The issue of political interference in judicial appointments got an airing this fall after several news outlets in Quebec reported on private departmental emails purporting to show undue politicking in federal appointments.

CBA Immigration Law Section Chair, Mark Holthe, of Holthe Immigration Law in Lethbridge, appeared before the House of Commons Citizenship and Immigration Committee in November to talk about the various impacts of COVID-19 on the immigration system.

Three years after the CBA’s Class Action Task Force completed its protocol on multi-jurisdictional case management, the task force has been reconvened, with Sylvie Rodrigue of Torys at the helm. We asked her some questions about the renewed initiative:

Discussion of the impact COVID-19 has had on children usually centres around online learning, or how to safely fill their need for both physical and social activity.

At its September meeting, the CBA’s COVID-19 task force received an object lesson in the limitations of technology, as about 20 highly educated, newly minted Zoom experts from across the country tried in vain to connect to audio for the meeting.

The CBA’s Commodity Tax, Customs and Trade Section says personal protective equipment should be added to the list of things considered necessary to life – and exempt from GST and HST under the Excise Tax Act.

Proposed amendments to the Federation of Law Societies of Canada’s Model Code of Conduct raise an intriguing and controversial question: Do law societies have an oversight role to play in the private lives of licensed practitioners?

The Black Lives Matter protests of the last few months have raised awareness of myriad inequities faced by Black, Indigenous and People of Colour with respect to their treatment by the police and justice systems. For example, light has been shone again on the fact that BIPOC individuals are far more likely to be stopped and questioned by police.

The Refugee Protection Division’s decision to return to in-person hearings as the default option raises a number of health and safety concerns, says the CBA’s Immigration Law Section.

The federal government has promised more transparency in judicial appointments and has declared its commitment to diversity in leadership. While it has made some good progress on transparency, there has been little appreciable difference in the diversity of those sitting on federal benches.