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REGIONAL WRAP-UP gervais speaKs out about picKtoN iNQuiry Continued from page 13 would not address issues such as systemic racism, the impact of past discriminatory policy on aboriginals, and the current sys- tem that places aboriginal women at risk. Simon Fraser University criminologist Focusing only on policing procedure and Canadian authority on prostitution John Lowman told the commission earlier that aboriginal sex-trade workers are the culmination of many problems. "We have to find solutions to poverty, we have to find solutions to addictions, we have to find solutions to the effects of 200 years of colonization on aboriginal people. When opting to represent aboriginal " interests, Gervais said she realized she was facing an uphill battle. As the Brit- ish Columbia government announced it would not fund aboriginal or community groups, aboriginal support had pulled out of the hearings. Later, it was announced funding would be given to the two inde- pendent nal participation has remained limited. "Everyone knew it was compromise, representatives, but Gervais, but she thought it was "better to have some voice rather than none. said that as the process unfolded, "it came clear to me that I was unable to fulfil my job." aborigi- " said " She SPECIALIZATION IN BUSINESS LAW Classes Starting in September 2012 Part-time, Executive LLM program for corporate counsel and practising lawyers Information Sessions Wednesday, May 23, 2012 from 8:00 to 9:30am Thursday, May 24, 2012 from 5:30 to 7:00pm Monday, January 16, 2012, 5:30 - 7:00 pm Friday, January 20, 2012, 8:00 - 9:30 am U of T Faculty of Law, Faculty Lounge 78 Queen's Park, Toronto No registration required. Please feel free to drop in anytime during these hours. Taught by U of T Faculty of Law professors, together with top international faculty from INSEAD Business School, NYU School of Law, and Rotman School of Management. resignation came when Oppal decided that testimony should be given in panel form. Gervais pulled together two panels to represent the aboriginal concerns, and estimated that she would receive four days of hearing time, two days for each panel. The first panel dealt with the "Native Liaison Society and their dysfunctional relationship with the police, The incident that triggered Gervais' second was a venue for "aboriginal peo- ple working and living in the Downtown Eastside" to inform the commissioner on the relationship between police and also the overall conditions that aboriginals liv- ing in this area experience. Gervais said she was informed that she " while the would receive one day for first-panel indi- viduals to testify and be cross-examined by lawyers, while the second would be heard as part of a policy forum, which did not make up the commission' evidence given under oath. "If I don't have the commission' s finding of For more information, call 416-978-1400 or visit: http://www.law.utoronto.ca/programs/GPLLM.html TIME: EVENT: Supported by the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) - Ontario Chapter and in partnership with Carswell, a Thomson Reuters business. GLLM_CL_May_12.indd 1 14 M AY 2012 www. CANADIAN Lawyermag.com I?" she said. "I regret that I cannot find a way to bring the voices of the missing and murdered aboriginal women into the room," said Gervais, who originally rep- resented the central B.C. Carrier Sekani Tribal Council, one of whose band mem- ber' s support, then where am before becoming a commission counsel. Oppal announced the appointment s DNA was found on Pickton's farm, of Elizabeth Hunt, a Kwakiutl First Nations lawyer, and Suzette Narbonne, a lawyer with 20 years' experience, as Gervais' replacement. jean_sorensen@telus.net — JEAN SORENSEN 12-04-18 9:41 AM

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