Canadian Lawyer

10 A P R I L 2 0 1 6 w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m Alberta takes fi rst tentative legal turn toward driverless vehicles T here is a car race on right now, and there has never been a race quite like it. The prize — and the legal implications — could be enormous. The race is an international one among technology companies and car manu- facturers all wanting to be first, or among the first, to produce a safe and workable driverless car, or autonomous vehicle as some call it. Part of the race is about developing a robust technology that will enable a driverless vehicle to do all the complex tasks performed by a human driver . . . and perhaps ultimately better than a human being. The other part is to develop a workable legal framework in which, initially at least, driverless and human-driven cars will be able to safely co-exist on public roads. Ultimately, of course, the law will have to govern an environment in which virtually all vehicles will be controlled by computers. Human-driven cars will become like the horse and buggy, pulled out of the museum for the occasional parade. Alberta and Canada as a whole are tiny players in this international race. But that does not mean that driverless cars won't have an enormous impact on this country. Legis- lators in Alberta and Ontario have taken the first tentative steps toward the new, driverless tomorrow. Wendy Doyle, executive director of the office of traffic safety for Alberta Transportation, says Alberta s. 62 of the Traffic Safety Act allows the granting of permits "authorizing a person to operate a vehicle on a highway when that vehicle does not comply with the equipment standards applicable to that vehicle." In other words, in Alberta, the legal door is open for the testing of driverless cars on the province's highways." But, says Doyle, "no one has requested a permit yet." Furthermore, says Doyle, "Alber- ta's intention is to develop prototype regulations similar to Ontario's." Those regulations were devel- oped after Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne told the province's Ministry of Transport in 2014 to come up with a regulatory framework to permit testing of autonomous vehicles. In January, a regulation permitting a pilot project went into effect (Pilot Project — Automated Vehicles, O Reg 306/15). Interestingly, the person behind the wheel, whether or not computer control is engaged, must be licensed and insured and will be legally considered "the driver." The chief technology officer of the Canadian Automated Vehicles Centre of Excellence is Alberta-based Paul Gods- mark. He is not alone in predicting that a fully functioning, ready-for-the-public-road autonomous vehicle could be a reality within as little as three years. That does not mean it will be on the road in three years, says Godsmark, but it does mean when it comes to computer-driven cars, "without realizing it, everyone is a stakeholder at some level." Federally, the Senate's transportation and communica- tions committee is now studying the technical and regula- tory issues associated with the transition to an automated- vehicle society. \ AT L A N T I C \ C E N T R A L \ W E S T REGIONAL WRAP-UP W E S T A self-driving car during a demonstration on the streets of Singapore last October. REUTERS/EDGAR SU household while taking leave, $50,000 is not a sufficient place to cap. A female lawyer is often left with the choice of shutting down her practice while taking leave and then faced with the realities of trying to re-establish the practice after extended time away from clients, says Davies. Sole practitioner Jessyca Greenwood told Law Times she has faced the choice of raising her family or returning to the demands of her practice. "That meant that I took a brief leave from the prac- tice of law — about 12 weeks — and had another lawyer cover my matters while I was away. I came back to work while my children were still infants. Once I was back, it was very difficult to manage both tasks, but I somehow survived," she said. "I enlisted help and hired other lawyers to assist. I was for- tunate to have that option." She says one of the key recommen- dations to her is lobbying the LSUC to retain and improve the parental leave program. Indira Stewart, a sole practitioner in Simcoe, Ont., about seven years into her career, said she has seen plenty of her female peers give up their careers due to the difficulty in balancing too many responsibilities outside of work. She had her first child about four years after her call to the bar and took less than four months maternity leave. Stewart said it was the strong support of peer senior lawyers and her lawyer husband that allowed her to make the choice to return early, adding many women lawyers do not enjoy those same support systems. — NEIL ETIENNE Report highlights challenges of criminal law practice for women Continued from page 9

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