Law Times

PAGE 16 Enabling Lawyers through Technology Tel: 416.322.6111 Toll-free: 1.866.367.7648 doprocess com www The Inside Story LAFORME NAMED TO COMMISSION Ontario Court of Appeal Justice Harry LaForme will, as chairman of the Indian Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Com- mission, lead an important com- mission that aims to shed some light on a dark time in Canadian history. The commission is part of a set- tlement agreement and will look at how the Indian residential school legacy arose. The commission also will serve as a forum for those af- fected by the residential schools to tell their stories, in hopes of edu- cating Canadians on a part of the country's history that has largely remained unknown. LaForme, the first aboriginal person named to sit on an appel- late court in Canada, is a member of the Mississaugas of New Cred- it First Nation, and was born and raised on his reserve. Some of his family members continue to live on the reserve. He has collected several honours from the aborigi- nal community for his work: in 1997, he received the National Aboriginal Achievement Award in the area of law and justice, and on three occasions has been pre- sented by aboriginal elders with an eagle feather, which symbolizes the virtues of honesty, integrity, and respect. LaForme graduated from Os- choose two other commissioners, after which the commission will get underway. LAW PROF GETS PRESTIGIOUS AWARD University of Ottawa common law professor Constance Back- house is one of five scholars to receive the 2008 Killam Prize, worth $100,000. my research career has flourished since I moved to the University of Ottawa," said Backhouse in a release. "I am greatly indebted for the support of my colleagues and the fabulous administrative staff at the faculty of law, and to so many in the wider university." The Killam Prizes were intro- duced in 1981 by Dorothy Kil- lam in memory of her husband, Izaak Walton Killam. They are awarded to Canadian scholars and scientists who actively perform re- search. They are given annually by the Canada Council for the Arts. Backhouse is considered one of the country's foremost experts on women and the law. She has been noted for her writings on sexual harassment in the workplace and other types of discrimination. The prize will be presented June "I am continually struck at how 16 in Vancouver. goode Hall Law School in 1979 and practised corporate-commer- cial law at Osler Hoskin & Har- court LLP before opening his own practice specializing in aboriginal law. In 1989 he was named com- missioner of the Indian Commis- sion of Ontario, in 1991 was ap- pointed chief commissioner of the Indian Specific Claims Commis- sion on Aboriginal Land Claims, and in 1992 and 1993 taught a course on the rights of indigenous peoples at Osgoode. He also served in 1989 and 1990 as co-chairman of the National Chiefs Task Force on Native Land Claims. "As a judge of the Ontario Court of Appeal, Justice LaForme brings a wealth of respect and leadership experience and is the most senior aboriginal judge in the country," said Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Affairs Chuck Strahl in a release. LaForme's first task is to help John Naccarato and Richard Wagner were named partners. In Toronto, the new partners in- clude business lawyers Jay Lefton and Peter Newell, employment and labour lawyer Richard Char- ney, intellectual property lawyer Brian Gray, and litigation lawyer William NcNamara. LT DD LT GRLBBI Generic bw 1/22/08 4:34 PM Page 1 For more Inside Story, please visit www.lawtimesnews.com T NEW PARTNERS AT OGILVY RENAULT A group of lawyers at Ogilvy Re- nault LLP have been welcomed to the partnership. "I am honoured to congratu- late each individual for this great achievement," said managing part- ner Pierre Bienvenu in a release. "We are privileged to have people with such impressive skill and pride, and we value their commit- ment to the legal profession." The announcement included a number of lawyers in the firm's Ontario offices. In Ottawa, business lawyers SO MUCH FOR ENVIRONMENTALISM CASTLE ROCK, Colo. — Gary Adler recycles boxes and uses them for shipping sports items from his non-profit group. But he got rapped over the knuckles by the U.S. Postal Service for trying to reuse one of their priority post boxes to ship an item. Adler says he turned the box inside out after rescuing it on the way to a dumpster, something he often does to get boxes to use for his Pro-Players Association's mailings. But the USPS told him he was break- ing its rules when he went to ship the item at the post office. "Our priority mail and ex- press mail boxes are bottom line supposed to be used for that service. It is important that the customer uses it for the proper service," said Nicole Reiter of the Postal Service. Adler's not too pleased with the USPS' attitude and says he plans to stop using it as a result. ARE YOU A LESBIAN OR A LESBIAN? ATHENS — Who's got the right to call themself a les- bian? One woman from the MAY 5, 2008 / LAW TIMES Bizarre Briefs By Viola James the word in its name. The man carrying the torch in this case, publisher Dimi- tris Lambrou, claims interna- tional dominance of the word relating to women who love women violates the human rights of the islanders, and dis- graces them around the world. Not to mention it causes daily problems to the social life of Lesbos' inhabitants. "My sister can't say she is a Lesbian," says Lambrou. "Our geographical designation has been usurped by certain la- dies who have no connection whatsoever with Lesbos." A spokeswoman for the group has described the case as a groundless violation of free- dom of expression, and has pledged to fight it. in prison are causing him lose about half a pound a day. "On several occasions I have started to do some ex- ercising and my vision went blurry and I felt like I was go- ing to pass out," Laswell wrote in his complaint. "About an hour after each meal my stom- ach starts to hurt and growl. I feel hungry again." Laswell, who's in prison for murder and possibly faces the death penalty, claims he shouldn't be losing weight since all he really does is sit around in his cell most of the time. He claims the jail is not feeding him enough. And, since the jail only serves cold meals (apparently averaging 3,000 calories a day), he is also demanding the county be ordered to serve hot meals to prisoners. from a mythological goddess and poet called Sappho, who was a native of Lesbos, and expressed her love of other women in her poems. Greek island of Lesbos thinks only people from their island should be able to use the mon- iker and is launching a court action to try and stop the Ho- mosexual and Lesbian Com- munity of Greece from using ARKANSAS' BIGGEST LOSER BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Broderick Lloyd Laswell has lost 105 pounds over the last eight months and he's not happy about it. Laswell, who is 20 and The term lesbian originated now down to 308 pounds, is an inmate in the Benton County Jail. He has filed a Federal Court suit in U.S. District Court in Fayetteville complaining that the vittles he's getting (or not getting) TEACHER TAKES IT ON THE CHIN FORT MYERS, Fla. — Eight- year-old Deshawn Williams has been charged with aggra- vated battery after allegedly punching his Grade 2 teacher in the face in the aftermath of an argument over crayons. Williams, all four feet and 70 pounds of him, reportedly had a major tantrum over the crayons, hitting other students and throwing chairs around the classroom. According to Fort Myers TV station NBC2, the teacher tried to break it up and ended up on the wrong end of the boy's fists. The boy told the TV sta- tion he was sorry. It'll still be up to a judge, though, to deal with the criminal charges. LT Seen, heard, or been involved in a bizarre brief? Tell Viola James about it at viola.james@gmail. com "No, no problem! . . . It's just that nobody before has ever made a wish for a newly instituted party/party costs tarrif to be retroactively applied to a costs award made before the change took effect. 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