Law Times

Page 16 OctOber 3, 2016 • Law times www.lawtimesnews.com LEAF INTERVENES IN CASE CHALLENGING INDIAN ACT The Women's Legal Education and Action Fund is intervening in a case that will challenge provi- sions in the Indian Act. In Gehl v Attorney General of Canada, Lynn Gehl is chal- lenging a policy that says an ap- plicant for status under the act can be rejected if he or she does not have their father listed on their birth certificate, as he is as- sumed to be non-Indian. Critics say this policy dis- criminates on the basis of sex and marital status. "Indigenous women are dis- proportionately targeted for sexual violence and they are dispropor- tionately single parents living in poverty," said LEAF's legal director, Kim Stanton. "An Indigenous mother should not be forced to choose between ensuring her child's status (and the ensuing benefits) and a height- ened risk of physical harm or social conf licts." The federal government denied the request by Gehl, who is an Algonquin-Anishinaabe woman, to register for "Indian status" un- der the act in 1994 because her grandfather was not registered on her mother's birth certificate. Status provides access to benefits such as tax exemptions. LEGAL AID ONTARIO EXPANDS PILOT Legal Aid Ontario is expand- ing a pilot project to fund pro- ceedings at the Ontario Court of Justice where a second judicial pre-trial has been scheduled. The pilot will run until March 31, 2018 at 15 locations across Ontario. Lawyers can submit requests to obtain coverage on the Legal Aid Ontario website. For more information, contact LAO's lawyer service centre at 1-866-979-9934. LSUC RESPONDS TO CONSULTATIONS The Law Society of Upper Canada wants laypersons to be involved in all stages of the judi- cial discipline process. The idea was one of a number of recommendations the law society has made in response to consultations the federal gov- ernment is holding about the justice system. The law society's recom- mendations also included that the federal government base its new judicial appointments pro- cess on Ontario's, which is led by an independent committee. The LSUC also asked the gov- ernment to commit to specific timelines in which judicial va- cancies will be filled. YES, I AGREE 67 % 33 % NO, I DO NOT AGREE LAW TIMES POLL Law Times recently reported that a new LSUC report on the barriers faced by racialized li- censees recommends measures such as the LSUC doing an in- ternal diversity assessment and providing equality and inclu- sion education to Convocation. Readers were asked if they plan to read the report and sup- port its recommendations. About 67 per cent said yes, this report is a critical piece of insight on how to address the widespread barriers that racial- ized licensees face, and the rec- ommendations can lead to im- portant social change. Another 33 per cent said no, they do not have plans to read the report and that this issue is very complex and needs more than the Law Society's rec- ommendations implemented to lead to meaningful social change. LT u Bizarre Briefs By Viola James u The InsIde story "Fantasy sports I can understand. But fantasy judicial appointing to the Superior Courts...I dunno." IT'S AGAINST THE LAW . . . TO TAKE A SELFIE WITH A PYTHON Forest department officials in India promised strict action after a python attacked a man when a group was trying to click a photo with it. The incident took place recently after forest department officials removed the python from the premises of a school in northwestern Rajast - han state. They were posing for pictures with it after successfully capturing it. Deputy Conservator of Forests K.G. Shrivastav said the incident was un - expected as all officers were highly trained. "I wanted the snake to be released in my pres- ence, but the officials released it before I could reach the spot. I had no clue that civilians were also present at the spot and something could go wrong as all the officials are highly trained. Click - ing selfies with the snake and releasing the photos publicly is an offense under the Wildlife Act and we will issue notice to all involved in this inci- dent," Shrivastav said. The victim, Ashok Bishnoi, accepted the incident happened due to careless- ness on his part. "I did not realize how close I was to the py- thon and it attacked me. "This is entirely my fault," said Bishnoi. He added that the mishap happened in a short span of time in spite of the fact that the rescue of - ficials had a strong grip on the reptile. The snake was later released in a forest. POLITICIANS AND DRUG ALLEGATIONS . . . NOT JUST IN CANADA ArkansasOnline reports that a former Republi - can state senator, Gilbert Baker, tested positive for methamphetamine after police stopped him for impaired driving in August. The news outlet said a toxicology report was released after a request was made by media under the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act. ArkansasOnline reported that Baker, an as - sistant professor at the University of Central Ar- kansas, had pleaded guilty to driving while in- toxicated and refusing to take a breath test, and that he had a blood alcohol limit of 0.149 per cent. A city attorney said he had no information about the drug being in Baker's system. "It's not illegal to have anything in your sys - tem," ArkansasOnline reports the city attorney as saying. Baker had his licence suspended for six months, reported the media outlet. Baker was also sentenced to two days in jail, and he had to pay US$1,225 to cover fines and court costs. In a statement quoted by the media outlet, Baker said he made two "serious mistakes" the night he was stopped — but the statement did not refer to the methamphetamine. NO LEGAL CHALLENGE NEEDED TO CAN MOSQUITO DEVICE A New Zealand library that went beyond stern looks from librarians to ensure peace and quiet has turned off a "mosquito" device after drawing criticism for targeting young people with an an - noying, high-pitched buzz. The Papanui Library in the South Island city of Christchurch installed the device, which pro- duces a high-frequency buzz that can be heard apparently only by people under 25, to deter youths from loitering outside and intimidating library users. The library agreed to evaluate its use after receiving criticism from the public and rights activists. "Libraries should be places where children and teenagers are welcome, not excluded by de - liberately making them uncomfortable," Thomas Beagle, the head of the New Zealand Council for Civil Liberties, said in a statement on his website condemning the device. The Council of Europe said in 2010 the mosquito device was a breach of human rights and anti-torture conventions. Despite shelving the device for now, the library said it had worked. LT © 2015 Stewart. All rights reserved. We put legal professionals front and centre and we put our efforts into keeping real estate transactions where they belong – in your office. Learn more about our level of support, call (888) 667-5151 or visit stewart.ca. Ally Untitled-4 1 2016-03-02 10:19 AM Kim Stanton will be participating in a case LEAF is mounting to challenge provisions of the Indian Act.

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