I will be at the University of New Brunswick Law School on February 5th to listen to University of Western Ontario Law Professor Michael Lynk present this year’s Rand Lecture, entitled “Labour Law and the New Inequality”. That lecture will be followed, on Feb. 6th, with a symposium hosted by the UNB Law Journal that includes yours truly, as well as: Michael Lynk, Beth Bilson (U. of Sask.), John McEvoy (UNB), Michael Sherrard (Sherrard Kuzz Lawyers in Toronto), and Tom Kuttner (UNB). The symposium will deal mostly with the implications of the Supreme Court’s decision in Health Services. If you are in Fredericton, dress warm, and come on by.
Then, on March 12th, the annual Sefton Memorial Lecture put on by the University of Toronto’s Centre for Industrial Relations will be presented by Hugh Mackenzie. That lecture always includes food and drink, and this year it is held at the Koffler Pharmacy Building at U. of T, and admission is free. Hugh was a colleague of mine when I was legal counsel to the United Steelworkers, where he was the Director of Research. I learned a whole lot more than I ever wanted to know about pensions from Hugh and his associates. Hugh is an economist, so his lecture will not really be about labour and employment law per se, but it is sure to include some interesting insights into the current economic situation in Ontario as it effects workers.
The Bora Laskin Award will be awarded to President of the United Steelworkers of America (U.S.), Leo Gerrard, who is a Canadian.