BarTalk April 2001
Volume 13, Number 2

A National Organization

by Margaret Ostrowski, QC

In February, I attended our CBA Mid-Winter Meeting at Mont Ste. Anne, Quebec. One day was spent at the Board of Directors meeting and one and a half days were spent at our National Council Meeting – social events, get-togethers, impromptu executive meetings filled up all other time. I ate and slept CBA except for a one-hour side trip to the historic shrine at Ste Anne de Beaupre, where I lit a candle and bought a booklet of history and miracles.

The highlight for me was spending the day in the National Board of Directors Meeting with my provincial counterparts. It was great! The Presidents or Past Presidents of every province, the Yukon, and the Northwest Territories were there as well as Representatives of Young Lawyers, Sections, CCCA, and Equality. The similarity of issues in the other provinces was heart-warming as well as helpful and informative for our province. For instance, Quebec had received a commissioned 78-page report from a consulting firm to assist them in their strategic planning, they hosted a Gala Dinner for Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin in November, their newsletter was completely revamped, and they are holding an annual conference on “Globalization and how Quebec can face its challenges” in May of this year. Ontario reported on: their representations regarding changes to their Limitations Act; their lobby for increased legal aid funding; work done by their Paralegals Committee in advocating the regulation of paralegals in Ontario; their committee dealing with contingency fees; development of Privacy Policies and a new Privacy Law Section; and their resolution to Council on MDP’s. New Brunswick defeated a Law Society referendum vote last year and has a new Executive Director.

The sharing of many similar projects and issues sparked many ideas to assist me in the challenges we face as lawyers in our province. I am not interested in reinventing the wheel and I am sure that our BC initiatives and challenges that I reported on were helpful across the country.

The Council agenda included a lively debate on the Ontario resolution to permit lawyers to practice in an MDP only if the lawyers have effective control by means of contractual arrangement over the practice and business of the MDP. The resolution also required the core values of the legal profession to be upheld by the MDP. With a few minor amendments, the resolution passed and now will be presented to provincial Law Societies. The straw vote taken at our Provincial Council meeting last year was consistent with the resolution.

These meetings in particular illustrate the value of being part of a national organization. We help each other, we share ideas and we have significant clout in dealing with national issues and other countries. Our organization represents over 36,000 lawyers. Nationally, we have on the go (visit www.bccba.org for more information):

• 4 special projects;

• 5 liaison committees;

• 12 emerging professional issues;

• 20 legislative and policy initiatives;

• 6 public interest interventions;

• 2 judicial issues;

• 6 conferences being developed;

• an International Development Committee; and

• 29 Sections.

The national office was supportive when our Branch needed technological assistance on short notice and when we were without an Executive Director. I consult with the national office on a weekly basis as well as liaise with other Branch Presidents on our issues. Trust me, our involvement as part of a national organization is good value for the dollar.

This article was published in the April 2001 issue of BarTalk and is subject to the copyright by the British Columbia Branch of the Canadian Bar Association, 2005, all rights reserved.