Public Info Session: Your OPTIONS for Taking Post-g8/g20 LEGAL ACTION — Sunday, August 8, 2010

Co-hosted by the Summit Legal Support Project of the Movement Defence
Committee (MDC) and the Law Union of Ontario.

Join us on August 8th to learn about:
– how to file a human rights claim
– the police complaints process
– how you can sue the police
– the class action lawsuit(s) (that are currently in discussion)

Registration: Please register as soon as possible at http://tinyurl.com/g20legal

Purpose of Info Session: To provide basic legal information about how
each of these legal processes work, how to file claims, and who to
contact for further information.

Agenda: TBD. Over the next two weeks the agenda will be posted on our
website (movementdefence.org) with a specific time provided for each
type of legal process that we will cover. This will hopefully allow
you to better plan your Sunday afternoon.

Date & Time: Sunday August 8th, 2010; 1:30pm – 5:30 pm

Location: United Steelworkers Hall (wheel chair accessible), 25 Cecil
Street (near the intersection of College and Spadina).

Contact: For more info on the Summit Legal Support Project or this
event, email us at lawunionmdc@gmail.com or check out
movementdefence.org. For more information on the broader Law Union of
Ontario, please visit https://www.lawunion.ca/.

Facebook invite: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/event.php?eid=140351979317449

Note: Childcare and ASL interpretation will be provided. Please
request other accommodation as needed through our registration system
located here http://tinyurl.com/g20legal.

***IN THE MEANTIME, here is a “to-do list” for anyone who may have
grounds for a lawsuit or a complaint, or who witnessed a potential
complaint, and who has not yet consulted with a lawyer about it:

1) Write down everything that you remember about what happened, and
when and where it happened, while it is still fresh in your mind.

– These notes should be made on your own, based on your own memory.
Have support of friends or the psycho-social support team
(peertopeersupportforactivists@gmail.com) nearby as this process could
be triggering.

•- Date the document and on the top of each page write “Confidential:
for my lawyers eyes only”. This may help to keep the information
confidential between you and your lawyer.

– For most people, it’s easiest to go chronologically. Be as precise
as possible regarding dates, times, places, etc.

– Write down the names and contact information for any witnesses you know of.

– Write down any details you have about the police officer(s) involved
– badge number (or the absence of any visible badge number), helmet
number, name, police force, description of uniform, and any other
identifying information – and what the officer(s) did.

– Be sure to keep copies of any video/audio/photo evidence with dates,
times and locations. Again, mark it as “for my lawyers eyes only” if
it is footage that you don’t want made public.

– If possible, include the impact the events had on you. If you are
injured or traumatized, this is important to document, along with
medical records, counselling appointments, time off from work, etc.

– Keep at least one hard copy only in a safe place to show only to
your legal counsel. DO NOT send us details of your case, of your
actions or other’s actions, and DO NOT send your personal
documentation to us.

2) Public Testimonials

– You might want to write or speak publicly about your experiences,
but it is important if you do to be more general than when you’re
documenting the events for your lawyer (as described above) because
anything you say in public can be used in court later. And lawyers for
the other side will check to see if you’ve been consistent in all your
descriptions.

– Also remember that your statements can be used in regards to other
people’s legal claims, so keep that in mind when describing events
where other people were involved as well.

3) If you were physically injured or traumatized by what happened to
you, or feel unsure about the effects of any trauma you might have
experienced:

– see a doctor right away if you haven’t yet;

– take photographs or videos of any visible injuries; and

– write down a list and description of the physical and mental
injuries you sustained.

4) Keep a record of all out-of-pocket costs, no matter how trivial
(e.g., taxi fare, TTC fare, or vehicle mileage for getting home from
the detention centre, getting to or from court, or getting to or from
a doctor’s or lawyer’s office; pain medication or wound dressings;
uninsured therapy costs, lawyers’ fees, etc.). Keep all receipts.

5) Write down a detailed list of all property that was lost or damaged
(clothing, bicycles, backpacks, personal belongings, etc.).

6) Keep track of any employment or other income you have lost as a
result of being detained or as a result of your physical or
mental injuries arising from the incident.

7) If you would like to be contacted in the future concerning possible
legal options, email your contact information to MDC by visiting
http://movementdefence.org/contact.

8) Check back at the MDC website regularly for updated info,
http://movementdefence.org

Annual Conference 2010

RESISTANCE & THE LAW

Saturday, February 27, 2010

8:30am – 5:30pm

Hart House at University of Toronto

7 Hart House Circle (near Museum subway)

(see poster attached)

SCHEDULE:

8:30am:

Registration

9:00am – 10:30am:

What has my Citizenship Done for Me Lately? Asserting Repatriation Rights

Speakers: Raoul Boulakia, Olivia Chow, Yavar Hameed and others.

Resisting the Right: Kenney’s Attacks on Immigrant Rights

Speakers: Chris Ramsaroop, Aviva Basman and Karin Baqi.

10:45am – 12:15pm

Movement Legal Defence: Then and Now

Speakers: Irina Cleric, Alan Sears, Bob Kellerman, Joel Kupferman and others.

Israel/Palestine, International Law and the Impact of the Goldstone Report

Speakers: Sijuth Xavier, Michael Lynk, Mark Arnold and Mazen Masri

Security Certificates: The End of an Era?

