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Issue link: https://digital.canadianlawyermag.com/i/50841
Send your letters to: gail.cohen@thomsonreuters.com letters to the editor STILL BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS In respect of your article, "Woman of Vision," [Canadian Lawyer, July 2011] I would like to offer some clarifying information. I have three univeristy degrees, a BA and LLB from the Univeristy of Saskatchewan and an LLM from the London School of Economics (as opposed to three 'masters' degrees as mentioned in the article). In addition it is my mother who was an American born of German parents who were "white Russians" who immi- grated from Odessa in the 19th century. My father is a non-status Cree man who is now 93 and a proud Aboriginal veteran of the Second World War. His ancestor, Paul De La Ronde, was a fur trader (as opposed to trapper) who was a rival to the Hudson Bay Company at one point in his career. I worked for 21 years with the Department of Aboriginal Affairs Canada where the last 16 years was dedicated to the implementation of Canada's response to the Report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal People. This commission, of course, was established as a response to the tragic events at Oka, Quebec in 1990. Therefore, my attachment to that file is somewhat more peripheral than the impression that may be left by the article. Additionally, it was during my role as director of research and analysis that I reluctantly agreed to release a publication that por- trayed Aboriginal people so drastically different than mainstream Canada on the Human Development Index. Though this revela- tion was shocking, the result was a positive response by the gov- ernment of the day towards helping Aboriginal people meet their educational, health, and income aspirations. As a federal public servant, I became known as a strong advo- cate for public education on Aboriginal issues. I believe that we, as Canadians, are hungry for clear, unbiased information that would enrich our personal identities. Did you know, for example, that had it not been for the willing partnership in the co-signing of 70 treaties, that produced military or trading alliances or cleared Aboriginal title, that our very borders would not have reached as far south or west as today? We all share a claim to these important fundamental building blocks in our nation. Sovereign challenges still haunt us today. Think of the Arctic and global warming. Given the opportunity, I will continue with this important means of creating an environment of understanding and breaking down barriers that keep Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people apart. — VICTORIA C. DE LA RONDE Ottawa, Ont. A MARKED ABSENCE I am sure you have heard this before but I could not sit idly by and say nothing. In your feature story, "Top 25 Most Influential" [Canadian Lawyer, August 2011] in the Canadian justice sys- tem in Canada, I note the absence of any substantial number of racial minorities. Seriously? Based on the statistics from StatsCan, strong immigration to Canada in recent decades has led to a rise in the number of for- eign-born persons and the portion of the population that they represent. Thus, from 1986 to 2006, the immigrant population went from 3.9 million to 6.2 million, accounting for respectively 15.6 per cent and 19.8 per cent of the Canadian population. Stats Can further reports that if current immigration trends were to continue in the coming years, the proportion of immigrants in Canada could reach slightly over 22 per cent by 2017. In the 2001 Census, the Chinese population numbered more than 1 million, making this visible minority group the largest in Canada. South Asians and the black population ranked respec- tively second and third with 941,000 and 671,000 individuals. So, based on the current trends, we should see that, unless the "Top 25 Most Influential" in the justice system can converse in Mandarin or Cantonese, and cater to the interests of this community, we should see the pendulum shift to identify those lawyers, etc. who do. — TRACEY HAMILTON Zuber & Co. LLP, Toronto Editor's note: Canadian Lawyer contacted a wide range of individual bar groups across the country and also opened nominations to all readers to ensure we reached out to as many members of the profession as we could. We look forward to receiving nominations from readers again next year. welcomes letters to the editor but reserves the right to edit for space, taste, and libel considerations. Please include your full contact information in correspondence.. Comments from canadianlawyermag.com A plug for small-town articles I did not article after graduating in 1997. I completed articles 12 years later, last year, articling for the Ministry of Community Safety in Orillia. Law schools must stop fos- tering the idea that the be-all and end-all of articles are Toronto and Ottawa, and law students must stop buying into it. Excellent experiences are to be had articling in smaller centres, with less stress and pres- sure than in bigger, more competitive areas. There will always be those who strive for Toronto only, but the oncoming rush of new grads is creat- ing an environment where students are going to have to be much more creative and practical when it comes to articles. Work in a smaller centre, prove yourself and excel, and take your good work to a TO firm, if that's your ultimate goal. However, for the most part, it's going to be adapt or perish. . . . — online comment from OPP STAFF SERGEANT BRIAN KNOWLER A noble man Interesting to hear about a right hand man [Chima Nkemdirim]. It seems like he has a noble charge and that's exactly what Calgary needs. — online comment from KROLSOUL www.CANADIAN Lawyermag.com SEPTEMBER 2011 7 Rugust 2011 e: On hiatus A C anadian L a wy er Rugust 2011 T e: A o article or not t o article?