Spotlight on CBA Governance

More than two years of hard work, cross-country consultations, feedback-seeking and closed-door negotiation culminated at the CBA Council meeting in August with a decision to accept a new governance model and set the association on a new member-centric path.

Read on for details →

CBA Influence: Summer Update

There was no CBA Influence newsletter in August, but that doesn’t mean that the Legislation and Law Reform folks have been idle. Here is a quick look at a few of the things we’ve done, and keep an eye out for the next issue of CBA Influence, in September, which will round up all of our summer submissions.

Removal of judges in Turkey

After a failed coup in Turkey this summer, nearly 3,000 judges and prosecutors were among the thousands of people suspended or detained by Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s government. CBA President Janet Fuhrer wrote to Foreign Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion, urging the government to call on Turkish authorities to respect democratic principles. Read the letter.

New Supreme Court nomination process

In August, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced changes to the process of selecting candidates for positions on the Supreme Court. The changes come just in time to fill the vacancy that will be left when Justice Thomas Cromwell retires in September. Read on for more.

Resolutions

Resolutions were sprinkled throughout the schedule of August’s Council meeting, so we have two articles to cover them all off, mostly in the order they were discussed – which was not numerical order, in case you’re counting. Read about the first tranche of resolutions here, and and find out about the second tranche here.

Beginnings and endings: CBA Legal Conference 2016

The 2016 CBA Legal Conference went out on a high note, with an on-stage interview with Judy Smith, the real-life basis of the TV crisis management expert Olivia Pope. Before that there was an historic council meeting, an equally historic pitch event, loads of PD sessions, interesting keynote speakers and an intimate evening with Sam Roberts.

Read on for details →

The Pitch

Cian O’Sullivan of Beagle Legal delivered the winner at The Pitch, the first-ever legal tech innovation competition hosted by CBA and LegalX. Mona Datt of Loom Analytics took home the Peoples’ Choice prize after a slick afternoon event showcasing five Canadian legal innovators.

Read on for details →

CBA has a new CEO: Cheryl Farrow

The CEO selection committee has made its choice: Cheryl Farrow will take over the CBA reins when John Hoyles retires in November.

read the announcement  →

New CBA President

René Basque accepted the chain of office at the CBA Legal Conference in Ottawa, becoming the first Acadian to ever hold the office.

Read on for more about René →

Awards

Women’s rights trailblazer receives Canadian Bar Association President’s Award

The 2016 President’s Award was presented to Daphne Dumont Q.C., a lawyer from Prince Edward Island who has been active in the CBA, women’s issues and her community. Read on for more about the founder of LEAF, who was also the first CBA president from her province.

Calgary student Robert Sevalrud wins 2016 Edward K. Rowan-Legg Award

Robert Sevalrud, a Juris Doctor candidate at the University of Calgary, is the recipient of this year’s Edward K. Rowan-Legg award, which recognizes a dedicated contribution to the CBA by a student member. Read on for more.

Cathy Cummings wins Jack Innes Award

This year’s Jack Innes Award, which recognizes contributions by staff to the CBA, was presented to Cathy Cummings, whose sure hand brought calm to the CCCA during a time of upheaval, and who has over the past 18 months played a lead role in ensuring the success of the Re-think project. The award was presented during the 2016 CBA Legal Conference in Ottawa.

Walter Owen Book Prize

The Foundation for Legal Research has awarded the 2016 Walter Owen Book Prize to Pierre-Claude Lafond, professor at Université de Montréal’s Faculty of Law, for his book, Droit de la protection du consommateur : théorie et pratique, published in 2015 by Éditions Yvon Blais. Read on for more.

Paul Smith Memorial Award

The CBA Administrative Law Section is pleased to announce that Benny Chan, a student at McGill University Faculty of Law, is the winner of the 2016 Paul Smith Memorial Award for his paper entitled Inter-Institutional Comity and Deference as Respect. Read on for more.

National Sections Council Award

The National Sections Council Award this year honours two national Sections, both of which have shown their relevance to the association. Read on to find out what set the National Construction and Infrastructure Section and the Intellectual Property Section, apart this year.