For contact information of Committee members, please consult the CBA Directory.
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Call for Nominations for Standing Committees
The CBA is seeking candidates for its National Standing Committees for 2008-2009. All CBA members are eligible to apply for positions.
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Standing Committees
Annual Meeting Steering Committee
Established by Council in February 2003 following a review of Annual Meetings, the CLC Steering Committee is the oversight committee responsible for the development and implementation of policy for Annual Meetings. It ensures that the Conference maintains its stature as the recognized national legal event organized by the CBA. The Committee works with the local Organizing Committees and the CBA's professional meetings staff and reports to the Board of Directors at each of its meetings.
Awards Committee
Responsible for administration of the Viscount Bennett Fellowship, the Ramon John Hnatyshyn Award for Law, the Louis St–Laurent Award of Excellence and the Edward K. Rowan-Legg Award.
Communications
Responsible for CBA communications policy, publications and Bar leader training sessions. It oversees Association public relations, newsletters and is responsible for the CBA Internet web site. It is the publisher of the National and the Canadian Bar Review.
Continuing Legal Education
Responsible for the development and production of seminars and conferences on topics of national or international interest to the legal profession and the planning, development and delivery of the substantive programs at the CBA Canadian Legal Conferences.
Equity
Promotes awareness of equality issues in the profession and ways to eliminate discrimination, develops resources to assist the profession in achieving gender equality, monitors, on a national basis, the status of women in the legal profession, and oversees the implementation of all equality-related resolutions adopted by Council.
Ethics and Professional Issues
Maintains the CBA's Model Code of Professional Conduct, and provides opinions or advice on specific legal issues which may arise.
International Development
Originally established by President John Jennings in 1990 to oversee the CBA's Eastern European initiative, the IDC was restructured with five members in 1994 and given a broad mandate. It now coordinates CBA international initiatives which enhance the rule of law in democratizing countries through systemic change. All funding for the Committee, its staff, volunteers and projects are raised from external sources.
Judicial Compensation and Benefits
Promotes fair processes for determining judicial compensation, as an essential element to maintain judicial independence. Advises on issues relating to compensation and benefits for judges and their families.
Law Day
The Law Day Committee is dedicated to improving public understanding of the law and the legal system. Law Day provides an opportunity to project the positive image of individual jurists, the CBA and the legal profession. The Committee promotes and coordinates Law Day both nationally and at the branch level. The Committee consists of the Law Day Chairs from each branch, and a National Chair and Vice-Chair who are nominated from amongst the Law Day branch Chairs.
Legal Aid Liaison
Serves as a forum to monitor developments in legal aid programs across Canada
Legislation and Law Reform
Coordinates CBA mandate to pursue improvement in the law and the administration of justice. Coordinates and vets CBA submissions to Parliamentary and Senate Committees, federal Ministers and departmental officials. It proposes law reform priorities for the CBA and identifies cases suitable for public intervention which are of interest or concern to the legal community, to which the legal profession has a social or moral obligation to respond, or upon which the CBA can inform public debate. Maintains liaison to the Uniform Law Conference of Canada. The L&LR Committee also monitors conflict of interest in the development and presentation of CBA submissions.
Membership
The primary mandate of the Membership Committee is to work in conjunction with the National Office and the Branches to increase recruitment and retention levels in the Association and to review membership categories, methods of payments and the amount of fees charged.
Nominating Committee
Chaired by the Past President, and consisting of the Board of Directors, this Committee is responsible for the nominations of the Chair, Vice–Chair and members of the Standing Committees. It must submit a report of the nominations to the National Council at its final business session immediately prior to each Annual Meeting.
Pro Bono
The Pro Bono Committee’s mandate is to promote and facilitate pro bono service in the legal profession on an ongoing basis. Each Branch names a member to the Committee, and the Chair is selected through the usual nominating process. The Chair of the Legal Aid Liaison Committee is an ex-officio member.
Resolutions, Constitutions and By-Laws
Receives, considers, and reports on resolutions to Council. Maintains Resolutions database. The Committee is also responsible for the maintenance and enforcement of the CBA Constitution and By–laws.
Supreme Court of Canada Liaison
Serves as a link between the Court and the Bar. Consults with National Sections on issues that the Court and the Bar may raise for review.
Special Committees
CBA Task Force on Conflicts of Interest
In response to the serious and growing problem of conflicts of interest in Canadian law firms, the CBA has launched an expert task force that will develop practical guidelines, advice and solutions to help lawyers and law firms serve their clients better.
Federal Court Bench and Bar Liaison Committee
Created by National Sections Council in 1992, this group is a forum for members of the Bench and the Bar to discuss issues of mutual concern relating to the operations of the Court that fall outside the mandate of the Statutory Rules Committee. It meets twice a year.
Canadian Legal Conference Local Committee & Mid-Winter Meeting Committee
The chairs of these two separate committees are appointed by the Board of Directors on the advice of the sponsoring Branch to organize specific components of the meetings that reflect the culture of the locale, and to give delegates a sense of the local legal community. Chairs appoint the necessary committee members. Both committees work directly with the Director of Meetings. The CLC Local Organizing Committee works to implement the CLC policy and works with the CLC Steering Committee.
Tax Court Liaison Committee
Composed of representatives from the National Sales & Commodity Tax and the Taxation Section, the CBA Committee meets regularly with the Chief Judge and the Tax Court as the formal liaison with the Bar. The Committee also discusses concerns arising from the Tax Bar as a result of their practice before the Court.
CBA/CICA Joint Committee on Taxation
The CBA, together with the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA), comprises the Joint Committee on Taxation of the CBA and the CICA. CBA representatives are drawn from the National Taxation Section and the National Wills, Estates and Trusts Sections.
The purpose and role of the Joint Committee is to review amendments to income tax legislation proposed by the Federal Department of Finance and to critique such proposals through in-person meetings with members of that Department and by way of written brief.
International Practice of Law
The Committee was established in the Spring of 1997 to assist the CBA in developing appropriate policy positions and effective liaison within NAFTA, the IBA and the World Trade Organization. Specific issues to be studied will include: foreign legal consultancy regimes; reductions of barriers to trade in legal services; and other professional interest issues with international impact.
ABA/CBA/Barra Mexicana Working Group On Dispute Resolution
The focus of the Working Group, established several years ago, is on mechanisms for resolving disputes of an international character at the state-to-state, private-to-state and private levels. Current emphasis is on the resolution of environmental disputes.
CBA Futures Working Group
The CBA Futures Working Group was established by the CBA in February, 2003. Its mandate is to advise the CBA on how the Association must position its programs, services, and interaction with members in order to remain relevant and indispensable to the membership five to ten years into the future.
For contact information of Committee members, please consult the CBA Directory.
