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Core Justice
A Publication of CLASSIC – Community Legal Assistance Services for Saskatoon Inner City Inc.
123 20th
Street West Phone: (306) 657-6100 Email: [email protected]
Saskatoon, SK S7M 0W7 Fax: (306) 384-0520 Website:www.classiclaw.ca
A Word from the ED – Chantelle Johnson
Wow, how time flies! It seems like September was just yesterday when we started with a fresh, new group of students. Now, as we commence Term 2, we’ve already said good bye to our Term 1 group of Intensive Clinical students (pictured above): David Burland, Adam McLeod, Alex Anderson, Lorretta Markowski, Mitchell Cooper, Heather Franklin, and Dan LeBlanc. It was a great term and the students accomplished a lot of good work. For those of you who may not know, CLASSIC and the College of Law implemented the “Intensive Clinical Law Program” last year. This program sees up to 11 students per term, working Monday-Thursday, 9:00 – 5:00 at CLASSIC in the Walk-in Advocacy Clinic (WAC). On Fridays, the students take a seminar related to their work at the clinic, and poverty law. It is taught by Professor Sarah Buhler. The Intensive Clinical Program has proven to be a success on many fronts, one of the most important ones being the provision of better client-centred services. The students also seem to prefer it, as it allows them to concentrate solely on their client-files.
2014
Vol. 6, Issue 1
BOARD OF
DIRECTORS
Lori Johnstone-
Clarke
Bonnie Reddekopp
Gus Michalik
Steve Robertson
Deb Andrade
Glen Luther
Cathy Bohachik
Ammy Murray
Lynn Latta
Patrick McDougall
Andy Park
Rachelle Tanton
Tori-Lynn
Wynotch
Signa Daum Shanks
Thomas Hynes
Michael Maurice
Elder
CLASSIC STAFF
Chantelle Johnson
Executive Director
Nicholas
Blenkinsop
Supervising Lawyer
Trevor Oleniuk
Supervising Lawyer
Betty Beaton
Office Manager
Sarah Buhler
Clinical Law
Professor
Joilene Whitehead
Legal Assistant
Maikim Huynh
Admin. Assistant
Leif Jensen &
Kathleen McLean
Student Managers
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Other exciting things that have happened at CLASSIC include:
Our Legal/Executive Assistant, Joilene Whitehead, had a baby girl named Sydney Rayanne. Congratulations to Joilene and her family on their newest addition!
A number of students were fortunate enough to attend the Association of Community Clinical Legal Education (ACCLE) conference in Halifax! Thanks to the College of Law and Aboriginal Law Students’ Association (ALSA) for providing funding for some of the students.
CLASSIC handled a very high number of files through both our Walk-in Advocacy Clinic (WAC) and Legal Advice Clinic (LAC). In fact, we served 631 clients through the WAC and 324 clients through the LAC.
CLASSIC assumed the adjacent office space and underwent renovations! We now have 1200 more square feet of office space upstairs – thanks to our great landlord Al Habicht, as he is very good to us.
Finally, everyone at CLASSIC wishes all of you a very happy New Year! We hope everyone is keeping warm.
ACCLE
By Kathleen McLean
The Association for Canadian Clinical Legal
Education (ACCLE) is a relatively new group
comprised of individuals and clinics involved
with legal education. The purpose of ACCLE is
largely to create a forum in which to promote
pedagogy, research and the sharing of
information between clinics, clinicians and legal
educators.
ACCLE is also dedicated to organizing an annual
conference each year to bring the group’s
members together. This year, the 4th Annual
Conference was held at the Schulich School of
Law at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova
Scotia in mid-October. CLASSIC, thanks to the
generosity of the Law Foundation of
Saskatchewan and the University of
Saskatchewan, College of Law, was pleased to
have eight students and supervising lawyer,
Nicholas Blenkinsop in attendance at the
conference.
I was lucky enough to be one of the students
who attended the conference and I can
definitely say our group from CLASSIC really
bonded with the aid of our hostel bunk-beds.
While the daytime was largely occupied by the
conference, we had the evenings to explore
Halifax and get to know students from other
clinics around the country. We formed a
particularly strong connection with Ben Leung,
the Student Director of Student Legal Assistance
(SLA) at the University of Calgary. We found
time to tour a bit of the Maritime countryside
and took several pictures of the beautifully
colored fall trees. And of course, we made sure
to have a few seafood dinners.
The conference itself was well put together and
a diverse range of topics were presented on. I
will provide you with a brief caption of some of
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the speakers. Professor D.A. Rollie Thompson
Q.C., of the Schulich School of Law opened the
conference and set the tone for the days ahead.
He presented on the role of legal clinics
generally and some of the potential issues and
complications clinics face. Generally Mr.
Thompson believes the role of legal clinics is
three parts: legal education, legal services and
community work.
Legal clinics provide law students, and often
other inter-disciplinary students, with valuable
experiential learning opportunities and
experiences that are not commonplace in
traditional legal education. However,
experiential learning brings with it certain
concerns; some shared by clinics across Canada,
and some which are very particular to the
community in which the clinic is located.
