see innovative campaigns and projects that I could have not envisioned for our campus, reflecting York’s motto: Alia Tentanda Via Est - the way must be tried.

I just watched yet another inspiring TED video. This clip featured Dave Meslin presenting his findings on community inaction entitled, ‘Redefining Apathy.’ In this TED talk, Meslin asks us to question the excuses we use for our inaction. We constantly hear that we are ‘lazy,’ or ‘stupid,’ absolving ourselves from responsibility as we describe humanity as a helpless actor in the systems we have created.

Meslin suggests that apathy is not an internal characteristic that comes from laziness or stupidity, rather a complex interaction between cultural, sociological, political and economic factors that challenges and systemically creates barriers one must overcome, thereby actively discouraging people from engagement. I strongly encourage everyone to watch this video -as always with TED - you will not be disappointed!

This articulation of the defining features of apathy made me think of the bureaucracy at York which is more than difficult to manoeuvre. How do you find out how to get involved? What student clubs exist, or more importantly, which ones are active? What are they doing to make changes on campus? Which ones match politics similar to your own? How can you find information on general engagement? How can you hold a rally or protest? Are there any real student spaces on campus left to engage in?

There are some places you can find this information, but nothing comprehensive or that would allow any form of collaboration. York University needs a forum where students can mediate these conflicts and determine where they would like to get involved, and ultimately what they would like changed. Recently, an IRIS GA suggested a sustainability forum to begin coordinating these activities and submitted the idea to the TD Green Challenge. If you would like to check out their promotional video, or vote for the sustainability hub, you can view the video here.  It is my hope that this is implemented so that we can begin demolishing the barriers and challenges in our way, so that we can begin focusing on the real issues at play.

Ultimately, the main purpose of this blog post is to ask you to reject distractions and excuses like, ‘people are lazy, selfish, and stupid’ and focus on the actual issues.

In the spirit of change, I thought I would take this opportunity to write a positive blog by expressing my appreciation for the YU Free Press, our Yorku alternative newspaper. It is run purely by volunteers at the undergraduate and graduate level whose mission is to, “challenge the mainstream corporate media model and to provide a space for critical analysis and commentary of the news around us – both on and off campus – to a community of students, faculty, and staff alike.” They maintain a strong standard of anti-oppressive practices, striving for a vision of social justice by publishing labour, union and activist-positive material.

One of the strengths of the newspaper is that one does not have to be a member of the collective to publish. It is run completely by volunteers and functions solely through the support of the Yorku community. One can express their opinions without as many restrictions since they are not affiliated with the Yorku administration. In essence, if you are pissed off at the university, the Free Press is the place to publish it.

There are also no restrictions on writing about something you are involved in. The Excalibur considers this a conflict of interest, banning it from publication. The YU Free Press is a space where you can express what you are passionate about even if you are involved in the organizations that are a part of the story you are covering. This is intuitive because if you are interested in a story, you usually have a connection to it.

The paper is currently looking for new volunteers and contributors for their next issue. The next issue will follow the theme, Indigenous Sovereignty but it is not limited to Aboriginal issues. You can find the YU Free Press across campus in newsstands or download the material online.

The YU Free Press is a critical and self-reflexive view on what is happening on our campus. For an informed and alternative voice to the events that affect the York community be sure to pick up the next issue this January!