For Immediate Release
April 19, 2007
OTTAWA – Some 300 runners and walkers will participate in the 12th annual Law Day Fun Run/Walk, scheduled for Friday, April 20 at the Festival Plaza in front of Ottawa City Hall (Laurier Avenue). All proceeds from the run will be donated to Christie Lake Kids, a charity that provides recreational skills development to children from low-income households in Ottawa.
“Madame Justice Louise Charron of the Supreme Court of Canada will fire the starting pistol, signalling the start of what will hopefully be our most successful run yet,” says organizer John Westdal of Sevigny Westdal LLP, Ottawa. “There’s still time to register for the run, so let’s get out there and shake off the winter blues, welcome the arrival of spring, and contribute to a worthy cause.”
Last-minute registration is available onsite from 11:15-11:45 a.m. on April 20, at a cost of $30. Food and beverages have been arranged by Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP. Forms are also available electronically at http://www.ccla.ottawa.on.ca.
The top three male and female finishers will receive medals. The run starts at City Hall, proceeds along the Queen Elizabeth Driveway footpath on the west side of the Canal, turns around at Fifth Avenue, and returns to Ottawa City Hall.
This year’s charity is Christie Lake Kids, which operates a summer camp as well as after-school and weekend programs that provide recreational skill development to children from low-income households in Ottawa. The programs help children develop not just diverse technical skills such as swimming, canoeing and cooking but also self-esteem, social skills and a sense of belonging.
Other Law Day events, involving some 500 high school students, took place earlier in the week on April 17. Those events, which marked the 25th anniversary of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, included a mock trial, career panel, presentation by the Ottawa Police canine unit, and a speech by federal Justice Minister Rob Nicholson.
Ottawa Law Day activities are coordinated by a committee with members from the Canadian Bar Association, Justice Canada, the County of Carleton Law Association, l’Association des juristes d’expression française de l’Ontario, the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and the Ottawa-Carleton Catholic District School Board.
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CONTACT: Hannah Bernstein, Canadian Bar Association. Tel: (613) 237-2925, ext. 146; E-mail: hannahb@cba.org.
