Law Times

Page 4 December 12, 2016 • Law Times www.lawtimesnews.com LSUC tells lawyer investigation is underway Complaint launched over ad in newsletter BY ALEX ROBINSON Law Times A n Ottawa lawyer has filed a complaint with the Law Soci- ety of Upper Canada against a Toronto lawyer for advertising in a publication that has been criticized for being overtly racist, misogynistic and homophobic. Ottawa human rights lawyer Richard Warman submitted the complaint against David Faed after he allegedly placed re- peated advertisements in Your Ward News, a Toronto-based newsletter that publishes con- tent described as anti-Semitic. Warman filed the complaint in March, seeking an investiga- tion. Canada Post stopped circu- lating the newsletter this sum- mer following an order by Public Services and Procurement Min- ister Judy Foote. The Toronto Police Service is also conducting an investigation into the newsletter concerning hate propaganda offences. Warman says he did not be- lieve it when he was first told a lawyer was advertising in Your Ward News. "My main impression was that hopefully the member wasn't aware of the type of publication he was advertising in," he says. "But when I spoke with Mr. Faed directly, it became clear that wasn't in fact the case." Warman says Faed continued to advertise in the publication after Warman contacted him to voice his concerns in 2015. Warman then filed his com- plaint after he says it became apparent Faed had no intention of pulling his ads from the pub- lication. In a statement to Law Times, Faed said, "This is libellous trash falsely attributed to me. I warn you to reconsider this." Warman's complaint lists a number of sections in the law society's Rules of Professional Conduct, which he says Faed's advertisements have broken. One is s. 2.1-1, which re- quires that lawyers have a duty to carry out their responsibili- ties "honourably and with in- tegrity." Section 6.3.1-1 of the rules requires lawyers have a "special responsibility to respect the re- quirements of human rights laws" and to "honour the obliga- tion not to discriminate." Warman says financially supporting a publication such as Your Ward News through advertising is a breach of those rules and constitutes unprofes- sional conduct. "It's incumbent on every member of the profession to up- hold the equality of all human beings — not just from a human rights perspective but also from a professional practice perspec- tive as well," Warman says. Warman adds that the ads break law society rules on ad- vertising, marketing and sexual harassment. Speaking generally, LSUC Bencher Malcolm Mercer says the law society's rules require that any advertisements lawyers use have to meet certain stan- dards of professionalism. "It's important that the pub- lic, society generally, continues to have confidence in the ad- ministration of justice and for that purpose has confidence in the legal profession," he says. "And so if advertising or mar- keting brought the administra- tion of justice into disrepute, that would be corrosive of the system generally." Mercer could not speak about the specifics of the com- plaint, as benchers can be called to serve as adjudicators in disci- pline cases. Faed's ad cites his website and phone number, but it does not identify his name. A disclaimer at the bottom of the ad distances Faed from the New Constitution Party of Canada — the neo-Nazi political party of James Sears, the news- letter's editor. The disclaimer says, "IN- DEPENDENT. I AM NOT IN- VOLVED WITH THE NEW CONSTITUTION PARTY OF CANADA." Warman says this disclaimer suggests that Faed was aware of the paper's "repeated publication of discriminatory material" be- fore he contacted him. Based in eastern Toronto, the controversial free newsletter claimed it had a circulation of 300,000 before Canada Post stopped delivering it. Warman says the publication openly advocates Nazism and engages in Holocaust denial. Detective Constable Kiran Bisla, of the Toronto Police Ser- vices Hate Crimes Unit, says the police started an investigation into the newsletter after receiv- ing complaints by residents. She declined to comment on specifics of the investigation, but she said it is ongoing. "We are aware of the publi- cation and it's currently under investigation," she says. Under the Criminal Code, hate propaganda is defined as "the public promotion or incite- ment of hatred against an identi- fiable group." Anti-racism activists had requested Canada Post stop distributing the newspaper, but it was not until Warman filed a complaint to the Can- adian Human Rights Commis- sion against Canada Post and the federal government in the spring that the order was made to stop circulating it. Warman says that in addition to the discriminatory content of the newsletter, it also advocates some troubling views concern- ing the justice system. In the fall 2016 edition of the publication, one piece ad- vocates "Jury Nullification," which it describes as "when a Jury ignores the 'law' and the 'FACTS' AS PRESENTED TO THEM," and instead rules "based on what they feel is MORALLY RIGHT." The piece goes on to list a number of principles juries should follow that include a de- mand that men who are accused of "non-violent sexual assault and rape" must be acquitted. "To be involved with a pub- lication that openly advocates obstruction of justice takes it to a whole new level. I would hope that Mr. Faed would then reconsider his pos- ition," says Warman. A spokeswoman for the law society would not confirm whether the regulator was in- vestigating Faed, but Warman says the law society confirmed an investigation was ongoing in late November. "This will permanently dam- age my reputation as a 45-year defender of criminal cases and will lead to prejudice in court against the falsely accused," Faed said in his statement to Law Times. LT NEWS NEWS NEWS An Ottawa lawyer says the Law Society of Upper Canada has told him it's investigating a complaint about a lawyer advertising in a publication that has been called racist, misogy- nistic and homophobic. THE SCENIC ROUTE IS ENJOYABLE BUT NOT IF YOU'RE PRESSED FOR TIME. Start with Practical Law Canada. Take the most direct route with proven Practical Law Canada resources. You can save time with up-to-date, straightforward how-to guides, annotated standard documents, checklists, and more. 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