Law Times

PAGE 6 u EDITORIAL OBITER By Glenn Kauth of Law Times this week, the government has been "moving through one immigration program at a time like a stack of dominoes." Perhaps most controversially, it has moved to remove scores of people from the backlog of applications to the federal skilled-worker program. But it has also been introducing a host of reforms aimed at ensuring those admitted to Canada will be able to succeed in the job market. Immigration Minister Jason Kenney appears to be taking the approach W hile immigration lawyers are legitimately concerned about the pace of change to the immigration system, the govern- ment is on the right track with many of the recent reforms. As immigration lawyer Mario Bellissimo notes on page 1 of overwhelming the system with changes, a tactic that often leaves critics struggling to respond and mount effective opposition. But after years of complaints about a system that moves too slowly and admits people who find it difficult to get good and relevant employment here, it' nificant reform was in order. So rather than take an incremental approach that leaves much of the previous system intact, Kenny has clearly decided to revamp it wholeheartedly. But while many of the changes are welcome, the government needs to pay attention to how it implements them. For example, while it's s clear that sig- Dramatic immigration reforms necessary COMMENT April 16, 2012 • lAw Times sharpening its emphasis on accepting applicants who work in designated professions, it needs to be nimble in responding to changing economic circumstances. In that way, it can ensure that the list of designated occupations changes quickly according to fluctuating demand. It should also be mindful of the importance of allowing skilled workers to reunite with their families. As for the elimination of so many people from the application backlog, it's the unfortunate fallout of the dramatic but necessary reforms. While there's talk of legal action by those affected, it would be unfortunate if the courts were to rule in their favour. Hopefully, Kenney and his officials have done their homework to ensure this is an unlikely possibility. — Glenn Kauth Should we subsidize articling jobs through LSUC levy? 12.1 per cent of students hadn't found arti- cling positions in 2010-11. The profession is eagerly awaiting A rticling is probably not on the chopping block yet, but its very existence is in question as con- cerns mount over the fact that the final report of the Law Society of Upper Canada' in May. It's giving serious consideration s task force on the issue to providing law students with a choice of traditional articling or taking a practi- cal legal training course. The shape the course would take is unclear, but the LSUC wouldn't deliver it. Would it be a fourth year of law school? Would it be a co-operative course? Will it lead to the demise of articling in Ontario? Some say it will create two tiers of graduates. Articling fosters relationships between junior and senior members of the profession, and good articles are the gold standard of a legal education in Canada. Members of the bar provide practical real-life experience and round out a legal education with things that can't be taught in a classroom. Unfortunately, articling is highly dependent on the bar requisite practical training. There are a number of factors behind the job short- age. They include the increasing cost of running a practice, the reliance placed to provide the Law Times LT Masthead.indd 1 on an underfunded legal aid plan, a burgeoning number of applicants for admission, and even the availability of co-op students from various law and college programs. The defence bar in Ottawa, A Criminal Mind in fact, consists of 162 lawyers who currently employ only nine or 10 articling students. In the meantime, more stu- dents than ever are seeking admission to the Ontario bar. The University of Ottawa has permanently increased its graduating class and more law graduates are coming from abroad. At the same time, it' in Australia. The University of Leicester is soliciting applications from Canadians to study law with no LSAT required to apply. There' s possible to study Canadian law that the shortage of articling placements has created an unfair barrier to the profes- sion and that the law society may come under fire for violating the Competition Act. But the federal and provincial gov- ernments should themselves be reminded of their obligations to take on an increas- ing number of articling students. In the extremely busy Ministry of s perhaps a misplaced concern work with the 44 provincial Crowns. The number hasn't increased in the 19 years that Crown attorney Vicki Bair has been working there. On the federal Rosalind Conway Public Prosecution Service of Canada also has 44 full- time prosecutors in Ottawa. Chief federal prosecutor for the national capital region Tom Raganold says the usual roster of side, the given time. Many of these Department of Justice students land jobs afterwards with the federal government. No legal education course can offer that. But if the law schools continue to increase the number of graduates, fewer of them will find jobs, especially since articling is a time to make connections and prove themselves. If we institute a practical legal training unchanged at one or two placed with it in Ottawa at any students is to the students, no doubt — they'll have an incentive to further increase enrol- ment. In the meantime, the Ottawa Citizen reported last month that litigation has begun in the United States against 14 law schools that had touted their students' employment prospects. Many lawyers are in favour of keep- ing articling as the only option in Ontario as it is throughout the rest of Canada. The difficulty is that the profession should share the cost of articling. If the LSUC forgave articling principals' fees and pro- vided them with free continuing profes- sional development that year, this would be like a $4,000 grant to the lawyer. The LSUC could offset the cost through a mod- est $100 annual levy on lawyers not taking students. At the end of the articling peri- od, each mentor produces a new lawyer who will, in turn, pay fees to the law society. We could introduce a revenue-neutral the Attorney General office in Ottawa, there are only two articling students to course in Ontario, it should be compara- ble to articling in both length and quality. One Australian program places students for four months, thereby providing lim- ited exposure to practice. But there' schools are able to provide a practical legal training course — at a significant cost s a huge caveat. If the law 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 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 .................. Adela Rodriguez Art Director .......................Alicia Adamson Account Co-ordinator ............... Catherine Giles Electronic Production Specialist ........Derek Welford Advertising Sales ............... Kimberlee Pascoe Sales Co-ordinator ................... 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