National news
Keep Conditional Sentences, Says CBA The National Criminal Justice Section says that Criminal Code amendments (Bill C-9) calling for the elimination of conditional sentences for many categories of offences should not be enacted, and proposes alternatives that would better protect public safety by disallowing their use for serious, violent offences. “The CBA supports measures that will lead to a safer society,” says Adrian Brooks of Victoria, member of the National Criminal Justice Section. “However, that goal requires more than relying only on incarceration. Conditional sentences provide an important alternative, and are often appropriate for less serious or non-violent offences.” The CBA favours an approach that takes into account all sentencing principles and that relies on judicial discretion in sentencing. “A wide range of sentencing options enables trial judges to design a balanced, just and appropriate sentence for each individual case,” says the CBA submission, presented to the Commons Committee on Justice and Human Rights on Oct. 4. News release uuu http://www.cba.org/CBA/News/ 2006_Releases/200610-04_conditional.aspx. Submission uuu http://www.cba.org/CBA/submissions/pdf/06-42-eng.pdf.
Ethics Edition Now Online The Canadian Bar Review Special Edition on Ethics, Volume 84 (2005), Issue 3, is available online (http://www.cba.org/CBA/Canadian_Bar_ Review/Main/) and is available in print in December. Articles include: • Who Are “Clients?” (And Why it Matters), by Allan C. Hutchinson • Beyond Conflicts of Interest to the Duty of Loyalty: from Martin v. Gray to R. v. Neil, by Richard F. Devlin and Victoria Rees • Service of the Crown: Are Ethical Obligations Different for Government Counsel? by Deborah MacNair Members interested in receiving a copy are asked to e-mail review@cba.org.
Expansion of Legal Aid Services to Family Clients “We are making a number of improvements so we can do more to help people solve their problems without going to court and, in situations where all else fails, to make sure people with serious problems get the legal representation they need,” says Executive Director Mark Benton. “Our focus continues to be early intervention and early resolution,” Benton adds, noting that it’s important to provide the type and amount of service that is appropriate for each client’s circumstances. The improvements broaden existing legal advice and representation services.
Call to Action for Court Challenges Program The CBA has called on the federal government to reinstate the Court Challenges Program and the Law Commission of Canada, and provide longterm financial stability for both programs through increased funding. That was the message delivered by CBA Counsel Melina Buckley of Vancouver, and CBA Director of Legislation and Law Reform Tamra Thomson of Ottawa, to the Commons Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights on Nov. 6. That presentation was the latest step in the CBA’s strategy designed to ensure that the language and equality rights of all Canadians are guaranteed. In October, President J. Parker MacCarthy, QC, wrote an open letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper following the September announcement of the cuts. As part of the strategy, the CBA has sent a letter to opposition Justice critics and lawyer MPs to encourage them to support reinstatement of the CCP and to bring that message to their caucuses. For the full CBA strategy – including what individual members can do – please visit the CBA website. Read more uuu http://www.cba.org/CBA/news/ccp.
Read more uuu http://www.lss.bc.ca/newsroom/news_releases.asp. December 2006 BARTALK