Program for the Tax Justice & Human Rights Symposium

Day 1 (June 18) | Day 2 (June 19) | Day 3 (June 20)

You can also download the program as a PDF file: 2014-tax-justice-symposium_program-18june2014.pdf

UPDATE: the speakers' videos are now posted on our Youtube channel: www.youtube.com/channel/UCKqUPf889JgRI_5gXQMslrQ

Symposium hashtag on Twitter: #TJHR

Day 1: Emerging Scholars Symposium
Wednesday, 18 June

Time

Topic

Location

08:30 – 09:00

Registration & Arrival Tea/Coffee

Atrium

09:00 – 09:30

Welcome Remarks: Daniel Jutras (Dean, McGill Faculty of Law)

Room 316

Panel A

Samuel Singer (Associate, Stikeman Elliott), Moderator

Room 316 

09:30 – 10:00

Leyla Ates (PhD candidate, University of Wisconsin and Istanbul Kemerburgaz University), Developing Countries And Globalization of Tax Law Making: Turkısh Tax Law Reforms on Fighting Tax Evasion

Steven Dean (Professor, Brooklyn Law School), discussant

10:00 – 10:30

May Hen (Master's candidate, Simon Fraser University), Who runs the Cayman Islands? Field notes on elite tax discourse

Lyne Latulippe (Professor, University of Sherbrooke), discussant

10:30 – 10:45

Refreshment Break

Third floor lobby

Panel B

William Stephenson (Editor in Chief, McGill Law Journal), Moderator

Room 316

10:45 – 11:15

Regina Duarte (LLM Candidate, Federal Univ. of Minas Gervais, Brasil), Globalization, Tax Competition and Tax Base Erosion: a Matter of Human Rights

Henry Ordower (Professor, Saint Louis Univeristy), discussant

11:15 – 11:45

Martin Hearson (PhD candidate, LSE), Why Do Developing Countries Sign Tax Treaties?

Lee Sheppard (Journalist, Tax Analysts), discussant

11:45 – 12:15

Daisy Ogembo (Assistant Lecturer, Strathmore Law School, Nairobi), VAT Refunds and Tax Justice

Andre Moreira (Associate Professor of Tax Law, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil), discussant

12:15 – 13:45

Stikeman Chair’s Luncheon featuring a keynote talk by James A. Robb, Stikeman Elliott

Atrium

Panel C

Sas Ansari (Phd Candidate, Osgoode University), Moderator

Room 316

13:45 – 14:15

César Alejandro Ruiz Jiménez (LLM Candidate, Vienna University), Right to Property and Taxation

Stephen Cohen (Professor, Georgetown University Law Center), discussant

14:15 – 14:45

Juan Agustin Argibay Molina (LLM Graduate, McGill), Trade Mispricing in Argentina: A Case Study

Neil Buchanan (Professor, George Washington University Law School), discussant

14:45 – 15:15

Montano Cabezas (LLM Candidate, Georgetown University Law Center), Giving Credit Where it is Due: Rethinking the Corporate Tax Paradigm

Kim Brooks (Dean and Weldon Professor of Law at the Schulich School of Law at Dalhouse University), discussant

15:15 – 15:30

Refreshment Break

Third floor lobby

Panel D

Sarah Blumel (Independent), Moderator

Room 316

15:30 – 17:00

Incubator Session: Designing a Research Project, Methodology & Collaboration, and Publishing

Adrienne Margolis (Founder and Editor, Lawyers 4 Better Business); Krishen Mehta (Senior Advisor, Tax Justice Network); Gabriel Monette (Réseau Justice Fiscale); and Shirley Pouget (Senior Program Lawyer, International Bar Association Human Rights Institute)

17:00 – 19:00

Cocktail reception

Atrium

19:00 – 20:30

Roundtable on Tax Justice and Human Rights: Open to the Public

Allison Christians (Stikeman Chair in Tax, McGill Faculty of Law), Moderator

Featuring Alex Himelfarb (Director, School of Public and International Affairs, York University); Kate Donald (Adviser to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights); Attiya Waris (Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law, University of Nairobi); and Denise Byrnes (Executive Director, Oxfam Québec)

Moot Court (room 100)

