ARCTIC OBITER

ARCTIC OBITER
J ANUARY 2010 V OLUME XIV, ISSUE 1
A QUICK FLIGHT NORTH LEADS TEN
MARITIME LAWYERS TO GOLD: A
SUCCESSFUL CAREER AND A HAPPY LIFE

2 | ARCTIC OBITER
THE LAW SOCIETY
OF THE NORTHWEST TERRITORIES
Main Floor
5004 – 50 th Avenue
P.O. Box 1298
Yellowknife, NT
X1A 2N9
TEL: (867) 873-3828
FAX: (867) 873-6344
info@lawsociety.nt.ca
www.lawsociety.nt.ca
PRESIDENT
Shirley Walsh
VICE-PRESIDENT
Michael Hansen
SECRETARY
Erin Delaney
TREASURER
Sheila MacPherson
LAY MEMBER
Maureen Crotty Williams
INSIDE
10
14
Report on CanLII
Linda Whitford
Ten Legal Eagles Fly North
Amanda Fraser
16
Resolving the Legal Education
Disconnect
Jordan Furlong
P.O. Box 1985
Yellowknife, NT
X1A 2P5
TEL: (867) 669-7739
FAX: (867) 873-6344
cbanwt@lawsociety.nt.ca
www.cba.org/NorthWest
PRESIDENT
Janice K. Walsh
VICE PRESIDENT
Elaine Keenan Bengts
SECRETARY / TREASURER
Malinda Kellett
PAST PRESIDENT
Sheldon Toner
ELECTED VOTING MEMBER
Betty Lou McIlmoyle
NON-VOTING MEMBER
Sheila MacPherson
3 Law Society
President’s Message
4 CBA-Northwest Territories
President’s Message
6 Executive Director’s Message
8 Membership News
18 NWT Decision Digest
18 NWT Legislative News
19 Upcoming Events
20 Supreme Court of Canada
Update
22 Notices
23 Resources
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Linda Whitford
linda.whitford@lawsociety.nt.ca
ADMINISTRATION &
MEMBERSHIP INQUIRIES
Amy LeBlanc
amy.leblanc@lawsociety.nt.ca
EDUCATION &
COMMUNICATIONS
Ben Russo
ben.russo@lawsociety.nt.ca
Arctic Obiter is a joint publication of the Law Society of
the Northwest Territories and the Northwest Territories
Branch of the Canadian Bar Association. It is published
on a monthly basis to keep lawyers practicing in the
NWT informed of news, announcements, programs and
activities. Comments, articles and photos for
consideration can be submitted to Ben Russo. Past and
current issues are available on the Law Society website.
FROM THE EDITOR
January’s here! According to the calendar, there’s a whole
year ahead of us. For memberships, however, it’s time to
prepare for the upcoming new year.
April 1st marks the beginning of all memberships for the
2010-2011 year. That means all members must be sure to
renew before that date. Members can find everything they
need to renew in one spot: www.lawsociety.nt.ca/membership/renewals.html
I recently had my ear to the ground regarding the Federation’s recent report on
common-law degrees. Jordan Furlong (law21.ca) sums up the concerns which
arose and provides some interesting perspective on the legal profession’s role
in educating the future.
Happy reading!
- Ben

JANUARY 2010 | 3
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
The Call of the Wild
I was recently contacted by an articling student, soon to be
called to the Newfoundland and Labrador Bar, who had
read an article in the University of New Brunswick Law
Alumni publication. The article, coincidentally being
published in this issue of the Obiter, is about UNB Law
graduates practicing in the Northwest
Territories. The student asked for more
information about how I came to practice
in Yellowknife after practicing in St.
John's, and how I was finding the
experience. He was somewhat concerned
about the ‚change of scenery‛ of moving
so far away to an unfamiliar place. He
imagined living in Yellowknife would be
quite different from living in St. John’s, or
in Fredericton, NB, where he went to
school. I replied with more information
than he probably expected on how much I
enjoy living in the North, and how much
opportunity there is to do interesting
work. I also explained the many
Shirley A. Walsh
similarities between living here and living in
Newfoundland, at least in my opinion.
The email had me thinking back to when I was looking for
opportunities outside of Newfoundland. At that time, the
North wasn’t even on my list of places to look. I wasn’t
aware of the opportunities that existed here, and I had no
idea of the culture or climate of the North, or the sense of
community I would find in Yellowknife. It was purely by
chance that I happened upon a job advertisement when I
wasn’t even looking and decided, spur of the moment, to
apply.
I am extremely happy that I did.
What I have found since moving to Yellowknife has been
amazing career opportunities, an extremely welcoming and
close-knit community, and the adventure of living and
working in a Territory that has so much wild natural
beauty, and which is even now developing and entrenching
its identity and place in Canada. What I would have
missed had I never made that move!
I am sure that there are many others who work and/or live
in Yellowknife and throughout the North who feel very
similar to me. I firmly believe that if we
could effectively describe our experiences
and our opinions on working in the North
to lawyers and legal students outside the
Territory we could attract many more great
professionals. Retention is another issue
entirely, but the first step is recruitment -
getting people here. How can we get the
message out, make ourselves known and
attract bright hardworking lawyers to join
our community? Maybe it’s as easy as
personalizing the experiences that
individuals, or groups of individuals, have
had since moving here and getting that
message out to groups who will identify
with them.
Along with the innumerable benefits of living and working
in the North, there are challenges and aspects which people
may consider to be the negative side of life here. This is not
unusual. There are pros and cons to living and working
anywhere in the world. We should identify these negative
points of view and use them as an asset, because if we can
identify them, address them and learn how to either offset
them or eliminate them, we can further strengthen our
message that the Northwest Territories is a great place to
start or further an existing legal career.
We had a number of people sign up for the Recruitment
Committee this year, some of whom are very new to the
North. I am looking forward to working with them this
year and hearing the ideas that they come up with. I am
sure that they would welcome suggestions from the
membership as well.

4 | ARCTIC OBITER
BAR NOTES
CBA: Your One-Stop Professional Development Resource
I often hear my lawyer friends and colleagues asking, ‚what
does the CBA do for me? I can’t justify the cost!‛ In terms of
professional development, my answer is how can you afford
not to be a member?
ADVOCACY ON YOUR BEHALF
Through strategic lobbying efforts, we make
your voice heard on the issues that affect
your personal and professional lives —
issues such as the independence of the legal
system, legal aid funding, multidisciplinary
practices, paralegals, and the threats and
opportunities inherent in a global
marketplace. We speak on behalf of the legal
profession, and with your involvement our
voice becomes that much stronger.
A VOICE TO IMPROVE THE JUSTICE SYSTEM
CBA members and professional staff are
actively involved in the development of
government policy and law reform,
lobbying on matters identified by members
or responding to government initiatives. We
Janice Walsh
make our views known in the corridors of Parliament through
written submissions, appearances before Parliamentary
Committees, informal meetings between the President and the
Minister of Justice, or regular consultations between National
Sections and the Department of Justice or other government
officials.
Law reform initiatives are developed through in-depth
studies by National Sections, Conferences or Committees, by
specially mandated task forces or in debate by CBA Council.
Implementation teams ensure that reports such as the recent
Task Force on Systems of Civil Justice or Gender Equality in
the Legal Profession don't just gather dust on a shelf. The
CBA also intervenes at the Supreme Court of Canada on
matters of compelling public interest or of special significance
to the profession.
CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Gain insight into today's issues via our Continuing
Professional Development programs. Our CPDs are now even
more convenient and current, thanks to high-tech
developments in such media as the Internet and videoconferencing.
Plus, you'll benefit from our annual seminars on
Aboriginal, Family, Environmental, Immigration, Tax,
Competition and Administrative/Labour Law.
The CBA is committed to providing relevant
professional development programming
accessible to members of the profession
across Canada. From in-person conferences
to online webinars, we have the programs
you need, delivered exactly when and how
you need them. With the arrival of
compulsory professional development in
many Canadian jurisdictions, it is more
important than ever to have easy access to
convenient, cost-effective options which
address topics relevant to your areas of
practice and interest.
The CBA’s new one-stop PD resource site
also contains unique features to help manage
your credits and remain at the forefront of
the changing legal education landscape.
EXPERIENCE THE CBA ADVANTAGE
Convenience: Whether you are looking for an in-person
conference to network with peers or a short online webinar to
enjoy at your convenience in your office, a lunchtime seminar
in your community or a multi-day seminar in a new city, the
CBA has the program for you - when, where and how it suits
you best. The new PD website combines listings for all CBA
Branch, National, and CCCA events in one convenient
location, eliminating the need to search through multiple
sites. You may also choose to receive tailored information and
updates through the creation of a customized profile.
Browse, Search, and Track Your Credits: on the National
website you can browse all CBA (Branch, CCCA and
National) listings, in one convenient website. Search criteria
include: date, location, keyword, subject, delivery format and
even hours of accreditation. Keeping track of and reporting