CLASSIC’s own supervising lawyer, Nicholas
Blenkinsop, presented on some of the
challenges facing experiential learning
educators, particularly in the legal context,
where there are many uncontrollable and often
unpredictable variables at play. He also
presented a framework to help educators
incorporate reflective practice into experiential
legal education.
The keynote speaker at the conference was
Dean Michelle J. Anderson of CUNY School of
Law in New York, which is a public interest law
school. She spoke about the importance of legal
education in defining the contours of the legal
profession in general. It seems important to her
to pay particular attention to the impact of who
law students are and their relationship to the
communities served. People tend to have
strong ties to their own communities, so if we
are lacking representation in law schools from
certain communities we may be at risk of having
those communities further ignored.
Overall, CLASSIC’s students returned from the
Maritime trip with new friends, closer bonds
and a lot of information to think about! I look
forward to discussing the conference
presentations with the other members of
CLASSIC and awaiting what new ideas we can
incorporate into our own and practice and
community.
Address: 1320 20th Street West
Saskatoon, SK S7M 0Z2
Phone: (306) 38202855
Email: [email protected]
The Bridge on 20th Fellowship Centre By: Priyanka Yadav
The Bridge on 20th Fellowship Centre is a non-
profit, Christian organization that aims to
respond compassionately to the needs of
Saskatoon inner city's less fortunate through
mobilizing and working with the church and the
community. The mission statement of this
organization is that “it exists to bring people
together, unified by God’s Holy Spirit, to meet
needs within Saskatoon’s inner city, so that all
would be changed” (Bridge on 20th, 2013).
This organization provides various programs for
all community members such as, the soup
kitchen, youth and kid’s club, spiritual-life
ministries, clothing depot and free haircuts. The
Bridge on 20th is currently in the process of
creating an ‘Emergency and Transitional
Program Housing’ that intends to supply a clean
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bed, meals and laundry facilities for those in
need. Furthermore, it will also provide
assistance in helping individuals to establish
personal goals, practice basic life skills and
develop relationships that provide a safe place
to open up and heal emotional wounds. It is
evident that this organization intends to provide
for the person as a whole, rather than just
focusing on the basic physical needs.
In addition, I have had the unique opportunity
to volunteer at the Bridge with their soup
kitchen and was able to experience first-hand
the services they provide to our community.
Not only does this organization provide a warm
and healthy meal to members of our
community, but also does so with a genuine
effort. I came to the realization after
volunteering there that serving a meal to
people of the community offers an opportunity
to engage in their lives, hear their stories and
create friendships. Therefore, it was evident
that the meal served is only a foundational
element, which has the potential of opening the
doors for relationships to prosper.
Know Your Rights: Police Powers &
Street Level Stops By Leif Jensen
In Canada, there are three reasons that a police
officer may stop you when you are on the
street: to make conversation, to detain you, or
to arrest you. It is important to know how each
of these relates to each other.
No matter why you are being stopped, you
maintain the right to silence. This is guaranteed
by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. You can
refuse to answer any questions by the police,
although if you deliberately lie then you may be
charged with an offence such as obstruction of
justice. If you are arrested, you do need to
provide your name and date of birth/address if
the police ask for it. You can also ask for the
officer’s name and badge number.
If you are being detained or arrested, you
should be told that you are being detained or
arrested. However, you can also simply ask
“Am I free to go?” If you are not being detained
or arrested, then you should be free to go. If
you’re being detained, you should be told that
you’re being detained and what you are being
detained for. Generally, this will be that there is
a crime and some sort of connection to you.
They can also do a pat-down search to ensure
that you do not have weapons.
You could be arrested for several reasons. The
most common are that there is a warrant out
for your arrest, or you have been seen
committing a criminal offence. You can also be
arrested when an officer has reasonable
grounds to believe you did or are about to
commit an offence.
When arrested, the police can search you and
use as much force as necessary for your arrest.
Strip searches may only be done in private, and
by an officer of the same sex as yourself. If
you’re taken to jail, you may have your property
confiscated. The police should provide you with
a list of items confiscated and ask you to sign
the list. You can review this to make sure that it
is complete. If in jail, you should be released or
brought to court within 24 hours.
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Police cannot threaten you, which includes
telling you that you could face more charges for
not cooperating, or make promises to get a
confession. They also can’t make you take a lie
detector test.
You have the right to speak to a lawyer as soon
as possible, and the police must provide you
with their phone number and a phone line.
