Canadian Lawyer

Nov/Dec 2013

The most widely read magazine for Canadian lawyers

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OPINION was very good. As a group, we benefited from a good opportunity to have fun and get to know each other under different circumstances." No criticisms, good translations, having fun, getting to know each other. What could be better? The company advertises: "Many of our team building solutions are based on popular TV shows, such as our Amazing Chase, The Apprentice, CI: Crime Investigators,  Minute to Win It  and  Corporate Castaways." I don't know whether this is some kind of inspired Pythonesque joke, or just junior SCC staffers running amok on the public dime. I refuse to believe, led by Beverley McLachlin, the judges themselves whooped it up in some of the "themed activities" offered by the team building company, which include "Iron Chef BBQ Challenge, Cake Creators, and Dining in the Dark." Johnny, we hardly knew ye Morris Fish retired at the end of August after 10 years on the court. I'm going to miss him. He was passionate about the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, a strong advocate for the rights of the criminally accused, and a powerful critic of aggressive police behaviour — just the kind of Supreme Court judge you need in a country drifting to the right and increasingly entranced by efficiency for its own sake. Fish knew how to write clearly and to the point, which is regrettably rare in judicial circles. And he has "fantastic hair," or so says Dahlia Lithwick, a former Canadian who is now an esteemed U.S. legal commentator. With the new appointment, the prime minister will have picked six of the nine judges, and will have another vacancy to fill when Justice Louis LeBel reaches the mandatory retirement age of 75 next year. It's the Harper Court for sure, full of cautious and conservative judges, and that has implications for social policy that will outlast the government itself by decades. Does anyone out there care about the supreme Court? No, no one cares, except for a small cadre of law professors and the odd nut with a chip on his shoulder. It's remarkable how little general interest the Supreme Court attracts. After all, it's a major government institution, the protector of our civil liberties since the 1982 Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and the biggest counterweight there is to an extraordinarily powerful executive branch. Compare Canada to the United States, where ordinary citizens queue up all night for a chance to be present at a Supreme Court of the United States hearing. Part of the reason why the Canadian public doesn't care about the Supreme Court is the media's failure to cover the court properly. For years, the best reporting came from Kirk Makin, justice reporter for The Globe and Mail, but he took a buyout from the newspaper at the end of May. The cop has left the beat. Rosie, don't go! In my last end-of-year column, I predicted Justice Rosalie Abella would bolt sooner rather than later. Well, you may have noticed she's still around, and I'm glad, because we need her to help reverse the 1993 Rodriguez decision upholding s. 241(b) of the Criminal Code that makes assisting a suicide a crime. A similar case (Carter v. Canada) is now on its way to the court. The chance to fix this mistake is coming. Rosie, don't go! (With thanks to Wayne and Shuster.) Philip Slayton is president of PEN Canada, an organization of writers that protects and promotes freedom of expression. Follow him on Twitter @philipslayton. Named Ontario's Top Regional Firm by Canadian Lawyer magazine Whether conducting business in Canada or across the globe, we understand the realities of your work. Our clients benefit from our relationships with major institutions, government authorities and law firms nationally and internationally. who replaced the judge with the fantastic hair? Although Fish's resignation was announced in April, his apparent successor, Marc Nadon (everyone expected a woman — sorry), was not named until the end of September and at press time was still sitting on the sidelines as legal controversy over his appointment bubbled away. I guess the prime minister has just been too busy to fill the vacancy quickly, or consider it carefully, what with cabinet shuffles, the antics of Mike Duffy, and all that. That tells you something about where the Supreme Court fits into the Harper government's scheme of things. Eldon Bennett Managing Partner ebennett@airdberlis.com · 416.865.7704 airdberlis.com Brookfield Place, 181 Bay Street, Suite 1800, Box 754, Toronto, ON M5J 2T9 www.CANADIAN L a w ye r m a g . c o m November/December 2013 17

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