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REGIONAL WRAP-UP there are 38 sitting judges but he's short one in Win- nipeg and another in the northern community of The Pas. A pend- ing retirement of a Winnipeg judge will need to be dealt with, too. He oversees the close some courts. That's certainly the case in The Pas, where we've effectively taken 50 per cent of the judges there out of the mix. I have to bring judges in from other areas to try to keep the courts run- ning," he says. "We don't have any per diem or part- Chief Judge Raymond Wyant judicial nominat- ing committee, which includes a judge from the provincial association, the president of the Law Society of Mani- toba, the president of the Manitoba Bar Association, and three government-ap- pointed civilians. The committee is re- sponsible for determining the suitability of applicants and putting forward its se- lections to the government. Wyant says he expects to receive about 100 applica- tions for each of the Winnipeg vacancies and 20 or 25 for the position in The Pas. "The contribution of the community representatives is exceptionally impor- tant. They bring a very valuable perspec- tive. The mix of views really creates a good process to vet applications and de- cide what kind of qualities you're look- ing for," he says, noting Manitoba was the first province to employ a judicial committee when replacing Provincial Court judges. This month, the committee will rec- ommend between three and six people per position, and Wyant says he's op- timistic the government will make its selections before the end of the year. "As long as we have vacancies, we have holes to fill and courts to staff. We have backlogs and that means we may have to time judges. I'm pretty anxious to have the positions filled as quickly as possible. The quicker, the better," Wyant says while the Manitoba Pro- vincial Court isn't perfect, its comple- ment of judges continues to inch closer to reflecting the community it serves. Of the sitting judges, 17, or 41 per cent, are women. There are also four aboriginal judges, one who is openly gay, and an- other who is Sikh. He says virtually all appointments during his six-year tenure have had some aspect of diversity to them. "I wouldn't say we're absolutely representative of Manitoba society, but we're much more diverse than we've ever been and we're one of the most diverse courts in the country," he says. — GEOFF KIRBYSON gmkirbyson@shaw.ca WANTED: onE AnIMAL-LoVInG LAWyER W anted: one animal-loving law- yer willing to donate his or her time to help prevent dogs and cats from being forcibly separated from their owners. The Winnipeg Humane Society wants to get a decision by the Resi- dential Tenancies Commission over- turned in order to open up all apart- ments and rental properties in the provinces to animals. Bill McDonald, executive director of the WHS, says he wants to base the WHS appeal on exposing myths about pets in multi- unit buildings and educating people on the many benefits of companion pets. "We want a pro bono pet-loving lawyer," he says. McDonald says animal rights are becoming an increasingly significant issue, particularly in the U.S., with a growing number of lawyers special- izing in the area. "One of the biggest custody fights, next to the kids, is who gets the dog or cat," he says. McDonald says there are many benefits to both sides of allowing pets into apartment buildings. For example, he says, renters who have pets tend to be more stable tenants than non-pet-owners. "Landlords need to look at this from a financial point of view. They're in the busi- ness of making money. If they allow pets, they can charge a surcharge, say an additional $50 a month, or maybe they keep the damage deposit," he says. McDonald says there are plenty of studies that trumpet the health ben- efits of owning a pet. "We see this with our pet visitation program. Our HOW WILL THE BEST LAWYERS FIND YOU? RainMaker Group 110 Yonge Street, Suite 1101 Toronto, Ontario M5C 1T4 Tel: 416-863-9543 Fax: 416-863-9757 www.rainmakergroup.ca Untitled-8 1 www. C ANADIAN Law ye rmag.com SEPTEMBER 2008 9 6/9/08 2:02:49 PM