JANUARY 2010 | 5
the courses you’ve taken, hours accumulated and credits still
required just got a lot simpler with the CBA’s Tracking Tool
(see Tracking Tool tab). This innovative feature allows you to
easily track all of your PD participation. Simply print off your
personalized report for easy reference at reporting time.
Accredited programs: CBA PD programs qualify for
compulsory professional development credits and can help
you reach your targets quickly and simply. Program
accreditation information is conveniently listed online for
each offering, allowing you to easily select the programs that
best meet your PD needs.
SECTIONS AND CONFERENCES:
NETWORKING, INFORMATION SHARING & SKILLS DEVELOPMENT
The CBA offers a full range of Sections and Conferences as the
entry point for members to become active. They provide a
valuable skills-improvement forum and an opportunity to
exchange ideas with colleagues and Bar leaders from across
Canada and around the world. Members may join the Branch
Sections relevant to their practice areas, and are then
automatically enrolled in the corresponding National
Sections.
With your Section/Conference membership, you'll enjoy many
advantages:
Meet colleagues: Share concerns and hear from experts on
current issues at the Branch and National levels. The CBA
Annual Conference is a one-of-a-kind opportunity to hear
high-profile speakers and an ideal environment for national
networking.
Improve your skills: Participating in Section activities brings
valuable opportunities for networking and mentoring
relations.
Receive regular communication: Members are kept current
through notices of meetings, summaries of law reform
developments and newsletters containing the latest
professional information.
Trends Forecasting:
The CBA helps prepare you for the
future of the practice of law by tracking trends in the
profession. Our Emerging Professional Issues Initiative (EPII)
is designed to assist lawyers to deal with economic and social
trends that have an impact on the practice of law. The
objective is to keep lawyers in business and to ensure that the
legal profession remains a good business to be in.
PAYMENT OPTIONS
The CBA offers a variety of payment options to its
members. We not only accept one time payments by cheque,
Visa, Mastercard or American Express but also offer the
following alternative payment methods for the convenience of
our members:
Online Membership Renewal:
All you need is your
membership number, last name and credit card information.
Annual Credit Card Debit: The Annual Credit Card Debit
(ACCD) program is an ideal payment option for our busy
members who don't want the hassle of renewing their
membership every year.
With ACCD, payment will be
deducted from your credit card on an annual basis.
Pre-Authorized Monthly Payment Plan: The Pre-Authorized
Monthly Payment Plan (PMP) offers members the
convenience and affordability of monthly withdrawals from a
bank account rather than a lump sum payment.
10 Equal Credit Card Payments: This new payment option
offers members an alternative to monthly withdrawals from a
bank account. Ten equal payments will be charged to your
credit card to cover your dues for your annual membership.
THERE ARE SO MANY REASONS TO BE A MEMBER OF
THE CBA. CAN YOU REALLY AFFORD TO MISS OUT
ON EVERYTHING IT HAS TO OFFER?
CBA-BC INVITES NORTHERN MEMBERS TO JOIN SECTIONS
The British Columbia Branch of the CBA welcomes CBA members in the Northwest Territories to
their Sections. Information on the 72 available sections, including the Women Lawyers Forum, is
available on the CBA-BC website: cba.org/bc

6 | ARCTIC OBITER
THE DIRECTOR’S CHAIR
Happy New Year!
As tempting as it is to begin this month’s article with a
commentary on watching the latest additions to our family
[SPCA kittens ‚Iggy/Blackie‛ and ‚Lola‛] as they explore
their new surroundings, the lengthening days (6 hours, 52
minutes — 5 minutes, 23 seconds longer than yesterday),
balmy temperatures (-29°C), and snow that felt like silk
beneath my skis last week, I will restrain
myself. Therefore, as I try to be concise and
not stray too far from the planned course,
my remarks may not be quite as colorful
and entertaining as some I have read.
First of all, thank you very much too
outgoing Executive Committee Members
Karen Lajoie and Leanne Dragon and all
those who volunteered for committees last
year. We look forward to hosting you at the
annual Volunteer Luncheon on the 23rd of
February. Watch your e-mail for the invite.
January is always a busy month occupied
by committee appointments, the budget,
membership renewals, random spot review
Linda G. Whitford
selections, and year-end financial tasks in preparation for the
audit. By now you will have all received notice that the
annual renewal documents are online in a ‚fillable‛ PDF
format so that you can complete, print and mail along with
the prescribed fee, as applicable. Deadline for renewing is
March 31st. Remember: if you do not intend to renew,
request permission to resign. Ignoring the renewal will end
up with your membership being suspended and then struck
from the roll.
In reviewing the latest Claims Bordereaux from the Alberta
Lawyers Insurance Association [ALIA], I noted open files
where the member has not notified the Law Society. Briefly,
as an insured member who thinks they might be liable, you
are required to report the matter with a copy to the Law
Society, advise the client, and open a file. For more detailed
information, insured members are asked to please review the
Liability page on the web site.
In light of the expiration of the Territorial Mobility
Agreement [TMA] on January 1, 2012, the discussion on
mobility will occupy a considerable amount of our time this
year. It would appear, at first glance, that we have two years
to make a decision on whether to a) extend the agreement; b)
go back to the way things were; or c) sign on to the National
Mobility Agreement [NMA]. On closer
review, however, we have a year as it will
take the remaining year for consultations on
our decision with the other jurisdictions
and any drafting requirements.
CHANGING HATS...
CBA Section Chairs can expect to hear from
Vice-President Elaine Keenan Bengts in
regards to a meeting to coordinate and set
down dates for their CPD activities.
The Branch Mid-Winter meeting scheduled
for February 8th has been moved to March
1st. All section chairs are expected to file
their reports in advance of this meeting for
presentation to the members.
On the table for adoption are revisions to the Branch By-
Laws which will see changes in the way Council members
are selected and in the way sections conduct their business.
Copies of the revisions were sent to each member in
compliance with the 30 day time frame established in the By-
Laws. If you have any questions or comments, please do not
hesitate to contact our office.
The National Mid-Winter Meeting of Council is being held
in Ottawa through February 12th - 14th.
A shift in policy with respect to attendance at CBA
sponsored CPD programs has been agreed to by the
Executive and Council. Up to now, all members of the
profession have been able to attend Branch-sponsored
events, including those put on by Sections. Essentially what
this means is that non-CBA members are deriving benefit
from the fees paid by those who choose to belong to the

