Dalhousie University
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Re-Reading Power Inside the AML-CTF Regime
Full text linkMoney laundering and money laundering controls are having a global moment. Many jurisdictions around the world—some more than others—feature regularly in news cycles for either offences to do with money laundering or sanctions avoidance or the laxity of controls that enable such activities. The mainstream media has reported on stories about banks in Canada and football clubs in Italy, about charities in the UK and the real estate industry in the US. Each revelation prompts mea culpas from offenders—TD Bank in Canada is one such example—and often, a raft of new or enhanced regulatory measures.
Critically, the point that remains overlooked is that this regulation is neither apolitical in its construction nor neutral in its application. This article deploys the lens of power to analyse the evolution of the global anti-money laundering and counter terrorism financing regime. Using insights from the vast literature on power across disciplines such as sociology, politics, law and philosophy, it is argued that the global AML-CTF architecture exemplifies the ideas and the practices central to the construction of a power edifice. To understand why laundering continues unabated despite the ratcheting up of regulations, one needs to examine these structures of power.
Le blanchiment d’argent et les contrôles anti-blanchiment sont actuellement au coeur de l’actualité mondiale. Bon nombre de pays, certains plus que d’autres, font régulièrement la une des nouvelles soit pour des infractions liées au blanchiment d’argent ou au contournement des sanctions, soit pour le laxisme des contrôles qui permet de telles pratiques. Les médias grand public ont fait état d’affaires impliquant des banques au Canada, des clubs de football en Italie , des organisations caritatives au Royaume-Uni et le secteur immobilier aux États-Unis . Chaque révélation suscite des mea culpa de la part des contrevenants—la Banque TD au Canada en est un exemple—et souvent, une série de mesures réglementaires nouvelles ou renforcées.
Cependant, ce que l’on oublie souvent, c’est que la réglementation n’est ni apolitique dans sa conception ni neutre dans son application. Cet article analyse l’évolution du régime mondial de lutte contre le blanchiment d’argent et contre le financement du terrorisme sous l’angle du pouvoir . S’appuyant sur les nombreuses publications consacrées au pouvoir dans des domaines tels que la sociologie, la politique, le droit et la philosophie, il soutient que l’architecture mondiale de lutte contre le blanchiment d’argent et contre le financement du terrorisme illustre les idées et les pratiques qui sont au coeur de la construction d’un édifice de pouvoir. Pour comprendre pourquoi le blanchiment se poursuit sans relâche malgré le renforcement des réglementations, il faut examiner ces structures de pouvoir
Bringing Together the United Nations \u3ci\u3eConvention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples\u3c/i\u3e in Canada
Full text linkThis article explores the relationship between the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities (CRPD) and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) with regards to the situation of Indigenous persons with disabilities living in Canada. In particular, it considers how the obligations and responsibilities identified under the UNDRIP and the CRPD can be interpreted and realized in a manner that is complementary and may amplify the likelihood of the goals of each instrument being realized. An explicit goal is avoiding the exclusions and erasures which arise when single identity politics dominate, which can lead to conflating, ignoring or an inability to engage intra-group differences. The article delves into the challenges and opportunities of reading these instruments together, and examines Canada’s commitments and actions toward implementing both of these instruments in dialogue with Indigenous governments and representative Indigenous disability organizations.
