Law Times

PAGE 6 COMMENT Law Times Group Publisher ....... Karen Lorimer Associate Publisher ...... Gail J. Cohen Editor ............ Gretchen Drummie Associate Editor ......... Robert Todd Staff Writer ............. Glenn Kauth Copy Editor ............. Neal Adams CaseLaw Editor ...... Jennifer Wright Art Director .......... Alicia Adamson Production Co-ordinator .. Catherine Giles Electronic Production Specialist ............. Derek Welford Advertising Sales .... Kimberlee Pascoe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kathy Liotta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rose Noonan Sales Co-ordinator ......... Sandy Shutt ©Law Times Inc. 2008 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. Editorial Obiter If they wobble to and fro . . . cally says not. The Stouffville burlesquer has filed a complaint with the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario alleging her former boss, the owner of Mississauga strip club New Locomotion, fired her simply because she was too old. "He told me that the club is going in S a new direction with younger girls," Ou- wroulis, a.k.a. "Kristy," says in the Mississau- ga News. "That's age discrimination to me." Yes, on first blush it sounds like she's right. But none of the allegations have been proven before a tribunal hearing, so without all of the facts it's impossible to say. Kristy has been dancing for four years, and worked at Locomotion most of that time. She's self-described as one of the most-liked and hardest-working employ- hould strippers have a best be- fore date? Kimberlee Ouwroulis, a 44-year-old exotic dancer, emphati- ees at the peeler bar. "I was the older girl but the girl who looked great," she said in the story. "I was never in trouble at work. I've never been reprimanded. I don't have a criminal record . . . I am just a professional worker who takes dancing very seriously." The bright spot is she has been hired on at a Pickering strip club since her hoofing. This is a surprisingly tough one. It's as easy to dismiss Kristy with an eye-roll, as it is to argue for the other side. It will be interesting to see how the tribunal rules. No one should lose their job just because they're considered too old. But then again, should an employer be forced to retain an employee if the very talent that got them hired in the first place, isn't up to snuff any- more? (We stress we don't know one way or the other about Kristy's assets, but she looks fine for any age in her photo.) But let's say for argument, it's not quite like when the old guy in the corner office, who while he's still competent, gets replaced by a whippersnapper for no other reason than the numbers on his birth certificate. It's like a storeowner whose "product" has become too ripe for sale. So, should said storeowner be forced to sell his black- ening bananas? Or, can he remove them from the shelf before they attract flies? It's not that a stripper is too old for ser- vice, but rather it's her "talent" that isn't what it once was due to the aging process. Holly- wood directors for example don't typically burn our retinas by having "mature" actors prance in nude scenes — even though some of their parts may not even be 18. It's like a newspaper editor whose writ- ing ability is not what it once was because she's getting forgetful. She still does the job adequately, but . . . Or a 42-year-old NHL hockey player who was once a star, but now lets pucks the size of beach balls into the net. Shouldn't the boss be able to bench them? Some would say, 'It's life, it was a good run, now tape it up and move on.' It hap- pens to the best of those who earn a living riding on a so-called talent. Kristy could apply her abilities as a hard worker and most-liked by becoming a choreographer or mentor to the other "girls." The problem is, if Kristy's right, that's not what she was told. And it probably isn't a case of a sensitive boss sugar-coating worse news. So, if it's as Kristy says, she wins. But if it emerges she was actually fired because her ears now hang low, then the club does. Meanwhile, we're still stuck on the revelation that Kristy raked in $8 grand a month. Too bad there isn't a stage some- where for 40-something editors with ballet training . . . Who are getting forgetful. — Gretchen Drummie "Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me." when he said at Convocation, "It's déjà vu, all over again." Last time the guru of the day was John Carver and his policy governance model; this time the guru is Tim Plumptre of the Institute on Governance. The recommendation of the M Law Society of Upper Canada's governance task force, which Convocation accepted and which Aaron and I opposed, was, "To approve consultations on prin- ciples of governance for the law society with benchers and key members of and other stakehold- ers within the professions, and the associated budget of $95,000 