The previous government negotiated the Trans-Pacific Partnership last year and the current government signed the 12-country trade deal that keeps Canada in step with its NAFTA partners and expands trade opportunities with Asian nations in February.

The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act provides for designated representatives to be appointed for vulnerable claimants – minors and adults lacking the mental stability or capacity to understand the proceedings. The Immigration Law Section has entered into a dialogue with the Immigration and Refugee Board about improving the rules surrounding DRs.

The CBA’s Intellectual Property Section welcomes the idea of a code of conduct for patent and trademark agents as an opportunity for clarity in an area where terminology can be conflicting and yet used interchangeably.

Employers bringing in people under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program tend to be looking for one of two things: low-skilled manual labourers and high-skilled professionals. There is a world of difference between those two groups in terms of their power relative to their employers. The Immigration Law Section suggests that the program be modified to reflect that difference.

A data breach has important implications both for the company that experiences it and for that company’s clients. Reporting breaches is a no-brainer – but the when, why, how and where of that report requires a little more nuance in order to maintain the fine balance between privacy and commerce, the Privacy and Access Law Section said in a recent submission.

In May 2016, CBA President Janet Fuhrer wrote to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pointing out that the government has had more than three years to study the UN’s concluding observations and to act upon them.

Even the best relationships can benefit from a period of self-reflection, a little tune-up from time to time when things are still working, just maybe not as smoothly as they could.

The CBA has followed up its response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s calls to action with a letter to the ministers of Justice, Indigenous and Northern Affairs, and Public Safety, to underline the association’s support for the government’s stated intention to implement the recommendations.

The CBA is eagerly anticipating an engagement with the current government on Governor in Council appointments – in fact, as CBA President Janet Fuhrer said in a recent letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, it’s been ready to go for 26 years.

Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould introduced Bill C-16 on Tuesday.