The Bunk House Rules: Housing Migrant Labour in Ontario

The paper tackles the recent controversy surrounding an application to convert an abandoned school into housing for migrant agricultural workers in Ontario, Canada. It examines how the written reactions of community residents to a proposed municipal zoning by-law amendment convey and invoke understandings of the legal regulation of temporary labour migration. When viewed through a legal consciousness analytic lens, reconstituted to attend to the material practices and context underpinning residents’ discursive and ideological responses, what I term a ‘materialist legal consciousness studies’, it is evident that the residents’ submissions intervene in the organization and regulation of agricultural production. While framed in opposition to the proposed amendment and the rules on siting bunk houses, residents’ responses -- which rehearse well-worn, racist colonial tropes -- (re)produce material outcomes affecting the working and social lives of migrant agricultural workers in southwestern Ontario. I argue that residents’ overwhelming opposition to the bunk house proposal re-inscribes and even extends the unfree labour relations and conditions in which these workers toil and dwell. In so doing, residents perpetuate growers’ control not merely of labour power but in fact over racialized labouring bodies, deepening the regulatory immobilization and hyper-exploitation of migrant workers

Seeing Like a Clinic

The prevailing commitment in clinical law programs like the Intensive Program in Poverty Law at Osgoode Hall Law School is to an engaged-contextualism, which serves to see law in action. It has provided participating students with some insight into the everyday life of ordinary people, approaching—but not necessarily fully perceptive to—certain socio-legal perspectives. But what does clinical legal education vision and envision? How precisely do clinics see? And from what source or place is that visual authority derived? Here, by attending to the prevailing “pedagogy of seeing” in contemporary poverty law clinical practice, I engage with teaching, learning, and praxis in clinical legal knowledge production. I contend that engaged-contextualism troublingly adheres to a pedagogy of seeing that is indebted to the very authority it should strive to dismantle: state power. With a view to the capitalist state as a nationally-inscribed territorial ordering authority, evidenced through settler and imperialist articulations, I undertake a speculative re-envisioning of knowledge production in and about poverty law. The aim is to encourage an alternative pedagogy motivated by an emancipatory praxis. It is a praxis not of saving poverty law but of constant struggle against sovereign state authority rooted in the creative capacities and self-organizing activities—and ultimately the “freedom dreams”—of poor and otherwise oppressed communities; or in a phrase, the reflexive self-authorization of social movement. The perceptible challenge of all legal education, clinical or otherwise, is ultimately not to see like the settler and imperialist, capitalist state but to look through or beyond it—through the persistent and reckless reproduction of poverty and marginalization as a basis of social order

Pacifying the ‘Armies of Offshore Labour’ in Canada

An exploration of the link between pacification and global apartheid in the context of the racialized effects of neoliberal labour migration is undertaken. Drawing on the general layout of Canada’s temporary labour migration regime, the legal regulation of migrant labour is taken as a project of pacification that enforces apartheid conditions. Juxtaposed against the construction of migrant labour as menace or threat to ‘host’ communities in Canada, the growing need for “armies of offshore labour” presents an especially acute challenge for capital and national states. Despite certain perceptions that it is freed from national state constraints owing to the hyper-competitiveness of contemporary migration, capital remains deeply beholden to the politico-legal interventions of states, both sending and receiving. Situated within the hierarchical and uneven logic of the nation-state system and global capitalist development, pacification becomes a way in which capital and states attempt to mediate contradictions and govern not “insecurities” surrounding human mobility but rather the need to fabricate productive labour, a need contingent upon the complex transnational legal regulatory dynamic of unfree migrant labour which itself relies upon and perpetuates apartheid

Supervised Control of a Flying Performing Robot using its Intrinsic Sound

We present the current results of our ongoing research in achieving efficient control of a flying robot for a wide variety of possible applications. A lightweight small indoor helicopter has been equipped with an embedded system and relatively simple sensors to achieve autonomous stable flight. The controllers have been tuned using genetic algorithms to further enhance flight stability. A number of additional sensors would need to be attached to the helicopter to enable it to sense more of its environment such as its current location or the location of obstacles like the walls of the room it is flying in. The lightweight nature of the helicopter very much restricts the amount of sensors that can be attached to it. We propose utilising the intrinsic sound signatures of the helicopter to locate it and to extract features about its current state, using another supervising robot. The analysis of this information is then sent back to the helicopter using an uplink to enable the helicopter to further stabilise its flight and correct its position and flight path without the need for additional sensors

