Lydia Dobson
Osgoode Hall Law School, Law, Department Member
- Carleton University, Sociology and Anthropology, Graduate Studentadd
- Employment Standards, Precarious work, Employment Law, Labour Law, Neoliberalism, Austerity, and 19 moreHegemonic Masculinity, Hegemony, Sexual Harassment in the Workplace, Gendered Political Economy, Labor unions, Cultural power and resistance, Precarious Workers, Socio-legal studies, Patriarchy, Restaurants, Gender Roles, Prisons, Punishment and Prisons, Critical Prison Studies, Prison Abolition, Harm Reduction, Prison Industrial Complex, Carceral state, and Sociology of prison lifeedit
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
This article investigates the recently passed Bill C-83, which aims to reduce harms caused by segregating people with mental health issues. In order to assess the capacity of the Bill to support meaningful change, the history of mental... more
This article investigates the recently passed Bill C-83, which aims to reduce harms caused by segregating people with mental health issues. In order to assess the capacity of the Bill to support meaningful change, the history of mental health institutions and correctional facilities in Ontario is first explored, followed by an analysis of recent cases on segregation and mental health in the province. Next, legislative oversight for federal prisons and provincial jails is described, followed by an overview of ongoing reforms. Here, a distinction between federal prisons and provincial jails is made in order to explore the different legislation governing each of these spaces and the complexities that arise from multiple systems of governance. Finally, the practical implementation of Bill C-83 is considered within these legal frameworks, and the resultant consequences are suggested in light of academic research on prison law policy and reform.
Research Interests:
Yavar Hameed is an Ottawa-based lawyer specializing in immigration detention, citizenship, and security certificates. He is well-known for addressing systemic racism and Islamophobia in many legal cases with people such as Mohamed Harkat... more
Yavar Hameed is an Ottawa-based lawyer specializing in immigration detention, citizenship, and security certificates. He is well-known for addressing systemic racism and Islamophobia in many legal cases with people such as Mohamed Harkat (who was under a security certificate) and Abousfian Abdelrazik (who was denied return to Canada for 5 years). In addition, he actively assists clients facing Candian Security and Intelligence Service (CSIS) interviews related to matters of national security. Hameed’s approach to legal advocacy is unique in that it is collaborative with solidarity groups and activists organizing in immigration and refugee justice. In this interview, he reflects on the dynamics of the relations between legal and extralegal forms of resistance. Lydia Dobson interviewed Hameed during the winter of 2017.
Research Interests:
Contemporary Canadian labour markets are marked by increasingly precarious and unstable working conditions, predominantly found in the secondary labour market (Thomas, 2009). Research indicates that women have and continue to be... more
Contemporary Canadian labour markets are marked by increasingly precarious and unstable working conditions, predominantly found in the secondary labour market (Thomas, 2009). Research indicates that women have and continue to be overrepresented in professions market by part-time and low-waged work in this market (Vosko, 2006). Following trends in the gendered segmentation of labour is legislation that acts to facilitate differential standards of employment for women. This thesis investigates the Ontario Employment Standards Act (ESA), with respect to its influence on waitresses in Ontario. Interviewing women occupying serving positions about tipping procedures and workplace standards, I argue that gaps in the ESA around protections over tips facilitate industry-wide standards in restaurants that systemically subordinate and exploit women workers in the food and alcohol service sector.
Research Interests:
In this article, the qualitative experiences of the authors as union leaders at Carleton University are drawn upon, along with the public testimonials of union members, during the 2013-14 round of collective bargaining between Carleton... more
In this article, the qualitative experiences of the authors as union
leaders at Carleton University are drawn upon, along with the public testimonials of union members, during the 2013-14 round of collective bargaining between Carleton University and the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 4600. We contend that the trend towards rising precariousness must be seen as the
further “proletarianization” of an increasingly insecure segment of the labour force in Ontario, which includes workers employed in Ontario’s university sector. First, precarious employment in Ontario is examined broadly. Second, we explore precarious work in the university sector more specifically. Third, a case study
analysis examining the most recent contract negotiations between CUPE 4600 and Carleton University in Ottawa is examined. This includes: (1) the challenges of mobilization within the union bureaucracy; (2) challenges between the local and National office; and; (3) the role of solidarity in combating precariousness. To conclude, the conditions in which unionized precarious workers can achieve improvements in their workplaces are discussed. It is hoped that other postsecondary union activists can gain from this experience, and in doing so, expand the fight against the negative effects of precarious employment in Ontario and elsewhere.
leaders at Carleton University are drawn upon, along with the public testimonials of union members, during the 2013-14 round of collective bargaining between Carleton University and the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 4600. We contend that the trend towards rising precariousness must be seen as the
further “proletarianization” of an increasingly insecure segment of the labour force in Ontario, which includes workers employed in Ontario’s university sector. First, precarious employment in Ontario is examined broadly. Second, we explore precarious work in the university sector more specifically. Third, a case study
analysis examining the most recent contract negotiations between CUPE 4600 and Carleton University in Ottawa is examined. This includes: (1) the challenges of mobilization within the union bureaucracy; (2) challenges between the local and National office; and; (3) the role of solidarity in combating precariousness. To conclude, the conditions in which unionized precarious workers can achieve improvements in their workplaces are discussed. It is hoped that other postsecondary union activists can gain from this experience, and in doing so, expand the fight against the negative effects of precarious employment in Ontario and elsewhere.