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PAGE 6 COMMENT Law Times Group Publisher ....... Karen Lorimer Editorial Director ....... Gail J. Cohen Editor .................. Glenn Kauth Staff Writer ............. Robert Todd Staff Writer ....... Michael McKiernan Copy Editor ......... Heather Gardiner CaseLaw Editor ...... Jennifer Wright Art Director .......... Alicia Adamson Account Co-ordinator .... Catherine Giles Electronic Production Specialist ............. Derek Welford Advertising Sales .... Kimberlee Pascoe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kathy Liotta Sales Co-ordinator ......... Sandy Shutt ©Law Times Inc. 2010 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reprinted or stored in a retrieval system without written permission. 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 Inc. 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. Hands-off approach to Vale strike the right move T Editorial Obiter he federal government has taken seemingly different approaches to two iconic industries in Canada. On the one hand, Industry Minister Tony Clement gave Brazil-based mining giant Vale a pass in issuing temporary lay- offs during the recession despite job guar- antees made at the time of its acquisition of the storied Inco company a few years back. On the other hand, the government has been battling United States Steel Corp. in court over decisions that decimated the workforce at the former Stelco Inc.'s op- erations in southern Ontario. Issues stemming from Vale's obliga- tions under the Investment Canada Act have figured prominently in the debate over the government's response to the year-long strike at its operations in Ontar- io. Besides decrying the lack of informa- tion about the conditions of sale to Vale, workers wondered why they didn't benefit from the same aggressive action the gov- ernment displayed towards U.S. Steel. At the same time, they complained that both federal and provincial officials were silent during the protracted labour dispute, which has come to an end following the recent announcement of an agreement between the union and the company. The complaints have merit. Mining is a key industry in this country, so the fact that the government would let Sudbury suffer for so long is an obvious concern. Nevertheless, intervening in a labour dispute is a far different matter from up- holding the company's obligations under the act. On the first count, leaving the two sides to work out the contract issues themselves — notwithstanding the pain the strike caused — was the right thing to do. Given the global restructuring taking place in recent years, particularly since the recession battered the province's econo- my, it has become obvious to many that labour unions need to show some flexibil- ity to help companies remain competi- tive, an issue the Canadian Auto Workers found itself having to face last year when it agreed to concessions as major car pro- ducers found themselves on the brink of shutting down. In some cases, that means accepting bitter medicine. On the issue of forcing foreign-based companies to adhere to job guarantees, Clement has said he refrained from taking action against Vale because it had spread the pain of layoffs across its global opera- tions. That, too, seems reasonable given the importance of allowing companies to respond to changing market conditions. The steel case, however, is more difficult. In taking U.S. Steel to court, the government has rejected its argu- ments about the impact of the recession. If the company ultimately faces penalties for the layoffs, will that scare off foreign investment? Shouldn't companies have flexibility, at least temporarily, when the economy tanks? If we truly want to open our borders to foreign capital, taking companies like U.S. Steel to court is probably the wrong move. Nevertheless, it's true that the U.S. giant has in fact recalled many of its workers since the layoffs, an indication that the court action isn't such a threat after all. Whether the government's move was a good one, then, will be more evident once the legal battles wrap up. In the meantime, it's good that, at least in the Vale case, both the union and the company have found a way forward. — Glenn Kauth greenery of the Estates of Sun- nybrook, a cornucopia of good eats, and lots of free-flowing wine. Then add to that equation 200 or so of the province's lead- ing lights from the real estate bar and you will have described this year's Ontario Bar Association real property section annual gala held recently in Toronto. In addition to celebrating the camaraderie of its members, the real property section took the op- portunity to formally present the Award for Excellence in Real Es- tate to Kate Murray, the province's director of titles. The honour has been sponsored by Teranet Inc. since its inception. This year's award went to a deserving recipient. I particularly Although the Polaris computer- ization project has been in the off- ing for decades, it was really un- der Murray's leadership that the digitization of Ontario titles really blossomed. Indeed, honouring her in this way was particularly magine a