Managing uncertainty in sound based control for an autonomous helicopter

In this paper we present our ongoing research using a multi-purpose, small and low cost autonomous helicopter platform (Flyper ). We are building on previously achieved stable control using evolutionary tuning. We propose a sound based supervised method to localise the indoor helicopter and extract meaningful information to enable the helicopter to further stabilise its flight and correct its flightpath. Due to the high amount of uncertainty in the data, we propose the use of fuzzy logic in the signal processing of the sound signature. We discuss the benefits and difficulties using type-1 and type-2 fuzzy logic in this real-time systems and give an overview of our proposed system

The application of S isotopes and S/Se ratios in determining ore-forming processes of magmatic Ni–Cu–PGE sulfide deposits: a cautionary case study from the northern Bushveld Complex

The application of S/Se ratios and S isotopes in the study of magmatic Ni–Cu–PGE sulfide deposits has long been used to trace the source of S and to constrain the role of crustal contamination in triggering sulfide saturation. However, both S/Se ratios and S isotopes are subject to syn- and post-magmatic processes that may alter their initial signatures. We present in situ mineral δ34S signatures and S/Se ratios combined with bulk S/Se ratios to investigate and assess their utility in constraining ore-forming processes and the source of S within magmatic sulfide deposits. Magmatic Ni–Cu–PGE sulfide mineralization in the Grasvally Norite–Pyroxenite–Anorthosite (GNPA) member, northern Bushveld Complex was used as a case study based on well-defined constraints of sulfide paragenesis and local S isotope signatures. A crustal δ34S component is evident in the most primary sulfide assemblage regardless of footwall lithology, and is inferred that the parental magma(s) of the GNPA member was crustally contaminated and sulfide saturated at the time of emplacement. However, S/Se ratios of both the primary and in particular secondary sulfide assemblages record values within or below the mantle range, rather than high crustal S/Se ratios. In addition, there is a wide range of S/Se ratio for each sulfide mineral within individual assemblages that is not necessarily consistent with the bulk ratio. The initial crustal S/Se ratio is interpreted to have been significantly modified by syn-magmatic lowering of S/Se ratio by sulfide dissolution, and post-magmatic lowering of the S/Se ratio from hydrothermal S-loss, which also increases the PGE tenor of the sulfides. Trace element signatures and variations in Th/Yb and Nb/Th ratios support both an early pre-emplacement contamination event as seen by the S isotopes and S/Se ratios, but also a second contamination event resulting from the interaction of the GNPA magma with the local footwall country rocks at the time of emplacement; though this did not add any additional S. We are able to present an integrated emplacement and contamination model for the northern limb of the Bushveld Complex. Although the multitude of processes that affect variations in the δ34S signature and in particular S/Se ratio may be problematic in interpreting ore genesis, they can reveal a wealth of additional detail on a number of processes involved in the genetic history of a Ni–Cu–PGE deposit in addition to crustal contamination. However, a prerequisite for being able to do this is to utilize other independent petrological and mineralogical techniques that provide constraints on both the timing and effect of various ore-forming and modifying processes. Utilizing both bulk and in situ methods in concert to determine the S/Se ratio allows for the assessment of multiple sulfide populations, the partitioning behaviour of Se during sulfide liquid fractionation and also the effects of low temperature fluid alteration. In comparison, S isotopes are relatively more robust and represent a more reliable indicator of the role of crustal S contamination. The addition of trace element data to the above makes for an incredibly powerful approach in assessing the role of crustal contamination in magmatic sulfide systems

“Sacrifice Zones” in the Green Energy Economy: Toward an Environmental Justice Framework

The environmental justice movement validates the grassroots struggles of residents of places which Steve Lerner refers to as “sacrifice zones”: low-income and racialized communities shouldering more than their fair share of environmental harms related to pollution, contamination, toxic waste, and heavy industry. On this account, disparities in wealth and power, often inscribed and re-inscribed through social processes of racialization, are understood to produce disparities in environmental burdens. Here, we attempt to understand how these dynamics are shifting in the green energy economy under settler colonial capitalism. We consider the possibility that the political economy of green energy contains its own sacrifice zones. Drawing on preliminary empirical research undertaken in southwestern Ontario in 2015, we document local resistance to renewable energy projects. Residents mounted campaigns against wind turbines based on suspected health effects and against solar farms based on arable land and food justice concerns, and in both cases, grounded their resistance in a generalized claim, which might be termed a “right to landscape”. We conclude that this resistance, contrary to typical framings which dismiss it as NIMBYism, has resonances with broader claims about environmental justice and may signal larger structural shifts worth devoting scholarly attention to. In the end, however, we do not wholly accept the sacrifice zone characterization of this resistance either, as our analysis reveals it to be far more complex and ambiguous than such a framing allows. But we maintain that taking this resistance seriously, rather than treating it as merely obstructionist to a transition away from fossil capitalism, reveals a counter-hegemonic potential at its core. There are seeds in this resistance with the power to push back on the deepening of capitalist relations that would otherwise be ushered in by an uncritical embrace of “green energy” enthusiasm

