Law Commons^™

"I'Ve Always Been Outspoken On What I Think Can Be Improved": An Interview With Dr. Garry J. Smith, Fiona Nicoll, Mark R. Johnson

Journal of Law and Social Policy

Dr. Garry J. Smith has spent many years at the forefront of critical gambling research in Canada. In this interview he talks about the genesis of the Alberta Gambling Research Institute, how sociology brings a different lens to gambling studies than psychology, why he speaks out against certain aspects of commercial gambling, the relationship between fun and fairness, and the critical gaps in research that need to be added to address the inherent conflicts of interest that occur with self-regulated gambling.

The interview was conducted by academics Fiona Nicoll and Mark R Johnson on 29 November, 2017. A transcript of …

Ongoing Debates About Gambling Regulation In Brazil: Between Current News And Prospective Laws, An Uncertain Future Ahead, Maria Luiza Kurban Jobim

Journal of Law and Social Policy

Brazil, one of the countries covered by the Bingo Project, has been travelling an intricate path towards gambling regulation. When we presented our completed research at the final Bingo Project conference in 2016 , we mentioned the existence of two simultaneous processes towards gambling regulation, one initiated in the Senate and the other in the Chamber of Deputies. Unsurprisingly, when this volume went to print, both drafts were still in the Congress, waiting for further discussions and final approval.

Playing Bingo With Mum - And Dad!, Ruth Cherrington

Journal of Law and Social Policy

This is a personal account of playing bingo with my parents at various stages of our lives at our local working men’s club in Coventry – the Canley Social Club and Institute. I know these memories will resonate with those who have any experience of club life. They also touch upon wider issues such as the local community that used the club and the rules, both official and unofficial, related to bingo and other forms of low-level gambling in social clubs.

Fifty Years Of Legal Gambling In Canada: So What?, Colin S. Campbell

Journal of Law and Social Policy

As most of my published papers on gambling in Canada have tended to declare at the outset, a 1969 amendment to the Canadian Criminal Code opened the door to a major transformation in the legal status of gambling in Canada. Prior to this amendment, pari-mutuel wagering on horse racing at race tracks was the only form of gambling legally permitted. Nonetheless, other forms of gambling such as charitable bingos and raffles for the purpose of raising funds for worthy community causes were operated in a grey and fuzzy area of criminal law. Thus, policing authorities through the 20th century often …

First Nations Gaming In Canada: Gauging Past And Ongoing Development, Yale Belanger

Journal of Law and Social Policy

Canada's First Nations gaming industry, now entering its third decade of operations, includes sixteen for-profit casinos operating in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, and Ontario (two charity casinos also operate in Ontario) and eleven Nova Scotia First Nations operating just under six hundred Video Lottery Terminals (VLTs) annually generating approximately one billion dollars gross revenues. Each of these sites was constructed with the goal of generating revenue for economically struggling communities, but in most cases, they quickly became the lightning rod of a complex sovereignty discourse underlined by First Nations claims that they possessed the inherent right to control on-reserve economic …

All About That Place: The Curious Case Of Bingo Liberalisation In Brazil, Toni Williams

Journal of Law and Social Policy

Bingo is a form of gaming that is often associated with good works, social services, low stakes entertainment, and working-class sociality. In many parts of the world bingo halls are the province of charities, veterans’ clubs, older women, and families: But not in Brazil. Commercial bingo grew rapidly in Brazil during a decade of legality that ended in 2004. Legal bingo halls employed tens of thousands of people and the game was widely played by middle-class and well-educated Brazilians as well as older working-class women and men. However, the game, or more precisely the bingo halls in which it was …

Beyond The Figure Of The Problem Gambler: Locating Race And Sovereignty Struggles In Everyday Cultural Spaces Of Gambling, Fiona Nicoll

Journal of Law and Social Policy

As gambling has become a ubiquitous feature of many neoliberal capitalist societies, the problem gambler has become a familiar cultural figure, invoked in regulation, popular culture and everyday life. This article brings critical research on governmentality together with cultural studies and critical Indigenous scholarship on whiteness, race and sovereignty to understand the racial biopolitics of gambling beyond the individual subject of problem gambling. I argue that, for settler-colonial states, gambling plays a role in maintaining tropes of cultural representation and securing legal and political power within an overarching system of white racial entitlement. An investigation of cultural spaces and products …

Online Gambling, Regulation, And Risks: A Comparison Of Gambling Policies In Finland And The Netherlands, Alan Littler, Johanna Järvinen-Tassopoulos

Journal of Law and Social Policy

The purpose of this article is to compare the different regulatory approaches taken by Finland and the Netherlands in response to the pressures of European Union law, unlicensed gambling, and the harmful effects which can arise from gambling. The two Member States represent two different models of gambling regulation. According to Kingma, the models refer to different attitudes and concerns towards gambling in different timeframes. We argue that Finland fits the “alibi model” of gambling regulation, whereas the Netherlands aligns with the “risk model”. Both countries have decided to restrict the cross-border movement of gambling services, even though Finland has …

