Keep your practice current

by Fran Hodgkins

The following are brief summaries of several recent Section meetings held throughout the province. More detailed information, minutes, and Section Papers from the Section meetings are accessible online at www.cba.org/bc for enrolled CBA members.

Administrative Law – Vancouver
Meeting: January 18, 2007
Speaker: Dianne Flood, Executive Director, Administrative Justice Office
Topic: The Administrative Tribunals Act – An Update

Ms. Flood presented a paper called “The Administrative Tribunals Act – An Update.” This excellent 50-page paper was a full overview of the entire system of the Administrative Tribunals Act, how it applies, and which tribunals have been made subject to its provisions. Ms. Flood was most informative and her informal style ensured that all the attendees enjoyed an evening of “catching up” on the implementation of this very important piece of legislation. Ms. Flood also briefly informed the meeting of developments in other common law jurisdictions.

ADR – Vancouver
Meeting: January 16, 2007
Speaker: The Honourable Chief Justice Donald Brenner, Supreme Court of British Columbia
Topic: B.C. Supreme Court Update

Chief Justice Brenner gave an overview of activities and initiatives of the Court over the past 12 months. The initiatives discussed included: the Civil Justice Reform Working Group which is seeking feedback and suggestions from the Bar in response to its report published last November; the Practice Directions issued by the Supreme Court in 2006 regarding the Class Proceedings Act, the Companies’ Creditors Arrangements Act Model Order and Electronic Evidence; and the posting of available trial dates on the Court’s website (beginning May 2006). The Chief Justice also advised of the recent appointments of three new Supreme Court Judges: Justices Catherine Bruce, Gail Dickson, and William Smart. Members at this well-attended meeting had the opportunity to ask Chief Justice Brenner questions regarding these initiatives.

Corporate Counsel
Meeting: January 10, 2007
Speaker: Scott Dawson, Farris Vaughan Wills & Murphy LLP
Topic: Developments in the Law of Privilege

Mr. Dawson discussed the key points emerging from Blank v. Canada on litigation privilege. He outlined some aspects of its impact and strategy. For example, it impacts government agencies as well as corporations covered by FOI legislation. The impact on settlement privilege and document retention policies is less clear. Mr. Dawson discussed two other cases, Blood Tribe Department of Health v. Canada (2006 FCA 334) on solicitor-client privilege and R. Laidlaw Environmental Services (Sarnia) Ltd. (1996), 19 C.E.L.R. (N.S.) 42 on advising non-managerial employees and conflict of interest. He gave practical suggestions on handling privileged communications and his presentation ended with an informative question and answer period.

Employment Law
Meeting: January 16, 2007
Speaker: David Iverson, Manager, Computer Forensics for Western Canada, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Topic: Computer Forensics and Electronic Discovery: What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You

Mr. Iverson defined “computer forensics” to be the recovery of data from computers, BlackBerrys, SIM cards, access cards, etc. It is important for legal counsel to recognize that data is everywhere and to be aware of where relevant data can be retrieved in a case and to get at that source of data as soon as possible. The longer the wait, the more likely data will be lost. Mr. Iverson explained that people generally think when they “delete” a file, it is then erased from the system, but this is actually not true. The only thing that is “deleted” is the “index” that allows you to pull that data. The data is still scattered within the computer hard drive and may be retrieved by computer forensic experts if required. The sooner the computer is imaged the more data can be recovered from it. Mr. Iverson gave many examples of his everyday work where vital information for clients has assisted in their case. Mr. Iverson also answered many questions during his presentation.

Immigration Law
Meeting: January 31, 2007
Speakers: Jenny Lo, Regional Foreign Worker Consultant; Kim Workun, Assistant Deputy Chair, Immigration Appeal Division, Western Region
Topic: Recent Significant Developments at the Service Canada, B.C./Yukon Region; Immigration Appeal Division (IAD) updates

Ms. Lo provided an overview of current issues in the B.C. Foreign Worker Unit and responded to questions from members. She addressed concerns raised with processing times for the Temporary Foreign Worker Unit which can vary with the number of applications being received and can fluctuate considerably. The goal of Service Canada is to reduce the processing time to three weeks. Ms. Workun provided a short overview of the IAD Innovation which she covered in more depth at the December 2006 Immigration Law CLE seminar. The IAD Innovation Plan includes the Early Review Process, which permits parties to make written submissions on legal issues and, where these issues are determinative of the appeal, the appeal will be determined in chambers without an oral hearing. Examples of case types suitable for the ER process were provided at this meeting.

Insolvency Law
Meeting: February 6, 2007
Speakers: Donnaree Nygard, Counsel, Department of Justice; Mohammad Shafiqe, Resource and Complex Case Officer, Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA)
Topic: Department of Justice and Canadian Revenue Agency Positions on Current Insolvency Issues

Ms. Nygard presented highlights from a paper prepared by Michael Loma, who is with the Department of Justice in Edmonton. Ms. Nygard highlighted, in particular, the deemed trust cases, builders’ lien issues, and set off cases. With respect to builders’ liens, Ms. Nygard added that CRA’s practice has been not to seek recovery from the 10 per cent holdback, but that this practice may change in light of the Ledcor case (cited in Mr. Loma’s paper). Mr. Shafiqe presented the CRA policy on BIA proposals, which at the outset is recovery of 100 cents on the dollar net of administrative costs, and set out the circumstances in which CRA would consider proposals where CRA would recover less than 100 cents on the dollar.

Attend a Section Meeting by Teleconference
CBABC is committed to making Section meetings widely available. If you are interested in attending a Section meeting by teleconference outside the downtown Vancouver area, and have a boardroom you are prepared to make available for other Section members to join you, please contact Fran Hodgkins at 604-646-7857 or toll-free at 1-888-687-3404 or e-mail fhodgkins@bccba.org. Check the current list of Section meetings online.

CBABC Welcomes Civil Litigation – Okanagan Section!
The Civil Litigation – Okanagan Section was approved at the January Provincial Council meeting. Sean Pihl of Pihl and Associates initiated the formation of this Section and was acclaimed Chair at its inaugural meeting March 1st in Kelowna. To enrol in this new Section and keep up to date in this practice area print an enrolment form from our website www.cba.org/bc or call the Branch office at 604-687-3404 or toll-free at 1-888-687-3404.

This article was published in the April 2007 issue of BarTalk. © 2007 The Canadian Bar Association. All rights reserved.