As Chair of the Section, I’m touching base with you as we head into summer to report on some of the activities of the past fiscal year and let you know what’s happening in the near future.
Past year highlights:
- Developed municipal law presentations for the CBA Law Series “Current Issues in Municipal Law: Addressing Integrity and Climate Change”
- We are working on a toolkit on both homelessness and lobbying registries as they relate to our members’ work.
- The Executive also recently created a new standing Professional Development Committee to ensure we have a continuing stream of programming for our members at the national level.
- Mark your calendars: We are organizing a webinar to be hosted on October 22, 2019 entitled: Building a Shared Future: Collaboration Between First Nations and Municipalities. This event was borne out of the recognition that local governments are uniquely positioned to build relationships with First Nations; by working together, First Nations and municipalities can improve the quality of life for all residents. Stay tuned for more information.
Time to collaborate
- Are you a young lawyer or student? We invite you to submit articles, that will be published on the Section’s Town Hall online. All articles are now open access and will be a good opportunity to gain exposure and have published work under your belt. We welcome topics on municipal law that would be suitable for a national audience.
- The Section will prioritize enhancing the connection between the CBA Law Students Section, which meets broader CBA inter-connectivity goals. The Executive hopes to be able to make some exciting announcements in the fall about new initiatives involving law students.
- FYI: The Public Lawyers Section is holding a free teleconference brownbag on June 27 that may be of interest to you entitled "What’s Coming Down the Pipe: Canada’s Regional Energy Politics Goes (Back) to Court”
Year ahead
The annual in-person Section executive meeting was not held this year. We have found that this in-person meeting has been critical to building relationships and brainstorming ideas for the Section. To ensure that the Section remains cohesive and dynamic, one of our objectives for the upcoming year is to hold an in-person meeting to continue the Section’s objectives and goals with member engagement.
It has been a pleasure serving the section as your Chair and I look forward to returning in the fall to continue and expand our ongoing efforts to ensure the Section’s activities are meaningful to your practices.
Yours truly,
Robert Peterson
Chair, CBA Municipal Law Section