Calgary 2007: August 12-14
Mark your calendar now for the 2007 CBA Canadian Legal Conference in Calgary, August 12-14, 2007.

Calgary’s own Juno Award winning singer Jann Arden headlines the entertainment roster and will perform on August 13. Peter Lougheed, QC and Preston Manning will educate and entertain at breakfasts on August 13 and 14, while author and visionary Leonard Brody will deliver remarks at the closing lunch on August 14. Confirmed panelists for Continuing Legal Education programs to date include Mr. Justice John Gomery, Norman Inkster, Mr. Justice Allen Linden, Madame Justice Denise Bellamy, and Commissioner Graham Fraser.

Watch for details and registration information on the CBA website, www.cba.org.


Kevin Carroll, QC to Become National 2nd VP; Wayne Onchulenko, Treasurer
Kevin Carroll, QC of Barrie, Ontario will become the Second Vice-President of the CBA. He won the position by acclamation, which becomes official at the CBA Mid-Winter Meeting of Council in Mont-Tremblant, Quebec, on February 18.

Kevin Carroll, QC officially begins his climb up the ladder to the CBA presidency during the 2007-2008 term, and will become CBA president in August 2009. He brings both Branch and National experience to the position of Second VP. He served as President of the Ontario Branch in 1993-1994 and served several terms on CBA Council and the National Executive Committee.

Wayne Onchulenko of Winnipeg has been acclaimed CBA Treasurer for a three-year term beginning in September. Wayne Onchulenko is a Past President of the Manitoba Bar Association and a former member of the National Finance Committee. He succeeds Jack Innes, QC of Halifax who has served as National Treasurer for the past five years.


Dublin in 2009
Dublin, Ireland will be the site for the CBA’s Canadian Legal Conference (CLC), August 16-18, 2009. The Board of Directors unanimously confirmed the location after reviewing a report that recommended the Irish location based on member preference, ease of access, travel costs, and the support of the Irish Bar.

Ninety-three per cent of CLC attendees over the past five years, who responded to a March 2006 survey, chose Dublin as an appealing site. Eighty-seven per cent said they would combine the CLC with a vacation. Council approved an offshore location for the meeting three years ago. When the CBA held its meeting in London, England in 1990, it attracted a record 1,776 participants.


Advocacy in Criminal Justice, Rule of Law
The CBA will be speaking out on the following subjects during the current Parliamentary session:

• Bill C-22 (age of protection). Proposes to raise age of consent from 14 to 16 years, with a five-year “close in age” exemption. The National Criminal Justice Section plans to support this amendment because it is tailored to achieve the goal of better protecting children.
• Bill C-32 (impaired driving). Introduces changes to specifically target drug impairment. The National Criminal Justice Section agrees with the goal of prohibiting drug-impaired driving, but cautions that measures that extend beyond current technology for reliably measuring and identifying drug impairment will create litigation and cause delays in the administration of justice.
• Bill C-27 (dangerous offenders and recognizance to keep the peace). Proposals would amend the dangerous offender and long-term offender provisions to introduce a presumption that an offender will be treated as a “dangerous offender” if charged with a third serious personal injury offence, after two prior convictions for such offences. Preliminary discussions indicate that the Section finds the current regime to operate effectively, and perceives this bill as very complex.
• Bill C-35 (reverse onus in bail hearings for firearm-related offences). Proposes that an offender charged with serious offences involving a firearm will have to prove that pre-trial detention is not required.
• CBA’s International Development Committee (IDC). The House of Commons Committee on Foreign Affairs is studying Canada’s role in international support for democratic development abroad. IDC appeared in late January to say that Canada’s efforts to promote democracy will be most successful if its assistance is centred on supporting good governance, which includes a significant focus on building the rule of law. CBA explained the links between the rule of law, democracy, good governance, and development. It also shared international best practices on how to promote the rule of law and drew implications for Canada’s future work in this area.

CBA to Intervene at SCC in Christie
The CBA has been granted leave to intervene in Attorney General of British Columbia v. Christie. The case involves the constitutionality of a tax on legal services that was introduced by the B.C. government in 1992. The late Dugald Christie challenged the tax, alleging that it denies access to justice, contrary to the rule of law and the Charter. The B.C. Court of Appeal agreed that the tax is unconstitutional.

The CBA’s main objective in the intervention is to encourage the Supreme Court of Canada to uphold the appeal court decision. The CBA also wants to assist the Supreme Court to further develop the principle that access to the courts means more than physical access. Counsel for the CBA’s legal aid test case – J.J. Camp, QC, Melina Buckley and Sharon Matthews (acting pro bono in the intervention), have identified Christie as an opportunity to build their arguments for civil legal aid.

The CBA factum was filed in December and the court has granted leave to make oral arguments. The appeal will be heard on March 21, 2007.


New Federal Minister of Justice
The new year brought a new face to the federal cabinet: Rob Nicholson has succeeded Vic Toews as Minister of Justice. CBA President J. Parker MacCarthy, QC welcomed Rob Nicholson’s appointment. “The CBA values its ongoing relationship with the Minister of Justice,” said Parker MacCarthy.

“We make more than 70 submissions annually to the federal government, so dialogue is a critical part of the mandate. We look forward to working with Minister Nicholson.”

These articles were published in the February 2007 issue of BarTalk. © 2007 The Canadian Bar Association. All rights reserved.