Cet article explore la relation entre la Convention Relative aux Droits des Personnes Handicapées des Nations Unies (CRPD) et la Déclaration des Nations Unies sur les Droits des Peuples Autochtones (UNDRIP) en ce qui concerne la situation des personnes Autochtones handicapées vivant dans Canada. En particulier, il examine comment les obligations et responsabilités identifiées dans le cadre de la UNDRIP et de la CRPD peuvent être interprétées et mises en oeuvre de manière complémentaire et amplificatrice. Un objectif explicite est d’éviter les exclusions et les effacements qui surviennent lorsque les politiques identitaires uniques dominent, ce qui peut conduire à un amalgame, à une ignorance ou à une incapacité à prendre en compte les différences intra-groupe. L’article approfondit les défis et les opportunités liés à la lecture conjointe de ces instruments et examine de près les engagements et les actions du Canada pour mettre en oeuvre ces deux instruments dans le cadre d’un dialogue avec les gouvernements Autochtones et les organisations Autochtones représentatives des personnes handicapées
Corals in ocean acidification and the role of calcium ion homeostasis to maintain calcification
No full textCoral calcification is essential to provide the structural foundation for coral reefs and is integral in supporting marine biodiversity reliant on reef ecosystems. The drivers for calcification in corals are undoubtedly highly complex and require several perspectives to identify vulnerabilities in the context of environmental change. Specifically, ocean acidification (OA) resulting from the rise of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions poses a potential threat to the physiological mechanisms that drive calcification in corals. Therefore, this report goes beyond environmental seawater chemistry to examine the physiological mechanism of calcium ion homeostasis. Calcium's role in calcification physiology is well established, but how calcium homeostasis could shift under acidification has little been considered a significant driver in reduced calcification. Calcium is potentially the most actively transported substrate in coral calcification, though in high chemical abundance in seawater, corals are likely utilizing the most energy to concentrate calcium at the site of calcification. We argue for increased consideration of the calcium ion in the context of OA when identifying sensitivities. The concepts proposed here are justified through a combination of results from novel RAMAN spectroscopy and molecular work that provides insight into shifts in calcium homeostasis when exposed to acidification. We speculate that future work incorporating methodologies considering calcium dynamics in OA could benefit by narrowing in on what physiological mechanisms are potentially vulnerable. It is imperative that we identify what drives lower calcification in corals under OA to inform efficient directives in identifying species sensitivities to future climate change
Allocative Justice as a Constraint on Fiscal Imperialism in International Tax
No full textTaxpayers’ cross-border activities often result in two (or more) states claiming the right to tax their income. To address concerns about how those tax liabilities might aggregate and suppress international activities, states typically agree to split the tax base between them. But how can states fairly share tax revenue from cross-border activities? Tax scholars and policymakers offer different normative perspectives to address this inter-nation equity conundrum. In this article, we conceptualize these normative perspectives into two types. One centres on identifying where the economic factors that lead to the ability to produce the income are located (and uses that determination as the basis for an equitable split of taxing rights). Accordingly, a state with a greater degree of economic connection should enjoy a greater share of taxing rights. This perspective, we contend, is distinguishable from the infusion of cosmopolitan distributive justice theory into tax law. The latter approach portrays the redistribution or transfer of tax revenue, a form of tax aid from high-income countries to low-income countries, usually with the goal of funding humanitarian or developmental spending. Perhaps due to ambiguities in the overarching inter-nation equity concept (which seemingly includes cosmopolitan distributive justice) existing tax policy scholarship often fails to adequately distinguish the two perspectives when articulating the justifications for international taxing rights (re)allocation involving low-income countries. This article demonstrates the policy imperatives for distinguishing the two perspectives. For textual and conceptual clarity, we frame the first perspective as “allocative justice” and the latter as “redistributive justice.” For low-income countries to escape the trap of fiscal imperialism it is essential that they (as well as international tax policymakers in all states) establish international tax regimes that align with allocative justice and resist tax bargains that unduly cede taxing rights to which they have a justifiable claim. Redistributive justice may also play a role in supporting or explaining tax sharing arrangements between countries, but that framework should not be conflated with allocative justice
Collaboration among general education and special education teachers: Providing an appropriate education for all students
No full textThe primary purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate whether special education and general education teacher perceptions of collaboration, leadership, and efficacy beliefs influenced student performance on STAAR. Quantitative data were collected using a Qualtrics survey consisting of 56 items regarding special education and general education teacher perceptions of collaboration, leadership, and efficacy beliefs, as well as demographic questions (Qualtrics, 2022). State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) data from the Texas Education Agency (TEA) public website was also collected for 40 public school districts in Region 2 using STAAR Performance Reports and Group Summary Performance Level Reports (eMetric, 2023; TEA 2019, 2021, 2022). The logistic regression models utilized throughout this study did not detect a significant connection between efficacy beliefs, instructional leadership support, and collaboration on special education student achievement based on the 2023 STAAR Reading and Mathematics Assessments (eMetric, 2023). Despite prior research indicating a link between teacher collaboration, leadership, and efficacy beliefs on student performance, the findings of this study did not yield that of previous research.Educational Leadership, Curriculum & InstructionCollege of Education and Human Developmen