A Tale Of Two Casinos: Unequal Spaces Of Local Governance, Alexandra Flynn

Journal of Law and Social Policy

Local actors, including resident and business associations, do not simply influence decision-makers, but can also reshape the purportedly neutral governance model within which decision-making takes place. In big cities like Toronto, this reshaping exacerbates the existing geographic and socio-economic unevenness. The work of James Scott, Mariana Valverde, and Cheryl Teelucksingh helps to explain how local actors interface with seemingly neutral governance bodies to have their interests heard, particularly in relation to locally undesirable land uses. The paper considers two case studies detailing the governance practices at work in differing decisions about casinos in the City of Toronto. A 2012-2013 debate …

Law, Judges And Authorized Gambling In Italy: A Tale Of Contradictions, Nadia Coggiola

Journal of Law and Social Policy

To date, notwithstanding the large number of scholarly investigations into the legal implications of gambling, little attention has been paid to the interaction between contract law, and the negative moral or social labelling which traditionally affects gambling contracts in many Western countries. The purpose of this article is to investigate how Italian civil courts have applied Civil code and Consumer code rules on abusive clauses to cases involving authorized gambling and betting contracts. These rules should apply to authorized gambling and betting contracts, which generally involve an individual player and a professional service provider, either because the player adheres to …

Risk, Charity, And Boundary Disputes: The Liberalisation And Commercialisation Of Online Bingo In The European Union, Donal Casey

Journal of Law and Social Policy

Land-based bingo has traditionally been perceived as a low-risk social form of gambling. The game is often run for purposes of charitable fundraising, and in many countries bingo is associated in good causes and community rather than risk or profit. These distinguishing characteristics have shaped bingo’s regulation in many jurisdictions. However, technological advances have changed the nature of the game as it moved online and challenged traditional approaches to regulation. In this paper, I document the evolution of online bingo regulation in order to explore what we can learn about the changing ways in which states govern speculative play through …

Regulation And Resistance In Canadian Bingo Halls: A Socio-Legal Account, Kate Bedford

Journal of Law and Social Policy

Bingo is a key lens through which to explore how regulation shapes (or fails to shape) different meanings of gambling, and by extension the different meanings attached to speculation in everyday life. In Canada, bingo is played in a highly distinctive gambling environment that is now being subjected to more standardised rules, often drawn from casinos. In this article, I consider how workers and players in Canadian bingo halls are affected by shifting landscapes of provincial bingo regulation. By exploring smoking bans and new rules on touching cash, I ask: what is happening to bingo and its distinctive player demographic …

Keeping Chance In Its Place: The Socio-Legal Regulation Of Gambling, Kate Bedford, Donal Casey, Alexandra Flynn

Journal of Law and Social Policy

In the winter of 2010, driving through a blizzard to a research interview outside of Ottawa, one of the co-editors of this special issue—Kate Bedford—slid and spun off the road in her rental car. The interviewee—an 80-year-old man who organized a small weekly bingo game—helped dig her out. Sitting in the community centre with him afterwards, thawing, there was ample opportunity for Bedford to reflect on the diverse meanings attached to gambling and the complex ways in which it is regulated. The interviewee talked about ‘use of proceeds’ forms and validating expenses payments for volunteers, describing a gambling landscape that …

Domestic Violence And International Child Abduction At The Border Of Canadian Family And Refugee Law, Michelle Hayman

Journal of Law and Social Policy

This article explores the problematic interaction of the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction with refugee law in Canada, particularly where domestic violence by the left-behind parent is alleged. It discusses how Canadian family courts, primarily in Ontario, have treated concurrent refugee claims when deciding Hague Convention applications. As well, it explores the operation of international child abduction law in Canadian refugee determinations where domestic violence is alleged. The article concludes by offering suggestions about legal and policy changes which could help reduce the unfair burden the interaction of these legal regimes places on family members …

The Disability Tax Credit: Exploring Attitudes, Perceptions, And Beliefs About Disability, Tamara Larre

Journal of Law and Social Policy

This article examines the disability tax credit (DTC), one of the few federal programs providing direct funding to persons with disabilities. The goal of the article is to explore the DTC as a window into attitudes, perceptions, and beliefs about disability. This is an important contribution to the literature as disability scholars have shown how societal forces, such as attitudes, perceptions, and beliefs about disability, contribute to disability itself. Through comparing attitudes, perceptions, and beliefs of legislators and judges with the views expressed in the disability literature, the article reveals harmful stereotypes that fail to take into account the diverse …

Physicians, Nurse Practitioners And Odsp Applications: Towards A New Model Of Partnership With Community Legal Clinics, Nicholas Hay

