In my prior two Vancouver posts, I discussed some
of the folks I met in Vancouver, as well as some pending
board diversity legislation in Canada. Today, in my last post on the topic, I want to talk about
the highs and lows of the trip.
No question that one of the high points of visiting
Vancouver was the amazing trip out to Bowen Island to see UBC faculty members Janis Sarra and Ron Davis. When we stepped off the ferry, my
significant other commented that he felt he had walked onto a movie set. And he practically had. It seems they’ve filmed at least
part of just about every movie ever made on Bowen Island. But the stand out for me is that Harper’s Island was
filmed here – and the only reason that I watched that horrible show is that I
loved the setting (and there was nothing else on television on a Saturday
morning in the middle of the summer).
You’re forgiven if you’ve never seen Harper’s Island –
almost no one has. Harper's Island had only one season with 13 episodes, and in
each episode one or more main characters were killed in an exceptionally weird
and grisly manner. Despite falling ratings, CBS aired all 13 Harper's Island
episodes, although the show was moved from its original night and time to
Saturdays. (Wikipedia
has all the grisly ratings details, as well as a character death chart).
Anyway, Bowen Island is even more beautiful in person than
on either the big or small screen.
And Janis was a great host, giving me a short hike around the island,
treating me to wine and a fire, and showing me the sights. Janis was the founding Director of the
National Centre for Business Law, which hosted my trip, and was also the
Associate Dean of the Faculty of Law from 2003 to 2007. She teaches corporate finance,
commercial insolvency law, corporate law, securities law, contract law, and law
and economics, and researches and writes in the areas of corporate law and
corporate finance, securities law, and commercial insolvency law. I first met Janis at Law & Society
(Montreal), where I was immediately impressed with her quick wit, her
organizational skills, and her ability to walk uphill really fast without
getting winded.
I had never met Ron Davis before, but was delighted to have
a chance to do so this time. Ron’s research interests are pension law,
corporate law, trust law, law and economics, law and society, and insolvency
law. His doctoral dissertation concerned the role of pension funds in corporate
governance, focusing on the potential exercise of control over these activities
by the employee-beneficiaries and whether such control could lead to increased
corporate social responsibility. His most recent book, Democratizing Pension Funds: Corporate Governance and Accountability
(Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 2008), is available here
from Google books.
Another high point: the People’s Law School, pictured right. I don’t know why it is a
high point, since I learned little about it from the receptionist, who seemed
put off by our numerous questions about what the “People’s” law school did, how
many students they had, whether they had faculty, how they were funded, and whether they needed visitors from the U.S. I guess I just liked the name. But according to the website:
Since 1972, we have provided free and impartial public legal
education to many thousands of British Columbians in all walks of life. We make
special efforts to serve people who may have particular legal education needs,
including seniors, workers, students, immigrants, parents and poor people.
Now for the low point, pictured below – Staples, which
charged more than $.50/page for printing.
Get a grip people! These
rates are higher than the Four Seasons business center. The poor guy behind me made the mistake
of accidentally printing in color, and they charged him about $8.00 for two
pages. Maybe Staples always
charges this much for printing – luckily I’ve never had to try before and will
try to avoid it in the future.
That wraps up my Vancouver series of posts. Next stop: St.
Louis!