/BarTalk/Articles/2016/April/Columns/Bring-the-Trump-Dodgers-to-Canada!
Y ou have to believe me when I say I’ve tried desperately to avoid writing about Donald Trump, but given my respect for civil society, the rule of law, diversity, and indeed, all the good things about the United States, I just have to wade in to the fray. As lawyers, we sho...
/BarTalk/Articles/2016/February/Columns/I-Robot-Esq
I stumbled on a video over Christmas about the futurist and marketing guru Faith Popcorn. She’s the one who coined the term “cocooning” (i.e. staying home to shop online or work online, rather than venturing outside to face the danger of the mall or the office.) She also co...
/BarTalk/Articles/2015/December/Columns/Sunny-Ways-Matter!
W ell, that was an interesting election, wasn’t it? By now, all the pundits have pundicized on what the Tories did wrong and what the Liberals did right. For me it came down to a few simple things: Inspiring hope is better than peddling fear. Canadians want to be uplifted an...
/BarTalk/Articles/2015/December/Columns/An-Open-Invitation
H ello Prime Minister, Congratulations on becoming Canada’s 23rd Prime Minister! You made it look easy! I send warm greetings from your former stomping grounds – the beautiful province of British Columbia. I thought of Facebook, but didn’t want to get lost among the frenzy...
/BarTalk/Articles/2015/October/Columns/The-Gums-of-August
With apologies to the great historian Barbara Tuchman for my little malapropism (derived from the title of her book on the First World War), I’m starting to feel a little... oldish. “Ish,” by the way, is a very useful suffix that has been dubbed the “international shorthan...
/BarTalk/Articles/2015/August/Columns/Confederation-Day
I am actually writing this column on July 1, which we used to call Dominion Day. A few of you may know that on July 9, 1982, at around 4:00 p.m., moments before the beginning of the summer recess in Parliament, and with only 13 members present in the Commons, Bill C-201 was q...
/BarTalk/Articles/2015/June/Columns/I’m-Conducting-an-Opinion-Poll!!!
B eing a Bencher is more fun than a barrel of monkeys. It requires way more unbillable (and sometimes thankless) time than you could ever, in your wildest dreams, imagine. But it’s rewarding, and somebody has to do it. Much of the heavy lifting in this job is done in the Hea...
/BarTalk/Articles/2015/June/Features/The-Font-at-the-End-of-the-Universe-by-Tony-Wilson
I just read your piece in the most recent print edition of the CBABC BarTalk on fonts. It’s a seemingly mundane topic that has intrigued me since I opened my practice three years ago. As you point out, it actually does matter. A lot. It is not coincidence that Times New Ro...
/BarTalk/Articles/2015/April/Columns/Saturday-Night-Live
UVic Law’s 40th was more fun than a Bassomatic I t all started with a cryptic note rather than a voicemail. I was in a hurry. My assistant was in a hurry. Everybody had deadlines. I was frazzled. “ Can you give a speech… 40th anniversary... Saturday Night… Live. ” Finally, ...
/BarTalk/Articles/2015/February/Columns/The-Font-at-the-End-of-the-Universe
NOTE: the print version of this article makes judicious use of typefaces that cannot be reproduced online. Please follow the links within the article for information on the typefaces, or download a PDF version for the full experience. A Freudian analysis of fonts F ac...