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REGIONAL WRAP-UP ATLANTIC story — namelessly — on postcards provided by the Nova Scotia Barristers' Society. Those stories describe demean- ing incidents, sexual harassment, dis- crimination, and even assault. Bringing those stories, however POSTCARDS FROM T he secret is out. At least 40 female lawyers in Nova Scotia have taken the time to tell their unpleasant, out into the open, was the goal of the campaign launched last year by the gender equity committee. "We keep hearing the anecdotal sto- ries and some of those involve harass- ment," says NSBS president Marjorie Hickey. "This campaign was launched to provide a safe experience for people to come forward in anonymity." Although the information is brief and unsigned, it appears most inci- letters to the editor He doth protest too much With respect, [Philip] Slayton doth protest too much. First, most of the Criminal Code legislates morality, from prohibitions against murder to theft to gambling to underage sex. There is a fair debate about how far it should go, or whether it should go into new areas without a substantial popular consensus (or elite consensus?), or what the "moral" choice actually is. But surely those are questions for Parliament, and the line between legitimate parliamentary "moral" ques- tions of regulatory oversight that is provincial must be left to the court. Second, Mr. Slayton does not say who he thinks was right; he finds both sides fuzzy. He may be right, but he should then tell us what the answer is that the court missed. Otherwise we have a decision that did after all validate some provisions and invalidate others. His criticism is that the reasoning is confusing. So set us and the court straight, please. What is persuasive? What should the nine justices have agreed on? — Online comment from JOHN G dents occur when lawyers are most vulnerable: when they are a student, articling, and new to the profession. "Unfortunately the alleged offenders of this behaviour are, for the most part, fellow members of the society," accord- ing to an article in the most recent NSBS newsletter. The postcards, which are sent to their own post office box, are being reviewed for common themes, and ini- tiatives will be developed to address the issues that emerge, says Hickey. "We will design the next phase to promote awareness and change the culture." There is room for optimism, she adds. "Half of council are women. We see women moving into leadership positions. There are a lot of encourag- ing signs. The postcards are being reviewed for common themes, says Marjorie Hickey. "The campaign is aimed at get- ting stories about discrimination and harassment," she notes. "We can't con- clude we have rampant discrimina- tion." — DONALEE MOULTON donalee@quantumcommunications.ca Comments from canadianlawyermag.com A welcome face [Edward] Burlew is a welcome face among respon- sible firearms enthusiasts, the fact that he is earning a living defending law-abiding citizens against a bad law speaks to just how flawed the Firearms Act truly is. Indeed, one must be an expert to understand the regulations, and for an otherwise law-abiding citizen to make even a paper misstep is to commit a criminal act. Particularly odious are the ambiguous "safe stor- age" regulations, which are nowhere defined (in law or regulation), and regularly lead to automatic charges against law-abiding firearm owners by police under marching orders from an activist prosecutor's office, who are hostile to the very idea of civilian owner- ship of firearms. The previous Firearms Acquisition Certificate regime respected provincial jurisdiction, had the consent of the governed, and did not make criminals out of law-abiding citizens. All this, and it contained each and every one of the real public safety measures claimed by the current act. — Online comment from ROBERT S. SCIUK A matter of choice Contrary to what Donald McLeod from B.C. asserts, I would suggest that being required to support a parent is very different than spousal or child support. If someone gets married or lives with a partner, they (should) realize that it may not work out, and there could be financial obliga- tions if it doesn't. And those obligations can often be avoided in a prenuptial agreement. Spousal support flows from a choice. If someone has children, it may have been a deliberate choice, or perhaps a choice not to take the necessary precautions, there are well-known financial con- sequences. Again, a choice was made. No child ever had the choice to be born, and so to saddle that child with an obligation that they could never choose to not take on is fundamentally different than the spousal and child-support situations that flow from choices. — Excerpt of an online comment from MARTIN Send your letters to: gail.cohen@thomsonreuters.com www.CANADIAN Lawyermag.com A PRIL 2011 7 ThE EDGE R R e: violation Mar "Burle R e: ch Mar "The 2011 c ourt has let us do wn" w fir c ch ases" 2011 es bull's-e y e in def endin g fir earms e: ch Mar "My 2011 par ents' k eeper"