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 A P R I L 2 0 1 9 17 So, the prime minister can decide, with good reason, that things are not as they were when the contract was signed in 2014. Since then the Saudis have intervened militarily in Yemen, helping create a humanitarian disaster of gigantic proportions that has appalled the world. Since then, journalist Jamal Kashoggi has been brutally mur- dered for speaking out against the Saudi regime. Since then, relations between Canada and Saudi Arabia have deteriorated significantly, with Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland publicly criticizing the Saudi human rights record. The prime minister might easily conclude that things have changed substantially since 2014. The basic premises underlying the original contract have been undermined, if not destroyed. It is reasonable, a defen- sible legal conclusion, to say that the contract is over. How much can legal principles guide politicians and policy-makers? Some law is not helpful in this way, particularly modern and precise statutory law that addresses a very particular situation in unam- biguous terms. But much law is not like this. The common law is fluid, constantly being reinterpreted and developed as the world mutates, new problems arise and thinking about issues becomes more sophisticated or changes. For example, the meaning of "agreement" is much more condi- tional, subtle and open to debate than it once was. Vague equi- table principles are more powerful than ever. In some important cases, statutory law is not clear; its meaning is fought over and changes over time. Constitutional law concepts — "fundamental freedoms," for example — can be vague and commodious and offer a battlefield for ideas. You might say that the sheer volume and messiness of the law precludes its use as a general ethical guide. There just isn't enough clarity. But a better way of looking at it is that the law is a rich toolbox, a varied collection of ideas and techniques with a strong ethical basis, developed over a long period of time, that can be used to ana- lyze, understand and solve dilemmas that we face. The law embodies centuries of collective wisdom and offers flexible principles that can help with modern problems. As the law and lawyers should take cognizance of community ethical stan- dards, so the community should look to the ethical storehouse of the law. The law and lawyers do not have to be the villains of the piece. They can be wise polestars for our time. Philip Slayton was the dean of law at the University of Western Ontario, a Bay Street lawyer and is now a best-selling author. "As the law and lawyers should take cognizance of community ethical standards, so the community should look to the ethical storehouse of the law." © 2019 Thomson Reuters Canada Limited 00256DK-95185-NM Recent Aboriginal law developments and their impact on Canadian law Available risk-free for 30 days Online: store.thomsonreuters.ca Call Toll-Free: 1-800-387-5164 In Toronto: 416-609-3800 Order # L7798-8828-65203 $165 Softcover February 2019 approx. 160 pages 978-0-7798-8828-3 Shipping and handling are extra. Price(s) subject to change without notice and subject to applicable taxes. Aboriginal legal issues have firmly asserted themselves in many areas of Canadian law, such as natural resources, criminal law, constitutional law, and environmental law. This concise book touches on multiple Aboriginal law issues that have occurred over the last year, expressed from multiple perspectives. The editor, and author of one of the book's chapters, is a nationally recognized authority in the area of Aboriginal law and leads Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP's National Aboriginal Law Practice. He has extensive cross-Canada experience advising industry, investors, and federal, provincial, territorial, and municipal governments and agencies. New Publication Key Developments in Aboriginal Law 2019 Editor: Thomas Isaac, LL.B., LL.M.

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