Thirsty for Justice the Privilege to Pour

Osgoode Hall Law School of York University Osgoode Digital Commons Obiter Dicta Alumni & Law School Publications 1-5-2015 Volume 88, Issue 8 (2015) Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.osgoode.yorku.ca/obiter_dicta Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation "Volume 88, Issue 8 (2015)" (2015). Obiter Dicta. 27. http://digitalcommons.osgoode.yorku.ca/obiter_dicta/27 This Book is brought to you for free and open access by the Alumni & Law School Publications at Osgoode Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Obiter Dicta by an authorized administrator of Osgoode Digital Commons. Volume 88 | issue 8 | Obiter-dicta.ca The Definitive Source for Osgoode News since 1928 Monday, January 5, 2015 THIRSTY FOR JUSTICE the privilege to pour ê In what a group of UN experts call a violation of human rights, the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department has shut off thousands of people’s water after they failed to pay their bills. Image credit: Huffington Post SOphie Chaisson › contributor n september, a Detroit judge ruled that the access to clean water is solely the responsibility of city can continue to turn off the taps of resi- municipal service providers, which provide water in dents who cannot afford to pay their water exchange for a fee, or whether access should be con- bills. Judge Steven Rhodes, who is responsi- sidered a basic human right under international law. In this Issue... Ible for overseeing Detroit’s bankruptcy, opined that In June, United Nations Special Rapporteurs EDITORIAL although “water is a necessary ingredient to sus- Catarina de Albuquerque and Leilani Farha wrote to Travel Guide . 2 taining life” there is no “enforceable right” to free the city of Detroit advising that the “disconnection water. of water services because of failure to pay due to lack NEWS Judge Rhodes’s ruling was in response to a law- of means constitutes a violation of the human right Detroit Water Crisis . COVER suit, Lyda v City of Detroit, filed on behalf of low- to water and other international human rights.” Student Caucus . 3 income residents who cannot keep up with their De Albuquerque and Farha visited Detroit in late bills amid Detroit’s economic downturn. It is esti- October to conduct an informal fact-finding mission arts & Culture mated that at least 27,000 residents have had their in the city. They found that the water shut-offs were Jurisfoodence . 7 taps turned off by the city this year. happening on an “unprecedented scale” and that Sports The situation in Detroit raises important ques- they were having a severe disparate impact on “the Toronto Raptors . 9 tions concerning the right to clean drinking water. As water becomes an increasingly coveted global commodity, it is necessary to consider whether » see DETROIT WATER, page 11 2 obiter Dicta EDITORIAL One Point Five Billion Inches The circumference of the Earth. Lets talk about a few of them. h, osgoode. We meet again. Returning from winter break is always a surreal experience. Whereas the long summer months leave me restless and excited at the A prospect of renewed intellectual stimulation come September, the fleeting few weeks we have in December pass too quickly in a haze of mulled wine and family gatherings. They never seem fully ours, and just as we begin to remember who we are outside of lectures halls and libraries, we find ourselves back in the hallowed halls of Osgoode. It is for this reason that I find myself particularly resistant and begrudgingly in denial of the fact that a new semester has indeed begun. And this is likely amplified by the fact that I undertook the project of planning my post-bar exam trip during the time between the new year and the new semester. My days were spent in a flurry of researching which border crossings between Thailand and Laos are least rife with corruption (a very relative concept, I’ve learned), comparing different bus connections between Ho Chi Minh City and Mui Ne, and deter- mining exactly which Cambodian town special- izes in fried tarantulas, so that I can make sure to avoid it (Skoun, nicknamed Spiderville, in case you The streets of Havana, Cuba. Photo credit: Michal Novak. were wondering; it is, by all accounts, the stuff of ê nightmares). My research predictably led to all variety of travel blogs and an embarrassing number of Anthony beaten path,” Italy’s northern towns are often the backpackers in the 1970s and 80s, and soon after, Bourdain episodes. But I noticed, at one point, that first to be eliminated from itineraries in favour Vietnam followed. The last decade or so has seen an missing from my resources was the New York Times Cinque Terre and the Amalfi Coast. Despite the fact explosion of tourism to Cambodia, which leaves Laos “Places To Go in 