Day 2: Research Collaboration Symposium Part I
Thursday, 19 June 2014

Time

Topic

Location

08:30 – 09:00

Registration & Arrival Tea/Coffee

Atrium

09:00 – 09:15

Welcome remarks: Allison Christians (Stikeman Chair in Tax Law, McGill Faculty of Law); Dennis Howlett (Executive Director, Canadians for Tax Fairness); John Christensen (Director, Tax Justice Network); and Jean Symes (Program and Policy Analyst, Inter Pares)

Moot Court (room 100)

09:15 – 10:00

1. Setting the Stage

William Stephenson (Editor in Chief, McGill Law Journal), Moderator

- Kim Brooks (Dean and Weldon Professor of Law at the Schulich School of Law at Dalhouse University), Why Justice Matters for Tax Policy

- Ignacio Saiz (Executive Director, Center for Human Rights in Economic Policy), The Evolving Norms and Standards of Human Rights

- Allison Christians (Stikeman Chair in Tax, McGill Faculty of Law), Who Has Rights, What Rights, and Against Whom?

Moot Court (room 100)

10:00 – 11:15

2. Human Rights and Tax Justice Reports

Aldo Caliari (Director, Rethinking Bretton Woods Project), Moderator

- Lloyd Lipsett (President and Rapporteur, International Bar Association Task Force on Illicit Financial Flows, Poverty and Human Rights): IBA Human Rights Institute Task Force on Illicit Financial Flows, Poverty and Human Rights Report

- Kate Donald (Adviser to the UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights), UNHRC Report

- Adrienne Margolis (Founder and Editor, Lawyers 4 Better Business), L4BB Report

David Quentin (Senior Adviser, Tax Justice Network), and Shirley Pouget (Senior Program Lawyer, Int. Bar Assoc. Human Rights Institute), discussants

Moot Court (room 100)

11:15 – 11:30

Refreshment Break

Atrium

11:30 – 12:45

3. Gender and Fiscal Justice

Liz Nelson (Partnership Development and Resources Coordinator, Tax Justice Network), Moderator

- Annick Provencher (Professor, Faculty of Law, Université de Montréal), From the Invisible Hand to the Invisible Woman

- Rhys Kesselman (Professor, School of Public Policy, Simon Fraser University), Income Splitting and Alternatives for Family Tax Cuts in Canada

- Kathleen Lahey (Professor, Queen's University Law School), Sex Equality and Tax Justice: Gender Impact of Tax, Benefit, and Other Fiscal Policies

Kate Donald (Adviser to the UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights), Attiya Waris (Senior Lectrurer, Faculty of Law, Univ. of Nairobi), discussants

Moot Court (room 100)

12:45 – 14:15

Lunch, Keynote Speaker Thomas Pogge (Leitner Professor of Philosophy and International Affairs, Yale University) VIA SKYPE

Thomson House

14:15 – 15:45

4. Fiscal Justice: Regional Challenges and Initiatives

May Hen (Master's candidate, Simon Fraser University), Moderator

- Savior Mwambwa (Policy and Advocacy Manager, Tax Justice Network - Africa), The Reform of the Global Tax System: Keys Issues and Lessons from Africa

- André Mendes Moreira (Associate Professor of Tax Law - Federal University of Minas Gerais), Indirect Taxes and Tax Justice

- Misabel Machado Derzi (Professor of Tax Law, the Federal University of Minas Gerais), Guerre fiscale, Bourse Famille et Silence

- Renaud Fossard (Latindad), Latin American Countries: Local Issues and International Influences

Lyne Latulippe (Professor, University of Sherbrooke), John Christensen (Director, Tax Justice Network), discussants

Moot Court (room 100)

16:45 – 16:00

Refreshment Break

Atrium

16:00 – 17:30

5. Reducing Inequality: International Corporate Tax Reform

Jo Marie Griesgraber (Executive Director, New Rules for Global Finance Coalition), Moderator

- Erika Siu (Tax Research Consultant, International Centre for Taxation and Development), BEPS Monitoring Group Activities: An Update

- Michael Knoll (Theodore K. Warner Professor of Law, University of Pennsylvania Law School), Competitive Neutrality and the EU Model

- Lee Sheppard (Journalist, Tax Analysts), OECD Initiative on BEPS

- Robert Fox (Executive Director, Oxfam Canada), Business Among Friends: Why corporate tax dodgers are not yet losing sleep over global tax reform 

Samuel Singer (Associate, Stikeman Elliott), discussant

Moot Court (room 100)

17:30 – 17:45

Announcements

Moot Court (room 100)

