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Wacky wigs inspiring change
CITLALLY MACIEL
News Editor
In the foreword of the Access to Justice in Civil
and Family Matters Report: A Roadmap for Change,
Chief Justice McLachlin said, “the problem of
access to justice is not a new one. As long as justice
has existed, there have been those who struggled
to access it… we [are] increasingly failing in our
responsibility to provide a justice system that [is]
accessible, responsive and citizen-focused. Reports
told us that cost, delays, long trials, complex procedures and other barriers were making it impossible for more and more Canadians to exercise their
legal rights.”
The access to justice crisis is a problem that we
often hear about. Government and independent
groups have formed committees and associations,
resulting in numerous reports and studies in connection with the topic. The subject is also routinely
covered by the media.
Yet, despite the ubiquity and blatancy of the
situation, one has to wonder whether all this is just
talk rather than meaningful and effective action.
More importantly, given the magnitude of the
problem, one cannot help but wonder whether a
feasible solution exists; one cannot help but question whether change will one day take place.
Well, someone once said that the first step
toward change is awareness. For a while now, law
schools have endeavoured to bring the issue to the
attention of their students. They have created platforms, not only to discuss the problem, but also to
create solutions.
Such endeavour was commended by Chief Justice McLachlin in a recent event organized by
Pro Bono Students Canada. Recalling her days in
law school, she told the audience about the complete lack of opportunities for students to become
engaged. It was not until she was an articling student, she said, that Chief Justice McLachlin could
engage in some pro bono work. But even then, it
seemed like taking on these files was purely incidental. Working on pro bono files was an involuntary task in the sense that getting her hands
on them depended on whether or not the lawyers
would ask her to help out. There were no opportunities available for her to take them on out of
her own initiative. It appears then, that for all
their efforts to get students involved, Chief Justice
McLachlin gives the law schools two thumbs up.
Yet, sometimes getting people’s attention
requires extreme measures. It requires shocking,
scandalous, and provoking behaviour. In the alternative, it requires wearing a funny wig. Indeed, this
is the strategy used by the organizations behind
the Flip Your Wig for Justice fundraiser to raise
awareness about this very same issue. The funds
raised from this event will be directed to raising
r e b e c c a l o c k w o o d , d e a n s o ssin a n d m e l iss a i l l a r d o
p o se in thei r w i g s .
awareness for access to justice and to supporting
the seven Ontario-based non-profit organizations.
The fundraiser took place March 6. Those who
participated did so by wearing a traditional judicial wig or wacky wig for the day, or by sponsoring someone to wear a wig for the day. In addition,
organizations were encouraged to participate by
matching the pledges raised by those employees
who were “flipping their wig for justice.”
Nikki Gershbain, the National Director of Pro
Bono Students Canada informs us that the event
“engaged the profession at the very highest levels
including by securing the full support of the Treasurer and Benchers, as well as all the Ontario law
deans and judges at all levels of court in Ontario,”
in addition to bringing “numerous law firms and
other partners on board.” The event also “received
coverage from the mainstream and legal press –
including internationally,” said Ms. Gershbain.
Of course, students here at Osgoode also did
their part. On March 5, Rebecca Lockwood and
Miju Damodar, Osgoode Program Coordinators
at Pro Bono Students Canada, as well as Pro Bono
participant, Melissa Illardo, organized the event
Wigzards of Oz(goode). Daniel Anisfeld, the Pro-
gram Manager at Pro Bono Students Canada, was
also in attendance to kick off this fun wig-making
workshop/party. Aside from testing the creativity
of Osgoode students, the event was organized with
th