Law Times

PAGE 6 COMMENT Law Times Group Publisher . . . . . . Karen Lorimer Editorial Director . . . . . . Gail J. Cohen Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Glenn Kauth Staff Writer . . . . . . . . . .Kendyl Sebesta Staff Writer . . . . . . Michael McKiernan Copy Editor . . . . . . . . Katia Caporiccio CaseLaw Editor . . . . . . Lorraine Pang Art Director . . . . . . . . . Alicia Adamson Account Co-ordinator . . . Catherine Giles Electronic Production Specialist . . . . . . . . . . . . Derek Welford Advertising Sales . . . Kimberlee Pascoe Sales Co-ordinator . . . . . . . . Sandy Shutt ©2011 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 reliance upon information in this publication. Editorial Obiter I t was the year the articling issue developed into a full-blown crisis. Among the stories you'll see in Law Times' top news, newsmakers, and cases supplement this week is a review of the articling shortage, an issue that became top of mind for the profession this year when the Law Society of Upper Canada revealed that 12.1 per cent of applicants in 2011 were unable to get a position within their fi rst year of eligibility. Some observers rightly note an al- ternative approach to the issue. While 12 per cent of applicants didn't get a position, the overwhelming majority of them did. Th at's not a bad result com- pared to some sectors but it is disturbing given the high tuition law students pay and the resulting debt loads they carry on graduation. Law, then, simply isn't a profession where it's fi ne to say that a sig- nifi cant number of graduates won't get a December 12, 2011 • Law Times 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 Publications Mail Agreement Number 40762529 • ISSN 0847-5083 Law Times is published 40 times a year by Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd., 2075 Kennedy Rd., Toronto, ON, M1T 3V4 • 416-298-5141 clb.lteditor@thomsonreuters.com CIRCULATIONS & SUBSCRIPTIONS $165.00 + HST per year in Canada (HST Reg. #R121351134) and US$259.00 for foreign addresses. Single copies are $4.00 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. Contact Eman Aboelsaud at: eman.aboelsaud@thomsonreuters.com or Tel: 416-609-5882 Ext. 2732 or Fax: 416-649-7870. ADVERTISING Advertising inquiries and materials should be directed to Sales, Law Times, 2075 Kennedy Rd., Toronto, ON, M1T 3V4 or call Karen Lorimer at 416-649-9411 karen.lorimer@thomsonreuters. com, Kimberlee Pascoe at 416-649-8875 kimberlee. pascoe@thomsonreuters.com, or Sandy Shutt at sandra.shutt@thomsonreuters.com Law Times is printed on newsprint containing 25-30 per cent post-consumer recycled materials. Please recycle this newspaper. Key legal issues for the new year job. If people are going to take on those debt loads after three years of school, they need employment. Moreover, the number of people who can't get an arti- cling position has increased signifi cantly. Let's hope, then, that 2012 is the year we fi nally see action. In fact, 2011 fea- tured a number of issues that highlight- ed the need for change in the profes- sion. As you'll also see in the Law Times supplement, Gov. Gen. David Johnston made a loud call for change during the Canadian Bar Association's conference in Halifax this August. Noting the pro- fession's monopoly on legal services, Johnston said lawyers have an obligation in turn to work for access to justice and the public good, something he believes they've failed to live up to. Th e calls for change — and the need for it, as evidence d by the articling is- sue — came around the same time the Competition Bureau issued a disap- pointing report on restrictions in fi ve professions, including the law. While a 2007 report made fairly substantive rec- ommendations for opening up compe- tition in the legal profession, including by shortening the articling period and allowing for self-regulation of paralegals, the bureau's post-study assessment left many observers disappointed. Th e assessment noted the previous re- port's success in raising awareness about competition issues and praised the legal profession for its actions on jurisdictional mobility. But given developments on re- ducing barriers elsewhere and the likely return of slow economic growth, that's not good enough. Hopefully, the profes- sion will reconsider the issue in 2012. Of course, one of the other big sto- ries in 2011 was the federal govern- ment's introduction of its omnibus crime bill. Th e legislation will dramati- cally change the practice of criminal law in this country, but lawyers have had little sway in convincing a very de- termined government to heed their ob- jections. As a result, they can't stop the legislation but they can work to track, research, and highlight the implica- tions of it, including unfair judgments against their clients and the increasing burdens on the justice and corrections systems. Criminal lawyers will also be busy with constitutional challenges of the various