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PAGE 16 The Inside Story PROVINCE LAUNCHES TWO REVIEWS Th e provincial government has appointed former Supreme Court justice Frank Iacobucci to head up a review of the process for including members of First Nations reserve communities on the jury rolls. Earlier this year, a murder trial in Th under Bay, Ont., was ad- journed after a judge found there weren't enough potential ab- original jurors in the pool to get a representative jury. Iacobucci has a year to review the existing process, hold consultations, and recommend improvements. "I look forward to working with our First Nations represen- tatives and all those who have an interest in this issue to complete a review that is comprehensive and timely and addresses the unique challenges of ensuring a represen- tative jury roll," Iacobucci said. Meanwhile, the province has also appointed Andrew Pinto to review its human rights system in light of changes in June 2008 aiming to streamline the system. Pinto, a partner at Pinto Wray James LLP, will conduct public consultations and deliver a report by spring 2012 on the implementation and eff ectiveness of the changes. SUPERIOR COURT JUDGE MOURNED Superior Court Justice Randy Echlin has died at the age of 60. Echlin was a leading employ- ment lawyer for more than two decades at Borden Ladner Ger- vais LLP before his elevation to the bench in 2003. Writing for HR Reporter, Mill- er Th omson LLP partner Stuart Rudner mourned the loss of his colleague. lawyer, "Randy was an excellent a respected judge, a kind man, and a good friend," Rudner wrote. "His death is a loss to many, including the employment law bar and the justice system." A service celebrating Echlin's life will take place at the Leaside United Church at 822 Millwood Rd. in Toronto on Saturday, Sept. 10, at 2 p.m. CBA WINNERS ANNOUNCED Th e Canadian Bar Association honoured the best of the pro- fession during its conference in Halifax last week. Vancouver lawyer Dave Joe won the President's Award for his contributions to the legal profes- sion. As chief negotiator for the Council of Yukon First Nations, Joe was one of the principal archi- tects of the Yukon umbrella fi nal agreement and self-government agreements. Melina Buckley of Vancou- ver won the association's Louis St- Laurent Award of Excellence after almost two decades of dedication to CBA projects and task forces, including serving as project direc- tor for the landmark Bertha Wil- son task force on gender equality in the legal profession. Th e John Tait Award of Excel- lence, meanwhile, went to Susan Hardy, director of legislation at Nunavut's Department of Jus- tice. Called to the bar in Nova Scotia in 1993, she has worked in Nunavut since 1998. In addition, Ed Ratushny won the Walter Owen Book Prize for excellence in legal writ- ing. Th e 28 authors of Th e Law of Climate Change in Canada, led by Dennis Mahony of Torys LLP, shared the prize. Other winners included of University Saskatchewan law professor Ronald Cuming, who picked up the Ramon John Hnatyshyn Award for Law for his outstanding contribution to legal scholarship in Canada. Kerry-Lynne Findlay, a Van- couver lawyer and federal MP, won the Cecilia I. Johnstone Award for her work on the ad- vancement of women in the legal profession. University of Toronto pro- fessor James Orbinski won the Walter S. Tarnopolsky Human Rights Award for his contribu- tions to domestic and interna- tional human rights. Calgary lawyer Patricia Block- som won the Touchstone Award. Sherif Foda of Gatineau, Que., received the $40,000 Viscount Bennett Fellowship for gradu- ate legal studies, while Ottawa's Holly Doerksen, the CBA's di- rector of national sections and conferences, won the Jack Innes Achievement Award. Rounding out the list of win- ners are Maxwell Yalden, who received the SOGIC Ally Award, and Susan Ursel, who took the Hero Award. Vancouver articling student Preston Parsons won the Edward K. Rowan-Legg Award, while Edmonton's Arman Chak received the Young Lawyers Pro Bono Award. For more Inside Story, please visit www.lawtimesnews.com. "I told you they were coconut cream with cherry spangles! And Bill C-29 does not give private investigators the right to snoop around behind my back! Does it?" The title insurer that puts you front row, centre Putting the legal community front and centre has made us the #1 choice with Canadian lawyers for over a decade. Stewart Title does not support programs that reduce or eliminate the lawyer's role in real estate transactions. MAN WARNED OVER BUNNY SUIT IDAHO FALLS, Idaho — Police have told a man to stop wearing a bunny suit in public after people complained he has been frightening children. Residents in the city of 54,000 people also reported William Falkingham, 34, oc- casionally wears a tutu with the bunny suit, police reported. Police warned Falkingham after a woman said she saw him dressed in the costume while peeking at her young son from behind a tree and pointing his fi nger in the shape of a gun. While a police report said other residents were "greatly disturbed" by his activities, one neighbour defended Falking- ham as harmless. "He's got the bunny out- fi t, a cowboy suit, and a bal- lerina dress, but you don't see him except where he's tripping through his backyard," said Deborah Colson. "He's got a strange lifestyle at home, but we all do weird things at home." Falkingham told offi cers he "enjoys wearing the suit" but understands the concerns, po- lice spokeswoman Joelyn Han- sen said. — Reuters NUDIST PARK FACES DISCRIMINATION CASE ROCHESTER, N.Y. — A deaf man has accused a nud- ist park in upstate New York August 22, 2011 • LAw times Bizarre Briefs By Viola James of violating federal law by re- fusing to provide him with a sign-language interpreter at an annual festival. Tom Willard, 53, of Roch- ester, fi led a complaint with the U.S. Justice Department claim- ing Empire Haven Nudist Park violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by refusing his requests for an interpreter. "I am fed up with being turned away every time I try to do something by idiots who somehow feel the [act] does not apply to them," Willard wrote in the complaint. Th e law requires businesses and non-profi t groups to pro- vide auxiliary aids and services, including interpreters, at no ad- ditional cost to users. First-time violations can lead to fi nes of up to $55,000. Willard told Reuters that in 2009, he approached a board member of Th e Naturist Soci- ety, which organized the festi- val, who told him he could hire his own interpreter. But he said the board member denied his request that he and the inter- preter attend the event for free. On the festival's opening day this month, Th e Natur- ist Society off ered to get an interpreter but said it would need three days' notice to do so, Willard said. Willard said he wanted to raise awareness of groups that ignore the act. He said he was also fi ling a complaint against a local comedy club that refused to provide an interpreter. "I hate that I have to go through these experiences and subject myself to ridicule and derision, but the alternative is to stay home and never try to do anything in the world," Wil- lard said. — Reuters MAN ARRESTED FOR HOMEMADE REACTOR ANGELHOLM, Sweden — A Swedish man was arrested after he tried to build a nuclear re- actor in his kitchen and docu- mented his eff orts on the Inter- net, authorities report. "I was just curious to see if it was possible, it is just a hobby," said Richard Handl, 31, from Angelholm in southern Swe- den. He documented his eff orts on a blog and his Facebook page. He got as far as mixing some ingredients on a cooker — am- ericium, radium, beryllium, and 96-per-cent sulphuric acid. "Th e boiling explosion was about three or four months ago and the police came two weeks ago," he said. Th e Radiation Safety Au- thority said in a statement the authorities raided Handl's fl at last month after hearing that he was handling nuclear materials in an unsafe way. "Th ere were no raised levels of radiation in the apartment and the neighbours were not exposed to radiation," research chief Leif Moberg said in the statement. Handl was detained and shortly after freed. "I am still a suspect for crime against the ra- diation safety law," he said. — Reuters For more information call (888) 667-5151 or visit www.stewart.ca. Untitled-2 1 www.lawtimesnews.com 7/19/11 12:31:45 PM