Canadian Lawyer

reach out.��� I think men often particularly feel ���no one else could possibly have felt like this before,������ she says. Before being tapped by Prime Minister Stephen Harper to join the senate, Batters was executive director of regulatory affairs at the Crown Investments Corporation ��� the holding company for all Crown corporations in the province of Saskatchewan. For four-and-a-half years prior to that, she was chief of staff to Saskatchewan���s Minister of Justice Don Morgan. Batters joins David Tkachuk, Raynell Andreychuk, Lillian Dyck, Pana Merchant, and Pamela Wallin as senators from that province. A proud native of Saskatchewan, Batters graduated from the University of Saskatchewan law school in 1994 and says at the time she was ���a rarity,��� choosing to stay in her home province to practise. ���Many of my colleagues of that same year went to other provinces. It���s nice to have people staying here now and there���s even the odd person who is coming back now and then.��� After law school, she entered private practice starting out in Estevan, Sask., for three years. She then moved to Gerrand Rath Johnson LLP in Regina where she stayed for 10 years. Her main focus was civil litigation, real estate, and family law. While she has a desire to use her new national platform to propel the discussion on mental health forward, she knows other challenges also await her. ���Of course our top priority is the economy and it has to remain that in terms of creating jobs and growth and prosperity. I want to really help our government move that agenda forward,��� she says. Batters also acknowledges she is entering the Senate at a time of intense scrutiny from the media and the public. ���Yes, the Senate has been taking some knocks lately, but something I���ve really found that has been emphasized in the last few weeks is the amazing work the Senate does ��� they have produced some substantial reports such as the Canada-U.S. price gap study and another on cyber bullying. ���I think I can help provide Canadians with another type of face they don���t typically see in the Senate ��� one that is younger. I���ve heard from a lot of younger people in Saskatchewan who probably never gave much thought to the Senate before.��� She points to pending Senate reform legislation currently under review by the Supreme Court of Canada as proof there are steps being taken to try and move the red chamber into the 21st century. The reforms would encourage provinces to establish a democratic process that would give Canadians a say in who represents them in the Senate and limit all Senate appointments made after 2008 to one, nine-year, non-renewable term ��� something Batters supports. ���That would apply to me and I definitely intend to be in this role for no more than nine years,��� she says. And while some, like fellow Saskatchewan Senator Pamela Wallin, are being criticized for their housing allowance, for now, Batters says she is staying in an Ottawa hotel but plans to find an apartment with an eye towards ���occasionally cooking a meal.��� t yo ble to y u is and it���s availa s a day. 24 hour Get fast and easy access to Canada���s legal professionals! Canada���s most comprehensive online directory of legal professionals gives you a direct route to the information you need. departments location and area of practice Visit www.CanadianLawList.com and find out how we���re serving you better than ever. compiled by top Canadian legal researchers Untitled-4 1 www.CANADIAN L a w ye r m a g . c o m 13-01-14 4:15 PM April 2013 21

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