Law Times

PAGE 6 COMMENT Law Times Group Publisher ....... Karen Lorimer Associate Publisher ...... Gail J. Cohen Editor ............ Gretchen Drummie Associate Editor ......... Robert Todd Staff Writer ............. Glenn Kauth Copy Editor ............. Neal Adams CaseLaw Editor ...... Jennifer Wright Art Director .......... Alicia Adamson Production Co-ordinator .. Catherine Giles Electronic Production Specialist ............. Derek Welford Advertising Sales .... Kimberlee Pascoe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kathy Liotta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rose Noonan Sales Co-ordinator ......... Sandy Shutt No part of this publication may be reprinted or stored in a retrieval system without written permission. 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 Inc. 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. ©Law Times Inc. 2008 All rights reserved. December 15, 2008 • Law Times Law Times Inc. 240 Edward Street, Aurora, ON • L4G 3S9 Tel: 905-841-6481 • Fax: 905-727-0017 www.lawtimesnews.com President: Stuart J. Morrison Law Times is published 40 times a year by Law Times Inc. 240 Edward St., Aurora, Ont. L4G 3S9 • 905-841-6481. lawtimes@clbmedia.ca Publications Mail Agreement Number 40762529 • ISSN 0847-5083 $141.75 per year in Canada (GST incl., GST Reg. #R121351134) and US$266.25 for foreign addresses. Single copies are $3.55 Circulation inquiries, postal returns and address changes should include a copy of the mailing label(s) and should be sent to Law Times Inc. 240 Edward St., Aurora, Ont. L4G 3S9. Return postage guaranteed. Contact Kristen Schulz-Lacey at: kschulz-lacey@clbmedia.ca or Tel: 905-713-4355 • Toll free: 1-888-743-3551 or Fax: 905-841-4357. CIRCULATIONS & SUBSCRIPTIONS Advertising inquiries and materials should be directed to Sales, Law Times, 240 Edward St., Aurora, Ont. L4G 3S9 or call Karen Lorimer at 905-713-4339 klorim- er@clbmedia.ca, Kimberlee Pascoe at 905-713-4342 kpascoe@clbmedia.ca, or Kathy Liotta at 905-713- 4340 kliotta@clbmedia.ca or Sandy Shutt at 905-713-4337 sshutt@clbmedia.ca or Rose Noonan at 905-726-5444 rnoonan@clbmedia.ca ADVERTISING Law Times is printed on newsprint containing 25-30 per cent post-consumer recycled materials. Please recycle this newspaper. t's our favorite time of year here at Law Times — when we zero in on all of the biggest stories of the past 12 months in a special supplement to the paper. Your news elves have scoured the archives to select the three newsmakers and the five news stories we think are the best of 2008. Plus, there's a neat twist: we're adding the popular top cases feature into the mix. Our trio of newsmakers are: business I Editorial Obiter Hey 2008: don't let the door hit you Residential Schools Truth and Recon- ciliation Commission. The ongoing troubles of Justices Ted law guru Purdy Crawford, who found himself in the midst of some of the larg- est financial stories of the year; Ontario Ombudsman André Marin who tack- led both the province's legal aid system and the Special Investigations Unit; and Court of Appeal Justice Stephen Goudge who wrote a searing indictment of our pediatric forensic pathology system. The top news stories include the resignation of Justice Harry LaForme from his post as chairman of the Indian Matlow and Paul Cosgrove have filled many a news page this year, including as late as last week when Matlow learned he can stay on the bench. The next day, an inquiry committee issued a majority find- ing that there are grounds for Cosgrove's removal from judicial office. He can issue a written response within 30 days. Of course, a large portion of 2008 focused on the worldwide economic slump and what it means to the legal community. The acquittal of Robert Baltovich, who in 1992 was convicted of murdering his girlfriend Elizabeth Bain, had readers' eyes glued to our pages mid-year. Discussions about how to keep women in the legal profession kept us busy, es- pecially when the Law Society of Upper Canada decided to support nine recom- mendations from the retention of women in private practice working group report. Meanwhile, the lineup of top five cases our panel of judges has chosen are: R. v. Hislop: A Superior Court judge commercial paper, retail holders breathed a sigh of relief. The deal had not been fi- nalized as of press time last week. R. v. AM and R. v. Kang-Brown: The ruled a retainer agreement in the class ac- tion lawsuit that allowed same-sex couples to collect Canada Pension Plan survivor fees doesn't comply with CPP regulations and blocked counsel from collecting an estimated $15 million in fees. BCE: The Supreme Court of Canada expedited the appeal for the largest cor- porate transaction in Canadian history — the $52-billion sale of Bell Canada parent BCE Inc. But last week, after BCE could not meet solvency requirements, the deal was officially terminated. ABCP: After the SCC denied a challenge to a proposed restructuring of $32 billion of frozen asset backed Supreme Court of Canada ruled that po- lice cannot use random dog searches to find drugs at schools or in public