JANUARY 2010 | 7
CBA. Effective immediately, non members will be assessed
a fee to attend CPD events sponsored wholly by the Branch.
In the case of Section meetings without a CPD component,
non-CBA members of the profession are able to attend but
not able to hold positions such as Chair, Vice-Chair or
Secretary.
In those CPD sessions jointly sponsored by the Law Society
and the CBA, all members of the profession are welcome.
Until next month, happy trails<
Yellowknife Ski Club Trail
Review of the Child and Family Services Act Underway
The Standing Committee on Social
Programs has begun its review of the
Child and Family Services Act as defined
by the Terms of Reference adopted by the
Legislative Assembly on October 22,
2009. A Report is expected to be tabled in
the Legislative Assembly during the fall
2010 session.
‚The Northwest Territories must ensure
that child protection legislation keeps
pace with our constantly evolving
society,‛ says Mr. Tom Beaulieu, Chair of
the Standing Committee. ‚We in the
North are only too aware that the wellbeing
of our children is vital for a strong
and vibrant future.‛
The Committee appreciates the ongoing
cooperation of the Department of Health
and Social Services in the conduct of the
review and recognizes this collaborative
approach as an opportunity to work
within the consensus government
framework for the benefit of children and
families of the Northwest Territories.
The review will consist of several
components including an examination of
child protection legislation in other
jurisdictions. The Committee will
coordinate several contractor-facilitated
meetings and interviews which will take
place in January and February 2010 with
various stakeholder groups and will
include parents and youth who receive
child and family services. The Committee
will be releasing a public discussion
paper in newspapers throughout the
NWT in late January 2010. The discussion
paper will include information on the
current Act, the review process, the
opportunities that will be available for
the public to participate, a schedule of the
community meetings that will take place
throughout the Northwest Territories in
April 2010, and suggested discussion
questions to promote public dialogue on
this important issue. The public can
expect a press conference announcing the
release of the discussion paper in
January.
‚The Committee is eager to hear from as
many individuals and organizations as
possible on this important issue. We are
committed to working with stakeholders,
clients of the child protection system, the
public and the Department of Health and
Social Services in order to undertake a
thorough and responsive review of the
Act,‛ says Mr. Glen Abernethy, Deputy
Chair of the Committee. In addition to
the scheduled public meetings in April
2010, the Committee would be pleased to
receive written or emailed submissions at
any time.
The Terms of Reference can be found on
the Home Page of the Assembly website
at www.assembly.gov.nt.ca .
For more information or to inquire about
making a written submission, please
contact:
Tom Beaulieu, Chair
Standing Committee on Social Programs
MLA Tu Nedhe
Tel: 867-669-2287
Toll Free: 1-800-661-0784
Email: tombeaulieu@gov.nt.ca
Gail Bennett, Principal Clerk
Standing Committee on Social Programs
Tel: 867-669-2343
Toll Free: 1-800-661-0784
Email: gailbennett@gov.nt.ca

8 | ARCTIC OBITER
RENEWALS
Annual Law Society Membership
Renewals are due March 31, 2010.
Members are advised that renewal
packages will not be mailed.
All
necessary forms, documents and
information can be found on the Law
Society website.
Renewal season is also a great time to
reassess your involvement in Law
Society matters and in your community.
If you have not done so already, you
can find the Committee Sign-up form
on the website.
You can also take
advantage of the Lawyer Referral
Service by using the sign-up form
available online.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Continued this year is the CPD Plan.
All active members are asked to
complete this plan and submit it with
your renewal documents. This plan not
only aids us in monitoring your
professional development; it provides
vital information for the Law Society to
strategize its legal education offerings.
New this year is the CPD Report.
Starting last year, members are asked to
complete a minimum of 12 hours of
professional development, with a
minimum of two hours focused on legal
MEMBERSHIP
ethics and professional responsibility.
The Law Society is now asking all
active members to complete this Report,
indicating their CPD accomplishments,
as part of their annual membership
renewal.
You will find more information,
including all forms and documents,
online at the address below:
www.lawsociety.nt.ca/membership/
renewals.html
SPOTLIGHT
SARAH A.E. KAY
LAWSON LUNDELL LLP - YELLOWKNIFE, NT
Sarah earned her B.A. (honours) at
Queen’s University in 1988. She then
enrolled at the University of
Windsor, where she earned her
LL.B. in 1991. After
graduation, she moved into the
Yellowknife office of Lawson
Lundell LLP where she is now
Partner.
Her practice focuses on
parliamentary law and child
protection law.
She’s appeared
Sarah Kay
before the Supreme Court, Territorial
Court and Court of Appeal, as well as a
number of boards and tribunals. She
currently acts as Deputy Law Clerk to
the Legislative Assembly of the
MEMBERSHIP STATS
Active Residents: 126
Active Non-Residents: 253
Inactive Members: 79
Total Membership: 458
(Restricted Members: 79)
Northwest Territories.
An active member in the law
community, Sarah sits on many of the
Law Society’s committees and CBA-NT
Sections.
She has twice held the
position of President of the Law Society
(2002 and 2004) and has also been
President of the Northwest
Territories branch of the
CBA.
senior very quickly.‛
Reflecting on her reasons for
working in the North, Sarah
says, ‚you do what you
thought you’d be doing as a
lawyer. After you’ve been
here for a very short period
of time, you become very
As for living in the North, she simply
says, ‚there is a really good quality of
life here.‛
Leanne Dragon and Sheldon Toner invite you to celebrate the opening of
Friday, February 5, 2010 - 5:00 p.m.
5016-50 th Avenue, 2 nd Floor, Yellowknife, NT
Please RSVP to tearsa@dragontoner.ca

JANUARY 2010 | 9
NEW MEMBERS
MAGNOLIA UNKA
RATH & COMPANY - PRIDDIS, AB
Magnolia is a Dene member of the
Deninu Kue First Nation in the
N o r t h w e s t T e r r i t o r i e s .
Through university, she was
the President of the First
Nations Law Students
Association and the UBC
Student R ep. for the
Indigenous Bar Association.
She earned a Bachelor of Arts
in Native Studies at the
University of Alberta in 2005
Magnolia Unka
and a Bachelor of Laws at the
University of British Columbia in 2008.
Her legal education focused on
aboriginal law.
Magnolia is a member of the
Indigenous Bar Association,
the Canadian Bar Association
and is a member of the Youth
Volunteer Circle with the
Native Women's Association.
Magnolia joined Albertabased
Rath & Company in
June 2008 as an articling
student and was called to the
Alberta bar in July 2009. Her
current practice focuses on First
Nations' consultation, First Nation
Band matters, treaty rights, Indian
Residential School claims, specific
claims as well as general litigation.
Magnolia was called to the NWT bar in
December 2009.
IN MEMORIAM
GRENVILLE-WOOD, Geoffrey
Died peacefully at home with his family
on the 20th of December, 2009. Loving
husband to Jacqueline Leger, father to
Emma and Simon Grenville-Wood,
brother to Gavin Grenville-Wood and
Sandy Denning. He will be greatly
missed by family, friends and
colleagues.

