Law Times

lAw Times • April 16, 2012 Binnie eager to see 'other side of the adjudication ladder' NEWS F BY MEREDITH MORRISON For Law Times tration scene. Binnie notes he' ormer Supreme Court justice Ian Bin- nie is eager to see "the other side of the adjudication ladder" in joining the newest player in Bay Street' s arbi- ing at Arbitration Place in Toronto's fi nancial s looking forward to work- district given that he "was never a trial judge. I went straight to the appellate courts, so this is a chance to see things from the other side of the adjudication ladder. bitrator there, Binnie will be joining the team at Lenczner Slaght Royce Smith Griffi n LLP. "One of my objectives of leaving the Supreme Court when I did was to take on something new and fresh and sort of reinvent myself to the extent possible, Besides the move to become a resident ar- " Besides joining two firms, former Supreme Court justice Ian Binnie has been busy receiving awards, including a recent honour from the Toronto Lawyers Association. "So the fact that the legal landscape has changed makes it more challenging but also more exciting." " he says. Binnie notes the people he'll be working with were a big part of his decision to join Lenczner Slaght. He notes he knew some of them from his time at McCarthy Tétrault LLP. In the meantime, he'll be participating in Arbitration Place's offi cial opening on April 18. Binnie says he hopes the Legal challenges to rules predicted more to enter Canada and have played by the rules. "What do we say to those peo- Continued from page 1 ple: 'Sorry you did the right thing but we're going to close the door on you anyway?'" We shouldn't do away with the dream of some- one getting the chance to come to Canada who played by the rules. It' I think it will be subject to legal challenges in the future. s a dangerous precedent and " agrees with Kenney that the im- migration system should be faster and more fl exible, there shouldn't be "a complete tear down" of it. Not everyone agrees. Ottawa immigration lawyer Bellissimo adds that while he for example, feels the changes are on the right track. "Th ere are enor- mous economic costs associated with applicant backlogs," she says. "I think they have it right. Immi- gration should benefi t Canada rather than Canada benefi ting im- migration. I think it really should be fi ne-tuned to meet Canada' Julie Taub, economic needs." In Taub' s rightly expect more from immi- grants coming to Canada. "All im- migrants that came before the late 1980s had to stand on their own two feet," she says. "Th ey had to work hard and they didn't get any handouts. Now, there is a sense of entitlement among some im- migrants, and I think some of the changes are right to address that." Th e new rules include changes s view, the changes to the Canadian experience class that allow certain foreign students and temporary foreign workers to obtain permanent resident status through their Canadian work and educational background more quickly. But foreign workers will have to receive accreditation in their home country before they can work in Canada. " All accreditation should be done abroad," says Taub. "For Ca- nadian taxpayers, it's in our best interest and safety to do so. Th ere are a large number of doctors and engineers who come to Canada and aren't accredited and end up becoming taxi drivers or may end up harming people because they aren't up to our standards." But Lloyd Ament, a partner at Photo: Glenn Kauth fi rm will bring international arbitration cases to Canada. "It' and put Toronto on the map internationally in commercial arbitration," he says. "Rather than being directed at the purely domestic ar- bitration market, Arbitration Place is trying to build links with the international arbitration organizations and the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris." During the six months following his retire- s an interesting initiative to try ment from the Supreme Court, Binnie was in- volved in an inquiry in New Zealand related to a wrongful conviction. He' ter in his life. "It will be very interesting to see how well I manage, Binnie adds he's looking forward to starting a new chap- LT " " he says. Gov't cavalier on Charter rights Continued from page 1 accused's conduct to the government's conduct." and lawyers say the battle to defi ne and interpret the Charter isn't over yet. Th ey point to recent decisions by the federal government that they suggest indicate a watering down of the Charter. "Th e Charter was meant to create a very sophisticat- Despite the changes, many constitutional experts ed dialogue between the courts and the government, but lately the federal government seems to be acting very cavalierly in taking away fundamental freedoms like the right of workers to strike, a constitutional lawyer at Cavalluzzo Hayes Shilton McIntyre & Cornish LLP. "Still, the courts seem to be very clearly saying many of the freedoms outlined by the Charter are fundamental and trampling on them requires good enough evidence to do so. " says Paul Cavalluzzo, Basman Smith LLP in Toronto, foresees some problems with the changes. "In terms of the changes to the federal skilled-worker pro- gram in the permanent resident category, of the 29 categories work- ers can now apply under, there is only room for 500 applicants," he says. "Th e popular categories are being fi lled up in a month in most cases and it doesn't really do much for the other 80 per cent." Other categories aff ected by legislation to suspend the rights of Air Canada work- ers to strike during the current round of negotiations. Its actions on the Air Canada fi le have been a slap in Last month, the federal government introduced " Reach one of the the changes include the fam- ily class under which parents and grandparents can now apply for super visas that allow quicker en- try to Canada for extended stays. At the same time, the govern- ment will now require spouses of Canadian citizens applying under that class to commit to a two-year temporary visitor designation before they can seek permanent residence in order to ensure the marriage is genuine. "It sounds good on paper, but many parents and grandparents can't get the medical insurance necessary to apply for the visa and can't prove their sponsor has the resources necessary to support them," says Ament. LT the face to workers who enjoy protection under the Charter, says Cavalluzzo. "Th e federal government seems to have far less re- Despite these challenges, Ruby says the Charter will continue to play an important role in Canada's legal " he says. spect for the Charter as far as public-sector clients are concerned, landscape in the coming years. "Th e justice system has always claimed ethics and morality as its sphere but for centuries has turned a blind eye to justice and abuse, " he says. "Th e Charter was the moral breakthrough. It allows citizens to no longer be mere subjects of the jus- tice system but human beings with rights and dignity. Events to celebrate the Charter's anniversary include " the Charter Project launched by the University of Wind- sor' for Canadian Studies will host an event featuring several constitutional law experts talking about the Charter' LT nifi cance on April 17-18 in Ottawa. Th e Canadian Bar Association will also be hosting events this week as part of Law Day. legal and business markets in largest s graduating law class. In addition, the Association s sig- you're not dealing with remote legal doctrine. You're dealing with a very real human being that has been acquitted. of reviewing the case and making a recom- mendation on whether the recently acquitted man, who spent 13 years in jail, should receive compensation. Binnie notes he fi nds working on the case "immensely rewarding because s now in the process PAGE 5 Canada! With more than 250,000 page views a month, canadianlawlist.com captures your market The all-new canadianlawlist.com features: — A fresh new look, designed for improved user experience — Effective new ways to reach the legal market — Gold and silver advertising packages For more information contact: Colleen Austin at 416-649-9327 or toll free at 1-800-387-5351 colleen.austin@thomsonreuters.com www.lawtimesnews.com CLL Online ad - 1/4 pg LT.indd 1 2/15/12 1:38 PM Online Print and in

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