For Immediate Release
August 16, 2004
WINNIPEG – Edward D. Bates, General Counsel and Secretary to the Workers’ Compensation Board of B.C., has been selected as this year’s recipient of the John Tait Award of Excellence, presented by the Canadian Bar Association’s Public Sector Lawyers’ Conference (PSLC).
“Mr. Bates has shown a high level of dedication to improving workplace health and safety and improving workers’ compensation legislation across the country,” said CBA President F. William Johnson, Q.C., of Regina. “He is recognized by his peers as a leader in his field.”
For 30 years, Mr. Bates has worked with the WCB of B.C. in roles from a legal officer beginning in 1974, to assistant director in 1979, to director in 1985, to his current duties as general counsel and secretary, a position he has held since 1988. He spearheaded the drive for compensation recovery efforts on behalf of injured or deceased workers who inhaled asbestos fibres. This initiative generated millions of dollars in recovery by the WCB of B.C. for workers who were subjected to asbestos-related diseases, and also contributed significantly to helping drive change in ridding workplaces of asbestos-containing materials. Mr. Bates’ work served as a template for similar actions by other Boards across the country.
Over the past two decades, Mr. Bates has worked to see that compensation to workers and inter-jurisdictional co-operation has been broadened across Canada. He was a key figure in the implementation of an inter-jurisdictional agreement among the Canadian Boards. He implemented and chaired a national committee on the compilation and reporting of financial data for the Association of Workers’ Compensation Boards of Canada (AWCBC).
Mr. Bates was responsible for the implementation of B.C.’s Criminal Injury Compensation Act for many years and ensured the WCB of B.C.’s compliance with B.C.’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
Mr. Bates received his LL.B from the University of New Brunswick in 1968 and was called to the Alberta Bar in 1970 and the B.C. Bar in 1974.
The John Tait Award of Excellence is presented by the PSLC during the Canadian Legal Conference in Winnipeg. The award was established in 1998 to honour, recognize and celebrate the accomplishments of public sector lawyers in Canada. The award honours the memory of John Tait, an outstanding lawyer, public servant and friend of the CBA who passed away in the summer of 1999.
The Canadian Bar Association is dedicated to improvement in the law and the administration of justice. Some 38,000 lawyers, notaries, law teachers, and law students from across Canada are members.
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CONTACT: Hannah Bernstein, Canadian Bar Association, Aug. 13-17, Winnipeg Convention Centre, Meeting Room 16, (204) 957-4375.