10 | ARCTIC OBITER
CANLII
2009: A year in Review
By Linda Whitford, Member, CanLII Board of Directors
In my report to the Annual General Meeting on December 5,
2009, I reported to you on the growth in CanLII in 2008 and on
some of the ongoing developments taking place in 2009.
Rather than wait till the next AGM to report, what follows here
is an update for 2009.
CASES
The following table illustrates the number of cases published
on CanLII in 2009.
4 th Quarter Total
Current 22,538 88,605
Historical 12,652 50,781
Total 35,190 139,386
NEW DATABASES
The following 17 new databases were added to CanLII in 2009:
Appeals Commission for Alberta Workers' Compensation;
Conseil de discipline de l'Ordre des sages femmes du
Québec
Law Society of the Northwest Territories
New Brunswick Assessment and Planning Appeal Board;
Newfoundland and Labrador Human Rights Commission
Northwest Territories Information and Privacy
Commissioner
Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission;
Nova Scotia Labour Relations Board
Nova Scotia Labour standard Tribunal
Nova Scotia Occupational Health and Safety Appeal Panel.
Ontario Landlord and tenant Board
Ontario Workplace Safety and Insurance Board
Québec Bureau de décision et de révision en valeurs
mobilières
Québec Conseil de la justice administrative
Real Estate Council of British Columbia
Saskatchewan Labour Arbitration
Tribunal d'arbitrage de la Commission administrative des
régimes de retraite et d'assurances;
You can keep up to date on the latest decisions by subscribing
to the RSS Feeds found on the CanLII Web site.
HISTORICAL KEY COLLECTIONS
Historical cases were added to several key collections
BC LRB : 2001-2000 for a total of 987 decisions
ON LRB : 1985 – 1977 for a total of 2114 decisions
QC BRDVM : 2009-2005 for a total of 279 decisions
QC CDCM : 2007-2004 for a total of 69 decisions
QC CLP : 2006-2005 for a total of 10 136 decisions
QC TAQ : 2007-2006 for a total of 5588 decisions
REFLEX
The ongoing compilation of the reports included in
the Reflex coverage, continues to be maintained.
SATAL
All the provinces were added to SATAL and the
databases are now being updated on a weekly basis.
The following provides a list of the jurisdictions and
dates when the legislative databases were first
published on the CanLII site:

JANUARY 2010 | 11
Alberta, 2003-02-17 to present
British Columbia, 2009-01-01 to present
Federal, 2003-01-01 to present
Manitoba, 2003-06-02 to present (new)
New Brunswick, 2003-01-27 to present
Newfoundland and Labrador, 2004-04-09 to present (new)
Nova Scotia, 2003-02-14 to present
Ontario, 2004-01-01 to present
Prince Edward Island, 2004-11-17 to present (new)
Quebec, 2003-06-01 to present
Saskatchewan, 2003-03-01 to present
The northern territories (Yukon, Northwest Territories and
Nunavut) were also added to the SATAL system in the last
quarter of 2009. This completed the addition of all jurisdictions
to the project
Basic Tables of contents were added to statutes and regulations
from the Federal jurisdiction, thus allowing easier navigation
and hyperlinking to specific sections and subsections.
SATAL’S FEATURE SET INCLUDES:
Versions of statutes and regulation reflect real changes;
Versions’ dates correspond to legislative changes, such as
entry into force, amendment or repeal;
Users can search a legislative text as it was legally binding
on a particular date in the past;
Users can compare two different versions of a particular
document;
Users can noteup statutes’ sections;
Legislative updates are carried out on a weekly basis; and
RSS feeds are available to inform users about legislative
changes of a particular statute or database.
NBCA DE-IDENTIFICATION BACKLOG
98 NBCA decisions affected by restrictions on publication from
1990 to 2000 have been de-identified and published on CanLII.
Approximately 470 NLSCTD and NLSCAD decisions were
published, most of which are currently posted.
TRAINING
Remote training was provided to various groups. Members of
the Law Society of the Northwest Territories participated
either, in the Boardroom or via teleconference. This was more
economical than arranging a Webinar session and the same
method of training was used for various law firms across
Canada, or librarians who requested training either for
themselves or for the lawyers in their firms. This was a cost
effective way to reach our users. On completion of the sessions
participants were provided with an electronic copy of the
PowerPoint training session.
SCANLII 2.0
The ScanLII 2.0 project was completed during the summer.
1,522 missing cases from all appeal courts and the Ontario
Superior Court have been digitized and published on CanLII.
SPECIAL PROJECTS
SUPREME COURT OF CANADA
LexUM completed a historical scanning project for the
Supreme Court of Canada. This resulted in an additional 718
SCC cases being published on the CanLII site. The SCC
News
Events
Publications
Forms
www.lawsociety.nt.ca
It’s all online.

12 | ARCTIC OBITER
database is now complete back to 1947.
The remaining SCC decisions have all been scanned, but not
OCR’d or published. The funds to cover the cost were taken out
of the Reserve Fund, as per a Board decision. The monies will
be replaced in the Reserve Funds as grants are received to
continue work on completing the SCC project back to 1876.
Consequently all SCC decisions originating in Ontario, British
Columbia and Alberta have now been to the CanLII site.
BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS PROJECT
A very generous grant of $355,000 from the Law Foundation of
British Columbia enabled CanLII to undertake this project,
which is now complete. The total number of cases published
was 7,123. The project was the biggest scanning initiative that
CanLII has undertaken to date.
650 cases from Supreme Court of Canada were published. All
cases originating from British Columbia are now available on
CanLII, back to 1876. British Columbia was the second province
after Ontario to have all its Supreme Court of Canada cases
freely available on CanLII.
The collections of the British Columbia Court of Appeal and
British Columbia Supreme Court have been increased by 6,473
cases. The cases that have been published include reported
decisions published in major print series between 1977 and
1989 (the start date of the continuous coverage of both courts).
This makes both courts those with the most significant
historical scope on CanLII.
ALBERTA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS PROJECT
CanLII again benefitted from the support of a law foundation.
The grant application to the Alberta Law Foundation was also

JANUARY 2010 | 13
successful and they agreed to fund this project in the amount of
$445,955.
Work on the project began in the summer of 2009. The Alberta
courts have a project to scan and add 6,000 decisions from the
Alberta Court of Appeal to their database and were very keen
to work with CanLII to provide the content for this historical
collection. The Court’s files will be produced in PDF which
does not allow for the possibility of providing links from them
to cited decisions.
CanLII will take the output from the court project and process
all files in order to produce properly structured MSWord files
that can be searched and hyperlinked. Cases will be deidentified
when needed and parallel citations will be compiled
for all of them. We will add to those the decisions from the SCC
on appeal from Alberta. All documents will then be published
on CanLII and copies of all files together with all metadata will
be returned to the court for publication on their website or
intranet should they so desire. We are still waiting for the court
to send us the cases so we can initiate the processing.
To date the following work on this project has been done:
Reflex - The compilation of Alberta Law Reports (1977 – 1984)
and Western Weekly Reports (1912 – 1984) has been completed.
Work on the Alberta Reports (1977-1984) will start shortly.
There are an estimated total of 30 volumes remaining.
Scanning – A total of 6,000 Alberta Queen’s Bench cases will
need to be scanned.
2,352 cases have already been done and of those 1,001 have
been OCR-ed and are ready for publication.
NEWFOUNDLAND & LABRADOR HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS PROJECT
CanLII obtained funding from the Law Foundation of
Newfoundland and Labrador to enhance the historical
coverage of the collections from Newfoundland and Labrador
Courts on the CanLII website. Currently, the NLCA database
goes back to 2001 with some partial coverage before that date.
The NLTD database starts in 2003. Some partial coverage is
also offered before that date. The cases have been selected and
scanning is in progress to fill in the gaps in these collections.
The Law Foundation has informed us that they are prepared to
consider a similar request in 2010.
GRANTS
We have been most successful in securing the support of the
law foundations, without whose generosity the historical
material would not have been added to the CanLII site. We
thank the NWT Law Foundation for its support of our CanLII
Funding.
CONFERENCES
Throughout the course of the year, CanLII was wellrepresented
at the CALL conference in Halifax in May 2009;
and, the ‚Law via the Internet Conference‛ hosted by SAFLII
in Durban, South Africa at the end of November 2009.
Northwest Territories content can be found on CanLII. It is
as close as your computer, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Photo © 2008 Shannon George (nee Hennigar)
14 | ARCTIC OBITER
LOOKING BACK
FLYING NORTH: Ten graduates of the University of New Brunswick’s law program are all under 35 years of age and are all practicing law in Yellowknife, NT. Front, left to right: Michael Reddy, Shirley
Walsh, Daniel Rideout, Karin Taylor, Erin Delaney. Back, left to right: Jeremy Walsh, Kelly McLaughlin, Nicole MacNeil, Lana Birch, David Hastings.
Ten Legal Eagles Fly North
SHORTAGE OF LAWYERS SENDS ADVENTUROUS GROUP OF ATLANTIC CANADIANS TO NORTHERN CANADA
By Amanda Fraser
Telegraph-Journal (New Brunswick, Sept. 08) - Yellowknife
might seem like an atypical city to further a law career. But
over the last two years, 10 law graduates from the University
of New Brunswick, six from the class of 2005, have flown
north of the 60th parallel for job opportunities with the territorial
or federal government, or in private practice.
The adventurous group of Atlantic Canadians is earning at
least twice as much as they did working on the East Coast and
are doing work only lawyers with five to 10 years of experience
would do back home.
"There's a shortage of lawyers up here so you can take on a lot
of work and get a lot of experience really fast," says Miramichi
native Jeremy Walsh. Walsh graduated in 2006 and is now a
legal aid lawyer with the Government of the Northwest Territories
(GNWT).
He and girlfriend Kelly McLaughlin, also from Miramichi,
arrived in Yellowknife this year on a cold and blistery day in
January.
Although leaving home was tough, McLaughlin wanted
"quick access" to a government job and found it with a position
as legislative counsel with the GNWT.
"The opportunity to get a higher salary when we're so fresh
out of school, and we're carrying a lot of debt, relieves quite a

