Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould brought a message of change and reconciliation in her first address to CBA Council, at the Mid-Winter meeting in Ottawa in February.
Wilson-Raybould made it clear that she appreciates the work of the CBA and intends to have a respectful and collaborative relationship with the association. CBA National magazine caught up with her after her address to Council and talked about some of her priorities.
An appearance by the Justice Minister was a highlight of the long weekend; Veterans Affairs Minister Kent Hehr was a surprise – and welcome – addition to the Council program on Sunday. Along with Council, members spent the long weekend at meetings of the Board, National Sections Council, forum chairs, among others, and getting together with officials from various federal departments.
Here are some of the other high points:
As usual, resolutions covering a wide range of issues from court closures to child labour, were among the first orders of the day at Council on Saturday. Read the CBA National magazine blog and check out the resolutions on cba.org to see what was adopted.
Michèle Moreau (photo below, to left of Kerry L. Simmons, Q.C.) was acclaimed 2nd VP. Currently the President of the Quebec branch, she’ll hold that position until the end of August, and will take on the role of 2nd VP in September.
Marie-Laure Leclerq, winner of this year’s SOGIC Hero award, brought many in the room to tears with her acceptance speech. Check out nationalmagazine.ca for Snap Chats with our other award winners.
The CBA Re-Think occupied the prime slot in the afternoon program on Saturday. See this month’s Spotlight on… for details of the Strategic Direction adopted by Council, and you can check out the Re-Think page for background.
There was also a presentation on entity regulation. It’s coming – find out what it means for you. Check out the blog post on nationalmagazine.ca.
A highlight of the Sunday morning program was a presentation by legal futurist Jordan Furlong, Erika Carrasco, Chair of the Young Lawyers Forum, and Dana Gregoire, Chair of the Law Students Forum. The trio introduced Do Law Differently: Futures for Young Lawyers, a members-only guide written by Furlong in partnership with the CBA Legal Futures Initiative and the Young Lawyers Forum, meant to give law students and young lawyers a good idea of the skills and competencies they’ll need to succeed in today’s legal marketplace. See elsewhere in this newsletter for details.
Check out the CBA flickr page for photos from the Mid-Winter meeting.