2015” list. It has become some- that Milan has long been known as the fashion and as the last one standing, so to speak. The culturally thing of a touchstone for travel trends and hotspots financial capital of the country, and Turin has been and architecturally stunning Luang Prabang boasts (at least for amateur travel enthusiasts, such as steadily developing a reputation for playing host to unreal French cuisine and Buddhist temples that myself), which is impressive, given its measly ten some of the best student nightlife in Italy, they’ve rival the best wats in the region. The Shangri-La of Si year existence. As I anxiously await the release of often stood in the shadow of Florence and Rome. Phan Don, on the other hand, offers palm trees and this year’s list (almost as anxiously as I await the Thus, the Milano Expo 2015, held between May and beaches without the crowds of southern Thailand. release of fall grades), I’ve assembled my own pre- October, presents an excellent opportunity to draw dictions regarding up and coming destinations. The more tourists to the less-visited, yet equally charm- NYT list is meticulous and impressively thorough ing cities of Italy’s north. Cuba (last year, for example, they highlighted the island of An obvious choice, given the recent loosening of Ishigaki, Japan, in light of recently added services by travel restrictions for Americans. Though Canadians budget airline Peach), and while my predictions will Laos have long enjoyed its well-priced resorts, now is the undoubtedly be much more cursory, I’m interested to The evolution of tourism in Southeast Asia is a subject time to ditch the all-inclusives and experience Cuba see how they’ll stack up to the real thing. which I find endlessly fascinating. Seeing how each outside the hotel gates. Given the soon-to-come country opened itself to tourists, and how this inter- influx of American money and attendant modern- acted with political and social developments within ization, the streets of Havana will only feel authentic Northern Italy its own borders (the end of the Khmer Rouge, the and frozen in time for so long. I’m not talking about Venice or Tuscany, I mean Doi Moi reforms, and the recent Burmese democratic places like Padua, Bologna, and Verona. Although reforms) sheds light on this culturally and politi- it would be inaccurate to refer to these as “off the cally diverse region. Thailand emerged as a haven for » see EDITORIAL, page 12 editorial board staff writers TheObiter Dicta is published biweekly editor-in-chief | Karolina Wisniewski Kate Henley, Gleb Matushansky, Erin Garbett, during the school year, and is printed by managing editor | Sam Michaels Weller Publishing Co. Ltd. a. Osgoode Hall Law School, 0014g Hannah de Jong, Kenneth Cheak Kwan layout editor | Heather Pringle York University Lam, Kendall Grant, Rob Hamilton, Esther Mendelsohn, Parmbir Singh Gill, Michael Obiter Dicta is the official student newspaper 4700 Keele Street editorial staff Silver of Osgoode Hall Law School. The opinions Toronto, on m3j 1p3 business managers | Alvin Qian, expressed in the articles contained herein are [email protected] Adam Cepler e. contributors not necessarily those of the Obiter staff. The . obiter-dicta.ca communications manager | Angie Sheep W Sophie Chaisson, Jeffrey Hernaez, Nabila Khan, Obiter reserves the right to refuse any submis- copy editor | Subban Jama t. @obiterdictaoz Sabreena Delhon sion that is judged to be libelous or defamatory, news editor | Mike Capitano contains personal attacks, or is discriminatory opinions editor | Carla Marti “Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. Submissions for the January 19 issue are on the basis of sex, race, religion, or sexual ori- arts & culture editor | Marie Park We have only today. Let us begin.” due at 5pm on January 10, and should be entation. Submissions may be edited for length sports editor | Evan Ivkovic mother teresa submitted to: [email protected] and/or content. website editor | Asad Akhtar STUDENT CAUCUS Monday, January 5, 2015 3 One Last Semester This Student Caucus Chair’s Swan Song jEffrey hernaez › synthesize their knowledge before the stress of the there 24/7 and for being the calm to my storm. stuDent caucus chair exam period. I owe much thanks to Henry Limheng Further, I am really grateful for all the committed (2L rep and former 1L rep) for doing a lot of the heavy students I’ve had a chance to work with. Each and lifting on this issue. As always, feel free to contact every one of them has strived to deliver the student t has yet to sink in that this is my last term at any of your Student Caucus representatives with any voice on a host of different issues affecting Osgoode Osgoode – both as a student and Student Caucus concerns you may have.

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