JANUARY 2010 | 15
bit of pressure," she says.
McLaughlin and Walsh were the last of these 10 UNB grads to
arrive in the northern capital.
"It was certainly easier to get off the plane and not be completely
alone," says McLaughlin.
The UNB journey north began with David Hastings. Looking
for a change of scenery from his private practice job on Prince
Edward Island, he applied for and accepted a position with
the GNWT. When he told fellow associate and graduate Dan
Rideout, Rideout confessed that he had applied for a job with
the GNWT’s legal aid division. His fiancé, 2005 graduate Lana
Birch, had applied for a position with the territorial department
of justice.
From that point on, Birch was essentially the link and springboard
for questions for six of the remaining grads who gradually
made their way north.
Cambridge Bay, to name a few - that many people in this
country will never see.
Karen Lajoie, president of the Law Society of the Northwest
Territories, says it's fantastic the UNB grads have made their
way north. "If they could bring 10 more that would be excellent,"
she says.
The GNWT doesn't have a formal recruitment campaign but
recent grads who decide to practice law in the north can learn
a lot in a relatively short period of time.
"The minute you get called to the bar here, you have your
own files, your own responsibilities," says Lajoie. "It's really
what you make of it. You have a great independence and latitude
that you wouldn't have down south. You can identify
areas of interest and ask to have work given to you in those
areas. Within reason, you can tailor your work to what you're
interested in."
Despite an economic revival in New Brunswick with several
large energy projects on the horizon, the 10 agree that with
upwards of $80,000 in student loans, earning lawyer's salary
on the East Coast this early in their career isn't a realistic option.
And although they admit they came to Yellowknife to earn a
starting salary of more $80,000, "I don't know that money's the
number one reason we would stay," says Karin Taylor, a
Nova Scotian who's a lawyer with the federal Department of
Justice.
The 10 like-minded outdoor enthusiasts travel in the same
social circle and generally work eight-hour days. They love
that they can leave work behind and go cross country skiing
and snowshoeing in the winter, or head out camping and fishing
in the summer.
"Generally the people who are here all have very similar outlooks
on life and enjoy the same things, or else you wouldn't
be here," says Shirley Walsh, a corporate commercial lawyer
from Newfoundland who arrived in Yellowknife without
knowing her fellow UNBers were there.
The 10 are also getting the opportunity to travel to small communities
in Northern Canada - Inuvik, Tuktoyaktuk and

16 | ARCTIC OBITER
Resolving the Legal Education Disconnect
By Jordan Furlong, law21.ca
In conversation last week with a law school professor, the
subject of law firms’ tunnel vision when recruiting law
graduates came up. Firms focus relentlessly on the students
with the highest grades, the professor lamented, even though
these students can be one-dimensional performers with an
affinity for the academic environment and no competing
pressures outside the classroom. Contrast that with an older
student, perhaps with a couple of kids and a part-time job, with
or without a partner at home, who took an unorthodox route to
law school and perhaps struggles to compete with the younger
students — but who is still bright, hard-working, experienced
and capable of being a standout lawyer. The firms never even
look at graduates like that, and an opportunity is missed on
both sides.
At first blush, I agreed with this. I’ve complained myself
about the relatively unsophisticated approaches to
recruitment that many law firms still take. The students
most in demand are the top academic performers from
the ‚top‛ schools, even though there’s nothing beyond
the Cravath Theory to prove that students with high law
school marks will make the best lawyers. Does a fleet of
‚A‛s guarantee good lateral thinking, business acumen,
client awareness or collaborative work habits? Of course
not. Yet firms continue to flock to the academic stars
while overlooking graduates who despite (or even
because of) their unusual backgrounds would make
superb lawyers whom clients cherish. Typical narrowminded
law firms.
Then I was struck by this thought: ‚Hang on. Who’s
giving out these marks in the first place?‛ I turned back
to the prof to ask whether the schools don’t bear
responsibility of their own. If the older mother of two
with a part-time job is more deserving of employment
consideration than the 20-something with his nose in the books
all year, why is she at the bottom of the graduating class while
he’s at the top? Why doesn’t she get the A, if in fact she’s the
stronger candidate to succeed?
But even as I asked the question, I already knew the answer.
Law schools don’t assess students in
terms of their likely success at the bar.
They assess them the same way schools everywhere assess all
their students — by the satisfactory achievement of knowledge
standards, usually expressed in written form in short-term
exams and long-term papers. In the same way that IQ tests
measure only the taker’s ability to score well on such tests, so
too do good marks in law school only measure one’s ability to
complete law school courses to the school’s satisfaction. It has
nothing to do with whether you’ll be a good lawyer someday.
This is not a secret and it’s not a novel discovery. But the idea
that law school achievement augurs professional success
remains the fundamental assumption underlying law school,
and the bar has accepted it for decades. It’s time for that to
change.
The problem with using a law degree as the de facto qualification
to seek admission to the bar, and the disconnect between the
priorities of academia and the practicing bar, have never been
so clear. A good example is a report recently released by a task
force of the Federation of Law Societies of Canada on the
common-law degree. It is not, by most measures, a radical
document. It recommends that law societies in common-law

