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Page 6 January 13, 2014 • Law Times COMMENT u Editorial obitEr By Glenn Kauth Law Times at 25 Plus ça change " T hey are bright. They are ethical. They are hardworking. Everything a client would want in a lawyer. So why has a sociologist, after interviewing 30 women practising law in the Toronto area, been left feeling that too many are being driven out of the profession?" Would those words apply today? They probably would. But they actually date back to a front page Law Times story on July 17, 1995, detailing a study that found a "dark side" to the profession for many of the women interviewed. The economic pressure of the 1990s was exerting tremendous stress on women of child-bearing age, the sociologist, Jean McKenzie Lieper, said at the time. Achieving work-life balance due to family pressures, of course, was a key challenge for the women interviewed. The issues facing women were on the agenda even in one of the first issues of Law Times on Feb. 19, 1990. A story on the front page that day noted a study by the Law Society of Upper Canada that found women represented only one-fifth of Ontario's 18,068 lawyers despite a significant increase in the number of them entering the profession during the previous 20 years. In addition, they represented less than eight per cent of law firm partners, according to the study. Those facts aren't necessarily surprising but they are sobering. What's interesting is that we're still discussing many of the issues related to women's place in the legal profession. With the Justicia project and other efforts surrounding the retention of women in private practice and the law society's return to practice working group, it's clear that succeeding and staying in the legal profession can still be a challenge. To be sure, there has been progress on lots of fronts. Certainly, there's more awareness and sensitivity to the issues facing women and lots of programs tried over the years, such as career counselling and income support during parental leave, aimed at addressing them. But what's interesting about looking back at many of the old Law Times issues as the paper gears up to mark its 25th anniversary this year is that, on this issue and several others, a lot of things haven't changed. When it comes to women lawyers, the idea of a career where, as McKenzie Lieper put it in 1995, "you don't have to live your life in terms of billable hours," is still an attractive option. It's a reminder that, despite societal changes, we've maintained many of our fundamental ways of doing business, running our economy, and organizing our lives. As noted by a Law Times story on May 16, 2011, on the issues facing young women lawyers on Bay Street, they're still dealing with "nefarious situations" due to the "dynamic that exists between men and women." — Glenn Kauth SCC tasked with cleaning Harper's messes in busy winter session T he Supreme Court of Canada is going to have a very busy winter session with more than two dozen cases between now and March 31. Many are of major political and judicial importance. Some of the cases deal directly with legal messes created by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, a man who likes to do things his way all the time. Last October, he picked Federal Court of Appeal Justice Marc Nadon to fill a Quebec spot on the top court. But there was a big problem. In order to join the Supreme Court, the candidate must have served as a Quebec judge or been a member of the Quebec bar for at least 10 years. Being a Federal Court judge doesn't count as being a Quebec judge. It's been like that since Confederation. Harper probably didn't know that. But didn't Harper consult one of the hundreds of federal Justice Department lawyers or experts? A Toronto lawyer, Rocco Galati, has challenged the Nadon appointment. Quebec's attorney general has also challenged it. Nadon has graciously stepped aside until the Supreme Law Times Failing that, they walk. The Court decides whether he can join the other eight judges. The Hill judge didn't want that. lesser So he dropped the The court will be trying charges against the Hells to clean up Harper's mess Angels, but kept the murder, for him. conspiracy, and drug trafHarper compounded the ficking ones. mess. Last year, he decided Now the Supreme Court to change the Supreme Court is going to have to decide Act to make Nadon's appointwhether that lower court ment retroactively legal. He sneaked it in as a clause Richard Cleroux judge committed an error by dropping the lesser charges. in his economic action plan That's the sort of case a lot of people for 2014. Now what does a Supreme Court appointment have to do with an are going to get very angry about if any economic action plan? The Nadon case gang member walks because the case might take too long. Harper might have goes to court this Wednesday. Back in October 2009, more than 150 some explaining to do to his right-wing Hells Angels members and friends were social conservative base going into an rounded up in Quebec in one of the big- election. There's another case with political gest police operations in Canadian history. They were charged with hundreds ramifications. Back in 2009 Harper got of crimes all the way up to drug traffick- upset that criminal offenders were getting double credit for time served being, murder, and conspiracy to murder. But a lower court Quebec judge ex- hind bars before sentencing. In response, he adopted the Truth amined the cases and figured out it could take until 2020 for some of them in Sentencing Act to eliminate double credit. But a clause in the law said that in just to get to court. Our Charter of Rights and Freedoms certain circumstances, offenders could guarantees the right to a speedy trial. get credit on a 1.5:1 basis. The law, how- Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. One Corporate Plaza, 2075 Kennedy Rd., Toronto, ON • M1T 3V4 • Tel: 416-298-5141 • Fax: 416-649-7870 www.lawtimesnews.com • clb.lteditor@thomsonreuters.com • @lawtimes Director/Group Publisher . . . . . . . . . . . . Karen Lorimer Editor in Chief. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gail J. Cohen Editor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Glenn Kauth Staff Writer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Yamri Taddese Staff Writer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Charlotte Santry Copy Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mallory Hendry CaseLaw Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Adela Rodriguez Art Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 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Publications Mail Agreement Number 40762529 • ISSN 0847-5083 Law Times is published 40 times a year by Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. clb.lteditor@thomsonreuters.com CIRCULATIONS & SUBSCRIPTIONS $179.00 + HST per year in Canada for print and online (HST Reg. #R121351134), $145 + HST per year for online only. Single copies are $4.50. Circulation inquiries, postal returns and address changes should include a copy of the mailing www.lawtimesnews.com ever, didn't make it clear what those circumstances would be. Now it's up to the Supreme Court to try to figure out what was in Harper's mind when the government wrote the law. On March 19, the Supreme Court tackles the issue of Mountie salaries. Back in 2008, Harper handed out nice salary increases to the Mounties. But in 2009, he was running short of money and rolled back the increases. He had Parliament adopt his Expenditure Restraint Act to limit the wage increases previously implemented by the Treasury Board. There wasn't much the Mounties could do, so they went to court. Harper won at the Federal Court of Appeal. Now the Supreme Court will decide whether the rollbacks violated the Mounties' right to bargain. And let's remember that at the Federal Court of Appeal, Nadon held that the rollbacks didn't violate the Mounties' Charter or bargaining rights. LT Richard Cleroux is a freelance reporter and columnist on Parliament Hill. His e-mail address is richardcleroux@rogers.com. 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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