For Immediate Release
June 29, 2007
OTTAWA – Nobel Peace Prize winner and Boston University professor Elie Wiesel* will deliver the keynote address on the importance of fighting indifference, intolerance and injustice in today’s society, at the opening plenary session of the CBA’s 2007 Canadian Legal Conference in Calgary on Aug. 12.
“We are pleased to offer our members this opportunity to hear Prof. Wiesel,” says CBA President J. Parker MacCarthy, Q.C. of Duncan, B.C. “Prof. Wiesel’s personal experience of the Holocaust has led him to use his talents as author, teacher and storyteller to defend human rights and peace throughout the world.”
Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin addresses CBA Council – the association’s policy-making body – on Saturday morning, Aug. 11, and will hold a news conference immediately following her remarks. During the next day-and-a-half, the CBA will debate policy resolutions.
Alberta Attorney General Ron Stevens, Q.C., will address the opening plenary on Aug. 12. Federal Justice Minister Rob Nicholson will address CBA members, and then take their questions, on Monday, Aug. 13.
Beginning on Monday, Aug. 13, and continuing for two days, the CBA rolls out more than 20 educational programs for lawyers and judges and another 20 sessions aimed specifically at in-house counsel, on the theme of “Mavericks, Pioneers and Trailblazers: Harnessing Leadership and Innovation,” organized by the Canadian Corporate Counsel Association (CCCA).
The wide-ranging roster of CBA programs includes sessions on Charter rights after 25 years, elder law, security in courtrooms, Internet crime, income trusts, and many more. Full program details are available on the CBA website at:
http://www.cba.org/CBA/calgary2007/cle/
Keynote speakers for CCCA programs include Gail Asper, CanWest Global Communications Corp. (Aug. 13); Patrick O’Callaghan, Patrick O’Callaghan and Associates (Aug. 14); and Rahul Sood, Voodoo Computers Inc. (Aug. 14). Details can be found at:
http://www.cancorpcounsel.org/EN/Education/Education/Annual_Meeting.aspx
The Justicia Award for outstanding media coverage of legal issues will be presented at the Awards Luncheon on Saturday, Aug. 11. The Young Lawyers Pro Bono Award for outstanding service to the community will be presented at the closing luncheon on Tuesday, Aug. 14.
A ceremony to mark the transfer of the presidency from outgoing President Parker MacCarthy to Incoming President Bernard Amyot of Montreal takes place at the closing luncheon on Tuesday, Aug. 14.
Sessions are open to accredited media. Programs take place at the Telus Convention Centre and the Hyatt Regency Hotel (CCCA program). The Media Centre is located in Glen 208, in the Telus Convention Centre. Accreditation may be obtained by contacting the CBA National Office in Ottawa at 613-237-2925, ext. 146/155. The Media Centre in Calgary will be open from Friday, Aug. 10 at noon until Tuesday, Aug. 14 at noon (tel: 403-218-7856).
The Canadian Bar Association is dedicated to improvement in the law and the administration of justice. Some 37,000 lawyers, 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. 10-14: 403-218-7856.
*All arrangements for Elie Wiesel made through the B’nai Brith Lecture Bureau