JANUARY 2010 | 17
jurisdictions adopt a uniform national requirement for entry to
their bar admission programs, which has never existed and
would certainly be nice to have. It does not recommend that law
schools transform their curriculum, nor does it go nearly as far
as the Best Practices Report, the Carnegie Report, or the ABA’s
recent decision to focus on output measures when certifying
law schools.
What the report does recommend is that every law school in
Canada teach a stand-alone ethics and professional
responsibility course, given the importance of these attributes to
the practice of law. This has not gone over well with the law
school community, to judge from comments in this Canadian
Lawyer article from, among others, widely respected law
professor Harry Arthurs:
[H]e finds it odd that the federation ‚took it upon
themselves to lay down what law schools should be
teaching and how they should use their resources and
what their job is in general. Law societies, much less the
federation, have no statutory power to tell law schools
what to teach or to what end they should spend their
scarce resources,‛ he says. < While Arthurs notes that
the law society has the right to say who it will admit to
practice, ‚they certainly can’t say to law schools, ‘You
are going to teach legal ethics, you are going to teach
certain skills competencies, and you are going to file a
report annually which provides us with detailed
information to demonstrate that you’re doing that.’‛
Professor Arthurs is, of course, absolutely right. Law schools
don’t report to law societies and are under no obligation to
teach anything to their students simply because the law
societies say so. His comments bring that fact into sharp relief
— and should, I think, serve as the launching pad for the
profession to rethink its traditional acceptance of the LL.B. or
J.D. as the default qualification for entry into the profession. The
first three years of its lawyers’ education and training are
almost entirely out of the bar’s hands. That should strike the
profession’s leaders as unacceptable and should galvanize them
into doing something to correct it.
Let me be clear that this is not a call to impinge on law schools’
academic freedom or to take over the schools’ operation. I spent
three years in law school, and running one is just about the last
thing I’d want to do — they’re complex institutions whose
management can be a challenging and thankless task. But they
are not designed to be lawyer training facilities, and they are not
practice-friendly. I still remember the law prof who told our
class, ‚A students become professors, B students become
judges, and C students become very rich lawyers.‛ I think he
meant it to reassure us not to worry so much about grades. But
it expressed perfectly the irrelevance of academic distinction to
professional success, the self-perpetuating nature of law school
achievement, and the remarkably arrogant belief that the
highest form of legal accomplishment is the teaching of law.
The bar’s role is not to run law schools — lawyer-run
institutions don’t tend to inspire confidence either. The bar’s
role is to ensure that its members receive the best training
available, in order to ensure the durability of professionalism
and high-quality service to clients. I think that obliges the bar to
look long and hard at the law degree and decide whether a
three-year program over which the bar has no control is an
appropriate prerequisite for practice. If the answer is yes, then
the profession should quit complaining about what law school
does and doesn’t do — lawyers don’t run law schools, and if
they don’t care to create an alternative, they have nothing more
to say on the subject. But if the answer is no, then the profession
is obliged to come up with a prerequisite that it believes does
provide appropriate preparation for admission to the bar, over
which it does exercise an appropriate degree of control, and for
which it bears complete responsibility (at considerable expense,
I might add).
Should that come to pass, law schools will suddenly face
competition in the lawyer training marketplace. And they’ll face
a choice themselves: to maintain their current focus and perhaps
risk a massive decline in enrollment and tuition, or to reengineer
themselves and compete directly with lawyer-operated
training centers. That’s not a happy choice, and I don’t wish it
on the schools gladly. But if and when the bar decides that it can
no longer responsibly delegate the first three years of legal
training to completely independent third parties, then that
choice will arrive. This is a difficult but necessary process we
can’t put off any longer.
Jordan Furlong is a partner with Edge International, a senior consultant
with Stem Legal, and an award-winning blogger at Law21: Dispatches
from a Legal Profession on the Brink (www.law21.ca), from which this
article is reproduced.

18 | ARCTIC OBITER
NWT DECISION DIGEST
SUPREME COURT OF
THE NORTHWEST
TERRITORIES
CHAMBERS
Knutson. v. Knutson
2010 NWTSC 01
Presiding: Justice D. M. Cooper
For the Plaintiff: K.R. Peterson, Q.C.
For the Defendant: M. Nightingale
Application by the Defendant to have
the Statement of Claim struck out under
Rule 129 of the Rules of Court on the
basis that the Statement of Claim
discloses no cause of action. Finding: a
claim at common law for alienation of
affection or interference with access to
children is not sustainable and discloses
no cause of action in tort, trusts or
contract.
DECISIONS CITED:
Steiner v. Canada, 1996 CanLII 3869 (F.C.)
Anderson v. Bell Mobility Inc., 2008 NWTSC 85
Fullowka v. Whitford, [1996] NWTJ No. 95 (C.A.)
Frame v. Smith, 1987 CarswellOnt 347 (SCC)
Critchley v. Critchley, (1988) 30 B.C.L.R. (2d) 316
Laraque v. Allooloo, (1992) 44 R.F.L. (3d) 10
Ipkarnek v. Sammurtok, 1996 CanLII 3658
(N.W.T.S.C.)
G.D. v. G.M., (1999) 47 R.F.L. (4th) 16
Pynn v. Pynn, 2009 NWTSC 15
Miglin v. Miglin, [2003] S.C.J. 21
Fraser v. Fraser, 1995 CanLII 1594 (B.C.S.C.)
Sturkenboom v. Davies [1996] A.J. 911
Curle v. Lowe [2004] O.J. 3789
REFERENCES CITED:
Fridman, The Law of Torts in Canada, 2nd ed., 2002
Family Law Reform Act, R.S.O. 1980, c. 152, s. 69(4)
Statute Law (Canadian Charter of Rights and
Freedoms) Amendment Act, S.N.W.T., c. 10(3rd)
1985
Children's Law Act, S.N.W.T. 1997, c. 14
Family Law Act, S.N.W.T. 1997, c. 18
APPLICATION TO QUASH
RESPONDENT'S DISCHARGE AT
PRELIMINARY INQUIRY
HMTQ. v. Cory Bekale
2010 NWTSC 02
Presiding: Justice V. A. Schuler
For the Applicant: G. Boyd
For the Respondent: J. Bran
Application granted. The preliminary
inquiry judge exceeded her jurisdiction
by acting arbitrarily when she held
there was no evidence that the alleged
offences took place in the Northwest
Territories, and discharge the
respondent on that basis. Matter
remitted back to the preliminary
inquiry judge.
CASES CITED:
United States of America v. Shephard, [1977] 2
S.C.R. 1067
R v. Arcuri, [2001] 2 S.C.R. 828
R. v. Dubois, [1986] 1 S.C.R. 366
RR v. Find, [2001] 1 S.C.R. 863
R. v. Krymowski, [2005] 1 S.C.R. 101
R. v. Potts (1982), 26 C.R. (3d) 252 (Ont. C.A.);
[1982] 1 S.C.R. xi, SCCA No. 301
R. v. Purcell, [1975] N.S.J. No. 332, 11 N.S.R. (2d)
309 (C.A.)
R. v. Zundel (No. 2) (1990), 53 C.C.C. (3d) 161
(Ont. C.A.), 75 C.C.C.C (3d) 449 (S.C.C.)
REFERENCES CITED:
McWilliams' Canadian Criminal Evidence, 4th ed.,
The Cartwright Group Ltd., 2009
NOTE: The NWT Legislative News is not a
comprehensive report of legislative
enactments. Only items considered to be
of interest to the Bar are listed.
IT’S ALL ONLINE!
Find Certified Bills, Consolidations of
Acts, Regulations and Court Rules, and
the Northwest Territories Gazette at the
GNWT website:
http://www.justice.gov.nt.ca/
Legislation/SearchLeg&Reg.shtml
NWT LEGISLATIVE NEWS
by Mark Aitken, Director of Legislation Division, GNWT Justice
ACCESS TO INFORMATION AND
PROTECTION OF PRIVACY ACT
The Access to Information and Protection
of Privacy Regulations were amended
on January 15, 2010 by regulation
registered as R-003-2010, to replace
the Schedule of public bodies that are
subject to the application of the Access
to Information and Protection of Privacy
Act.
WASTE REDUCTION AND
RECOVERY ACT
The Beverage Container Regulations
were made on January 13, 2010 by
regulation registered as R-001-2010,
requiring retailers - effective February
15, 2010 - to charge a partially
refundable surcharge on milk
containers.

