Canadian Lawyer

w w w . c a n a d i a n l a w y e r m a g . c o m M A R C H 2 0 1 9 3 W hen people ask me who my typical reader at Canadian Lawyer is, my response is that the name says it all. We write about and for all kinds of lawyers in Canada, in all parts of the country. This does not mean that certain kinds of lawyers don't deserve more attention. We are rightfully and regularly reminded by our readers that not all of them are based in big cities or practising at large law firms. Diversity is important in many respects, and every corner of Canada has interesting lawyers with stories to tell. We want to hear from all of them. But one large segment of the legal community that is sometimes difficult for us to hear from is the public service. While some who serve the public, such as politicians and judges, are well known, the bureaucrats who head up our public institutions often do so out of the media glare. And that is usually how they like it. But in our cover story this month (p. 26), we profile what I think are some very interesting civil servants. Their work does not fit the stereotype of toiling away in a cubicle in Ottawa with no one noticing. Their work is high profile, fast paced and the stakes couldn't be higher. As Ottawa-based reporter Elizabeth Thompson outlines, Yves Côté, commissioner of Canada Elections, and Stéphane Perrault, chief electoral officer, are facing threats to Canada's elections that they could have never even contemplated a few years ago. "Bots. Internet trolls," Thompson writes. "Attempts to disrupt or influence elec- tions around the world with fake news, deep fake videos and sophisticated social media disinformation campaigns. Some of it is the work of countries such as Russia, Iran or North Korea. Some of it is the result of domestic players and enterprising hackers." And no one can fix the problem better than public servants with new powers granted to them by the federal government. Perrault's job is to conduct the election and counter potential misinformation about the voting process such as directing people to the wrong polling station or telling people the vote has been cancelled. Côté's role is to detect attempts to disrupt the election or break the law, investigate what happened and prosecute offenders. No tech superstar can fix this problem. No politician or judge or law firm lawyer has the knowledge and tools to protect our democracy. Perrault and Côté will be working with all these people and more with the new tools they have been given under Bill C-76, adopted in December, which contains several changes to the way Canada's next election will be held and gives officials more powers to deal with any attempts to disrupt the election campaign or the vote. Anyone who cares about our democracy should wish them well. We will be watching them. They deserve our attention. E D I T O R ' S D E S K PUBLIC SERVANTS IN THE SPOTLIGHT By Tim Wilbur Director/Group Publisher: Karen Lorimer karen.lorimer@tr.com Managing Editor: Tim Wilbur tim.wilbur@tr.com Acting Associate Editor: Aidan Macnab aidan.macnab@tr.com Copy Editor: Patricia Cancilla Art Director: Bill Hunter Production Co-ordinator: Catherine Giles catherine.giles@tr.com Contributors: Elizabeth Thompson, Anthony Davis, donalee Moulton, Mark Cardwell, Marg. Bruineman, Elizabeth Raymer, Anita Balakrishnan, Jennifer Brown Canadian Lawyer is published 10 times a year by Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. All rights reserved. Contents may not be reprinted without written permission. The opinions expressed in articles are not necessarily those of the publisher. Information presented is compiled from sources believed to be accurate, however, the publisher assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions. Canadian Lawyer disclaims any warranty as to the accuracy, completeness or currency of the contents of this publication and disclaims all liability in respect of the results of any action taken or not taken in reliance upon information in this publication. Sales and Business Development Sales Manager: Paul Burton E-mail: paul.burton@tr.com Tel: 416-649-9928 Consultant, Strategy and Business Development: Ivan Ivanovitch E-mail: ivan.ivanovitch@tr.com Tel: 416-887-4300 Business Development Consultant: Kimberlee Pascoe E-mail: kimberlee.pascoe@tr.com Tel: 416-996-1739 Account Executive: Steffanie Munroe E-mail: steffanie.munroe@tr.com Tel: 416-315-5879 Canadian Lawyer Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. One Corporate Plaza, 2075 Kennedy Rd., Toronto, ON. M1T 3V4 Tel: (416) 298-5141 Fax: (416) 649-7870 E-mail: cl.editor@tr.com Web: canadianlawyermag.com Linkedin: linkedin.com/groups/4917423 Twitter: @canlawmag Facebook: facebook.com/CanLawMag Publications Mail Agreement #40766500 ISSN 0703-2129 © 2019 HST Registration #R121349799 RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESS TO: CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT One Corporate Plaza 2075 Kennedy RD., Toronto, ON. M1T 3V4 RETOURNER TOUTE CORRESPONDANCE NE POUVANT ÊTRE LIVRÉE AU CANADA AU SERVICE DES PUBLICATIONS One Corporate Plaza, 2075 Kennedy Rd., Toronto, ON. M1T 3V4 Circulation/Address Changes/ Subscriptions Keith Fulford Tel: (416) 649-9585 Fax: (416) 649-7870 E-mail: keith.fulford@tr.com Subscription rates: Canada1 year print and digital $99 plus HST, 1 year digital only $99. Outside Canada 1 year print & digital $99 USD, 1 year digital only $99. For all circulation inquiries and address changes send a copy of your mailing label or labels along with your request in writing to Canadian Lawyer, One Corporate Plaza, 2075 Kennedy Rd., Toronto, ON. M1T 3V4 @canlawmag tim.wilbur@tr.com Correction In our January issue's Saskatchewan Regional Wrap on page 11, Mark Vanstone's name was spelled incorrectly and we described him as a Regina lawyer, when in fact he is based in Saskatoon. Canadian Lawyer apologizes for the error.

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