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regional wrap-up ATLANTIC NOVA SCOTIA COMPELLED TO IMPROVE COURTHOUSE SAFETY T he Nova Scotia Crown Attorneys Association has some support for its contention that the prov- ince's courthouses are unsafe. The Department of Labour and Workforce Development has issued compliance orders against the Department of Justice and the Public Prosecution Service. Those orders come in the wake of an official complaint filed earlier this year by the Crowns. The orders required both the Justice department and the prosecution service to prepare violence-prevention plans and risk assessments for four courts in an ancient rule designed to take care of an old problem that occurs rarely if at all in Nova Scotia," says Angus Gibbon, legal research counsel with the commission in Halifax. The rule against perpetuities limits the duration of certain restrictions I metro Halifax. As well, Justice had to assess how its courtrooms are designed from a safety perspective, while the prosecution service was required to create a workplace violence prevention statement and a mandatory training program for staff. The deadline for meeting those requirements has come — and gone. "I wasn't surprised," said NSCAA presi- dent Rick Woodburn. "It was an ardu- ous task." Still, he gives the government a thumbs-up for effort. "Considering everything, I think the government is doing everything it can to comply with those orders." Woodburn anticipates a template will be developed that can be used to enhance safety at all Nova Scotia court- 6 OC T OBER 2010 www. C ANADIAN Law ye rmag.com on the use and transfer of property. Today, it is primarily used in setting up trusts. Laying the rule of perpetuities to rest will benefit both lawyers and their clients. "Lawyers will not have to bear in mind all the intricacies and nuances of the rule when they are drafting dispositions," notes Gibbon. Those intricacies, the discussion paper points out, result "in a substan- tial risk that beneficiaries or grantees will be deprived of their interests through inadvertent errors in drafting." The rule does, however, offer one substantial benefit. "It serves a use- ful function in ensuring property changes hands and is not left in trust in perpetuity and there are no clogs in the title," says Gibbon. To ensure this doesn't happen, the commission is recommending sever- al new legal approaches. Among them is an expansion of the courts' power to vary trusts. In particular, it would like to do away with the requirement for all adult, capacitated beneficiaries to have to consent. "The require- ment for consensus puts too much power in the hands of a recalcitrant," the paper states. Nova Scotia is not alone in saying hasta la vista to the rule. Manitoba and Saskatchewan have already abolished such rules. Most of the other provinces, however, have adopted a number of reforms to make it less cumbersome. — DM houses. Although the original com- plaint lists only four metro facilities, it was envisioned as a test case by the association. No further complaints may be required, however, if improvements are planned provincewide. For now, the Crown attorneys are content with the process and the progress. "The Department of Labour is giving the Public Prosecution Service and the Department of Justice [the time] to do the right thing, and from what we can see at this point they are doing their best," says Woodburn. However, he stresses, "the impor- tant point here is the implementation. They've always agreed there is a risk." — DONALEE MOULTON donalee@quantumcommunications.ca Rule no more t appears the rule against perpetuities' time has come. In a recently released discussion paper, the Law Reform Commission of Nova Scotia is recommending the centuries-old legal requirement be abolished. "It's