Canadian Lawyer

www.canadianlawyermag.com 9 Canadian company, Nevsun Resources Ltd. is bound by Canadian law, and customary inter- national law becomes part of Canadian law automatically, the majority found. "If you breach customary international law . . . states could be held liable under domestic law principles," says Hassan Ahmad, a Doctor of Juridical Science can- didate at the University of Toronto's Faculty of Law, whose research focus is corporate human rights violations. "What this case says is that we don't live in a world anymore that's just dominated by state-to-state interaction," Ahmad says. The workers allege that they were forced to work in the Bisha mine under Eritrea's National Service Program under unbearable conditions. Nevsun has a majority stake in the mine. The workers sought damages from Nevsun for breaches of customary interna- tional law prohibitions against forced labour, slavery, cruel, inhuman or degrading treat- ment and crimes against humanity. In reasons that dissented in part, justices Russell Brown and Malcolm Rowe agreed that the act of state doctrine did not apply in Canada but disagreed that customary international law was automatically a part of Canadian law. In dissenting reasons, Justice Suzanne Côté, also writing for Justice Michael Moldaver, found that international human rights law does not apply between individu- als and corporations and that Canadian courts should not hear cases where it is alleged that a foreign state acted contrary to international law. rights law does not apply between individu- als and corporations and that Canadian courts should not hear cases where it is alleged that a foreign state acted contrary to international law. CBA addresses the 'power of change' Q&A Years in the practice of law: 10 Career highlight: I was honoured to become the first racialized person of the CBA. Being the tenth woman, the first female inhouse counsel and the first non-white person to lead the CBA in 124 years is daunting and hard work, but it is also special. Career lowlight: I have had many. I recall vividly an incident as a very young lawyer on a client visit where I was asked to serve coffee and cake to male lawyers sitting around the table by a lawyer from the other side! I did serve the coffee and cake; but I felt humiliated, disrespected and devalued as a lawyer and a professional. Vivene Salmon President CANADIAN BAR ASSOCIATION Vivene Salmon has been president of the Canadian Bar Association since September; her one-year term will expire on Aug. 31. At the CBA's annual meeting in Ottawa in February, Salmon spoke about the CBA's role in upholding the independence of the judiciary and its work intervening in complex legal cases that affect the justice system. "When judicial independence is threatened and judges cannot speak for themselves, we speak up. In December, we intervened at the Supreme Court of Canada in a case involving the governments of B.C. and Nova Scotia on a principle of judicial independence," she told attendees. Invited guest Chief Justice of Canada Richard Wagner called on the legal community to advocate for judicial independence as a pillar of a democratic society, especially as judges are less free to speak out. Here, Salmon talks to Canadian Lawyer about her priorities for the CBA and what she's done with it during her tenure. The theme of this year's CBA annual meeting was "the power of change." What type of change have you sought to bring during your tenure? I have three priorities: young lawyers and intergenerational dialogue; healthy lawyers; and diversity, inclusion and belonging in the legal profession. Through our podcast series, Conversations with the President, I have tried to tell a story about what young lawyers are experiencing in the legal profession due to changes in technology and other pres- sures, and to bridge the divide between senior and younger members of the bar. As the first non-white person to lead the Canadian Bar Association, diversity, inclusion and, most critically, belonging are important to me. Last fall, our board adopted goals to deepen our relationship with various affinity groups. What are some of the initiatives the CBA has pursued since last year? Our two strategic advocacy priorities are access to justice and protec- tion of solicitor-client privilege. Our #LegalAidMatters federal election campaign in 2019 was very effective; we framed legal aid as an access-to-justice issue, with a goal of raising awareness of the need for stable, sustainable funding across the country. We are also putting a priority on judicial independence. And we have launched initiatives stemming from the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Task Force, including a website last fall de- signed to educate members and provide resources for lawyers work- ing with Indigenous clients, as well as an Indigenous advisory group.

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