Journal of Law and Social Policy

When completing the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) application for their low-income patients, physicians and nurse practitioners are met with the difficult task of mapping their clients’ unique medical conditions onto an unfamiliar legal test. Accordingly, an inordinate number of ODSP applications are denied at the outset because the information healthcare professionals provide in the application is insufficient. While some blame physicians for this shortcoming, interviews conducted by the author with healthcare professionals reveal their side of the story and offer insights into how community legal clinics can work with healthcare professionals to improve the legal and medical services low-income …

Learning, Teaching & Practising Systemic Advocacy In Legal Clinics: A Conversation, Amanda Dodge, Gemma Smyth

Journal of Law and Social Policy

Clinical programs have incorporated systemic advocacy in various ways for decades; indeed, for many clinics systemic advocacy is a philosophical and practical imperative. For those legal clinics with students working, taking credit, or volunteering, incorporating meaningful systemic advocacy programming brings with it a host of challenges. This article, framed as a conversation between two women involved with clinical legal education in Windsor, Ontario and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, was born out of the practical frustrations and joys of this work. The article illuminates the theoretical, pedagogical, and administrative challenges of meaningfully incorporating students into the day-to-day realities of systemic advocacy. Although the …

Does Community Legal Education Work? Educating English Language Students About Consumer Contracts, Monica Ferrari, James Baglin

Journal of Law and Social Policy

Governments, law reform commissions, and legal services have long advocated for the value of increasing public understanding of the law. While many private law firms and public agencies in the justice sector provide legal information and education to their clients and the community, legal aid commissions are statutorily required to do so. Commissions provide Community Legal Education (CLE), legal information, advice, and representation to people who cannot afford private lawyers. CLE can help people address or avoid legal problems. It has the potential to reduce the need for more intensive and costly legal services and minimize the stress associated with …

A Current Assessment Of Legal Aid In Ontario, Frederick Zemans, Justin Amaral

Journal of Law and Social Policy

This article explores the development of legal aid services in Ontario over the past two decades. The authors find that per capita inflation-adjusted spending on legal aid services by the federal government has been in long-term decline (albeit with periodic upturns) with resulting negative impacts on access to justice for those in need of legal assistance. At the provincial level, since cuts made in the mid-1990s, financial eligibility guidelines have remained out of line with real measures of poverty, such as Statistics Canada’s low-income cut-offs, and per capita funding has only recently increased. The mix of legal aid service providers …

Issue 1: Kokum’S House, April Isadore

Journal of Law and Social Policy

Kyptah gapeeksquan, Kiipapahick meeqwatch igoocheeyaan ta nah heeyowweeyaan

Translation:
Wait I will speak, don’t laugh I am learning to speak my language.

Tansi Indootemuk, niya kaapmehaataskiskew
Nihtatkikaw Sipiy Oohchi neeya
Nanaskomon anooch utta kii yii yaan

Translation:
Hello Everyone, My name is Flying Earth Woman, I am from Driftpile River, I am thankful to be here today.

Issue 1: Feathers Of Hope: Child Welfare Youth Forum, Karla Kakegamic

Journal of Law and Social Policy

My name is Karla Kakegamic, I work at the Office of the Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth as a Youth Amplifier connected to the Feathers of Hope project. A Youth Amplifier is a youth leader who helps organize events and helps keep the youth voice central in all aspect of our work.

Issue 1: “Reimagining” The Child Welfare System, Reina Foster

Journal of Law and Social Policy

My name is Reina Foster, an Anishinaabekwe from Lac Seul First Nation in Treaty #3. I am the former Youth Chief in my community and dream of being the first female Lac Seul Chief. I have been heavily involved with Feathers of Hope, a First Nations youth initiative through the Office of the Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth. My passions include Child Welfare, Youth Justice, and Law. I hope to go back to college to study in the Community and Justice Services program.

Issue 1: Caring Society V Canada: Neoliberalism, Social Reproduction, And Indigenous Child Welfare, Kate Bezanson

Journal of Law and Social Policy

In January 2016, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal in First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada v Canada (Caring Society) found that the Canadian government had discriminated against Indigenous children on reserve in its provision of funding for child welfare and certain other services. Caring Society is a case about the daily and generational work that is needed in any society to ensure social, cultural, and economic survival, or what feminist political economists call social reproduction. This article thus asks a central question of this decision: are the main constitutional issues it raises best understood as contests over, …

Issue 1: Federal Legislation On Indigenous Child Welfare In Canada, Sébastien Grammond

Journal of Law and Social Policy

This paper examines the contribution that federal legislation could make to the governance of Indigenous child welfare in Canada. It explores the origins of the assumption that indigenous child welfare must be governed by provincial legislation and explains why Parliament would have jurisdiction to legislate in this area as well. It then explores how federal legislation may contribute to indigenous self-determination, delving on examples such as the Indian Child Welfare Act in the United States and Canadian initiatives in the fields of education or child welfare. It then outlines what federal legislation should contain, in order to promote self-determination and …

