Law Times

PAGE 6 COMMENT Law Times Group Publisher . . . . . . Karen Lorimer Editorial Director . . . . . . Gail J. Cohen Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Glenn Kauth Staff Writer . . . . . . . . . .Kendyl Sebesta Staff Writer . . . . . . Michael McKiernan Copy Editor . . . . . . . . Katia Caporiccio CaseLaw Editor . . . . . . Lorraine Pang Art Director . . . . . . . . . Alicia Adamson Account Co-ordinator . . . Catherine Giles Electronic Production Specialist . . . . . . . . . . . . Derek Welford Advertising Sales . . . Kimberlee Pascoe Sales Co-ordinator . . . . . . . . Sandy Shutt ©2011 Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reprinted or stored in a retrieval system without written per- mission. The opinions expressed in articles are not necessarily those of the publisher. Information presented is compiled from sources believed to be accurate, however, the publisher assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions. Law Times disclaims any warranty as to the accuracy, completeness or currency of the contents of this publication and disclaims all liability in respect of the results of any action taken or not taken in reliance upon information in this publication. Editorial Obiter tem. B ay Street fi rms stepped up to the plate last week for people struggling with the legal sys- Th ose accused of wrongdoing by the Ontario Securities Commission might not be the obvious people in need of free legal help, but lots of them can't aff ord legal representation or go without it. Of course, with the hefty fees the most prominent securi- ties lawyers charge, it's not surprising that even the wealthiest people would struggle to pay for representation be- fore the regulator. According to the OSC, in fact, 70 per cent of respon- dents go without counsel. It's good then, to see the OSC and several Bay Street fi rms come out with OcTOber 24, 2011 • Law Times Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. One Corporate Plaza, 2075 Kennedy Rd., Toronto, ON • M1T 3V4 Tel: 416-298-5141 • Fax: 647-288-5418 www.lawtimesnews.com Publications Mail Agreement Number 40762529 • ISSN 0847-5083 Law Times is published 40 times a year by Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd., 2075 Kennedy Rd., Toronto, ON, M1T 3V4 • 416-298-5141 clb.lteditor@thomsonreuters.com CIRCULATIONS & SUBSCRIPTIONS $165.00 + HST per year in Canada (HST Reg. #R121351134) and US$259.00 for foreign addresses. Single copies are $4.00 Circulation inquiries, postal returns and address changes should include a copy of the mailing label(s) and should be sent to Law Times One Corporate Plaza, 2075 Kennedy Rd. Toronto ON, M1T 3V4. Return postage guaranteed. Contact Jacquie Clancy at: jacquie.clancy@thomsonreuters.com or Tel: 416- 298-5141 Ext. 2732 or Fax: 905-841-6786. ADVERTISING Advertising inquiries and materials should be directed to Sales, Law Times, 2075 Kennedy Rd., Toronto, ON, M1T 3V4 or call Karen Lorimer at 647-288-8018 karen.lorimer@thomsonreuters. com, Kimberlee Pascoe at 416-298-5141 Ext. 4052 kimberlee.pascoe@thomsonreuters.com, or Sandy Shutt at sandra.shutt@thomsonreuters.com Law Times is printed on newsprint containing 25-30 per cent post-consumer recycled materials. Please recycle this newspaper. Bay Street steps up to the plate a new litigation assistance program for unrepresented respondents. Th e pro- gram will provide volunteer counsel for certain parts of OSC enforcement proceedings. During the one-year pi- lot, respondents can apply for legal help to get through pre-hearing con- ferences, settlement conferences, and hearings on sanctions and costs. James Camp of Gowling Lafl eur Henderson LLP, Gillian Dingle of Torys LLP, and Usman Sheikh of the OSC's enforcement branch conceived and developed the program. Th e work- ing committee includes Paul Le Vay of Stockwoods LLP and Joel Wiesenfeld, also of Torys. News of the program came the same week that Miller Th omson LLP announced it's looking at a constitu- tional challenge, possibly through a class action, against the federal govern- ment for its treatment of injured sol- diers. Th e concern relates to the new veterans' charter that altered the way the government compensates wound- ed soldiers. While the government announced improvements to the ben- efi ts last year in light of criticism over the lump-sum payments it had earlier introduced, concerns remain over the adequacy of the compensation and the perception that the changes are more about cutting costs. Personal injury lawyers had already off ered to help veterans when the issue came to light last year, but now Miller Th omson is adding its legal resources to the eff orts. What's also interesting, however, is that the fi rm wants to help injured soldiers with their transition to civilian jobs as well, according to a story in the Toronto Star. Th e eff ort is a good example, then, of lawyers going beyond their usual scope to do even more to help their clients. Th e two announcements won't do much to address the broader concerns about equity in our justice system, particularly