balmy June eve- ning, a delightful mansion set amongst the tranquil Ontario real estate lawyers honour their best The appropriate given that Ontario can finally boast of having every title in the province digitized. Of course, having an identification number for every title in the prov- ince doesn't mean that every Reg- istry Act title is now converted to land titles. That's a milestone for another day, but the magnitude of the accomplishments to date cannot be overlooked. In fact, since Murray joined the automation project in 1988, there have been almost five mil- lion parcels of land converted from registry records to the land titles conversion qualified sys- tem, which makes Ontario the first jurisdiction in the world to have a fully electronic land reg- istration regime. As of today's date, the paper Polaris forms are all but history as more than 95 per cent of the approximately two million real estate registra- tions in Ontario each year are now submitted electronically. It's an impressive feat indeed. The close relationship and high degree of co-operation real estate lawyers enjoy with the Dirt By Jeffrey W. Lem Ministry of Government Ser- vices are the envy of the com- mercial bar. Like all bureaucra- cies, the institutional attitude towards customer service flows directly from the top. In the case of the corner of the ministry that runs the province's real property registration system, this attitude of co-operation and facilitation comes right from Murray's of- fice. As Craig Carter eloquent- ly explained in introducing her at the event, Murray can be tough as a director of titles, but it has been the experience of many that as long as the integrity of the system isn't at risk, her branch of the ministry has always been more than co-operative and helpful to the real estate lawyers who need to operate within the system every day. True to form, Murray acknow- www.lawtimesnews.com ledged the honour was really a team award by thanking her family for its support and then acknowledging the contribution of her staff. She humbly con- cluded her remarks with a well- deserved shout-out to all of the other employees at her branch of the ministry and to those at each and every land registry of- fice in the province. Adding to the pleasure of the evening, for which I was master of ceremonies, was a surprisingly frank and thoroughly entertaining keynote address from none other than Ed Sonshine, the energetic president and CEO of RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust and a director of the Royal Bank of Canada, Cineplex Entertainment LP, and a host of other Canadian companies and charities. While the head of Canada's largest pub- licly traded real estate investment trust is hugely sought after as a keynote speaker at all sorts of cor- porate and charitable functions, Sonshine's participation in the OBA real property section gala was particularly appropriate given July 12, 2010 • law Times Law Times Inc. 240 Edward Street, Aurora, ON • L4G 3S9 Tel: 905-841-6481 • Fax: 905-727-0017 www.lawtimesnews.com President: Stuart J. Morrison Publications Mail Agreement Number 40762529 • ISSN 0847-5083 Law Times is published 40 times a year by Law Times Inc. 240 Edward St., Aurora, Ont. L4G 3S9 • 905-841-6481. lawtimes@clbmedia.ca CIRCULATIONS & SUBSCRIPTIONS $141.75 per year in Canada (GST incl., GST Reg. #R121351134) and US$266.25 for foreign addresses. Single copies are $3.55 Circulation inquiries, postal returns and address changes should include a copy of the mailing label(s) and should be sent to Law Times Inc. 240 Edward St., Aurora, Ont. L4G 3S9. Return postage guaranteed. Contact Kristen Schulz-Lacey at: kschulz-lacey@clbmedia.ca or Tel: 905-713-4355 • Toll free: 1-888-743-3551 or Fax: 905-841-4357. ADVERTISING Advertising inquiries and materials should be directed to Sales, Law Times, 240 Edward St., Aurora, Ont. L4G 3S9 or call Karen Lorimer at 905-713-4339 klorimer@clbmedia.ca, Kimberlee Pascoe at 905-713-4342 kpascoe@clbmedia. ca, or Kathy Liotta at 905-713-4340 kliotta@ clbmedia.ca or Sandy Shutt at 905-713-4337 sshutt@clbmedia.ca Law Times is printed on newsprint containing 25-30 per cent post-consumer recycled materials. Please recycle this newspaper. his own background as a "dirt lawyer" — although he admit- ted to starting his career as a Perry Mason wannabe — and given his unique insights into the real estate business in Canada and, in- creasingly, the United States. Sonshine's keynote ad- dress didn't disappoint. It was witty, frank, articulate, and obvi- ously particularized for the "dirt lawyer" audience assembled be- fore him that included full tables purchased by Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP, Fogler Rubinoff LLP, Goodmans LLP, Minden Gross LLP, and WeirFoulds LLP. Thanks in large part to the tireless efforts of Sharon Lands- man of Shoppers Drug Mart Inc. and longtime executive member of the real property section, as well as the ever-competent staff at the OBA, the evening was a great success. LT Jeffrey W. Lem is a partner in the real estate group at Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP. His e- mail address is jlem@dwpv.com.