JANUARY 2010 | 19
UPCOMING EVENTS
PRIVACY ISSUES IN CIVIL
LITIGATION
FEBRUARY 9, 2010 - 9:00am
CBA Online Presentation
Counsel and clients must pay close
attention to a variety of sources of
Canadian privacy law in the context
of civil litigation.
This primer on current privacy issues
in civil litigation will address all of
these questions and more. Our expert
speakers, Alex Cameron, Fasken
Martineau, and Dan Michaluk, Hicks
Morley LLP, will highlight privacy
issues at all stages in litigation.
NOTE: REGISTRATION FEES MAY APPLY.
HOW TO GET EVIDENCE OUT OR
KEEP EVIDENCE IN: SECTION 24
(2) OF THE CHARTER
FEBRUARY 19, 2010 - 12:00pm
Law Society Boardroom
Section 24(2) of the Canadian Charter
of Rights reads: "Where, in
proceedings under subsection (1), a
court concludes that evidence was
obtained in a manner that infringed or
denied any rights or freedoms
guaranteed by this Charter, the
evidence shall be excluded if it is
established that, having regard to all
the circumstances, the admission of it
in the proceedings would bring the
administration of justice into
disrepute."
Join the Hon. Judge Schmaltz as she
unravels the "new" section 24(2) test
introduced by the Supreme Court of
Canada last summer, complete with
tips and thoughts on how to present a
winning
Charter-based argument,
whether as the prosecution or defense.
MEETINGS
FAMILY LAW SECTION
FEBRUARY 11, 2010 - 12:00pm
Law Society Boardroom
CBA-NT ANNUAL MID-WINTER
MARCH 1, 2010 - 12:15pm
Champagne Room, Yellowknife

20 | ARCTIC OBITER
S.C.C. UPDATE
HERE IS A SUMMARY OF ALL APPEALS AND ALL LEAVES TO APPEAL (ONES GRANTED – SO YOU KNOW
WHAT AREAS OF LAW THE S.C.C. WILL SOON BE DEALING WITH IN CASE ANY MAY BE AN AREA OF
LAW YOU’RE LITIGATING/ADVISING/MANAGING). FOR LEAVES, I’VE SPECIFICALLY ADDED IN BOTH
THE DATE THE S.C.C. GRANTED LEAVE AND THE DATE OF THE C.A. JUDGMENT BELOW, IN CASE YOU
WANT TO TRACK AND CHECK OUT THE C.A. JUDGMENT.
APPEAL JUDGMENTS
CRIMINAL LAW: ABANDONMENT
R. v. Bird (Alta. C.A., February 10, 2009) (33054)
2009 SCC 60 | December 18, 2009
In the context of a gang rape and
homicide the S.C.C. agreed with the
dissenting judge in the Court of Appeal
that the evidence was incapable of
s u p p o r t i n g t h e d e f e n c e o f
abandonment.
CRIMINAL LAW: ‘HYBRID’
OFFENCES
R. v. Dudley (March 4, 2008) (32603)
2009 SCC 58 | December 17, 2009
The S.C.C. held:
where the Crown elects to proceed
by way of summary conviction, the
offence is treated in all respects as a
summary conviction offence
the proceedings must be instituted
within six months unless the parties
otherwise agree
where the trial has proceeded before
a summary conviction court without
an express election by the Crown, it
will be presumed the Crown has
elected to proceed summarily
where it is discovered before
adjudication on the merits that the
proceedings were instituted more
than six months after the alleged
offence, a mistrial should be declared
unless the parties agree to waive the
limitation period
where an appeal by the accused is
allowed on the sole ground the
proceedings were statute-barred and
conducted without consent, a
conviction at trial should be set aside
in either instance, the Crown may
proceed afresh by indictment except
where the court is satisfied that this
would amount to an abuse of process
an appeal by the Crown against an
acquittal on the ground that the
proceedings were statute barred will
not lie, since it was the Crown's
responsibility to ensure that the
proceedings were properly
instituted.
DEFAMATION: "RESPONSIBLE
JOURNALISM" DEFENCE
Quan v. Cusson (November 9, 2006) (32420)
2009 SCC 62 | December 22, 2009
The SCC held that there is a
‚responsible journalism‛ defence in
Ontario law, including for bloggers, the
Chief Justice writing ‚The judge decides
whether the publication was on a matter
of public interest. If so, the jury then
decides whether the standard of
responsibility has been met‛.
DEFAMATION: "RESPONSIBLE
JOURNALISM" DEFENCE
Grant v. Torstar Corp. (November 28, 2008)(32932)
2009 SCC 61 | December 22, 2009
See summary above.
ENVIRONMENTAL LAW: LEVEL OF
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT
MiningWatch Canada v. Canada (Fisheries and
Oceans) (Fed. C.A., June 13, 2008) (32797)
2010 SCC 02 | January 21, 2010
In the context of a copper and gold
mining and milling operation in B.C.,
and after the B.C Environmental
Assessment Office issued a certificate,
the federal Department of Fisheries and
Oceans initially stated that a
comprehensive study was required, but
subsequently scoped the project so as to
exclude the mine and mill, concluding
that a comprehensive study was no
longer necessary, and only screening
was.
An environmental group
(MiningWatch) filed for judicial review.
The SCC ultimately allowed that
application for judicial review:
the Act and Regulations require that
the environmental assessment track
be determined according to the
project as proposed
it is generally not open to a federal
authority to change that level.
INSURANCE: GETTING PAID FOR
GETTING LAID OR THE SCREWING
YOU GET FOR THE SCREWING
YOU GOT
Co-operators Life Insurance Co. v. Gibbens
(B.C.C.A., April 15, 2008) (32677)
2009 SCC 59 | December 18, 2009
A trade union member was employed
as a high pressure water blaster, and
became a member of the International
Brotherhood of Painters and Allied
Trades, whereby after a threshold
number of hours were performed he

