Keep Current: A review of provincial Section meetings.

by Trisha Jewison

Section News
Continuing Professional Development
The Canadian Bar Association (CBA) is committed to providing relevant Continuing Professional Development programming accessible to members of the profession across Canada. The CBA’s new one-stop CPD resource site contains unique features to help manage your credits and remain at the forefront of the changing legal education landscape.

Features of the new PD website:

• Combines listings for all CBA Branch, National and CCCA events in one convenient location, eliminating the need to search through multiple sites.
• Allows you to browse, search and track your credits for all CBA (Branch, CCCA and National) listings, in one convenient website.
• CBA offers accredited programs and all accreditation details are conveniently listed online.

Visit: www.cba.org/pd/index.aspx to create a personalised account based on your CPD needs!

To view only upcoming CBABC programs, select the “My Province/Territory” tab and then “British Columbia.”

Criminal Justice-Victoria & Family Law-Victoria Meeting: January 20, 2010 Speakers: Provincial Court Judge Wood and Inspector Clarke Russell, Victoria Police Department Topic: Domestic Violence		Immigration Law Meeting: January 27, 2010 Speakers: Deanna Okun-Nachoff, Naomi Minwalla, Meika Lalonde, Ryan Neely and Kyle Hyndman (pictured) Topic: Proposed Regulations on Live-In Caregiver Program
Family Law-Fraser Valley Meeting: January 21, 2010 Speaker: The Honorable Mr. Justice Joyce Topic: Custody, Guardianship and Access		Employment Law & Human Rights Law Meeting: February 3, 2010 Speakers: Sandra Guarascio and Gabrielle Scorer Topic: Employer Investigations of Alleged Human Rights Violations – Legal Considerations

Criminal Justice-Victoria & Family Law-Victoria
This joint Section meeting featured His Honour Judge Wood of the Provincial Court and Inspector Clarke Russell of the Victoria Police Department. They discussed the issue of domestic violence.

Judge Wood spoke about a pilot project operating in the Duncan Provincial Court. The project involves diverting domestic violence cases into a special court that sits one day per week with Judge Wood presiding. The goal of the project is to reduce domestic violence recidivism by encouraging the accused to take responsibility for his actions and to engage in treatment. The project also aims to provide support for families that have experienced violence but wish to stay intact.

Inspector Russell discussed a new domestic violence unit within the Victoria Police Department. The unit has two officers assigned to it. Inspector Russell also advised that a regional domestic violence unit is anticipated in the near future in light of the recommendation of the Peter Lee inquest that such a unit be established.

Immigration Law
Deanna Okun-Nachoff provided a summary of proposed changes to the Live-In Caregiver program, including an increase to four from three years within which to accumulate the required two years of employment as well as a change to a single medical exam at the front end of the program, as opposed to a medical exam for the work permit and a second exam upon applying for Permanent Residence. Meika Lalonde provided a summary and analysis of the proposed regulations relating to work permit caps and employer compliance. Ryan Neely explained the online application process for work permit extensions, including advice on counsel’s ability to access the system and Kyle Hyndman explained the background of the IT workers’ program and HRSDC’s intention to eliminate it in the near future.

Naomi Minwalla attended the CCR Convention on behalf of the Section and was a plenary speaker and provided a brief report.

Family Law-Fraser Valley
The Honorable Mr. Justice Joyce discussed custody, guardianship and access issues and presented on a number of cases which have been decided by the Court of Appeal on mobility since the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision of Gordon v. Goertz.

One particular case of interest was the case of Karpodinis v. Kantas (2006) B.C.J. No. 1209, where the mother and father separated in 1990 and divorced in 1993. The mother, who had sole custody of their child, wanted to move to Texas for employment reasons. The father applied for a restraining order to prohibit the move and after consideration, the trial judge found in favour of the father and the Court of Appeal upheld the trial judge’s decision.

The Supreme Court of Canada has set out factors to be considered, with the main issue being: What was in the child’s best interest?

Employment Law & Human Rights Law
Sandra Guarascio and Gabrielle Scorer presented and discussed employer investigations of alleged human rights violations from a legal perspective.

The panel also discussed various related topics, including: legal responsibility for conducting investigations; investigation procedures; dealing with issues concerning union and legal representation; procedural protections, including privacy, confidentiality and non-reprisal; cooperation of participants in investigations; impact of concurrent investigations; and investigation reports.

One case example, CUPE, Local 82 v. Windsor (City), [2006] O.L.A.A. No. 317, involved a Workplace Violence Prevention Policy that assured participants privacy. In a discipline case, the union requested pre-hearing disclosure of interview notes, witness statements and a report arguing that the grievor was entitled to know the basis for the employer’s decision to impose discipline. The arbitrator ordered pre-hearing disclosure of the requested documents on the basis that the information was highly relevant, fairness required disclosure and the employer had not proven the Policy met the Wigmore criteria to keep the information confidential.

This article was published in the April 2010 issue of BarTalk. © 2010 The Canadian Bar Association. All rights reserved.