Law, Labour and Landscape in a Just Transition

Taking conflicts over new solar energy projects on the agricultural landscape in the global North as its backdrop, the chapter demonstrates how work and labour (including that performed in the North by workers from the global South) are erased both by the opponents and the proponents of such projects. The erasure is consistent with prevailing ways of knowing the human-environment nexus, shaped by an underlying political economy derivative of how international law has constructed and maintained the foundational liberal mythology that separates labour from land. Grounded in our commitment to pursuing a ‘just transition’ to decarbonisation – that is to say, a transition that attends to the distributional effects and disproportionate impacts of decarbonisation on workers and communities – we strive to reconceptualise work and labour as embodied practices of working and living on the land. Everyday socio-spatial practices structured by law implicate ordinary people in the making of landscapes and continuing relations of settler capitalism, shaping how ‘we’ live together on the land, including who belongs and who gets to decide

Reducing Global Warming and Adapting to Climate Change: The Potential of Organic Agriculture

Climate change mitigation is urgent and adaptation to climate change is crucial, particularly in agriculture, where food security is at stake. Agriculture, currently responsible for 20-30% of global greenhouse gas emissions counting direct and indirect agricultural emissions), can however contribute to both climate change mitigation and adaptation. The main mitigation potential lies in the capacity of agricultural soils to sequester CO2 through building organic matter. This potential can be realized by employing sustainable agricultural practices, such as those commonly found within organic farming systems. Examples of these practices are the use of organic fertilizers and crop rotations including legumes leys and cover crops. Mitigation is also achieved in organic agriculture through the avoidance of open biomass burning and the avoidance of synthetic fertilizers and the related production emissions from fossil fuels. Common organic practices also contribute to adaptation. Building soil organic matter increases water retention capacity, and creates more stabile, fertile soils, thus reducing vulnerability to drought, extreme precipitation events, floods and water logging. Adaptation is further supported by increased agro-ecosystem diversity of organic farms, due to reduced nitrogen inputs and the absence of chemical pesticides. The high diversity together with the lower input costs of organic agriculture is key in reducing production risks associated with extreme weather events. All these advantageous practices are not exclusive to organic agriculture. However, they are core parts of the organic production system, in contrast to most non-organic agriculture, where they play a minor role only. Mitigation in agriculture cannot be restricted to the agricultural sector alone, though. Consumer behaviour strongly influences agricultural production systems, and thus their mitigation potential. Significant factors are meat consumption and food wastage. Any discussion on mitigation climate change in agriculture needs to address the entire food chain and needs to be linked to general sustainable development strategies. The main challenges to climate change mitigation and adaptation in organic agriculture and agriculture in general concern a)the understanding of some of the basic processes, such as the interaction of N2O emissions and soil carbon sequestration, contributions of roots to soil carbon sequestration and the life-cycle emissions of organic fertilizers such as compost; b) approaches for emissions accounting that adequately represent agricultural production systems with multiple and diverse outputs and that also encompass ecosystem services; c) the identification and implementation of most adequate policy frameworks for supporting mitigation and adaptation in agriculture, i.e: not putting systemic approaches at a disadvantage due to difficulties in the quantification of emissions, and in their allocation to single products; d) how to assure that the current focus on mitigation does not lead to neglect of the other sustainability aspects of agriculture, such as pesticide loads, eutrophication, acidification or soil erosion and e) the question how to address consumer behaviour and how to utilize the mitigation potential of changes in consumption patterns

Cuticular Hydrocarbons Reliably Identify Cheaters and Allow Enforcement of Altruism in a Social Insect

SummaryCheaters are a threat to every society and therefore societies have established rules to punish these individuals in order to stabilize their social system [1–3]. Recent models and observations suggest that enforcement of reproductive altruism (policing) in hymenopteran insect societies is a major force in maintaining high levels of cooperation [4–6]. In order to be able to enforce altruism, reproductive cheaters need to be reliably identified. Strong correlational evidence indicates that cuticular hydrocarbons are the means of identifying cheaters [7–14], but direct proof is still missing. In the ant Aphaenogaster cockerelli, we mimicked reproductive cheaters by applying a synthetic compound typical of fertile individuals on nonreproductive workers. This treatment induced nestmate aggression in colonies where a queen was present. As expected, it failed to do so in colonies without a queen where workers had begun to reproduce. This provides the first direct evidence that cuticular hydrocarbons are the informational basis of policing behaviors, serving a major function in the regulation of reproduction in social insects. We suggest that even though cheaters would gain from suppressing these profiles, they are prevented from doing so through the mechanisms of hydrocarbon biosynthesis and its relation to reproductive physiology. Cheaters are identified through information that is inherently reliable