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REGIONAL WRAP UP place about 50 students, and being un- able to place about 300 students, 400 students," she said. The report states that, in 2007, about 1,476 candidates applied to the licens- ing process. An annual four-per-cent increase from that level is expected. Most of these students are concen- trated in To- ronto and Ot- tawa, with 71 per cent in the Greater Toron- to Area alone. "That is an issue for us, so we have to take a fresh look at this articling program," said task force chairman Vern Krishna. "We have now got to the stage where we have to take a completely fresh look at this entire program and ask all of the questions and delve into all of the options and solutions." The task force's original report of- fered the following solutions to the articling problem, to be considered during the consultation process. of articling placement upon entry to law school. students would complete articling, combined with a practical legal training course. abolished. But several bench- ers wanted the con- sultations to be less focused, so they ap- proved a motion add- ing a fourth option that stated the task force will "consider any other options and alternatives in the event of abolition" of the articling program. Written submissions on the amended options will be accepted un- til May 31. The original report is online at www.lsuc.on.ca/media/licensing.pdf Krishna said the LSUC currently admits about 1,460 students to the bar a year. In 1999, Ontario received about 225 foreign-trained graduates but by 2007, the number increased to 562. "We expect that number to go up to 750 quite rapidly, as foreign law schools have made it a good business to educate Canadians in law." During the consultations, the task force will be looking for suggestions on what the law society's skills program for law gradu- ates should seek to achieve, and if the current program is achieving that. The current program lasts about 60 hours, and "there are 1,400 students evaluated with very limited feedback," he said. He noted that law students at the universities of Western Ontario and Windsor spend 30 hours and 54 hours respectively in ethics-based classes, while the law society program spends 6.5 hours the topic. "So, for the most part, there seems to be a fair amount of coverage in the law schools in respect of skills programs," said Krishna. — ROBERT TODD rtodd@clbmedia.ca Privacy issues at forefront of new legislation poised to continue the tradition. In the first instance, the law was health- N related and low-tech. More recently, the focus is on citizens' rights and how mod- ern technology can enhance them. The legislation, both enacted and proposed, raise significant questions of privacy. It is also paving the way for other provinc- es to follow Nova Scotia's lead. On Dec. 13, the province became the first in Canada to ban smoking in ve- hicles when children under 19 years of age are present. The legislation, put for- ward as a private member's bill, came less than a month after Wolfville, N.S., passed a similar law. The town of 3,600 was the first municipality in Canada to ban adults from smoking in cars when ova Scotia ended 2007 with groundbreaking legislation. Now, as 2008 unfolds, it appears the legislation," he told reporters. "I re- ally believe that making [people] aware of the fact that it has negative health consequences is the right thing to do, and parents will do the right thing. . . . We don't want to make criminals out of mothers and fathers." Interestingly, the law may make crimi- ATLANTIC CANADA youth were riding along. Under Nova Scotia's new legislation, which is now in effect, first-time offend- ers will be fined more than $380. It is a fine the province's minister of health promotion and protection hopes is nev- er levied. Barry Barnet says he prefers education over enforcement. "I don't ex- pect and I hope that we will never have to charge anybody under this section of nals out of individuals who are harming only themselves — and who are driving alone. Since the new legislation applies to teenagers, 16-year-olds who get their driver's licences and smoke while driv- ing could conceivably find themselves charged for violating the new law. Par- ents, needless to say, are concerned about the costly implications. There is also concern about the im- plications of another proposed legisla- tive resolution, this one having to do with online petitions. Earlier this year, www. C ANADIAN Law ye rmag.com M ARCH 2008 11