places, with the exception of airports. The court found random searches were a violation of s. 8 of the Charter. Honda Canada Inc. v. Keays: The Supreme Court of Canada in Honda Canada Inc. v. Keays, erased a $100,000 punitive damages award and nine-month reasonable notice extension for bad faith that Honda Canada employee Kevin Keays received after being fired in the midst battling chronic fatigue syndrome. And so, with that we leave you with just one question — what will happen next year? — Gretchen Drummie The following story was first published 27 years ago, and I have adapted it to the present. It is entirely the offspring of my imagi- nation, but it is a happy tale and the circumstances could have been true. It is my gift to you with best wishes of the season. It happened a month before last Christmas. I had just left another Convocation at Osgoode Hall, and I was in a dour mood. I often say that my job as a bencher is an easy one. When considering any proposed policy, I look at it through the eyes of a sole practitioner, and I always ask myself what my colleagues in the trenches would think about the issue. That perspective has kept me grounded through all my bencher years, but I am not necessarily happy when I am one of the voices of dissent. When I left Osgoode Hall that day my countenance was as grim as the facade of that venerable W ho says you can't fall in love at the corner of Queen and Bay? A bencher's Christmas story Bencher's building, for I had once again tak- en my accustomed lumps during a major debate. It was a typically dreary winter's day, the sun vaca- tioning in Florida with all other right-thinking Canadians, and the falling snow was turning to slush on the downtown streets. Storming back to my office, oblivious to the other passers-by, I crossed the intersection of Queen and Bay only to collide head-on with what appeared to be two huge Christmas shopping bags perched atop two rather attractive legs. Gift-wrapped presents were scattered hither and yon, and I quickly set down my briefcase to make some attempt at remedying the damage I had done. Over the years I've gradually Diary By Gary Lloyd Gottlieb more worldly concerns could not coexist in my mind. The ensuing years must have reconciled myself to some of my personality quirks. In my univer- sity days, I was glumly winding my way back home after pick- ing up an English essay with a rather dismal mark (the penalty for disagreeing with an arrogant professor), when I noticed my current heartthrob. It was then I first learned that romance and mellowed me, for as I was putting what I thought to be the last of the scattered gifts back in the shopping bags, I saw how pretty their owner was. I tendered my profuse apologies, but as I started to walk away, I heard an ominous crunch beneath my right foot and a mechanical voice slowly gasp, "I'm Donald Duck." "Well, Gary, my boy," I said to myself, "you've done it now." I looked up to see tears trickling from the pretty young woman's eyes. "I've only been divorced for a few months," she said, "and my kids have been having a rough time. My youngest son has been after me for a talking duck. I www.lawtimesnews.com "By the way, was it bilingual?" As I left my office early that afternoon, my secretary asked if she should tell any callers that I had gone back to Osgoode Hall. "Tell them whatever you want," I told her, "just don't say I've gone on a safari to hunt down a talking duck." My search was successful, and on Christmas Eve I dropped over to the young lady's apartment with her son's present. I had no ulterior motives, for while I had given up on singles events long ago, as they were more like meet- ings of Misfits Anonymous, I was not looking for a divorcee with two young children in tow. I had no intention of having tranquil weekends of reading and writ- ing disturbed by the patter of searched high and low for that crazy toy, and that was the last one on the shelf." "Don't worry," I said, taking her name, address, and phone number. "One of my clients is a toy distributor and I'll get you another." Having regained my composure, I managed to ask, someone else's children's feet. When she invited me in, I heard classical music on the stereo and noticed a bookshelf crammed with Somerset Maugham. I had an ink- ling then that I was in trouble. Ensconced on the couch was Thackeray, Dickens, and a precocious young man of nine, who, under his mother's tute- lage, was better read than many professionals. And you should have seen the rhapsodic look on the four-year-old's face when he opened the box containing his beloved talking duck. Well, that young lady and I have been married half a year now, so if anyone ever tells you that you can't fall in love at Queen and Bay, don't believe them. In fact, one of my bench- er colleagues fell in love at the corner of Queen and University, but that's another story. LT Gary Lloyd Gottlieb, a Toronto lawyer, is a Law Society of Upper Canada bencher, a Toronto sole practitioner. His e-mail address is glgqc@interlog.com.

• Cover
• Remembering Irwin
• Benchers Diary
• Focus On Criminal Law