Law Times

PAGE 6 u EDITORIAL OBITER By Glenn Kauth A reminder of lawyers' valiant contributions the Beach O' Pines community on Lake Huron. Th e covenant re- stricted "ownership, use, occupation, and enjoyment of the said rec- reational lands to persons of white or Caucasian race. I COMMENT September 3, 2012 • Law timeS t's an old story but one that's nevertheless a reminder of the val- iant legal battles many lawyers have fought. On page 4 of Law Times this week, you'll read a story about the more than 60-year-old fi ght to invalidate a racist covenant at gation in 1950 at the Supreme Court of Canada, which ultimately struck it down. Law Times is taking a look back at the case mainly because of the Beach O' Pines community's connection to U.S. presidential hope- ful Mitt Romney. His family has owned a property there since 1950. Th ere' thing to do with the case or the racist covenant, but his connections to Ontario are, of course, topical given his current high-profi le role. But more than that, the legal battle over the covenant is a re- s no suggestion that Romney or his family would have had any- minder of the hard work lawyers like Ted Richmond, John Cart- wright, and John J. Robinette undertook in tak ing the case through the courts. Th e case helped contribute to the foundations of what would become a rich body of legislation and jurisprudence related to human rights and discrimination in this country. But it takes lawyers like Richmond, who at the time was just a few years out that observers expected would conclude with a rush judgment. Th e case is between Conservative MP S of law school, to push these matters forward. As a result, we owe a debt of gratitude to them and others who've dedicated themselves to pushing the boundaries through landmark cases like this one over the years. Of course, the victories aren't always what they should be. In the Noble v. Alley case related to the Beach O' Pines community, the Supreme Court ruled on the narrow issue of not being able to accurately determine who belonged to the ex- cluded groups. Looking back, it should have gone further, but it' lawyers who fi ght them that play a crucial role in developing the body of law that later moves soci- ety further ahead. s precisely cases like Noble and the — Glenn Kauth Mysterious delay in SCC's election ruling The Hill omething strange is going on at the Supreme Court. It appears to have stalled over a sensitive court case it has already heard Ted Opitz and former Liberal MP Borys Wrzesnewskyj over the 2011 election re- sults in the riding of Etobicoke-Centre. Opitz won by 26 votes on election its holidays to hear it on July 10. Th ere was a full day of hearing. Th e Supreme Court judges were fully aware their judg- ment could set an important electoral precedent. What if, in some future night, but an Ontario Superior Court judge, Th omas Lederer, ruled the results were invalid because of 79 irregularities in the process. It' question of any wrongdoing by either candidate or their organizations. Th e trouble began and ended with Elections Canada offi cials who gave out ballots to people who weren't registered, didn't have registration certifi cates or may have been on the voters' list elsewhere. Opitz and his boss, Prime Minister s important to note that there's no Stephen Harper, decided to appeal to the Supreme Court, which agreed to hear the matter. Th is was most unusual because the Supreme Court should have been on its three-month summer holiday. It decided the case, which goes to the heart of the electoral process, is so important that it had to cut short Law Times LT Masthead.indd 1 election, offi cials lose an en- tire ballot box with as many as 200 votes in it? Let' fl oats down the river and the winner triumphs by only 26 votes. Would the loss of that many votes mean the top candidate isn't the winner aſt er all and the government must call a byelection? Supreme Court Chief Justice Bever- s say it Richard Cleroux part. So did retiring justice Marie Deschamps. Aſt er the hearing, the court decided to reserve judgment, which is understandable for an im- portant case. But that' ley McLachlin asked a number of hard questions and made signifi cant remarks about the court' is set to call two other byelections this fall, likely in October. A third byelection would fi t nicely into the schedule if the case goes against Opitz. Why the delay? Th e judges sacrifi ced Time, of course, marches on. Harper of them will likely be showing up in law school discussions for some time to come. Clearly, she considered it an impor- tant case. It has to be. Otherwise, why would she bring the top court' together in the middle of the summer? Th ey could have waited for the fall ses- sions as they do for other cases. Justice Michael Moldaver, one of the new judges at the court, took an active s judges s role in politics. Some tery begins. We've been wait- ing almost eight weeks since July 10 for the court to issue its judgement. We haven't heard a blessed word from it. When do we get a judgment? s where the mys- " It led to liti- says he'll be part of a group of 500 Ca- nadians, one that probably includes a lot of Conservatives, "to ensure free and fair elections." Opitz, it seems, may end up helping to make sure there will be no robo-call- ing, voter suppression or smear ads in the Ukrainian election. But don't laugh. Harper could have sent MP Dean Del Mastro and the mysterious Pierre Pou- tine instead. Somebody has remarked that what we need is 500 Ukrainians to watch things for Elections Canada in Etobi- coke-Centre in the next election. It' their holidays to rush the case through before the fall. Are they unable to reach a decision? In the meantime, the House of Com- mons is set to come back in two weeks. If the court waits those two weeks, Opitz will come back to take his seat in Parlia- ment without knowing how long he'll be able to hold it. Th ere' ing things. Harper is sending Opitz to monitor the elections in Ukraine in Oc- tober. Th e prime minister' s a crazy side issue complicat- s press release 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 ...................... Mallory Hendry CaseLaw Editor ................. Adela Rodriguez Art Director ...................... Alicia Adamson Production Co-ordinator ............. 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Publications Mail Agreement Number 40762529 • ISSN 0847-5083 Law Times is published 40 times a year by Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd., 2075 Kennedy Rd., Toronto, ON, M1T 3V4 • 416-298-5141 clb.lteditor@thomsonreuters.com CIRCULATIONS & SUBSCRIPTIONS $175.00 + HST per year in Canada (HST Reg. #R121351134) and $265.00 for foreign addresses. Single copies are $4.00 Circulation www.lawtimesnews.com 8/16/12 4:04 PM Opitz, who may not even be an MP in October if the Supreme Court throws out the election results, in the Ukrainian eff orts. Is he just so confi dent that he'll win the court case? If not, poor Opitz may have to cancel his trip to Ukraine in order to run in a byelection. In the meantime, nobody seems to know what the Supreme Court's delay is s strange that Harper would include about or when we should expect a judg- ment. It' s all very mysterious. LT Richard Cleroux is a freelance reporter and columnist on Parliament Hill. 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