JANUARY 2010 | 21
was covered by Policy No. G.6639
issued by the Co-operators Life
Insurance Company.
A term of the
policy stated in part that the Applicant
pay a benefit for paraplegia or loss of
use of both legs upon proof that the loss
results "directly and independently of
all other causes from bodily injuries
occasioned solely through external,
violent and accidental means".
The
Respondent had unprotected sex with
three women during January &
February of 2003 and became infected
with Herpes Simplex, initially causing
"pelvic discomfort", later transverse
myelitis (inflammation of the spinal
cord), resulting in paralysis midabdomen
down. The B.C.S.C. ordered
Co-operators to pay $200,000.
The
B.C.C.A. let his award stand. The S.C.C.
had to decide between: getting paid for
getting laid or the screwing you get for
the screwing you got, and determined it
should be the latter, overturning the
award.
LEAVES TO APPEAL
GRANTED
ACCESS TO INFORMATION
Information Commissioner of Canada v. Minister of
Transport Canada (Fed. C.A., May 27, 2009)
(33296)
December 17, 2009
Can the Minister of Transport’s
itinerary and/or meeting schedules be
accessed.
ACCESS TO INFORMATION
Information Commissioner of Canada v.
Commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted
Police (Fed C.A., May 29, 2009) (33297)
December 17, 2009
Can the PM’s daily agenda be accessed.
ACCESS TO INFORMATION
Information Commissioner of Canada v. Prime
Minister of Canada (Fed. C.A., May 29, 2009)
(33299)
December 17, 2009
Same summary as above.
ACCESS TO INFORMATION
Information Commissioner of Canada v. Minister of
National Defence (Fed. C.A., May 27, 2009) (33300)
December 17, 2009
Can minutes or documents produced
for management meetings with the
Minister of National Defence be
accessed.
CLASS ACTIONS: SHARE
PROSPECTUS DISCLOSURE
Sharbern Holding Inc. v. Vancouver Airport Centre
Ltd. et al. (B.C.C.A., May 22, 2009) (33280)
December 17, 2009
Should a class action on the basis of a
fiduciary duty being owed to investors
be permitted to proceed.
COMMON LAW: ASSET DIVISION;
SUPPORT; COMPENSATION FOR
UNJUST ENRICHMENT
Vanasse v. Seguin (Ont. C.A., July 29, 2009)
(33358)
December 17, 2009
On the facts of this case (a common law
relationship from 1994-2005 with two
children) what is the appropriate asset
division, child and spousal support, as
well as compensation for unjust
enrichment.
LIFE INSURANCE IN QUEBEC:
TIMING OF DEATH
Suzanne Laniel v. Jocelyn Tessier (Que. C.A.,
August 17, 2009) (33382)
January 21, 2010
What is the legal status where
documents have been sent to the
insurer, but the applicant dies
accidentally before the policy takes
effect, 51 days after signing the
application and authorizing a bank
transfer.
PHARMACEUTICALS
Merck Frosst Canada Ltd. v. Minister of Health (Fed.
C.A., May 26, 2009) (33320)
January 21, 2010
There is a publication ban in this case
where the issues include: access to
scientific information provided by a
manufacturer of a new drug; who bears
the burden of proving that access
applies; whether Health Canada may
disclose third party information without
notice.
PHARMACEUTICALS
Merck Frosst Canada Ltd. v. Minister of Health (Fed.
C.A., May 26, 2009) (33290)
January 21, 2010
Same summary as above.
TORTS IN QUEBEC: LIMITATION
PERIODS FOR SEXUAL ASSAULT
S.C. v. Roman Catholic Archbishop of Québec (Que.
C.A., July 8, 2009) (33360)
January 21, 2010
There is a publication ban in this case
where the issues include the starting
point for limitation periods where the
victim informed parents but the parents
chose not to bring proceedings at that
time.
Eugene Meehan, Q.C., is a Litigation Partner
at Lang Michener, Ottawa. His primary area
of work is with the Supreme Court of Canada,
mainly assisting other lawyers in taking cases
(both Leave to Appeal and Appeal). He also
does Public Law generally. For previous
summaries, and to keep up-to-date with all
SCC appeals and leave to appeals, contact
Eugene at emeehan@langmichener.ca.

22 | ARCTIC OBITER
NOTICES
A member of the public is investigating the whereabouts of any information regarding the will and
estate for the following family member:
HAGEN, Chester Arthur
BORN: 24 January 1940, Aklavik, NT
DIED: 20 December 2009, Yellowknife, NT
Members with any knowledge of the above are asked to contact Linda Whitford, Executive Director of
the Law Society of the Northwest Territories, at (867) 873-3828 or linda.whitford@lawsociety.nt.ca.
The Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories
Court of Appeal of the Northwest Territories
SCHEDULING NOTICE
TO MEMBERS OF THE BAR
PLEASE TAKE NOTICE THAT THE NEXT SUPREME COURT
GENERAL CRIMINAL LIST WILL BE CALLED ON:
Thursday March 18 th 2010 at 14:00 hrs
NOTE:
AT YELLOWKNIFE NT
IN COURTROOM #1
1. All Counsel (Crown & Defence) with pending matters are to attend the
Calling of the List, either personally or by agent.
2. For those pending matters in which the Accused person has elected trial
by Judge and Jury, counsel (both Crown & Defence) are to advise the
presiding Judge at the time of, or prior to, the Calling of the List whether
the matter will indeed be proceeding as a contested Jury Trial and, if so,
the estimated duration of the Jury Trial.
3. For those with Summary Conviction Appeals, please be reminded of
Rule 117 of the Criminal Rules of the NWT.
NOTICE TO MEMBERS OF THE BAR
PLEASE TAKE NOTICE THAT THE LIST OF CASES PENDING
AND THE GENERAL APPEAL LIST WILL BE CALLED BY A JUDGE
IN CHAMBERS ON
Thursday March 18th, 2010 at 1500 hrs
at Yellowknife NT
IN COURTROOM #1
for the Court of Appeal Assize commencing
April 19, 2010
COUNSEL ARE REMINDED OF THE FOLLOWING NEW FILING
DEADLINES FOR APPEALS FILED AFTER MARCH 1, 2006:
CIVIL APPEALS and CRIMINAL APPEALS
a) Appeal books must be filed not later than 12 weeks from the date
on which the notice of appeal was filed.
b) Appellant’s Factums must be filed within 60 days of filing of the
appeal book or within 7 months of the notice of appeal whichever
date is earliest.
c) Respondent’s factum must be filed within 30 days of being served
the appellant’s factum.
d) Only those appeals that have been perfected as at March 18 th , 2010

JANUARY 2010 | 23
RESOURCES
The Law Society
of the NWT and
the
B r a n c h
For Lawyers as for Athletes, There Is
No ‘I’ in ‘Team’
Law Firm Innovation: Will You Lead
or Follow?
How Lawyers Lose Big Clients—and
Advice on How to Keep Yours
Find it all here:
www.cba.org/PracticeLink
CBA—NWT
h a v e
partnered with Human Solutions to offer
our members free, private and
confidential professional counseling and
consultation for the resolution of personal
issues or work related difficulties.
This service is available 24 hours a day, 7
days a week. Call any time.
1-800-663-1142
WHAT’S NEW ON
CBA PRACTICELINK
Practice Advisors
The Practice Advisors from the
Law Society of Alberta are
available to discuss legal, ethical and
practice concerns, and personal matters
such as stress and addiction. Members
are invited to contact the Practice
Advisors at any time:
Ross McLeod (Edmonton)
Tel:
780-412-2301 or
1-800-661-2135
Fax: 780-424-1620
ross.mcleod@lawsocietyalberta.com
Nancy Carruthers (Calgary)
Tel:
403-229-4714 or
1-866-440-4640
Fax: 403-228-1728
nancy.carruthers@lawsocietyalberta.com
The Canadian Legal Information Institute
Making Canadian law accessible for
free on the internet.
www.canlii.org
Mentor Program
Members from Northwest
Territories and Nunavut are
invited to call the office of the Practice
Advisor and ask for the Mentor Program.
Please be advised that not all of the
mentors may be totally familiar with NT
statutes and practice. There is no cost.
1-888-272-8839
The Legal Profession
Assistance Conference (LPAC) of the
Canadian Bar Assocation is dedicated to
helping lawyers, judges, law students and
their families with personal, emotional,
health and lifestyle issues through a
network of Lawyer Assistance Programs,
a national 24-hour helpline and Provincial
Programs. If you need assistance, please
call the helpline or visit their website.
1-800-667-5722
www.lpac.ca

THE LAWYER REFERRAL SERVICE
A SIMPLE, FREE WAY
TO CONNECT YOU WITH THE PUBLIC
The Lawyer Referral Service pairs the public with
lawyers, improving the public’s access to proper legal
advice and representation and access to justice.
Call it free advertising. Call it a public service.
Whatever you call it, it works.
With an average of 5 requests a day, the Service
proves people are looking for legal advice.
Add your name to the Lawyer Referral Service today.
Help yourself and the public.
IT’S AS EASY AS 1, 2, 3!
Visit lawsociety.nt.ca today.
This Service is available to the public via web and telephone. The complete list of lawyers who have volunteered for the Service is available on the Law
Society website (www.lawsociety.nt.ca) and is organized by practice area. By telephone, callers with access to the internet are first referred to the complete
list online, and then referred to three lawyers chosen randomly from the same lists. There is no fee for the public or for lawyers to use this Service.