THE WELDON TIMES

Canada as we know it is a lie. We have been fed a reality that placed Canada at the epicenter of equality and freedom, distinct from the horrid atrocities of our neighbours. We allowed ourselves to become an adjudicator of other nations' human rights violations without addressing our own extensive list of shortcomings. This article is part of the Black Voices collection, an ongoing collaboration with Dalhousie Black Law Students’ Association.

At the heart of R v Biddle, a 1995 Supreme Court of Canada case, is the issue of impartiality in the process of jury selection.¹ In 1988, Eric Ralph Biddle was convicted of two separate attacks on women. He appealed the decision, arguing that the jury in his initial trial had a reasonable apprehension of bias which was insidiously created by the Crown.

Climate change, and humanity’s lack of preparation for it, is akin to the explosive release of energy when matter and antimatter meet. Though vital to the fabric of our universe, antimatter is volatile. When volatile forces meet inadequate systems, the result is disaster. Flooding, hurricanes, tornadoes, snowfalls, and wildfires are growing in intensity and frequency. When governments fail to adequately plan for these events, communities are left to fill in the gaps.

Few students know the Weldon Law Building’s namesake, but his legacy continues to echo through our halls through the Weldon Tradition of unselfish public service and, of course, The Weldon Times. The latter was founded in 1975 – or so we thought. Until last year, the thick fog of time enshrouded The Weldon Times’ beginning. A light pierced through, and that light was Doug Shatford. He reached out, we were dazzled, and he (quite humbly) allowed me to interview him on his ex

This piece was submitted anonymously as a handwritten letter, though the law school soon came to know the author colloquially as the "Saint." After deliberation, Doug Shatford moved forward with its first publication in volume 1, number 5 of The Weldon Times on April 4, 1973. Shatford decided to print the unedited, untranscribed version of the letter, but for accessibility purposes, this publication will feature a version transcribed to the best of my ability.

For this Retrograde edition of The Weldon Times, Weird Weldon is jumping back in time to a pre-Charter criminal case involving a hypnotic police interrogation. Although once a genuine concern, Canadians no longer have to worry about resisting against subliminal manipulation from the police (see R v Trochym, 2007 SCC 6).

Who better to pen a few words on a theme about the past than a dean whose history with this law school dates back to the 1980s? I’m always shocked to learn that fashions from the 80s and 90s are retro. Personally, I can’t imagine returning to padded shoulders and puffy hair. Aside from fashion – a subject on which no one would trust me – but in line with the theme of looking back, readers might be interested to learn more.

Every student in the law school should know Geordie Lounsbury. Questions about Brightspace? Can’t figure out Exam4? Geordie's got you!