at a time when protesters in the various Occupy movements are voicing their opinions on inequality in Canada, but they do show that lawyers are getting involved. As worries about the economy grow, let's hope we see more examples like these ones. — Glenn Kauth ment last week could only hap- pen in Canada. Th is isn't the United States, T a country where politicians rip apart presidential choices for the Supreme Court bench in public. Sometimes, they fail the cross-ex- amination and have to withdraw their candidacy. Th e Americans like hard- ball. But this is Canada, where things are much more polite. It's more like a game of croquet around here. Take the so-called examina- tion of Prime Minister Stephen Harper's two choices for the Su- preme Court by a panel of MPs last week on Parliament Hill. Ontario Court of Appeal jus- tices Michael Moldaver and An- dromache Karakatsanis faced the MPs for a solid four hours with only one recess. At fi rst, it appeared it would be a gentle aff air with the learned guests off ering all sorts of bro- mides about Canada's greatness and beauties, their love of its diversity, and their faith in the democratic process. One unilingual judge on SCC bench enough The he type of questioning our two Supreme Court nominees faced in Parlia- Moldaver noted he was the son of a Peterborough, Ont., scrap-metal dealer who left school at age 14 and wanted a better education for his three sons. Moldaver, in fact, worked his way through high school re- pairing city streets and telling people he was a "roads scholar." If they pointed out his spelling mis- take, he told them that's how they spell Rhodes in Peterborough. Karakatsanis made jokes about her Greek background with her parents arriving here with no money but nevertheless building up a business from scratch. "Of course, it was a Greek restaurant," she said to chuckles from MPs. But there was an elephant in the room, and everybody sat around waiting for it to bellow. Finally, it did. Th e problem is that Moldaver can't speak French. Even after he learned during the summer that he was under consideration for the Supreme Court job, he made no eff ort to take some of those free French lessons for judges. Th e law is clear. It stipulates that in Canada, everyone has the right to a hearing before the top court in either offi cial language. "I Hill By Richard Cleroux Th e joke is that it doesn't say that the person who is heard has to be understood by the judges. Th ere's one unilingual judge on the Supreme Court right now, Justice Marshall Rothstein. He still hasn't learned French as he promised to do when he took the job. Th at causes a bind for his fellow judges when they get together to discuss cases. One unilingual judge on the bench is enough. Th at's why the Barreau du Québec is opposing Moldaver's appointment. As Moldaver spoke about his language diffi culties, the hole only got deeper. He was trying to be charming. It didn't come out right. Moldaver said he wishes he had his brother's language skills. He said he'd be talking to him. Th e trouble is that his brother isn't on the bench of the Supreme Court. www.lawtimesnews.com loved French in high school," Moldaver said at one point. "I am hoping to have my brother's genes," he continued. "I love talking to Quebec judges," he added. Presumably, he doesn't talk in French with those Quebec judg- es. Bu t at least he didn't say they're among his best friends. MP Françoise Boivin, a lawyer who once pleaded before the Su- preme Court and was pleased to do so in French, asked Moldaver when he got the fi rst inkling that he might be on the short list for the Supreme Court. Moldaver said it might have been several months ago, possibly in July. Someone then asked wheth- er he had hidden from Harper's people the fact that he couldn't speak French. Moldaver re- plied that he hadn't. So why didn't he start taking some of those free French les- sons off ered to judges? Moldaver had no answer. Maybe he was busy in the sum- mer. Who knows? Boivin came back: "Were you waiting until after your confi rmation?" didn't go over Th ere was no need to answer. It must have hurt. MPs know how to do that. Other MPs wanted Moldaver to promise that he'll learn French and not end up like Rothstein. But Moldaver said he wasn't go- ing to promise anything because he's not the sort of person who makes promises he can't keep. Th at very well. Would he at least try? "I will try to become as profi - cient as I can in French," Mol- daver said. "I am what I am." He read a statement in French that someone had written for him. "I have the highest respect for the French language," he said. "I will do ev- erything in my power to learn French in the years to come." It was as close to a prom- the MPs ise would get. Th e way Moldaver dealt with his language inadequacy cast a shadow on what would other- wise have been a joyful, light- hearted meeting. Richard Cleroux is a freelance re- porter and columnist on Parlia- ment Hill. His e-mail address is richardcleroux@rogers.com.

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