Canadian Lawyer

8 J u l y 2 0 1 4 w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m RegIonal wRap-up centRAl Bâtonnier's mandate to be lengthened w ith less than a month left in her mandate, the bâton- nière of the Barreau du Québec, Johanne Brodeur, addressed the media in mid-May to bring atten- tion to certain pressing issues. "This exercise is not an assessment but more a snapshot of the subjects that preoccupy us as I pass the baton to my successor," she said in a press release. A snapshot is actually pretty much all the bâtonnière had time to do in her one-year mandate, which is why she announced a "historical" reform of the barreau's governance at the centre of which is an increase of the bâtonnier's mandate to two years, and possibly four. "[The short one-year mandate] doesn't allow one to put into practice one's vision, to make it real," Brodeur told Canadian Lawyer. "You come into the job with a cer- tain number of tasks you want to accom- plish, a certain number of projects you want to concretize, but suddenly there is a Charter of Quebec values that has to be dealt with [The barreau strongly opposed its ban on "ostentatious" religious symbols worn by civil servants.] and then a Code of Civil Procedure reform that has to be taken care of . . . Meantime, you have to learn how to become a communicator, how to establish yourself as a neutral, non- political, and non-partisan spokesperson to tackle issues such as the one raised by the dying with dignity select committee," a special National Assembly committee that studied medically assisted death legisla- tion, she said. In the new system, the bâtonnier will be elected by a vote open to all members of the bar, as it is now, but for a two-year mandate. He or she will be allowed to run again for one more mandate. The candi- date will be allowed to run for the second mandate immediately after the first or at any time thereafter for a maximum of four years in a lifetime. The much-valued principle of alter- nating the presidency between Montreal, Quebec City, and the regions will be main- tained, and the governing general council of 37 members, including four to repre- sent the public, would become a 16-mem- ber board of administration. There would still be four members, who would be appointed by the Office des professions, to be the public representatives. This overhaul has been made in the wake of the general reform of the province's professional disciplinary law system through major modifications to the Professional Code. This reform, led by the Office des professions, a body overseeing the 45 professional orders in Quebec, is an answer to problems of outrageously long delays in some disci- plinary cases. For example, in May, the media reported the case of a disciplin- ary chair who had a backlog of about 50 cases, which were at minimum two years late. "There was an instance where we even had to initiate a procedure," said Brodeur. "Imagine! It's as if one had to sue a judge to force him or her to hand down a judg- ment!" The lawyers who preside over the province's various disciplinary councils have complete immunity: the system has no surveillance mechanism over them. The new law, she explained, will lay down clear ethics rules governing these council presidents and other members of disci- plinary boards. A "chief president" with management powers will be appointed to a position similar to the chief justice of a judicial court. "It will create a spirit of collegiality within the group by allowing interaction between members, which will help speed up the decision process but without inter- fering with their independence," said Brodeur. — PAsCAL eLIe pascalelie636@gmail.com Johanne Brodeur has spearheaded reforms at the barreau. ARE YOU RECEIVING CANADIAN LEGAL NEWSWIRE? Keep abreast of essential late-breaking legal news and developments with our electronic newswire. VISIT OUR WEBSITE WWW.CANADIANLAWYERMAG.COM AND LOOK UNDER "LINKS" SIGN UP FOR FREE From the publisher of and

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