Speakers: Barb Jackman, Hassam Almrei, and Paul Copeland.

1:30pm – 3:00 pm

Mining and Rights Abuses: Three Legal Strategies for Change

Speakers: Murray Klippenstein, Catherine Coumans and others.

Indigenous Struggles for Sovereignty: The Algonquins of Barriere Lake

Speakers: Norman Matchewan, David Nahwegahbow, and Shiri Pasternak.

PLENARY DISCUSSION

DUMPING DUMP SITE 41: THE MAKINGS OF A VICTORY

Spakers: Vicki Monague, Anne Ritchie-Nahuis, Steve Ogden, Jeff Monague, Chris Reid, and Peter Rosenthal
Registration fee:

Pay What You Can (Suggeste: $40, $15 for Students)

Wheelchair Accessible. Free Childcare available on site from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm (Advance Notification Appreciated)

More information: 416-964-8126 or lawunionconference@gmail.com

2008 Law Union AGM

Annual General Meeting

Thursday, October 16th, 2008

6:30pm

Friends’ Meeting House

60 Lowther Avenue, Toronto

(Closest subway: St. George)

Social Gathering to Follow

Non-members Welcome!

Law Union Annual Conference 2008

Friday, March 28 and Saturday, March 29

Read more for full schedule…

FRIDAY EVENING KEYNOTE

Alex Neve, Secretary General for Amnesty International Canada (English Speaking):

“The insecurity of human rights: Canadian law and practice in the ‘War on Terror’”

7:00pm

Bloor Street United Church

300 Bloor Street West at Huron (2 blocks east of Spadina subway)

$10 (students $5, unwaged PWYC)

After: socialize at the Fox & Fiddle Pub, 280 Bloor Street West

SATURDAY PANELS

***Please Note New Location!***

Hart House, University of Toronto

7 Hart House Circle (Museum subway), Second Floor

Wheelchair accessible – Childcare available

9:00 – 10:30

Right to Housing: Making it Legally Binding

Peter Rosenthal: Lawyer, Roach Schwartz & Associates
John Fraser: Program Director, Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation
Tracy Heffernan: Staff Lawyer, Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario

Chair – Jennifer Ramsay, Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario

Canadian Mining: Resisting Exploitation at Home and Abroad

Eric Gillespie: Lawyer, Cunningham & Gillespie
Charis Kamphuis: Law student, Osgoode Indigenous Intensive Program
Mining Watch Canada

Chair – Ryan White, Law Student

10:45 – 12:15

Police Chases: Any Justification? A Debate

Bob Kellermann: Criminal defence lawyer
Howard Morton: Criminal defence lawyer and former Chair, Special Investigations Unit
Pam McConnell, City councillor & member, Police Services Board
George Cowley Director of Legal Services, Toronto Police Service
Mike Abbott: Director of Uniform Administrative Services, Toronto Police Association
John Sewell, Toronto Police Accountability Coalition

Chair – Paul Copeland: Lawyer, Copeland Duncan

Walking Our Talk: Legal Practice that Reflects our Politics and Values

Juan Carranza: Civil lawyer and founder, Carranza Barristers and Solicitors,
Gitanjali Lena: Criminal defence lawyer and sole practitioner
Amy Wah: sole practitioner, administrative law

Chair – Mac Scott: Immigration consultant, Carranza Barristers and Solicitors

International Solidarity: The Role of Lawyers in Grassroots Struggles

Amina Sherazee, Barrister and Solicitor
Amparo Torres: Colombian labour activist and refugee
Moira Gracey: Lawyer, Carranza Barristers & Solicitors

Chair – Mike Leitold: Lawyer, Roach Schwartz & Associates

1:45 – 3:15

Environmental Refugees: The New Exodus

Laura Westra: Professor Emerita (Philosophy) University of Windsor; Post Doctoral Fellow, University of Ottawa Law School
Amina Sherazee, Barrister and Solicitor
Sima Sahar Zerehi: Status Now Campaign

Chair – Mac Scott: Member, No One Is Illegal; Immigration consultant, Carranza Barristers and Solicitors

Feminist Criminal Law: Theory and Practice

Marlys Edwardh: Criminal defence lawyer, Ruby & Edwardh
Justice Rebecca Shamai, Ontario Court of Justice
Diane Oleskiw: Criminal defence lawyer, Scott & Oleskiw

Gitanjali Lena, Sole Practitioner

Chair – Adriel Weaver: Criminal defence lawyer, Ruby & Edwardh

3:30 – 5:00

Plenary Session – Choice, Access and Women’s Activism:

Abortion Rights Twenty Years after Morgentaler

Judy Rebick: Sam Gindin Chair in Social Justice and Democracy at Ryerson University; author of Ten Thousand Roses: The Making of a Feminist Revolution
Kathleen Howes: Staff Lawyer, CAW Legal Services Plan; Past President, Catholics for a Free Choice, Canada
Irina Ceric: Steering Committee Member, Law Union of Ontario; Board Member, Choice in Health Clinic

Chair: Tanya Gwen Thompson, student-at-law, Ruby & Edwardh

Fees: $35 for all panels ($10 students, unwaged PWYC) or $10 per session ($5 students, unwaged PWYC)

Registration begins at 8:30am; Law Union memberships available at the door.

Party Saturday night – location TBA at conference

For more information: 416-964-8126; lawunionconference @ gmail.com