Law Times

Law Times • November 9, 2009 Flu prompts calls for better sick leave Continued from page 1 increasing scrutiny as the fl u season progresses, Sack Gold- blatt Mitchell LLP labour law practitioner Ethan Poskanzer is keeping his eye on employ- ers. He suggests that employees who stay home while sick with the fl u are helping society at large and shouldn't have to pay for doing what's right. "Th at's a serious sacrifi ce for them, and it's important that they do absent themselves in the public good. Given that, I think there have to be bet- ter provisions to ensure that employees are covered either through the [Employment In- surance] system or employer sick-leave plans." Th e Employment Standards Act includes a provision en- titling workers at companies with 50 or more employees to as much as 10 days of unpaid leave for issues such as illness or other emergencies. But Poskan- zer says it's up to debate wheth- er that provision will help in- dividuals with a well-founded fear of becoming infected while at work. It's possible that recourse for avoiding a fl u-stricken work- place could also fall under the Human Rights Code or the Occupational Health and Safety Act. But, Poskanzer ac- knowledges, "Th is is untested territory, so it might be a little more diffi cult." While there are some holes in the legislation, Poskanzer says that "with a little ingenuity and work," existing laws could pro- vide adequate legal protections for most Ontario workers. LT April alone sees 24 discrimination cases Continued from page 1 April, in fact, was the busiest month ever for the program with 24 complaints, something Petersen says was surprising. "It's hard to say whether it's just a blip or whether we're going to now see an increasing trend over the next few years of complaints rising," she says. Like Welsh, law society Bencher Avvy Go says the statistics may be a refl ection of the times. "From my own work, I fi nd in general [that] in bad economic times, you tend to see more complaints, whether it's employment related or whether it's access to other kinds of services." Still, the increase could be due either to people being more will- ing to come forward or to an actual rise in incidents. "I think both are possible," says Go, a member of Convocation's equity and aboriginal issues committee. "If it's an issue of an increasing number of actual incidents over- all, then we need to fi gure out why that is the case and think of how we could better respond to it," she adds. Similarly, Ontario Bar Association vice president Lee Akazaki says that in some ways, the report is a success for the law society. "In that respect, if these people are emboldened to report their complaints or their problems where they may not have done so before, then it's got to be seen . . . to be a positive development that these issues are being raised and that they're being processed and taken seriously." LT EARLY BIRD SPECIAL prices as low as $ based on standing order of 100 copies or more 53 With more than 1,400 pages of essential legal references, Ontario Lawyer's Phone Book is your best connection to legal services in Ontario. Subscribers can depend on the credibility, accuracy and currency of this directory year after year. 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We'll be there! • Phone: (416) 363-7227 • Fax: (416) 363-6125 • kentlegal.com • Canada Law Book is a Division of The Cartwright Group Ltd. • Prices subject to change without notice, to applicable taxes and shipping & handling. www.lawtimesnews.com LPB 2010_LT_Nov9_09.indd 1 11/4/09 11:58:19 AM No, we don't really think of ourselves as superheroes (although, we do regularly appear just in time to save the day) E-discovery requires expertise, strategic understanding, diligence and a uniquely collaborative approach. Fortunately, we have access to the most talented litigation support experts through our broad network of industry leaders and our ever-expanding database of over 30,000 legal professionals. Keep your e-discovery requirements in-house by recruiting our e-discovery experts. For seamless integration with the shortest possible search time – whatever your needs … whether it be one expert, a team, direct hire, temporary or contract. NEWS Mental health lawyers join legal aid boycott BY ROBERT TODD Law Times T he legal aid boycott gained some un- expected support last week when a group of mental health lawyers added its backing to the campaign for a tariff boost. Criminal Lawyers' Association presi- dent Frank Addario calls the addition of the 60-member Mental Health Legal Committee — whose members aren't criminal lawyers — a "beachhead" into a new fi eld of law. "It's a quasi-charity because they end up working for free on many of those cases," says Addario. "Th ey've just said, 'As with other as- pects of legal aid, the government wants the benefi t of saying we have this social program, but they don't want to fund it. We're not do- ing it anymore.'" Th e mental health lawyers often represent clients in treatment capacity cases in which authorities consider a patient's right to turn down treatment with heavy anti-psychotic medications. Such patients can challenge an initial fi nding before the Consent and Capacity Board, and an appeal from there may go to the Superior Court. With the mental health lawyers now eff ectively refusing to participate in that process, appeals are likely to stack up in the courts, and patients could end up stuck and untreated in hospital beds. Oth- ers may simply be discharged without treatment. Mental health committee chairman Mar- shall Swadron announced the group's backing of the CLA boycott in a letter to Addario. "We support the Criminal Lawyers' Asso- ciation in its eff orts to bring attention to the dysfunction that grips our legal aid system and wish you success in your quest for progressive changes to the level of legal aid funding and equal access to the criminal justice process," he wrote. Meanwhile, the court has denied at least one in a group of applications for funding by people unable to get a lawyer due to the boycott. Stockwoods LLP lawyer Scott Hutchison tells Law Times that Michael Durant, who faces two counts of fi rst-degree murder in Welland, Ont., has been denied his request for funding. Hutchison says Justice James Ramsay turned down the application because Legal Aid On- tario found a lawyer who would take the case at the current tariff rate. Hutchison says Th orn- hill lawyer Avrum Flisfeder agreed to take the case and that Ramsay ruled his representation would be enough for the government to meet its obligations. Durant has now decided to represent him- self when the case returns to court in January, says Hutchison. LT PAGE 3

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