Law Times

Page 6 OctOber 31, 2016 • Law times www.lawtimesnews.com In a longer journey to get the SSA repealed, a headline screaming "less paperwork" may not be sexy or glamourous. But the change must be a warm boon to lawyers in the trenches. These are the folks who are taking small steps every day to fight the act and its unsavoury conse- quences for people who have been ticketed. LT COMMENT ©2016 Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reprinted or stored in a retrieval system without written per- mission. 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. 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I also buy the argument the act unnecessarily ends up criminal- izing people who struggle with mental illness. That's why a story this week in Law Times may seem like it marks a small victory. However, I'd argue it's the type of policy development that de- serves to be celebrated. Fair Change Community Services has struck an agreement with the Old City Hall courthouse in Toronto allowing appeals of Safe Streets Act tickets to occur with less paperwork. That means if an appeal involves more than 50 tickets, an expe- dited process can be used. This, in turn, will make a drastic change in terms of how much time is needed by lawyers to help their clients. As someone who worked in a newsroom and then transferred to a government setting, it was shocking for me to encounter the number of documents required for even the simplest of procedures. That's why when changes occur to make court processes more f lexible, they deserve to be commended. Innovation in the courts can be tricky and difficult to come by. Rowe impresses a crowd O TTAWA — It was the kind of event comparable to what usually only happens in the movies. The 63-year-old Newfoundland Ap- peal Court judge, Malcolm Rowe, ap- peared before 14 hard-nosed MPs and senators to face a two-hour grilling on his legal knowledge. And, boy, did Rowe impress, with a supreme grasp of Canadian law and exuding excessive modesty. The parlia- mentarians, along with about 50 jour- nalists and cameramen and 100 law stu- dents, had crowded into the former stu- dent chapel of the University of Ottawa to have a go at the kindly judge. Rowe showed extensive knowledge of Canadian laws and how a brilliant Su- preme Court justice should see his role. The federal government has a winner, with the latest appointment replacing retired Supreme Court justice Thomas Cromwell, who stepped down earlier this year. Rowe read most of the five-minute biographical introductory speech he had to give in near faultless French. Through it all and the two hours of questioning that followed, he kept apologizing for the poor quality of his French. There was nothing wrong with it. His modesty made the par- liamentarians smile. There was a back story, of course. Debate began last summer when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised that the new judge replacing Justice Cromwell and every Supreme Court appointment after him would have to be bilingual. Justice Minister Jody Wil- son-Raybould appeared be- fore the Commons commit- tee on Justice and Human Rights Issues to explain the new justice would have to be "functionally bilingual." New Democrat leader Thomas Mul- cair hit the roof. What did that mean, he asked? Was that like "f luently" bilingual? Or was it a level or two below or above that? Could it be like public servants in Ottawa who nail down federal jobs say- ing they are "really bilingual?" The Conservative MPs said they should make prospective justices pass language tests. Trudeau had said no to language tests. Wilson-Raybould said the same. Mulcair asked how we would know we had a bilingual of the kind Tru- deau had promised. Wilson-Raybould said people in her office would figure things out. Leave it up to them. And guess what? They did. They came up with a bi- lingual judge — the real thing! And from Newfoundland? A real Atlantic Canadian. Bloc Québécois leader MP Rhéal Fortin was pleased. Rowe is bilingual, and Trudeau was keeping a promise. Fortin looked up at Judge Rowe and with a smile com- plimented him on his "effi- cient and functional" French. When the leader of the BQ compliments you on the quality of your French, you know that, linguistically, you must be doing something right. Despite his f luency in French, Rowe said he has never sat in judgment at a trial in French. One MP asked why? Rowe offered politely there are no trials in French in Newfoundland and Labrador. But Rowe did remember that he had a client once who came to him for help on a fisheries issue he had with the French islands of Saint Pierre and Mi- quelon off the coast of Newfoundland. Rowe was able to put his knowledge of French to use for his client. And when he came to Ottawa for the federal govern- ment, or to the United Nations on behalf of Canada, his French was of great use. He was also grilled on more than just language. One MP wanted to know his writing style on judgments. Did he believe in definitive statements by the court? He replied: "Clarity is critical. What's the use of a definitive statement by the Supreme Court [if ] you can't fig- ure out what it says." Another parliamentarian wanted to know what are the qualities of a good judge. Rowe replied, "A judge must be in- dependent, open-minded, show humility and tact." At another point, he talked extensive- ly about Canada's aboriginal peoples and his language showed how much he cares about what happens to them and what role the courts can give to their needs and approaches to problems. He spoke with passion about the legal struggles and social issues of aboriginal peoples. In the end, even opposition par- liamentarians were saying that for once Trudeau had made a good choice. Com- ing from them, it was high praise. LT uRichard Cleroux is a freelance reporter and columnist on Parliament Hill. His email address is richardcleroux34@gmail.com. The Hill Richard Cleroux

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