Canadian Lawyer

w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m A P R I L 2 0 1 7 7 A designated tribunal has deter- mined that judges in Nova Scotia should receive a roughly 9.5-per- cent increase over the next three years. The provincial government, however, has announced that they will receive just one per cent. The Nova Scotia Provincial Judges' Salaries and Benefits Tribunal is con- vened every three years to recommend salaries and benefits for the province's 35 provincial and family court judges. In its most recent report, the tribunal called for a 5.4-per-cent salary hike in the first year of the agreement alone. Recommendations from the tribunal, which includes representatives of the judges and the government, were reject- ed by the Finance and Treasury Board. Instead, judges will receive no increase whatsoever for the next two years and a one-per-cent increase in the final year of the agreement. "The salary increases recommended by the tribunal do not fit our economic situation and taxpayers' ability to pay," Minister of Finance and Treasury Board Randy Delorey said in a statement. "Instead, we have adopted a fair salary increase for judges that stays within the fiscal plan." According to the finance depart- ment, the wage increase given to judges mirrors that given to Crown attorneys and physicians in the province. It is also the proposed wage hike for public sec- tor workers. (An agreement with Nova Scotia teachers could not be reached after three proposed contracts were voted down, and government took the highly unusual step of legislating a con- tract.) Delorey says he is not concerned that the low salary increase will affect judicial quality or autonomy. "Govern- ment has determined that this modified salary increase is reasonable, sufficient to attract excellent candidates for appointment as judges and respects the independence and critical role of the judiciary in our democracy," he says. The finance minister is also not con- cerned about dismissing the tribunal's recommendations out of hand. In fact, last year, the government made it clear that it would be taking control of salary determi- nations when it announced the tribunal — a process in place for almost 20 years — would no longer have the authority to make binding salary decisions. At present, judges in Nova Scotia earn $236,376 a year, plus benefits. This is among the lowest in the country and more than $26,000 below the national average. For the last three years starting April 1, 2014, judges' salaries were increased by 3.8 per cent in the first year and by the consumer price index for Nova Scotia in the final two years, which was 1.7 per cent and 0.4 per cent. — DONALEE MOULTON REGIONAL WRAP-UP AT L A N T I C \ AT L A N T I C \ C E N T R A L \ P R A I R I E S \ W E S T N.S. government slashes recommended judges' salary hikes NEW 'RIGOROUS' TEST FOR TRUST ACCOUNTS IN N.S. T he Nova Scotia Barristers' Society has significantly revamped the rules and requirements for opening a trust account. A list of competencies and a new trust assessment have now been put in place. The latter, which tests lawyers' knowledge of the trust regulations as well as their ability to apply those regulations to a simulated scenario, replaces a "little" test lawyers have always had to write, says NSBS executive director Darrel Pink. "Little is the operative word." The new examination is psychometrically sound, he adds. "We have a test now that is defensible and rigorous." Relying on the science of testing to develop the new assessment, the NSBS examina- tion is designed to achieve specific learning goals and ensure there is no bias inherent in the questions. "The last test was never designed with any purpose," notes Pink. ""It was designed by a former accountant." Lawyers will need to clearly understand the trust account rules in place and how to apply them — and they will need to be able to demonstrate this knowledge. What they will not need to evince is their trustworthiness. "Respecting the boundaries of a trust account is a matter of integrity," says Pink. "There is no test for dishonesty." Each year, lawyers must submit a Declaration in the Matter of Trust Funds or com- plete an eight-page report. Revisions to the report now include such items as requesting additional explanation in the case of exceptions to the regulations and requests for more information that will aid the society in its new proactive, principled and proportionate approach to the work it does. The new regulations for opening a trust account are the first in what will be a com- prehensive review of the trust account process and components. — DM

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