17:45 – 18:30

Refreshment Break: Atrium

Breakout Session: IBAHRI Update on Tax and the Millennium Development Goals, Moot Court (room 100)

 

18:30

Film Screening

Moot Court (room 100)

 

Day 3: Research Collaboration Symposium Part II
Friday, 20 June 2014

Time

Topic

Location

08:30 – 09:00

Registration & Arrival Tea/Coffee

Atrium

09:00 – 10:30

6. Reducing Inequality: Tax Avoidance and Capital Flight

Ofer Sitbon (PhD candidate, College of Law & Business, Tel Aviv), Moderator

- James Henry (Senior Economic Advisor, Tax Justice Network), Kleptocracy and Human Rights

- Steven Cohen (Professor, Georgetown University Law Center), Does Swiss Bank Secrecy Violate International Human Rights?

- Brigitte Alepin (Partner, Agora Fiscalité), The Foundation

- Steven Dean (Professor, Brooklyn Law School), A Tax Regime to Catalyze Social Enterprise Crowdfunding

Lee Sheppard (Journalist, Tax Analysts), John Christensen (Director, Tax Justice Network), discussants

Moot Court (room 100)

10:30 – 10:45

Refreshment Break

Atrium

10:45 – 12:00

7. Reducing Inequality: Tax Avoidance and Progressive Taxation

Neil Buchanan (Professor, George Washington University Law School), moderator

- Chris Odinet (Associate Professor of Law, Southern University Law Center), Taxing Property Owners

- Jean-Pierre Vidal (Associate Professor, Dept of Accountancy, HEC Montreal), Ethics in Taxation: what is it, and why should a tax specialist care?

- Niko Lusiani, (Senior Researcher, Center for Economic and Social Rights), A Post-2015 Fiscal Revolution: Human Rights in the Struggle to Finance Sustainable Development

James Henry (Senior Economic Advisor, Tax Justice Network), Attiya Waris (Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law, Univ. of Nairobi), discussants

Moot Court (room 100)

12:15 – 14:00

Lunch, Keynote Speaker Attiya Waris (Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law, University of Nairobi)

 Thomson House

14:00 – 15:30

8. Justice in Labour and Capital Migration

Samuel Singer (Associate, Stikeman Elliott), Moderator

- Aldo Caliari (Director, Rethinking Bretton Woods Project), Unleashing the Potential of Human Rights Standards to Demand Tax Justice

- Lynne Latulippe (Professor, University of Sherbrooke), Tax Competition and Paradigm Shift in International Law

- Krishen Mehta (Senior Advisor, Tax Justice Network, New York), Can Developing Countries Attract Investment and Still Get a Fair Deal on Tax Justice?

- Henry Ordower (Professor, Saint Louis University), Retreat from Progressive Taxation in the Swedish Welfare State: Does Immigration Matter?

John Christensen (Director, Tax Justice Network), Neil Buchanan (Professor, George Washington University Law School), discussants

Moot Court (room 100)

15:30 – 15:45

Refreshment Break

Atrium

15:45 – 17:00

9. Environmental Tax Justice

Jessica Magonet (BCL/LLB candidate, McGill Faculty of Law), Moderator

- Toby Sanger (Senior Economist, Canadian Union of Public Employees), Tax Justice and Climate Change

- Tracey Roberts (Visiting Assistant Professor, Seattle University School of Law), Tax – A Better Mechanism to Protect Rights in the Global Commons

- Rodolfo Salassa Boix (Professor, National University of Cordoba), Distribution of Ecological Costs Through Environmental Taxes

Stéphane Dion (MP for Saint Laurent-Cartierville), Jim Henry (Professor, Saint Louis University), discussants

Moot Court (room 100)

17:00 – 18:00

10. Roundtable on Tax Justice Campaigns and CSO Actions

Imad Sabi (Head of Global Partners Program, Oxfam Novib), Moderator

- Dennis Howlett (Executive Director, Canadians for Tax Fairness)

- Duncan Wigan (Researcher, Copenhagen Business School)

- Victoria Harnett (Campaigns & Communications Advisor, Aid & Development Finance at Oxfam International)

Moot Court (room 100)

18:00 – 18:15

Wrap Up and Closing Remarks, Allison Christians (Stikeman Chair in Tax Law, McGill Faculty of Law)

Moot Court (room 100)

18:15 – 20:00

Closing Cocktail

 Atrium

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