ARCTIC OBITER

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011 | 3
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
Agreeing on Mobility
Summer is definitely far behind us and winter is fast approaching
by the looks of the hoarfrost on the trees this morning. It’s been a
busy fall and there is much to report.
I was privileged to be able to attend the Federation of Law
Societies meeting in PEI in September, together with Cayley
Thomas, Kelly MacLaughlin and Linda
Whitford. For us, one issue dominated the
national agenda; namely, the Territorial
Mobility Agreement (TMA) which expires
December 31, 2011. As members know, the
NWT, Yukon and Nunavut are not part of the
national mobility protocol. Rather, all three
territories entered into a separate agreement
almost five years ago which recognized the
unique challenges faced by northern law
societies as they attempt to govern
independently and in the public interest. The
TMA has worked well and the three northern
territories have sought an indefinite extension
to the Agreement. Clearly, the challenges
which led to the signing of the TMA persist in
Sheila MacPherson
all three territories and all three law societies
were strongly of the view that we were not ready
for full national mobility at this time. Our request has been before
the Federation of Law Societies for some time now and we
continue to work very actively on this issue behind the scenes. We
had hoped to have a resolution of this issue during the September
meetings, however, there are still some issues to be dealt with at
the Federation level. We remain, as they say, cautiously
optimistic that the TMA will be extended indefinitely. If not, you
will most assuredly receive an update as to what that means to
you as a member of our law society.
On the national stage at the Federation meetings, I was also struck
by how much all law societies, and the Federation, are doing with
respect to harmonizing processes and rules across the
country. Discipline is one key area where a pilot project with
respect to quality standards is being tested and admissions
standards are not far behind. There is no doubt that a more
uniform approach to governance is the objective of the Federation
and that will pose some real benefits and challenges to smaller
jurisdictions.
Locally, and wearing my hat as a co-organizer, the Law Society
hosted its 3rd bi-annual Intensive Trial Advocacy Program in
September. The Program was fully subscribed and, by all
accounts, very well received by the students and instructors
alike. We had an amazing group of students – with a significant
number from Nunavut – and an enthusiastic and skilled group of
instructors and judges. Kudos and
appreciation go out to so many different
people, especially Sarah Kay and Ben
Russo, who dedicated countless hours to the
organization of the course and materials. We
were privileged to again be permitted the use of
the court facilities and both the Supreme Court
and Territorial Court judges were remarkable
with respect to their participation and support
for the program. I simply cannot say enough
about the support of the judiciary for this
course.
Finally, also held in September was the
President’s Dinner, an event co-hosted by the
Law Society and CBA’s NWT Branch. As
President of the Law Society, I was honoured to
be able to present the inaugural President’s
Award to Ian Rennie. Ian has dedicated many hours of volunteer
work to the Law Society, to the legal profession and to the public
through his work with the Rules Committee, the Uniform Law
Conference of Canada, and the many Law Society committees of
which he is a member. In his quiet and very unassuming way,
his contributions have been legendary.
We are in the midst of elections for the Executive of the Law
Society and preparing for the AGM in early December. Please
ensure that you come out and participate at the meeting. Without
the active support and involvement of all members, an
independent and functioning law society could not be
possible. And, on that note, none of what I do would be possible
without the support of the Law Society staff. Our incredibly
talented Linda Whitford, who exhausts all of us with her physical
energy and institutional history, Ben Russo, who has done so
much to make our communications and CLE possible, and our
“newbie”, Shannon Hogan, who so pleasantly deals with all of
us. Thank you for all that you do for the Executive and the
membership.