BarTalk June 2003
Volume 15, Number 3

CBA National ‘Lawyers Care’ Initiative

The National CBA Communications Committee has launched the next phase of the ‘Lawyers Care’ Initiative – an external member campaign. The creative development of three print messages (completed in May) will be focus-tested in Ottawa-Gatineau, Calgary and Vancouver. There will also be a public focus group session in Vancouver.

“The feedback from the focus groups will be used to analyze and shape the final campaign,” says National Communications Chair James Lebo of Calgary. “The advertising campaign will be targeted to selected media and we expect the ads will run throughout the year, all subject to budget considerations.”

For more information on the ‘Lawyers Care’ Initiative, visit www.cba.org.

Upcoming National Submissions to Government

Upcoming National Submissions to Government CBA’s commitment to advocacy in the interest of members is evident in a growing list of legislative initiatives on the roster between now and Parliament’s summer break, expected in mid-June. On the agenda of CBA National Sections and the Legislation and Law Reform Committee are submissions on:

• Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act;

• Criminal Code amendments – protection of children, sex offenders registry, international transfer of offenders;

• Divorce Act amendments;

• National Defence Act;

• One-year review of Anti-terrorism Act – in conjunction with the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group; and

• Competition Act amendments.

Also in the works is a CBA intervention, at the SCC, on Maranda, a case dealing with lawyer-client privilege.

Recent submissions include a letter on April 24 to the Ministers of Justice and Finance on GST retroactivity, and a submission to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights regarding marriage of same-sex couples. For details on CBA submissions, visit www.cba.org.

Primer for Directors of Not-For-Profits

Are you a lawyer sitting on a board of directors or providing advice to not-for-profit organizations? Are you confused about your duties and responsibilities as a director? Don’t be. Just check out the Primer for Directors of Not-For-Profit Corporations, the latest CBA member benefit available in an easy-to-follow, online format.

Commissioned by the Canadian Centre for Philanthropy – which the CBA supports through its Charities and Not-For-Profit Law Section – the primer offers expert advice and understanding with regard to the legal rights, obligations and responsibilities of those serving with not-for-profit corporations.

View the primer at the Industry Canada Web site: http://strategis.ic.gc.ca (search for “Primer for Directors”).

These articles were published in the June 2003 issue of BarTalk and are subject to the copyright by the British Columbia Branch of the Canadian Bar Association, 2005, all rights reserved.