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 F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 8 11 \ AT L A N T I C \ C E N T R A L \ N O RT H \ W E S T REGIONAL WRAP-UP A long-time northerner has been elected president of the Federa- tion of Law Societies of Canada. The Federation co-ordinates Canada's 14 law societies. Sheila MacPherson, a Yellowknife civil litigator, has lived almost her entire life in northern Canada. In the 1960s as an infant, she was taken to the North by her parents. She gradu- ated from high school in what was then Frobisher Bay, now Iqaluit. She took her law degree at Dalhousie, but she returned to the Northwest Terri- tories to article in Yellowknife and has remained there ever since, though she still calls Iqaluit her "heart home." She has worked across the North and in the late '90s played an important legal role in the creation of Nunavut. MacPherson says it is important that the Federation have a leader with a northern perspective right now. She says Canada's legal community "is dealing with . . . calls to action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commis- sion with respect to reconciliation with indigenous people. It's a huge issue facing law societies across Canada." Among her concerns is the under- representation of indigenous people in Canada's justice system. She points out that one call to action proposed by the TRC "relates to pro- moting knowledge of indigenous issues in law school." MacPherson says she is encouraged to see the efforts of law facul- ties across the country opening doors for would-be indigenous lawyers. She says she is especially encouraged by the satel- lite law school program being offered by the University of Saskatchewan's College of Law in Iqaluit. Besides indigenous issues, MacPherson as president will be looking at the Federa- tion's National Accreditation Commission. That is the body responsible for assessing the credentials of foreign-trained lawyers seeking to practise law in Canada. "Anoth- er key priority," she says, "is implementing recommendations as the result of federa- tion's review of the NCA." — GEOFF ELLWAND N O RT H Yellowknife civil litigator elected head of federation CALGARY CASE ABOUT SEIZING NOTES FROM VICE REPORTER GOES TO SCC T his May, the Supreme Court of Canada is expected to engage an intensely live issue concerning freedom of the press . . . even though the Calgary man at the heart of it may very well be dead. The court is being asked to consider under what circumstances journalists can be compelled by the state to surrender news-gathering materials. The Supreme Court's answer could have significant consequences for reporters, media distributors, law enforcement, media lawyers and, most importantly, Canadians. The court has been here before — or at least in the neighbourhood. Back in 1991, it decided that police were justified in seizing as evidence CBC News videotape of occupiers damaging a post office building. "That was 25 years ago. A lot has changed since then, and they need to address it again," says Iain MacKinnon of Linden & Associates, who representes Vice Media reporter Ben Makuch. Vice is a primarily electronic newsgatherer and distributor. It has fought the charges against Makuch from the beginning. Vice Media's Canadian president, Ryan Archibald, has said in the past that Vice "is prepared to do whatever it takes to sup- port and defend our reporter, and our friend, Ben Makuch." The work product in question is a series of screen shots of text conversations W E S T Continued on page 12 Sheila MacPherson

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