Canadian Lawyer

8 S E P T E M B E R 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 T here is serious turmoil in the world of professional orders in Quebec, which prompted serious action from the authorities. The Office des professions du Québec, which controls and supervises the operations of the 46 Quebec professional orders, mandated notaries Daniel Gervais and Jean-Pierre Ber- trand in November 2015 to investigate all matters of governance, including the internal functioning and the financial situation of the Chambre des huissiers de justice du Québec (bailiffs), includ- ing the mechanisms that were put in place for the protection of the public. The investigators' report, dated March 2016 and brought to public attention in July by La Presse, states that the organization is dysfunctional considering, among other things, the very high turnover of personnel (e.g. it has had four general managers in six years). Several administrators admitted to having confused the notions of protection of the public and the interests of the order's members, "deliberately or not," which led the CHJQ into a conflict of interest stemming from its ties to a private company operating computer services for bailiffs. The Chambre's actual general director has assured La Presse that the report's recommendations have already been imple- mented, including the creation of a governance committee and an audit committee. The Ordre des ingénieurs is the other order that has been through rough times. The OIQ has been rocked by successive crises over the years, including the one resulting from the Charbonneau enquiry, which involved many an engineering firm as being part of a corrupted public works contract system. The last controversy involves allegations of psychological harassment against a former OIQ president. Thus, Quebec Justice Minister Stéphanie Vallée announced in July that the order was to be placed under the public trusteeship of three administrators, an engineer and CPA accountant, and Maître Johanne Brodeur, who was Bâtonnière du Québec back in 2014. Brodeur is, without a doubt, more than qualified to imple- ment institutional reforms. As president of the Barreau, she managed in a very short time to advance an important gov- ernance reform (it featured the lengthening of the Bâtonnier mandate, a measure that had been discussed for decades). She showed leadership in promoting new measures to protect the public in the wake of the Charbonneau Commission, and in defending fundamental rights in positioning the Barreau firm- ly against the PQ's Charter of Quebec values' ban on "ostenta- tious" religious symbols worn by civil servants. — PASCAL ELIE pascalelie636@gmail.com \ AT L A N T I C \ C E N T R A L \ W E S T REGIONAL WRAP-UP Professional regulator under fi re in Quebec The intent may have been conciliatory, but the legislation was likely not legal. The CBA has raised concerns about the consti- tutionality of the act. "It basically blurred the line between executive and judiciary. We felt it would not survive a constitution- al challenge," says Whiteway Brown. "Our contention is that the adminis- tration of justice does not mean the min- ister of justice has the right to step into the shoes of the chief justice," she adds. Although slated for fast tracking through the final sitting of the legislature, Bill 21 was not brought forward for third reading, which means it effectively died on the order table. Whether it will be resurrected remains unknown. Although local reports have indicated the bill will be re-introduced in the fall sitting of the legislature, Bell told Canadian Lawyer that "Bill 21 is now no longer considered an active bill." — DONALEE MOULTON donalee@quantumcommunications.ca Future of proposed bill to veto judi- cial movement uncertain Continued from page 7 C E N T R A L CONNECT WITH IN-HOUSE COUNSEL COLLEAGUES AT LEXPERT.CA/CCCA Check out in-house counsel's best networking tool! The 2015/16 Lexpert CCCA/ACCJE Directory & Yearbook online edition is a user-friendly, outstanding key resource for all in-house counsel. Access more than 4,000 listees, more than 1,900 organizations, find fresh editorial content, and information on deals and links to important resources. ANYWHERE. ANYTIME. ANY DEVICE. Untitled-10 1 2016-08-16 4:36 PM

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