Law Times

Page 6 SePtember 1, 2014 • Law Times www.lawtimesnews.com COMMENT Boosting public protection hile the arrest of lawyer Meerai Cho last week is cer- tainly a major concern for the property buyers who've lost their deposits, the case is a good opportunity to look at options for protecting the public. e case isn't the fi rst one where trust money has gone missing. Last year, the Heydary group of law fi rms collapsed a er lawyer Ja- vad Heydary, now deceased, disappeared amid allegations of missing client funds. In Cho's case, it's unclear exactly what happened as she maintains she mistakenly transferred the money to the developer be- fore she should have while police who laid 75 charges against her last week cast doubt on her claims when they said they'd seen no evidence to back them up. But in light of the case, lawyers are asking whether it's time to institute a rule requiring two signatures on trust accounts. It's not a panacea since the second person could still go along with a dubious withdrawal or transaction but it would add an extra layer of protec- tion. Many law fi rms require more than one signature, something that's of course more feasible when there are lots of lawyers and staff who work there. Putting such a rule in place would be challenging for many sole practitioners. But with cases like Cho's and the Heydary situation casting doubt on whether the rules truly do protect the public, it's time for a dis- cussion on additional measures. Most lawyers presumably could Provincial hydro talks part of bigger trade picture ntario Premier Kathleen Wynne turned a few heads recently when she opened the door to buying electric power from Quebec on a long-term basis. Both Manitoba and Quebec have a wealth of hydroelectric power and On- tario buys more than 80 per cent of its imported power from Quebec already at the market price. e timing is also curious. e fed- eral government is about to release the details of the comprehensive economic and trade agreement with the European Union, something that may be the cata- lyst to get the provinces talking seriously about better internal trade relationships. For the last year or so, groups like the Ontario Clean Air Alliance have been pushing the idea of mothballing nuclear generation at the Darlington station and replacing that power with cleaner hydro from Quebec. ey say it will be $1.2 billion cheaper between 2020 and 2050 than the cost of nuclear power if Ontario signs long-term contracts with Hydro- Québec. e political pressure and lobbying are clearly starting to pay off , but there's a long way to go. As it stands, about 23 per cent of Ontario's power comes from hydro with 5.8 per cent from solar, wind, biomass or waste and 11 per cent from natural gas. e heavy li ing, however, is at the Bruce, Pickering, and Darlington nuclear generating stations that produce about 60 per cent of the province's ener- gy. e province will mess with that source at its own peril. Certainly, Quebec is hun- gry for more markets as its U.S. exports fade and the Ameri- cans become more self-suffi - cient while Ontario needs power to de- velop the Ring of Fire mineral deposits. So the timing is right for both sides. But what does Ontario have that it could to sell to Quebec? Every viable trade relationship needs reciprocity. at shoe has yet to drop. McGill University associate professor of economics Christopher Ragan also points out another hurdle. "Increasing Quebec's electricity capacity means the construction of more hydro generat- ing stations, and this will require more development in Quebec's northern re- gions," he wrote in e Globe and Mail. First Nations, he noted, will demand a share of the revenues and there will have to be careful consultations and consideration around the en- vironmental impact. Certainly, interprovincial trade barriers have long been an impediment to commerce in Canada. e idea that Que- bec and Ontario are mulling a central Canada pact, much like the western provinces consult each other, makes sense. Combined, Ontario and Quebec constitute Canada's largest economic region with 20 million people generating 56 per cent of the national gross domestic product and more than half of the exports to other provinces. Yet despite a free-trade agreement with the United States and the 1995 interprovincial agreement on internal trade, many businesses face restrictions on what they can sell in other provinces. e European Union deal presents an opportunity to break down those barriers. In a recent position paper, the Ontario Chamber of Commerce noted the deal would "escalate these internal obstacles to trade unless these barri- ers are removed within the next two years before CETA comes into force." It su ggested it would cost less than $10 million to resolve some of those issues. e organization wants Ontario to lead the way in liberalizing agreements under the 1995 deal and form blocks when the provinces can't reach a full consensus. Further, any new agreement should cover all levels of government and have a dispute-resolution mechanism through a panel with binding and enforceable powers. e organization also wants sig- nifi cant fi nes for non-compliance. In the meantime, opponents of the European trade deal are mobilizing against it. e concerns include the new restrictions on local procurement and potential impacts on public services. We'll see. A trade deal with Europe may or may not be a good thing for On- tario since we've yet to see all of the in- formed analyses of it, but it would make a lot of sense to explore capturing some of the $14 billion we're losing annually to interprovincial trade barriers. LT uIan Harvey has been a journalist for more than 35 years writing about a diverse range of issues including legal and political aff airs. His e-mail address is ianharvey@ rogers.com. ©2014 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. 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While there's no proof of Cho's guilt in the mat- ter, the case is a reminder of lawyers' authority over signifi cant sums of money with the concomitant prospect of losing it either by mistake or by design. While such cases are rare enough, we have up to 141 property buyers who've lost millions of dollars and will now likely be bringing claims to LawPRO and the LSUC's compensation fund. It's time for a look at whether the law society should do more to prevent these situations. While the most recent case is troubling, it's also a chance to consider fur- ther options to protect the public. — Glenn Kauth Queen's Park Ian Harvey O W

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