Canadian Lawyer

CLEANING OUT THE LEGISLATIVE COBWEBS N ova Scotia's government is doing some judicial spring cleaning. New legislation passed in May — the Justice Administration (2012) Act — will make changes and updates to five bills. "This is an omnibus bill that includes amendments to the Summary Proceedings Act and to other acts," explains James Gregg, a senior solicitor with the Department of Justice in Halifax. The changes are considered minor but important. For example, in addition to cor- recting some section reference typos, the amendments to the Summary Proceedings Act update the definition of "speeding" for the purpose of setting the start date for suspension of drivers' licences, notes Gregg. "The offences to which suspensions apply and the requirement for suspension are covered separately under the Motor Vehicle Act and do not change," he adds. In addition, the new law will sim- plify appointments to the Maritime Film Classification Board and Arts Nova Scotia. As well, it will allow substitutions on the House of Assembly Management Commission and permit those members to also serve on the Public Accounts Committee. Two new members will also be added to the Nova Scotia Liquor Corp. board of directors, at the corporation's request. "This change will allow a broader range of skills and experience to be represented on our board, improving oversight and our ability to perform committee duties in areas such as audit, governance, and corporate social responsibility more effectively," says Nova Scotia Liquor Corp. board chair- woman Sherry Porter. "It will also allow for improved diversity to let the board better represent all Nova Scotians served by the NSLC." — DM The Justice Administration (2012) Act is available online at nslegislature.ca/legc/ bills/61st_4th/3rd_read/b078.htm. CENTRAL serve court or other legal notices in digital form. Under Quebec law, legal notices can only be served online via e-mail, or even Q Bailiffs ready with plans for online legal notice service uebec bailiffs are hoping to become the "one-stop" shop for online legal notification in the province with the launch in mid-May of NotaBene, an electronic platform it says provides lawyers with a secure environment to through a Facebook account — if prior permission is obtained in court from a judge or there is an agreement between the parties. But proposed revisions to Quebec's Code of Civil Procedure, which have gone through the public consultation stage and await Department, would make room for new forms of technological delivery in yet-to-be-specified ways. The Chambre des huissiers de justice du follow-through from the Quebec Justice Québec, the professional order for Quebec's 427 bailiffs — the only agents recognized in the prov- ince for official legal notice serving — is ready to take up the charge with the NotaBene system already in place, says president Louis-Raymond Maranda. "Some people will say we are protecting our corporate interests," says Maranda, noting that in Quebec, like in some other jurisdictions, the numbers of those serving legal process notices are in decline because fewer people are going to court, are representing themselves, or participating in media- tion. "Don't believe it. We are looking to increase access to justice and proper administration where you have a trusted third party for notifi- cation and there is no conflict of interest." Maranda, recently elected secretary of the board of the International Union fee to finance the setting up of the system on a dedicated server with a program that monitors notification delivery — and red-flagging if it is not received on the other end — and has an archival function. The hope is that with the NotaBene dedicated server up and running, it will We are not just protecting our own interests, says Louis-Raymond Maranda. of Judicial Officers, says countries around the world are looking at ways to allow judicial officers to have recognized online functions. Members of the Quebec bailiffs' order paid a special (undisclosed) one-time be recognized by the government as the official vehicle for electronic notification and a service that could be expanded — albeit with funding — to provide a range of services for electronic delivery of legal documents. kathryn.leger@videotron.ca — KATHRYN LEGER www.CANADIAN Lawyermag.com JULY 2012 7

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