Issue 1: Giidosendiwag (We Walk Together): Creating Culturally Based Supports For Urban Indigenous Youth In Care, Nancy Stevens, Rachel Charles, Lorena Snyder

Journal of Law and Social Policy

In Ontario, as elsewhere in the country, there are limited Indigenous-specific resources to assist in strengthening Indigenous youth, families, and communities. We explore how that might be changed by using the Anishnaabeg Youth in Transition Program at Niijkiwendidaa Anishnaabekwewag Services Circle, based in Peterborough, Ontario, as one model of service delivery. Niijkiwendidaa is situated in the traditional territory of the Mississaugas, one of several Anishnaabeg nations, and falls within the Williams Treaty area. We demonstrate how embedding culture in youth services greatly enhances the quality of life for youth now, and in the long term. We draw on these ideas …

Issue 1: Anti-Black Racism, Bio-Power, And Governmentality: Deconstructing The Suffering Of Black Families Involved With Child Welfare, Doret Phillips, Gordon Pon

Journal of Law and Social Policy

This article focuses on how colonialism, anti-Black racism and white supremacy are embodied by Ontario’s child welfare system in relation to narratives of suffering experienced by Black families involved with this sector. We discuss how these experiences are an embodiment of the Foucauldian concepts of bio-power and governmentality. Understanding this embodiment is crucial for deconstructing how anti-Black racism, colonialism, and white supremacy are manifested in the day-to-day policies and practices of child welfare. To explicate these policies and practices we discuss three inter-related factors: 1) the historical rise of the welfare state, 2) anti-Black racism, and 3) bio-power and governmentality.

Issue 1: “It’S Better Late Than Never”: A Community-Based Hiv Research And Training Response To Supporting Mothers Living With Hiv Who Have Child Welfare Involvement (Part I), Saara Greene, Allyson Ion, Gary Dumbrill, Doe O'Brien Teengs, Kerrigan Beaver, Mary-Elizabeth Vaccaro

Journal of Law and Social Policy

Grounded in community-based research (CBR) principles and an anti-oppression framework, the Positive Parenting Pilot Project (P4) aimed to develop, implement, and evaluate an HIV education and training module to enhance the provision of support for families affected by HIV and who are at risk of or already involved with child protection services. We set out to strengthen the ability of Children’s Aid Societies (CAS) in Ontario to provide anti-oppressive services to families affected by HIV from diverse communities by increasing the capacity of social workers who support these families. Applying the principles of CBR, we increased communication and forged new …

Issue 1: Explaining The Economic Disparity Gap In The Rate Of Substantiated Child Maltreatment In Canada, David Rothwell, Jaime Wegner-Lohin, Elizabeth Fast, Kaila De Boer, Nico Trocmé, Barbara Fallon, Tonino Esposito

Journal of Law and Social Policy

Children from families living in conditions of economic hardship are at five times greater risk of substantiated harm of child abuse and neglect compared to their upper socioeconomic counterparts in the United States. This difference in risk across economic groups is referred to as the economic disparity gap in child maltreatment. Little is known about how the economic disparity gap functions in Canada. The purpose of this study is to understand the prevalence of economic hardship in the child welfare system and explain the economic disparity gap. We used the Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect, 2008 …

Issue 1: Reimagining Overrepresentation Research: Critical Reflections On Researching The Overrepresentation Of First Nations Children In The Child Welfare System, Vandna Sinha, Ashleigh Delaye, Brittany Orav-Lakaski

Journal of Law and Social Policy

This paper builds on the experiences of the first author in doing research on the overrepresentation of First Nations children in child welfare systems in Canada. Six lessons are presented: (1) overrepresentation is an inherently quantitative construct; (2) overrepresentation is an inherently comparative construct; (3) a focus on overrepresentation draws attention to the needs of specific groups, but may obscure the need for broader systemic reform; (4) available data relies on, but incompletely represents, decision-maker perspectives; (5) available data emphasizes point-in-time decisions; and (6) ambiguity in data must be very clearly acknowledged. Building on discussion of these lessons, we explore …

Issue 1: Reimagining Child Welfare Systems In Canada, Janet Mosher, Jeffery Hewitt

Journal of Law and Social Policy

The removal of children from their families and communities has long-lasting and often devastating consequences. The breaking of the bonds that connect children to family and community erodes the transmission of culture, of language, of belonging, and of identity. There is no doubt that there are circumstances in which the well-being of a child requires that changes be made in who is to be entrusted with the responsibility for care. However, there is equally no doubt that child welfare systems across the country are plagued by serious shortcomings: bonds are broken unnecessarily; structural failings undermine parents’ well-being and their capacity …