for the consultations." I would be the last bencher to op- pose stakeholder consultation, but if my fellow benchers are so concerned about widespread consultation, why don't they remove the cloak of in- camera from committee meetings, and why aren't bencher information sessions public too? Now we have $95,000 of the law society budget, Osgoode Hall governance: déjà vu all over again Bencher's y friend and fellow Bencher Bob Aaron was right on the money most of which comes out of the pockets of sole practitioners and small firm lawyers, being poured down the governance sinkhole once again. Tom Heintzman, the chair- man of the governance task force, did a masterful job presenting the task force's recommenda- tion. Heintzman, like many other barrister benchers, is such a good advocate for the causes he believes in that I must hold onto my own beliefs with dear life to stop them from being blown off my head. Heintzman huffed and puffed about how the task force's recom- mendation was only about process and not about ultimate reforms. Process, shmocess! Bob Aaron and I have been down this road before. What starts out as "pro- cess" today winds up in reforms down the road tomorrow that would never have passed had they been voted on at Convocation be- fore the process began. I was naïve when I first became a bencher, but now I have been ed- ucated. Over the years I have seen strategies and processes at Osgoode Hall that I never dreamt of before. When I was a neophyte bencher, As for bencher retreats or Diary By Gary Lloyd Gottlieb the equity committee had money left over from their previous year's budget which they wanted to keep in addition to their budgetary al- lotment for the following year. They wanted the money to de- vote to a feminist issue. Logically the surplus should not have been carried over, but the chair of equity called for a roll call vote. Newly elected benchers rolled their eye- balls but did not want to dissent and look bad. The first time the issue of mandatory continuing legal education was to be debated at Convocation was late one after- noon, after many benchers had departed. The chairman of legal education realized the proposal would be lost. He got the matter put over to another Convocation when more benchers would be present, thereby hoping to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. www.lawtimesnews.com workshops, they are often for the purpose of laying the groundwork for new initiatives and policies. As for what some of the proposed reforms result- ing from the present governance workshop will likely be, they al- ready have been bandied about in information papers and in Osgoode's back rooms. Streamlining the governance process, particularly Convocation, by reducing the number of bench- ers, heads the list of ideas for re- form. Should we reduce the num- ber of benchers? Should we do away with some of the ex-officio benchers, such as previous treasur- ers, or should we at least take away their right to vote? Should we elim- inate life benchers entirely, those benchers who have been elected four times and served 16 years? Now they can attend and speak at Convocation, but they cannot vote. I told Bencher Aaron, after we were successful in our fourth con- secutive election and eligible to be- come life benchers ourselves after serving our current term, that the office of life bencher would un- doubtedly be abolished by then. November 10, 2008 • 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 kpas- coe@clbmedia.ca, or Kathy Liotta at 905-713- 4340 kliotta@clbmedia.ca or Sandy Shutt at 905-713-4337 sshutt@clbmedia.ca or Rose Noonan at 905-726-5444 rnoonan@clbmedia.ca Law Times is printed on newsprint containing 25-30 per cent post-consumer recycled materials. Please recycle this newspaper. Convocation is the last true bastion of democracy at Osgoode Hall. Elected benchers who have been excluded from the inner sanc- tums of governance at Osgoode Hall can at least get on their feet at Convocation and put forward the views they were elected to represent. As for the current composition of Convocation's elected benchers, there are 30 barristers and only five solicitors. Nine of the elected benchers are from large firms, 21 from small or medium-sized firms, and only five are sole practition- ers. Hardly representative. Will Convocation be more representa- tive if we winnow the number of benchers down? These are issues that should be debated now at Convocation. Why are we spending $95,000 of members' money for yet an- other workshop and consultation process when we all know what some of the proposed governance reforms will likely be? LT Gary Lloyd Gottlieb, a Toronto lawyer, is a Law Society of Upper Canada bencher and a Toronto sole practitioner. His e-mail address is gl- gqc@interlog.com.

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• Fatboys Running
• Avoiding Equalization
• Focus On Family Law