Law Times

PAGE 4 Federal government legal spending hits record $500K NEWS T BY YAMRI TADDESE Law Times The multibillion-dollar Supreme Court of Canada case ended in the government's favour aſter two Alber- he federal government spent more than $2 mil- lion in the last year on a case involving aborigi- nal claims related to oil and gas revenues that it had already won in 2009. ta bands claimed the federal government had deprived them of investment returns on royalties for decades be- cause it failed to invest them. According to the 2012 public accounts, Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada paid Norton Rose Canada LLP $2.6 million in the last year. Clarke Hunter, the Norton Rose senior partner who' the transfer of funds, says Hunter. He adds that he ex- pects there will still be loose ends to tie next year. But the amount paid the Canadian firm is only a frac- the government file, says the costs were paid to the firm for work still being done on the long-running case. The government is wrapping up the case, including s handling Aboriginal Affairs Canada Revenue Agency Public Prosecution Service of Canada Health Canada Public Works RCMP Foreign Affairs tion of what Aboriginal Affairs spent on legal matters in the same period. A whopping $81.6 million was paid to the Department of Justice, a number that represents the bulk of its total legal spending of $110 million for the year. Aboriginal Affairs, which topped the legal spending list among government departments, didn't respond to a request for information on what its pressing legal issues were despite having more than a week to do so. Com- pared to the previous year, Aboriginal Affairs spent a couple million dollars less on legal fees in 2011-12, but its legal spending has gone up in the last few years. In total, the federal government spent a record $500 million in legal fees in 2011-12. Previously, departments didn't claim amounts paid to the Department of Justice as legal fees in the public ac- counts. Although all legal services were believed to have been claimed under legal fees starting from 2007-08, some departments continued to report money paid to the Department of Justice as professional services until this year. The Department of National Defence, one of the top 10 legal spenders on the departmental list, reported ex- penditures of $8.7 million in 2010-11. That number jumped to $15.4 million in 2011-12. Industry Canada Fisheries & Oceans National Defence Source: Federal government public accounts ment told Law Times that "in fiscal year 2010-2011, legal services provided to DND by the Department of Justice legal services unit were charged against a program code called 'professional services' within the public accounts. "For fiscal year 2011-2012, it was determined through Asked what accounted for the increase, the depart- Expenditures by department Legal Fees in 2011-12 $110.02 million $69.3 million $36 million $27.7 million $25 million $21.5 million $20.6 million $16.1 million $16 million $15.4 million Legal Fees in 2010-11 $112.9 million $64.4 million $36.3 million $29.6 million $21.5 million $17.8 million $13.2 million $14.8 million $16.2 million $8.7 million $81.8 million $54 million none $21 million $14.2 million $17 million $5 million $7.3 million $11.5 million $9.6 million 2011-12 fees to Highest-paid law firm Justice Department per department Norton Rose Canada LLP, 2.6 million Spiteri & Ursulak LLP, $1.3 million Murchison Thomson & Clarke LLP, $2.5 million Lawson Lundell LLP, $3.3 million Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP, $ 779,000 Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP, $456,000 Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP, $13.6 million Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP, $2.5 million Brothers & Burden, $197,000 Cox & Palmer, $302,000 Justice in the last year were valued at more than $138 mil- lion. prudent oversight that expenses for such legal services provided to DND were more properly charged against the program code entitled 'legal services.'" The department paid the Department of Justice $9.6 million in the last year. In an e-mail message, Defence spokeswoman Amber Bineau said Department of Justice fees will continue to be reported under legal services in the future and added that "the Department of National Defence takes its role as a strong steward of public resources very seriously and makes every effort to ensure sound financial manage- ment of taxpayer dollars." In total, legal services provided by the Department of Service of Canada, Health Canada, and Public Works and Government Services Canada are also on the list of the top legal spenders. Public Works spent $3.5 million more this year com- The Canada Revenue Agency, the Public Prosecution pared to 2010-11. The difference can be attributed to an increased need for legal services this year, the depart- ment said. "In the past year, PWGSC has undertaken a number November 26, 2012 • Law Times of complex major projects, mainly in the areas of acquisi- tions and real property matters, that have resulted in in- creased need for legal services," spokeswoman Mylène Dupéré told Law Times. "In the management of these complex projects, the department sought legal services in order to ensure sound departmental operations while protecting the public interest." Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP was the top recipi- ent of law firm payments from Public Works. Among the top 10 legal spenders, the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade paid just $5 mil- lion of its total legal spending of $20.6 million to the De- partment of Justice. In the same period, Foreign Affairs paid American law firm Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP $13.6 million. Another branch of the same law firm was the top recipi- ent of legal spending by the RCMP. Ballooning legal costs are also seen in departments that aren't on the list of the top 10 spenders. Citizenship and Immigration Canada racked up $12 million in legal fees in 2011-12, a steep rise from just $700,000 in 2010. Similarly, spending at the Department of Finance also in- creased significantly. LT AVAILABLE ONLINE AND IN PRINT REACH ONE OF THE LARGEST LEGAL AND BUSINESS MARKETS IN CANADA! With more than 179,000 page views and 31,000 unique visitors monthly canadianlawlist.com captures your market. FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT Colleen Austin T: 416.649.9327 | E: colleen.austin@thomsonreuters.com www.canadianlawlist.com Untitled-1 1 www.lawtimesnews.com 12-11-08 1:56 PM

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