I will rely on the old saying “better late than never” as this greeting should have been written 6 weeks ago! I am honoured, and a bit intimidated, to be Chair of the Section for the upcoming year.
With a new CBA year comes change and while it is exciting to welcome a new secretary onto the Executive Committee, it is sad to be losing Robyn Trask, Past Chair, as she has been instrumental in moving the Section forward – but I am happy to see Robyn continues to be involved in the CBA! Speaking of new – let me introduce you to the 2020-2021 Officers.
While the new CBA year has just started, I will put in the first plug for encouraging Section members to consider running for Secretary for 2021-2022 (elections open in May 2021). The Section Executive operates on a ladder system, with a one-year term spent in each position.
In addition to the Officers, the Section works with the assistance and dedication of its Executive Committee members which includes provincial and territorial Branch Chairs and Members-at-Large. These members do the work of the various committees that are integral to our Section’s success. In addition, we have the following committees:
- Law Reform
- Webinars and Communication
- ABA Liaison
- Intervention Proposals
- Annual Conference
- Annual meeting with Department of Justice
- Student Essay Contest
It was a tough decision to cancel the annual CBA Administrative Law and Labour & Employment Law Conference, which is usually held in Ottawa each November. However, in these unique and challenging COVID-19 times, it was the right decision. Our Section is grateful to Pierre Moreau, Q.C. for offering to continue with one of the highlights of the conference: the fireside chat with the Honourable Justice Malcolm Rowe on November 20 (12:30 – 1:30 pm Eastern)
REGISTER NOW →
As with many things, the fireside chat will be different this year but that does not make it any less exciting. Mark your calendars and be ready to Zoom in and watch. We are happy to advise that simultaneous interpretation in French will also be available.
With the hard work of Darryl Hiscocks, current Past Chair, our Section has presented webinars each year and we are looking forward to continuing this tradition. You can access the on-demand webinar recordings from the past Law Series: spring 2020 and fall 2019. Remember to check out the recording of our recent webinar: Issues in Labour & Employment Settlements (presented in English with simultaneous French translation). Recording coming soon!
Stay tuned, our Section will be collaborating with the CBA Health Law Section on a 2021 webinar regarding… you guessed it, pandemic preparedness… through the lens of “lessons learned”. In addition, our Section plans to update the Pandemics and the Workplace toolkit guide this year.
I want to encourage lawyers and students to renew their CBA membership (November 1 deadline) and to join our Section. Although COVID-19 has caused us to be physically distant – the connections made through the Section are invaluable!
If you know any Law Students or if you are one yourself, please consider entering the Section’s essay contest. (April 30, 2021 deadline). Entrants have a chance to win a $500 cash prize and have their essay published on the Section webpage. The winner of last year’s essay contest was Sara Tatelman, read her winning essay here!
I want to personally wish each person reading this message my best – my hope is that you and all around you are, and remain, safe and healthy and that we treat others as we would like to be treated. Whether talking about COVID-19 or life in general – we are all in this together!
Ronni A. Nordal, Q.C.
Chair – CBA Labour & Employment Section 2020-2021
Discover the NewLaw series in partnership with the CBA Quebec Branch exploring the "disruptive" movement that brings evolution, creation and innovation to the practice of law and the delivery of legal services. This series will be in French only. Want to learn more? Take a look at the four webinars.