Obiter Dicta Issue 10 - February 1, 2016

Volume 88  |   Issue 10 |  obiter-dicta.ca The Definitive Source for Osgoode News since 1928 Tuesday, February 2, 2016 NOT-SO-GOODWILL The continued downfall of a charitable empire. ê Photo credit: Stan Behal/Toronto Sun - nadia aboufariss Havi ng to l ive paycheck-to-paycheck is a harsh reality for many, and one of the scariest thoughts for a low-income worker is arriving to your job and seeing that it no longer exists. This happened on 17 January 2016 to the workers at Goodwi l l Toronto, when it closed si xteen stores a nd ten donation centres i n the GTA, leaving 430 front line employees jobless with no notice. The Canadian Airport Workers Union, who represents the workers, said that giving the employees no notice was a violation of their contract. That Goodwill’s policy is to hire marginalized groups who normally struggle to fi nd employment—d isabled, vetera ns, and individuals with criminal records—makes the unexpected layoffs seem that much harsher. Ostensibly, the reason for closing the stores was a cash-f low crisis, due to slow sales and rising rent. One of the shuttered stores had a handwritten sign on the door saying “unforeseen ci rcu msta nces.” W h i le no one is a rg ui ng that th is certai n ly was a su rprise to the workers lef t i n a desperate situ ation, looki ng at t he record s of G oo dw i l l i n Toronto show s a h i stor y of f i n a nc i a l m i sm a n a gem e nt t h at wa s a ny t h i n g but u n fore s e e n . The first inkling of a problem at Goodwill occurred in 2005, when the charity was forced to sell its f lagship store on Jarvis street that it had occupied for seventy years. A lthough the company made fourteen million dollars on that sale, the f u nds qu ick ly d isappeared and the » continued on page 11 In this Issue ... editorial Let’s Talk About Lifting the Cloak of Secrecy . 2 news The Zika Virus Outbreak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 opinion Mental Health in Law School . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 arts & culture The Toronto Classical Music Scene . . . . . . . . . 12 sports The Case For Rule Five Selections in Major League Baseball . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14