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25 INFLUENTIAL TOP MOST Peter Milliken Former speaker of the House of Commons, Ottawa John Major Counsel with Bennett Jones LLP and former Supreme Court of Canada justice, Calgary In June 2010, John Major released his report from the Commission of Inquiry into the Investigation of the Bombing of Air India Flight 182 in June 1985. Not only was it one of the first efforts to actually appease the families of the victims, it made important recommendations regarding security measures, including an expanded role for the national security adviser in the Privy Council Office and amendments to the Canada Evidence Act to get rid of the two-court system on national security confidentiality in terrorism prosecutions. The government has already put some of those recommendations into action. On the Supreme Court bench from 1992-2005, he wrote majority reasons in seminal cases such as 1999's , which determined there is no defence of implied consent in sexual assault cases; 2004's , regarding the extent of directors' and officers' fiduciary duties; and 2005's ., which supported legislation permit- ting B.C. to sue tobacco companies for recovery of health-care costs. Peter Milliken's two rulings that took the government to task over breach of pro- cedure and lack of transparency were instrumental in the fall of Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government in March. Last year, Milliken ruled the government had breached parliamentary privilege by refusing to disclose sensitive Afghan detainee docu- ments. He said Parliament has an absolute and unlimited right to see information, even if it involves national security. That ruling forced the government to strike a deal with two of three opposition parties for vetting, and eventually, in June, releasing heavily redacted documents. These landmark rul- ings have ensured his place in the annals of parliamentary precedent — in Canada and the Commonwealth. Elected as speaker in 2001, Milliken holds the title of longest- serving speaker of the House following his retirement from politics in June. He recently joined Queen's University as a fellow in the School of Policy Studies. Jennifer Stoddart Privacy Commissioner of Canada, Ottawa In an age of increased global con- nectedness, Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart is a world leader in ensuring individuals' rights are protected in the collection, use, and disclosure of personal information by an organization in the course of commercial activity. She made global headlines in June 2010 after lambast- ing Facebook's privacy policy, essen- tially forcing the social media giant to change its rules so applications could only access the public parts of a user's profile. Her recent annual report blasted Staples for not wiping all data from consumers' used elec- tronics and she also took on Internet dating site eHarmony for not allow- ing users to permanently delete their profiles. Her office was instrumental in changes to Google Buzz and WiFi. She continues to be a powerful voice for individuals' privacy rights. www.CANADIAN Lawyermag.com A U GUST 2011 39 W lic p ha t u v er b o s e nrs . t va ha" v e t t o s a y : " A n o u ts t a n din g W dddi c hc f v haer ha t " g e o in S t in t o w t o ef f p er s ther u g o in t a id n f i ls s des " t a e f o e sio ts t p 'a r p rna l p e n e a h s ig ih e a a d t ne l na t b ma o u ice . had p t to e s c r g a t na d y t- o es : limi t e R v. E w anchuk S t or es Inc. ( T P W v. rust ee C anada British d L t W " ha t s q t ay : hi s ues t J eoplesise of) C Department olumbia v. Imperial T obac c o theice et di n d u ts o ir c a in t M n t t ef t g n a e A e ep p e o sw ra rna l wa s a j er s i g e nin un s lies t l co in eir o w h r a h h e es p p f r r a e ne l g a a d b I t r ha t had er ha t w e fa t in o les s m - f y h o , td fe o in - o r e him. " GOVERNMENT/NON-PROFIT/ASSOCIATIONS THE Photo of Peter Milliken: COLIN ROWE