For Immediate Release
August 15, 2005
OTTAWA – The new President of the Canadian Bar Association says that lawyers must strive for improved access to justice and the protection of individual freedoms for the benefit of all Canadians.
Brian Tabor, Q.C. of Halifax, who receives the chain of office at the CBA Canadian Legal Conference in Vancouver on Aug. 16, says the CBA’s legal aid test case, challenging British Columbia’s legal aid plan, will be a top priority during his term as President. “We have the knowledge, the resources and the will to make a significant difference to how our least powerful and most vulnerable citizens can meaningfully access our justice system,” he says.
Another focus for Mr. Tabor will be finding a balance between security and individual rights when assessing anti-terrorism measures. While the CBA understands the motives behind these measures, it argued for curtailing of some of the proposed sweeping new powers for police and security agencies in its three-year review of Bill C-36, the Anti-terrorism Act. “As vigilant as we must be in preventing terrorism, we must be equally vigilant that we do not lose our own principles and freedoms in the process,” Tabor says.
The start of Mr. Tabor’s tenure coincides with the release of the Report of the CBA Futures Committee, which looks ten years into the future of the legal profession and recommends ways in which the CBA can prepare itself to be most relevant to its members. “We've got a great opportunity to engage each other in a dialogue about where we are and where we need to be as an association and as a profession,” he says.
Tabor brings CBA experience to his new role, having served as Branch President for Nova Scotia (2001-2002), Provincial and National Chair of the Real Property Section, and CBA Co-Chair of the National Real Estate Project. He was called to the Bar in 1987, after completing his education at the University of Ottawa (B.Sc., 1979) and the University of New Brunswick (LL.B, 1986).
Brian Tabor receives the CBA Presidential Chain of Office from outgoing President Susan McGrath at the Young Lawyers Luncheon on Tuesday, Aug. 16 in the Vancouver Convention Centre, Hall C, during the Canadian Legal Conference in Vancouver, Aug. 14-16. The event is open to accredited media who have registered with the CBA Media Centre.
The Canadian Bar Association is dedicated to improvement in the law and the administration of justice. Some 34,000 lawyers, notaries, law teachers, and law students from across Canada are members.
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CONTACT: Hannah Bernstein, Canadian Bar Association, Tel: (613) 237-2925, ext. 146; E-mail: hannahb@cba.org. Aug. 12-15: (604) 647-7408.
