SYRIAN CRISIS Can Public Opinion Change Canada’S Refugee Laws?
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Osgoode Hall Law School of York University Osgoode Digital Commons Obiter Dicta Alumni & Law School Publications 9-14-2015 Volume 89, Issue 2 (2015) Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.osgoode.yorku.ca/obiter_dicta Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation "Volume 89, Issue 2 (2015)" (2015). Obiter Dicta. 20. http://digitalcommons.osgoode.yorku.ca/obiter_dicta/20 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 2 | obiter-dicta.ca The Definitive Source for Osgoode News since 1928 Monday, September 14, 2015 SYRIAN CRISIS can public opinion change canada’s refugee laws? ê A family photo of Alan and Ghalib Kurdi who died trying to reach Greece. Photo credit: OttawaCitizen.com shannon corregan › staff writer n 2 september 2015, the bodies of broth- to UN data, 886,000 asylum claims were filed glob- ers Alan (3) and Galib (5) Kurdi washed up ally in 2014, a 45% increase from 2013. It marks the on a beach in southern Turkey. The boys highest level of asylum claims since the beginning of drowned alongside their mother Rehan the Balkan conflicts in 1992. The two largest groups In this Issue... O after the boat carrying them and eight other Syrian filing are Syrians, with 150,000 claims, and Iraqis, editorial refugees capsized on its way from Turkey to Greece. with 68,700. “Physical” Access to Justice . 2 Photos of Alan Kurdi’s body lying facedown in the The Kurdi family’s story highlights the problems surf are now ubiquitous in the Canadian press, as are facing thousands of Syrian refugees trying to flee news photos of his weeping father, Abdullah (40), the only their country. Abdullah’s sister, Tima, immigrated Truth and Reconciliation . 3 member of their family to survive. Alan has become to Canada over two decades ago, and now lives and opinion the face of the human suffering within the Syrian works in Vancouver. Initial reports indicated that Career Week . 6 refugee crisis. Since news broke that the family was Tima tried to sponsor her brother’s application to trying to immigrate to Canada, photos of his drowned Canada. Despite personal attention from Fin Donnelly, arts & culture body have changed the issue from a European one to a the MP for Port Moody/Coquitlam, the family says Toronto Events . 8 specifically Canadian one. the application was rejected in June, “owing to the sports Syrian refugees have been fleeing the country since Toronto Blue Jays . 11 the civil war began in 2011, but the numbers have dra- matically increased in the last two years. According » see refugee crisis, page 15 2 obiter Dicta EDITORIAL Walking Into Court Is “Physical” Access to Justice Attainable? f you’ve ever been to 47 Sheppard Avenue watched confused and frustrated clients wander aim- East, you’ll know the point of this article well lessly until their lawyer came to collect them. For self- before I reach it. 47 Sheppard is a Toronto court- representing individuals, the experience looked even house primarily used for small claims matters, more difficult, going from courtroom to courtroom to I a location I first entered as a wide-eyed caseworker read the list of hearings, trying to spot their name and starting the Parkdale intensive. The building is omi- some indication of when their matter would be heard. nous and grey, accessible only from a side entrance, It is a humiliating experience that leaves individu- with no reception desk, and the type of parking lot als utterly dependent, and places highly personal and that makes you wish you took public transit. Despite sensitive matters into a dehumanized and unsympa- trafficking thousands of lawyers, judges, officials, and thetic environment. individuals every day, 47 Sheppard is, without doubt, Access to Justice, for the legal community, contin- one of the least accessible buildings in the city. ues to revolve around pumping infinite amounts of Walking in for the first time, I was immediately legal information into the public domain, and using lost. I went to a counter on the right hand side of the technology to make that information easier to read lobby and asked for the floor where employment mat- and understand. This is a complicated mission, but ters were heard. I was told to ask at the room across perhaps it’s no surprise lawyers have chosen to focus the hall, where it was suggested to me that I return to on it over the relatively simpler, yet more embarrass- the counter I had just visited. Fortunately, I gave up ing, task of admitting the basic flaws with the build- on asking and managed to find my way to my peers. ings where “law” is supposed to happen. In subsequent visits, I’ve become slightly more com- And here lies the point of this article, a point so fortable moving around the courthouse, but have self-evident that it will make any 47 Sheppard user Photo credit: The National Post remained shocked by how difficult the building is to roll their eyes in exacerbation. If you can’t physically ê access and navigate. access the space where the legal system operates, you That being said, the Court’s mission has been just can’t really access “justice” either! The possibilities be treated as such. We should not be apathetic to an the opposite. Those operating the Court understand of good legal education, strong legal aid systems, and obvious problem, one which has such a substantial that 47 Sheppard is the “people’s court,” a location for feasible legal technologies all mean nothing if, when effect on already disadvantaged individuals, and is so individuals of all backgrounds and circumstances to the day comes, you can’t even find the courtroom relatively simple to address. The lawyer is not there to seek justice on an even footing. The Court has taken where your hearing is taking place. It’s well past time babysit their client, and lawyers everywhere should important steps to improve accessibility: labelling for lawyers, judges, and officials (who, like me, com- be ashamed when the court system requires them to floors, posting signs, and hiring friendly and support- plain behind the scenes about the confusing court- take on that role. As we enter the profession, it will be ive staff. Unfortunately, in the overall sea of chaos, houses all the time!) to publicly acknowledge this our responsibility to demand for ourselves, and for our these steps are like pebbles in a river. The reality of 47 problem and take immediate, foundational steps to clients, improvements to the courtroom experience. Sheppard is that it is cold, confusing, and difficult to resolve it. The physical experience of going to court should navigate. Unfortunately, my experience in other city Improving physical access to justice will take a be the least difficult part of a legal situation. It should courts has not varied, and I wouldn’t be at all sur- concerted effort on the part of governments and the be the location where our government helps disput- prised to hear that other Canadian courthouses are provincial law societies. Every courthouse should be ing individuals by putting them in a fair and neutral similar, if not worse. equipped with a “Help Desk” right at the entrance to setting to resolve their problem. A legal situation is What does this mean for court users? For the law- guide individuals and answer questions. Effort needs often difficult enough itself; the court should be the yers and judges, not much. The elites of the legal to be made to install signage which clearly points place to restore order, not add to the difficulty. As system, lawyers and judges using the courts have the individuals to services (such as duty council, family future lawyers, we need to reject apathy, hold courts freedom to move about, check in on courtrooms, and services, and youth services) available in the court- to a high standard, and not settle when they fall below speak to court officials as they wish. They do not risk house. Lastly, every court should post each day’s mat- it. Physical access to justice is just as important as being reprimanded for walking into the courtroom ters on a screen in a central location, as is done in most any other element, and it’s time we bring it out of the too early, or embarrassed by a court official if they public buildings, so that all court users can quickly background, and into the forefront. u ask a silly question. Working at Parkdale, I can say verify when and where their matter will be heard. unabashedly that I found dealing with the courts as For law students, and those entering the profes- confusing as anyone. The difference for me, and for the sion, I believe that what’s most important is an atti- lawyers I’ve seen, is that navigating through that con- tudinal change. The confusion of going to court is not fusion is, at least, manageable. a passing annoyance to be laughed about over drinks For the individual, the physical experience of with the other lawyers. It is an embarrassment and going to court seems much worse. At 47 Sheppard, I affront to the system and the profession, and should staff writers editorial board TheObiter Dicta is published biweekly Evan Ivkovic, Shannon Corregan, Anthony editor-in-chief | Sam Michaels during the school year, and is printed by Choi, Michael Motala, Kareem Webster managing editor | Erin Garbett Weller Publishing Co.