Canadian Lawyer

REGIONAL WRAP-UP B.C. COURTS TO INTRODUCE NEW TWEETING AND BLOGGING RULES information from wireless devices. The rules are still being finalized but the B initial announcement came in June and fol- lows an earlier move by the Alberta Court of Queen' 2012. They cover the use of computers, laptops, tablets, notebooks, iPads, iPods, and other elec- tronic devices by the public, counsellors, and the media. Alberta' s Bench, which adopted rules in January the courthouse and courtrooms but within the courtroom only counsel and media, who have signed an undertaking to respect terms and conditions, may use them. Unacceptable use is s high court allows the devices in y next month, B.C.'s courts plan to launch new rules that deal with tweet- ing, blogging, and electronic filing of anything that causes a disturbance in the courtroom or courthouse as well as taking photographs of individuals in the courthouse or courtroom and audio recordings in the courtroom. In B.C., the greatest impact will be on accredited media, which have been clamouring for a loosening of the rules. The rules are expected to be slightly different for each level of court — Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, and the provincial courts. A representative from the B.C. Supreme Court, who asked not to be identified, said social media had "really blown up the landscape we were used to. " D court rules oN attorNey geNeral's status a 68-year-old paralegal took Justice Minister and Attorney General Shirley Bond to court over her appointment. Lesslie Askin petitioned B.C.'s top court after a failed com- oes a province's chief lawmaker, the attorney gen- eral, need to be a lawyer? That question was settled recently in the British Columbia Supreme Court when plaint to the Law Society of British Columbia regarding Bond's appointment claiming she was not a lawyer and therefore under s. 85 of the Legal Profession Act should not practise law. "She brought forward the complaint and the society addressed the matter but decided they did not have the jurisdiction to deal with it," said Robyn Crisanti, LSBC manager of communications and public affairs. The LSBC referred the question to outside counsel who specialized in constitutional law and the decision indicated that the B.C.'s Constitution Act empowers ministers — including the attorney general — to carry out their duties and takes precedent over the Legal Profession Act. The LSBC had no jurisdiction to act on the broader statute. It closed the file, although it didn't investigate whether Bond was practising law. Askin then asked the B.C. Supreme Court to review the from the respondents' arguments, Stromberg-Stein reasoned: "The petitioner is incorrect, as a matter of statutory construc- tion, including that only a practising member of the Law Society may be lawfully appointed attorney general of B.C." She accepted the LSBC's argument that when the relevant qualify for the appointment as Attorney General would imper- missibly constrain the Crown prerogative of ministerial appoint- ment exercised by the Lieutenant Governor and the Lieutenant Governor in Council under ss. 9(1) and 9(2) of the Constitution Act," she reasoned. The judge agreed that the LSBC did not have jurisdiction LSBC's decision, but she amended the request. The petitioner asked that if the LSBC didn't have the jurisdiction then the court set aside Bond's appointment as a "breach of the statutes of British Columbia" and the orders-in-council setting out her appointment "do not constitute legal authority." However, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Sunni S. Stromberg- Stein sided with B.C.'s attorney general and the LSBC. Drawing 12 A U GUST 2012 www.CANADIAN Lawyermag.com statutory provisions, found in the Attorney General Act, Legal Profession Act, Queen's Counsel Act, and Constitution Act, are read in their context and "harmoniously with the scheme and objects of the various Acts and with a regard for the legisla- tion," there is no provision that the attorney general should be a member of the LSBC. "To conclude that only persons entitled to practice [sic] law to act on the petitioner's complaint that the attorney general contravened s. 15 of the LPA. She added the petition provided a "shopping list of alleged Charter violations" but found no validity in them or the complaint regarding the orders in council. "The Charter does not apply to the Law Society's determina- tion in this case, as it was an administrative decision that did not impact on any right or privilege of the petitioner." — JEAN SORENSEN jean_sorensen@telus.net Tweet Tweet Tweet

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