Le défi de la Charte, printemps 2012

La classe de droit de 11e année a participé à un concours d’écriture de mémo pour la Cour d’appel de l’Ontario intitulé le défi de la Charte.

Ce concours est organisé par l’organisme ontarien OJEN.

Le cas faisait référence au projet de loi fédérale C-31 sur les nouvelles procédures en matière d’immigration. Notre groupe devait prouver la constitutionnalité de ce projet de loi en répondant à quatre questions reliées à la Charte des droits et libertés.

Les élèves, après avoir vécu trois semaines « d’intense labeur », ont été récompensés par une troisième place. Il est important de noter que les recherches sur les jurisprudences et l’écriture du mémo de 28 pages se sont déroulées en français.

Voici le message qui a annoncé les résultats :

I am very pleased to announce that the selected finalist teams for the Spring 2012 Charter Challenge are:

Appellant: Badal, Johnston, Nolan & Maligaya Law Firm from St. Mary’s High School in Kitchener, Ontario

Respondent: Dewy Cheatham and Howe from Cawthra Park Secondary School in Mississauga, Ontario

Six teams were shortlisted, so in addition to the two teams indicated above, the judges would like to recognize the following four teams for making the “top three” (in no particular order) on the Appellant and Respondent sides:

  • T.H.C. & Associates from Notre Dame College School in Welland, Ontario
  • EZBAKE Law Firm from Cawthra Park Secondary School in Mississauga, Ontario
  • Low, Ball & Lynch from Sacred Heart High School in Walkerton, Ontario
  • La Belle Province from Lower Canada College in Montreal, Quebec

Thank you for the hard work and support you gave your students. It is evident in the high quality of factums that you are each doing a wonderful job of helping your students navigate difficult Charter issues.

The OJEN Charter Challenge Team

Ontario Justice Education Network – Réseau ontarien d’éducation juridique

A civil society through education and dialogue.

Commentaires des élèves :

Je crois que le concours de la Charte était une des expériences les plus enrichissantes et importantes du cours de droit. La quantité d’informations apprises en faisant ce projet était étonnante. Le fait d’avoir pu écrire un mémo et apprendre cette habileté dans notre cours de droit de 11e année est simplement incroyable.–André Capretti ’12

Ce projet, malgré toute la lecture, était très intéressant et m’a appris beaucoup de choses comme; citer la jurisprudence, formuler mes arguments, mentionner les lois et les articles de la Charte.–Cole Elicott ’12

Ce travail m’a permis d’apprendre beaucoup à propos de la justice constitutionnelle et la rigueur qu’il faut pour rédiger un mémo. J’ai mis beaucoup d’efforts et de temps à rechercher des jurisprudences qui étaient pertinentes à ma question.–Dylan Garber ’12

Nous avons fait la question 1 qui traitait de la violation de l’article 7 de la Charte canadienne des droits et libertés. À première vue, on était effrayés par le nombre de pages qu’on devait lire et écrire. Mais une fois qu’on a surmonté cet obstacle, on a commencé, le travail.–Adam Palayew ’12

J’ai beaucoup appris en faisant le projet du défi de la Charte. En faisant ce projet, j’ai compris la vraie vie d’un avocat. Pour ma partie, je devais rechercher la section 15 de la Charte des Droits et Libertés, pour prouver que les droits de Benita Suarez n’avaient pas été violés. Le montant monumental de lecture, et de recherche sur des jurisprudences m’a certainement surpris, mais j’ai réussi à tout faire. L’aspect le plus difficile était de trouver des jurisprudences qui appuyaient mon point de vue.–Elena Pappas ’12

Toute la classe représentait la couronne (appelant dans ce cas). Nous devions répondre à la deuxième question et prouver que Benita ne fut pas arrêtée arbitrairement en faisant référence à des jurisprudences et en donnant plusieurs arguments constructifs. Cela fut une très lourde tâche, car il n’y avait pas énormément de cas similaires. Après beaucoup d’heures de travail, je pense que le résultat final est très bon.–Alexandre Sinor ’12

Australia Exchange: Adventure of a Lifetime!

I’m about halfway through my exchange trip to Ballarat, Australia and it has been great. The family I’m staying with are so nice and welcoming, and it really feels like home now. I’ve been to many cool, beautiful and different places so far. The school, Ballarat Grammar, is also different. The first class only starts at around 9:00 and finishes at 3:25.The campus is very spread out with lots of different buildings.We bring our own lunch to school and eat outside. There are lots of green spaces with indigenous plants of Australia, such as eucalyptus trees, which smell really good. I am taking global studies and ceramics for my two choice subjects and they are both fun classes. I bike to school everyday. The weather has been pretty cold and rainy since I have been here because it’s going into winter since the seasons are opposite.

On my first weekend here, I went with Jack and his father, to Sydney. We took a ferry ride through the harbour and saw the famous Sydney landmarks such as the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. We also went up the Sydney Eye Tower, where we got a great a view of the city, and to Bondi and Bronte Beach. I found that Sydney was like a lot of different cities mixed together.

