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— a public inquiry. Fontaine owned shares in a near-worthless mine while he was Ontario mines minister. Defi nitely a no-no. Attorney general Ian Scott needed a French-speaking lawyer for Fontaine, so he called his friend Don Brown who sent Pratte. "I was only a two-year lawyer," he remembers. "I did not have the legal skills but I had the linguistic skills. That's why I was picked. It was my fi rst big media case." This time, Pratte lost — Fontaine had to resign — but the young lawyer had met a lot of infl uential Ontario politicians, most of them Liberals. And it also gave the transplanted Quebecker his fi rst taste of Franco-Ontarian life: "One time we went into a McDonald's up north and I was astounded to hear everybody speaking French; it was just like in Que- bec." And now he works easily in both jurisdictions. The batonnier of the Quebec Bar Association, Gérald Tremblay, says Pratte is "just as at ease in Ontario as in Quebec waters." Also in 1987, women's rights champion Margaret To- maine tried to leave her Ontario women teachers' union to join the male teachers' union, effectively making it gen- der-neutral. Pratte went to a hearing for her. It ultimately went all the way to the Human Rights Commission, and today all Ontario teachers belong to non-gender-specifi c unions. In 1991, he scored big with Franco-Ontarians. The Ontario government had put the French-language public school board in Ottawa-Carleton under trust- eeship. Pratte challenged the trusteeship, and lost, but GUY PRATTE AT A GLANCE 1974 Graduates from Collège Brébeuf in Montreal. Moves on to study philosophy at the University of Western Ontario, graduating with gold medal honours. 1982 Receives LLB from University of Toronto. 1984 Called to the Ontario Bar. His mentor Don Brown persuades him to join Blake Cassels & Graydon LLP in Toronto. 1986 Pratte's first public inquiry into tainted wines. He represents Chateau-Gai Wines Ltd. 1987 His second public inquiry at which he represents René Fontaine, Ontario mines minister accused of conflict of interest. 1987 He represents Ontario schoolteacher Margaret Tomaine at a human rights hearing over joining an all-male union. 1993 Elected president of the Association des Juristes d'Expression Francaise de l'Ontario. 1999-2001 He serves as managing partner of Borden Ladner Gervais LLP's Ottawa office. 2002 Pratte called to Quebec bar. DD CL GRLBBB-03 Frntr bw 6/5/08 12:00 PM Page 1 2003 Pratte represents Quebec Superior Court Judge Jean-Guy Boilard before the Canadian Judicial Council. 2004 Pratte is in the Supreme Court representing Christina McCullock Finney, in Finney v. Barreau du Québec. The decision establishes that self-regulating professional bodies are subject to civil liability. 2004 Pratte represents the Canadian Medical Association in the Supreme Court in Chaoulli v. Quebec (Attorney General). 2004-present Pratte represents Jean Pelletier before the Gomery Commission of Inquiry into the federal sponsorship scandal and before Federal Court. 2005-present Lead Counsel for JTI Macdonald in respect of tobacco-related class actions. 2005-7 Pratte represents the Canadian Radio- television and Telecommunications Commission in the famous CHOI-FM censorship case. 2008 Named a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. 2008 Pratte represents former prime minister Brian Mulroney before the Commons ethics committee inquiring into his dealings with lobbyist Karlheinz Schreiber. D OFFICE & FURNITURE PRODUCTS C Office Furniture ye & Durham offers Ergonomic Furniture products and tips on selecting Ergonomic soloutions that offer more comfort and productivity. Contact one of our Ergonomic Furniture specialists today for comfort tomorrow. dyedurham.ca • 1-888-393-3874 • Fax: 1-800-263-2772 Choose Dye& Durham your ONE source supplier 34 JULY 2008 www. C ANADIAN Law ye rmag.com W e ' r e a y C a n a p d i m a n o a n