Retention and strategic enrollment management at a community college in Texas
No full textStudent enrollment at community colleges within the U.S. has remained flat or decreased for over a decade (AACC, 2019). Before COVID-19, community colleges had been experiencing a steady decline in enrollment for approximately ten years (Irwin et al., 2021). The purpose was to determine whether demographic, environmental, and academic variables depend on a student’s decision to stay enrolled at Texas Community College (TCC) [pseudonym] for cohort years 2018-2019 and 2020-2021. The study used a quantitative, non-experimental, retrospective design (Cronk, 2020) to examine a subset of archival student data from TCC, a large public college in Texas. The subset of archival data consisted of 1,242 student records from the fall 2018 academic year (before COVID-19) and 791 student records from the fall 2020 academic year (after COVID-19). The researcher used Jamovi statistical software to conduct a chi-square test of independence to examine relationships between (a) demographic, environmental, and academic variables and (b) a student’s decision to enroll. For 2018 and 2020, descriptive statistics were generated for each variable to obtain frequency distributions of the levels within each variable. The levels with the highest number of counts for each variable included the following: RQ1: age (18-23), enrollment status (part-time), educational goal (associate degree), ethnicity (Hispanic), gender (female); RQ2: financial aid (yes); and RQ3: GPA (0.00-1.00). Additional proportion analyses indicated that the proportions of all levels within each variable were unequal (p<.01). The chi-square test of independence was conducted to determine whether a statistically significant relationship existed between each of the seven variables and students’ decision to enroll in the subsequent semester. For 2018 and 2020, the variables of age (18-23), enrollment status (part-time), financial aid (receipt of financial aid- yes/no), and academic outcome (GPA) played a critical role in student retention. Statistically significant relationships were absent between students’ decision to enroll and the following variables: educational goal, ethnicity, and gender.Educational Leadership, Curriculum & InstructionCollege of Education and Human Developmen
Legal and Ethical Challenges Raised By Advances in Brain-Computer Interface Technology
Full text linkBrain-computer interfaces (BCI) consist of hardware and software that allow humans to control computers with their brain signals alone. Though these technologies are not new, existing approaches to BCI are either very limited in their capabilities or require highly invasive surgery. However, BCI has recently received increased attention due to advances that enable enhanced usability with less invasive approaches. Such advances could radically change the acceptance of the technology and BCI might become commonplace in the coming decades. In this article, we provide a technology scholar’s perspective on how these recent advances in BCI present new legal and ethical considerations. We argue that there are three ways that these advances challenge Canada’s existing privacy and data laws. First, the complexity of next-generation BCI approaches may present challenges for Canada’s regime for informed consent which may not be adequately addressed by Canada’s present legislative landscape. Second, the sensitivity of the personal information collected by advanced BCI technologies could present challenges for Canada’s privacy torts, which are built on the assumption of harm caused by intrusion upon seclusion. Finally, the capabilities provided by these technologies present a moral hazard akin to medical enhancements, which warrants consideration by Canada’s meritocratic institutions. Taken together, this article aims to raise awareness and launch discussion about the role that these technologies can play in society as they become more commonly used
Show and Tell
Full text link...to break the rules wisely, you have to know the rules well.
–Le Guin, Steering the Craft
I finished my doctorate in June of 2019. Most of my waking hours that late summer and early fall were spent writing and rewriting cover letters, teaching statements, and research agendas (and equity statements, long CVs, short CVs, etc.)—all the variegated materials demanded from applicants to tenure-track positions in North American law faculties. Writing those materials, and integrating the feedback on early drafts that I received from a host of generous peers and colleagues, became an accidental study in the principal subtext of my doctoral research: questions of genre, audience, and what we do through our writing as legal scholars
Sheila Wildeman: Critical Pathways to Disability Decarceration
No full textJoin Lan Keenan, student editor at the Dalhousie Law Journal, as they sit down with Associate Professor Sheila Wildeman of the Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie University for a thought-provoking discussion related to Sheila’s recent publication “Critical Pathways to Disability Decarceration” in the feminists@law journal. The conversation navigates the intricate intersections of critical disability studies and anti-carceral movements, inspired by pivotal discussions at the Law and Society Association’s Annual Meeting in May 2021, themed “Decarcerating Disability.
Joanna Erdman: Abortion At-Home and At-Law During a Pandemic
No full textJoin student editor, Amelia, for a discussion with Professor Joanna Erdman of the Schulich School of Law and the McBain Chair in Health Law and Policy. Amelia and Professor Erdman talk about her chapter “Abortion At-Home and At-Law During a Pandemic” in COVID-19 and the Law: Disruption, Impact and Legacy, edited by Glenn Cohen, Abbe R. Gluck, Katherine Kraschel, Carmel Shachar (Cambridge University Press). The conversation touches on the central themes of the book chapter, connecting them to a recent string of prosecutions in the UK related to home abortions during the pandemic, public pushback, and the future of abortion law and policy