Wednesday, the 25th of April was ANZAC day, which is like Remembrance Day for Australia and New Zealand. It has been a tradition for about 15 years now that two rival AFL teams (Australian Rules Football), Collingwood and Essendon, play each other on ANZAC day. It was a public holiday, so we drove down to Melbourne for the game at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The stadium was filled to the brim and just under 100, 000 people showed up. The ceremony before it started was really well done and very touching. Jack’s family cheers for Collingwood, so I did the same. It ended being one of the most exciting matches of the year, finishing in a 80-79 Collingwood win.

Jack’s family has a really nice property with an awesome garden with all sorts of stuff in it. They grow celery, peppers, passion fruit, quinces, walnuts and many other fruits and vegetables. I have yet to go surfing but we are probably going this weekend. It has been a great trip so far and I’m excited for what’s to come.–Becket Osterland ’14

Solisterra Experience

This was a trip unlike any other I’ve ever experienced. Not only did we manage to build a gazebo for the town of Kazabazua, we also helped build a shed, parged a straw bale house, and strengthened our bond as a class. At the outset of this trip, I had no idea what the project would entail. I had worked with tools before, but never the caliber of the enormous circular saws we got to use. We pulled out rusty old nails, measured angles, cut, measured some more, cut with a different tool, drilled in nails and new holes, mounted and took down the structure — everything necessary for the job.

Luckily for us, the weather was nice and the wood stayed relatively dry during the construction process. In just three days, we managed to complete our part in building the gazebo, as well as sending some workers across the street to aid in the construction of a shed. We ate delicious meals and snacks supplied by the community of Kaz, and we are very grateful for the effort they put into accommodating our needs.

Aside from working on the gazebo, we also parged, hiked, made a campfire or baked. We even experienced a silent nature walk, appreciating the beauty of the outdoors without speaking. Staying at Solisterra was an adventure in itself. My room was on the top floor, and the big window provided a magnificent view of the straw bale house built by last year’s class. Staying in a straw bale house didn’t feel any different from staying in an average brick house, but Frank and Dominique (the architects who constructed Solisterra) added other features to make the house as environmentally friendly as possible. All in all, it was an amazing experience, and every one of us was sad to depart. We would gladly take the opportunity to return to Kaz, either to build more structures or just to visit!–Holly Faria ’15

For more photos, view gallery

A New Building in Kazabazua

Last week, our enriched math class went on a community service trip to Kazabazua in Quebec. There we slept in a straw bale house at the Solisterra Eco-Cottages. We worked closely with the town and helped build a pavilion and a shed for the community centre. For most of us, it was a trip we will never forget!

We got the chance to work with unbelievable people such as Andrew and Mr. Bergeron. We enjoyed working with the power tools, the recycled wood and other various materials under the close supervision of Frank and Dominique. We spent three days in the hot sun, working nine hours a day to complete our project. We are happy to say that the pavilion was successfully built and that we all returned home with all ten fingers.

The people from the town were very nice. We visited the town’s fire department and to take a look in the three fire trucks. We were fed delicious food over our three days. The cookies were to die for! We also got the chance to live in a straw bale house at the Solisterra Eco-Cottages. When I was first told that I was going to be staying in straw bale house, I imagined a house the three little pigs would’ve made. Wow, was I wrong! The house was outstanding, clean and environmentally friendly.

My favourite part of the trip was watching the shed that I worked on be lifted from the ground and seeing it as a three dimensional figure. I felt a sense of pride and accomplishment for our work done for the community.–Zachary Shine ’15

For more photos, view gallery

Peru: A New Adventure

Wow, I cannot believe that one month has already passed since I arrived in Lima. This trip has been more amazing than I ever imagined, the friends I’ve made, the places I’ve been to and the things I’ve seen are all unbelievable. Since I DSC_0587arrived, everyone has been very welcoming and so kind. My Spanish is improving, my understanding of the language is great and everyday I learn something new. I still have trouble speaking but I manage to explain myself with all the different words I know.

During my first week in Lima, I saw some familiar faces when I joined the LCC group on the Gold Duke of Ed trip for the afternoon at a service project in Las Palmas. Even though I only stayed for a couple of hours it was great fun helping, getting covered in cement and seeing all of the work LCC has done in the past year or so.

This week I went to Lunahuana on a four day trip as a counselor with 11 year old kids. Getting to know the kids was my favourite part. I had a group of 12 kids and we were three counselors: a French exchange student, a Markham Grade 11 student and myself. The kids all practiced their English with me which I really appreciated. I got very close to them and it was a different experience as before I had always been a camper but never a counselor. It was great to switch roles!

My favourite activity was white water rafting in level 3 rapids. We took part in lots of other activities like horse riding through the Peruvian mountains, zip-lining across a river, repelling and rock climbing and Inca-teering (exploring the old houses of the Incas, the founders of Cusco). Finally, we performed a service activity when we went to a primary school and made a vegetable garden!

Le weekend prochain, j’irai à Cusco et a Macchu Pichu ( une des sept merveilles du monde). Nous partirons pour cinq jours durant le congé de Paques. Je suis tres excitée mais en même temps un peu decue car une fois de retour de ce petit voyage dans les montagnes, il me restera seulement 4 jours à Lima et ensuite c’est le retour vers Montréal. Je suis tellement triste que cette merveilleuse experience se termine mais toute bonne chose doit avoir une fin!–Eloise MacIntosh ’14