News

Launched as a pilot project in six jurisdictions this fall, Connexions is a program that matches new young lawyer members with a peer – also known as a “CBA Connector” – in their area. Connectors help new young lawyer members navigate their way through the CBA in order to get the most out of their membership.

The Canadian Bar Association greets the announcement of the nomination of Justice Malcolm Rowe of the Newfoundland and Labrador Court of Appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada.

As you remember, CBA Council voted at its meeting in August to dissolve itself. What comes next? We’re still working out the details, but for now the 2017 CBA Legal Conference has been cancelled and we’re making plans for an annual general meeting.

November’s usually the month for settling in and beginning to hibernate, but this month the CBA is shaking things up, with the departure of one CEO and the arrival of another, and members and staff working away like proverbial national symbols on Re-think-related projects.

Following a resolution passed in August 2016, the CBA is seeking the Government of Canada’s support for an application for clemency for Leonard Peltier. In a letter dated October 28, the CBA has asked Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould to contact her counterpart, US Attorney General Loretta Lynch, to support Mr. Peltier’s request for clemency so he can live out his days in Canada.

In an appearance before the Commons Citizenship and Immigration Committee on Oct. 27, the CBA’s Immigration Law Section expressed its support for the principle of family reunification as an objective of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

The Canadian Bar Association is pleased that the government has improved the judicial appointment process and has filled some vacancies on the courts. The Canadian Bar Association agrees with the reinstatement of the “highly recommended” category for judicial candidates as a way of denoting truly exceptional candidates. We are also happy that voting on Judicial Advisory Committees has been rebalanced so that the majority of members will be independent of the government.

Following an appearance before the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee last February, and the subsequent release of the Senate Committee’s report on delays in the criminal justice system in August, the CBA is now offering additional input.

Check out our fall lineup designed for in-house counsel!

CBA’s legal health checks are a way of alerting people to legal issues they may not be aware of. They can impart basic information on a particular theme and give lay people an idea of the next steps they’ll need to take to prevent a legal problem, or at least stop it from escalating.