provisions. If the omnibus bill is as problematic as many critics say, the issues will become evident in court fairly quickly. Lawyers, and perhaps judges, will play a key role in ensuring the public knows about them so they'll have a better chance of changing the law when the opportunities arise. — Glenn Kauth A transformative response to aboriginal circumstances S peaking at a recent philan- thropic foundations confer- ence, National Chief Shawn A-in-chut Atleo of the Assembly of First Nations described the dif- fi cult socio-economic conditions that so many First Nations and other aboriginal people in Cana- da continue to face in stark terms. He observed that aboriginal chil- dren "are more likely to end up in jail than to graduate high school." It's a bleak picture, and the question of what the response should be can easily become overwhelming. But Atleo both challenged and inspired philan- thropic organizations to address the critical needs of the aborigi- nal community through creative projects and partnerships. Of course, programs that ad- dress the interplay between the aboriginal community, particu- larly young people, and the jus- tice system must fi gure promi- nently in that work. Th e Ontario Justice Educa- tion Network routinely encoun- ters mistrust of the justice system during its work in remote fl y-in communities in northern Ontario, says executive direc- tor Sarah McCoubrey. In a recent OJEN survey, almost 60 per cent of aboriginal youth respondents said they had little or no confi dence in the justice system. Th is is hardly surprising to those most familiar with these issues. But ongoing work by the Access to Justice By Mark Sandler that aboriginal youth might otherwise never consider or be familiar with. An important aspect of the National Aboriginal Achieve- ment Foundation (NAAF) is one important way of moving forward. With support from the Law Foundation of On- tario's national Access to Justice Fund, NAAF is currently com- pleting delivery of its Circle of Justice eff ort at 20 high schools across Canada with signifi cant aboriginal populations, includ- ing a number in Ontario. Circle of Justice looks at the relationship between aboriginal youth and the criminal justice system not through the lens of either the victim or off ender but through career opportunities. It aims to identify career opportu- nities within the justice system program is that it features the perspectives of aboriginal people themselves, including the rela- tively small number who current- ly work in the justice system, and thus associates more familiar and relevant faces to roles within it. Th ey deliver the program as well. Each session begins with a video featuring aboriginal ac- tor Lorne Cardinal of Corner Gas and introduces the partici- pants to fi ve careers: probation offi cer, paralegal, court offi cer, corrections offi cer, and justice of the peace. Group work and a game show-style competitions reinforce key concepts. One exercise helps students identify matches between justice careers www.lawtimesnews.com and their individual skills, abilities, and interests. Jill Hill is a law school graduate, former probation offi cer, and one of the fa- cilitators. Circle of Justice, she says, provides impor- tant information, addresses common misconceptions, and helps dispel distrust of the jus- tice system. She notes students are of- ten surprised when they see a potential match with a career option that may previously have been unfamiliar to them or seemed unreachable. Th is awareness can be the start of bigger dreams, she says. Th e module closes with a dis- cussion of alternative justice ef- forts such as sentencing circles. Hill notes students are often par- ticularly excited about this com- ponent and take pride in seeing aboriginal values at work within the justice system. NAAF has similar modules to increase aboriginal participation in careers unrelated to the justice system. At the same time, there's Toronto criminal lawyer Mark Sandler chairs the board of trustees at the Law Foundation of Ontario. a compelling demographic and economic case for all of these pro- grams. Atleo, for example, said in his recent speech that improved educational and employment outcomes for aboriginals "would contribute $300 billion to the national economy and save $115 billion in expenditures." However, programs such as NAAF's Circle of Justice are espe- cially transformative in the justice context and have benefi ts mea- surable not simply in dollars. Not only do the doors open to career opportunities, but there's also the potential to build much-needed trust and begin to redefi ne the relationship between aboriginals and the justice system. Th e need for such programs has never been greater. Isn't it time that we all work to tip the balance away from tragic out- comes like imprisonment in fa- vour of high school graduation and so much more?

• Cover
• Return to Roots
• Religious Guidance
• Focus on Criminal Law