Law Times

July 9, 2018

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Page 6 July 9, 2018 • law Times www.lawtimesnews.com The prime minister's personal days BY KADY O'MALLEY T his past Canada Day, Justin Trudeau boarded the aging prime ministerial jet to embark on an ambitious one-day, cross- country, nation-celebrating jaunt. As part of the plan, he was expected to kick off the festivities in Leamington, Ont. at a street party hosted by employ- ees of the century-old Highbury Canco tomato processing plant before heading west to join local steelworkers at an af- ternoon event in Regina, and then end his day at a community barbecue in Dawson City, Yukon. The choice of venues was, of course, highly strategic. July 1 also marked the of- ficial coming-into-effect of more than $16 billion in retaliatory tariffs against a wide range of American products — including Heinz ketchup, which was manufactured at that very same Leamington plant until 2014, when the company moved its pro- duction line back to the United States — which were launched in response to U.S. President Donald Trump's move to hike surcharges on Canadian steel and alumi- num exports. But whether by coincidence or design, Trudeau's whistlestop tour — which saw him touch down in no fewer than three time zones over the course of the day — may also arm the Liberals with fresh ammo to fire back at the latest line of attack emanating from their Conservative rivals: namely, that Trudeau periodically books off "personal" days — including, although not always, during the regular five-day work week. Accord- ing to the Conservatives, this amounts to going "on vaca- tion." A few weeks ago, they set up a web- site — IsJustinTrudeauOnVacation.com — to track his hours, although it's worth noting that their criteria for "vacation" also includes official international travel. But the talking point really hit its stride after a CBC News report revealed that the National Capital Commission had picked up the tab for tens of thousands of dol- lars in upgrades to the official residence at Harrington Lake — or, as the Conserva- tives refer to it, "Justin Trudeau's summer retreat," despite the fact that his predeces- sor, Stephen Harper, and his family also made liberal — no pun intended — use of it during his tenure. A few days after the initial story broke, it also came out that, in fact, Trudeau had personally paid for some of the more eyebrow-raising amenities, including a sauna and a new swingset, but by that point, the Conservative outrage machine had been at full blast for long enough that the corrections may well have been lost in the din, as far as the overarching public narrative. Most maddening, how- ever, at least from the Liberal perspective, is that the entire campaign wouldn't be possible if one of Trudeau's first moves after taking office hadn't been to institute a new, ostensibly pro- transparency policy of releasing his daily itinerary — and by daily, that means ev- ery single day, not just those that include public appearances, as was the case in the past. This, of course, means that his days off — which, it's worth noting, don't al- ways include weekends — are dutifully logged into the record, where they can not only be perused by the public but turned into a weapon by his political op- ponents. It's worth noting that neither Conser- vative leader Andrew Scheer nor New Democrat Party chief Jagmeet Singh have followed his lead: In both cases, their respective parties issue advisories only when they actually want people (or at least reporters) to be aware of their schedules. As a result, Team Trudeau can't re- turn fire on the "personal day" battle by tallying up how much of their time is off the clock. They can, however, take some com- fort in knowing that, should they be obliged to turn over the keys to Har- rington Lake after the 2019 election, the next prime minister will likely be com- pelled to keep up the practice, simply because it would look distinctly odd to drop it. Here's hoping that they do, if only so future prime ministers will have to spend more time explaining — and de- fending — what they do while they're on the job rather than responding to point- ed accusations about how they spend their non-working hours. LT uKady O'Malley is a member of the parliamentary press gallery in Ottawa and writes about politics, procedure and process for iPolitics. She also appears regularly on CBC television and radio. COMMENT u EDITORIAL OBITER By Gabrielle Giroday ©2018 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 reli- ance upon information in this publication. Publications Mail Agreement Number 40762529 • ISSN 0847-5083 Law Times is published 40 times a year by Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. LT.editor@thomsonreuters.com CIRCULATIONS & SUBSCRIPTIONS $205.00 + HST per year in Canada for print and online (HST Reg. #R121351134), $199 + HST per year for online only. Single copies are $5.00. 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. 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Karen Lorimer Managing Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jennifer Brown Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gabrielle Giroday Staff Writer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Anita Balakrishnan Copy Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Patricia Cancilla CaseLaw Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Leah Craven Art Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Phyllis Barone Production Co-ordinator . . . . . Jacqueline D'Souza Electronic Production Specialist . . . Derek Welford Priorities beckon E fficiency and the justice system — two words that tend not to be paired together very frequently. The fact is the pressing issues around resources that law- yers discern within our courts and justice systems have a very tangible impact on those without law degrees embroiled in their pro- cesses. No one knows that more than a family law client stuck in a cus- tody battle or a small business owner blanching the cost of hiring le- gal counsel to guide them through new forms of legislation on the workplace. Then there are those who are mired in the trenches — such as lawyers impacted by Legal Aid funding or affected by the fallout of Jordan. Ontario's new attorney general, Caroline Mulroney, will have her work cut out for her in the years ahead. Yasir Naqvi, Mulroney's predecessor in the AG role, made a point of highlighting to lawyers the investments made in technological up- grades to the courts system. "Investments in court technology would be an upfront expense," says Brooke MacKenzie of MacKenzie Barristers PC, who's been a vo- cal proponent for these investments. "In the medium to long term, improvements in court technologies would pay for themselves." Lee Akazaki of Gilbertson Davis LLP, a former president of the Ontario Bar Association, says there will be hurdles ahead. "The challenge will be to compete with other ministries, first of all to see if there are more dollars available for the justice sector, and keep cuts from being made from an already embattled court system," he says. In the Plan for the People, the platform posted by the Ford team in late May, details about justice reform that were highlighted increased invest- ments in resources to combat gun and gang ac- tivity, as well as an overhaul of the Police Services Act. What wasn't mentioned was lawyers and legal reform. The question that remains is how Mulroney plans to chart a way forward — the profession will be watching. LT The Hill Kady O'Malley Kady O'Malley

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