If you feel your rights have been violated, you
can call the Police Service Professional
Standards Branch or the Public Complaints
Commission at (306) 964-1450. You can also
contact the FSIN if you are a person of
Aboriginal ancestry. Their number is 1-877-353-
3746. CLASSIC may also be able to assist you.
Reflections from the Office Manager By: Betty Beaton
It’s very difficult to believe that I will soon be
celebrating my 6th Anniversary with CLASSIC. I
can honestly say that this is the best job I’ve had
in my entire legal career. The changes that
have occurred during the past six years are
beyond anything I could have imagined when I
was asked to join this organization. When I was
first asked to consider becoming the Office
Manager, I hadn’t heard of CLASSIC, and I feel
very fortunate that one of the board members
approached me about the position. When I
began working for CLASSIC, I was one of two
employees on payroll, and performed multiple
jobs. I was the receptionist, the admin assistant,
the legal assistant, and the office manager. The
other employee was Sarah Buhler who also
wore numerous hats. She was the University
instructor, the Executive Director, and the
supervising lawyer. We had approximately 30
files when I started and now there are
anywhere between 250 to 300 open files at any
given time. In the six years I’ve been here,
CLASSIC has employed two full-time support
staff, two Supervising Lawyers, an Executive
Director, and we have two Student Managers.
Sarah now holds a full time position as the
clinical professor with the University’s College
of Law. Because of our rapid growth, we quickly
ran out of space at White Buffalo Youth Lodge,
and we had to find different accommodation.
We left White Buffalo with great sadness
because of the bond we had established, but we
were very fortunate to find the perfect location
for our office nearly three years ago. The
growth of the organization has come with
numerous challenges, most of which have been
very rewarding. CLASSIC is filling a valuable
need in this community which is acknowledged
by the many positive responses we receive from
our clients; while providing the students from
the U of S invaluable practical office experience.
It is very pleasing to hear students frequently
say that CLASSIC was the best part of their law
school experience. I’m very proud to be a part
of the CLASSIC team and am enjoying the
journey we’re on and look forward to what’s in
store in the future!
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The Relation Between Social Work
and Law: A Social Worker’s
Reflection By: Practicing Social Work Student, Ben
Nicholson
It was not long after I began my practicum
placement at CLASSIC that I knew I was in for a
rich experience. This is because the people
involved in making CLASSIC such a successful
community agency, have so much to offer and
teach. The organization not only relies on law
students to provide services to the community,
but values input from students of the social
work and political science professions.
Therefore, CLASSIC works as an interdisciplinary
team, as the diverse backgrounds of each
person serving in the agency offer unique skills
and tools that ultimately empower the
community as a whole.
As a social work student, I initially thought that
working with law students would offer a
challenge in terms of the ways in which we
provide service to people. This is because the
social work and law professions both abide by
their own set of ethical values and conduct.
The practicing lawyers at CLASSIC have a unique
responsibility to assist people with legal
matters. However, the social work academic
discipline seeks a broader category of service,
which focuses on the quality of an individual’s
life. Therefore, as a practicing social worker I
may be called upon to provide a certain service
on both an individual and community level.
Despite this, I have come to the realization that
when social worker’s and lawyers combine their
expertise, clients are able to have a wider range
of needs met.
CLASSIC collaborates the professions of law and
social work, which ultimately allows a practicum
social work student to approach client’s needs
in a more holistic way. For example, often
clients seeking legal advice and assistance have
a variety of problems that contribute to their
legal situations. These problems often go
beyond the expertise or professional
responsibility of lawyers. In this case, I may be
called upon to provide my assistance towards
the non-legal problems affecting the client.
Therefore, the client is receiving legal advocacy,
and special attention in regards to non-legal
matters by means of referral or advice. Overall,
not only does an interdisciplinary effort best
serve the client, but it also enhances the work
environment as the depth of social support is
enhanced.
Ultimately practicing lawyers and social workers
at CLASSIC seek to change people’s lives in a
positive way. This comes with an
acknowledgement that each profession has
limits, and cannot do it all alone. Collaborative
efforts between these two professions will
inevitably contribute to the process of serving
clients in the best way possible, and helping the
community prosper.
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CLASSIC’s WALK-IN ADVOCACY CLINIC is for
people seeking legal information, basic legal
services, including representation to come
for an intake, on a first-come, first-serve
basis. The Walk-In Advocacy Clinic is
Monday and Wednesday afternoons from
1:00 PM to 4:30 PM.
The W.A.C. provides legal services and
advocacy in:
* Landlord Tenant
* Social Assistance
* Human Rights
* Employment Insurance
* Workers’ Compensation
* Small Claims Court
* Disciplinary and Parole Hearings
* Immigration and Refugee Claims
&
CLASSIC also administers a LEGAL ADVICE
CLINIC. This is where clients have the
opportunity to have a one half-hour
consultation with a practicing lawyer. The
Legal Advice Clinic is through appointment
only on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons
and evenings.
The L.A.C. deals mainly in the areas of:
* Civil Law
* Criminal Law
* Family Law
CLASSIC would like to
thank our funders:
Affinity Credit Union,
City of Saskatoon,
College of Law,
Community Initiatives
Fund,
Law Foundation of
Saskatchewan,
Ministry of Justice,
Saskatoon Community
Foundation
(PotashCorp and
Cameco),
University of
Saskatchewan, and
United Way.
As a result of your
continued support
CLASSIC is able to
achieve its goals and
mandates!