ARCTIC OBITER

4 | ARCTIC OBITER
BAR NOTES
Business as Usual
To me, Fall has always been a time to focus, put pen to paper
and get down to business. Perhaps it’s a remnant of school days,
now more distant than I would like to admit, or a desire to bury
my head in the mounds of paper on my desk to ignore those first
flurries of winter outside my window. Nonetheless, it is
business as usual, and there certainly is a fair amount of business
in the Northwest Territories.
The kickoff of this fall season, the
commencement of my presidential year
coincided with the 6th annual Presidents’
Dinner, hosted by myself and Sheila
McPherson. The Dinner, catered by World
Catering at the Champagne Room, was
accented by two guest speakers this year:
Laura K. Stevens, QC, and the Hon. Judge
Janet L. Dixon. The lively exchange between
our guest speakers touched on the realities of
practicing law, and the interaction both
between members of the Bar and between the
Bench and Bar. The speakers were insightful
and entertaining, and I don’t think I’m entirely Malinda Kellett
biased to report that the evening was a success.
Shortly thereafter was the territorial election, in which we saw a
number of returning members of the legislative assembly, but
also some new faces. This culminated on October 26th with the
election of our new Premier, Bob MacLeod, and the executive
council. I wish to extend my congratulations to all the elected
members; I look forward to this 17th Legislative Assembly.
Other exciting news for the Northwest Territories and our Bar is
the recent appointment of the Hon. Karan M. Shaner as a Justice
of the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories. Madam
Justice Shaner has been a member of the Law Society of the
NWT since 1991, and a member of the Canadian Bar Association.
As many of you know, she began her career in the north with
Johnson, Gullberg, Wiest and MacPherson (now our Lawson
Lundell LLP) in 1991, before joining the Department of Justice -
first as legal counsel before moving on to Director, Legal
Division, in 2003 and Assistant Deputy Minister in 2008. Some
of us, however, may know her as the self-proclaimed (and
tongue-in-cheek) “Failed Mommy”, sharing the joys and often
humorous frustrations of being a working mom. All of which
brings to mind the address Ms. Shaner did for the CBA’s
Woman Lawyers Forum a couple of years ago. The focus of her
talk (and others’) was her personal recipe for success which,
summarized, was to find your inspiration or passion in work,
and let that direct your path to success. I think Madam Justice
Shaner is an excellent role model in that
respect, and I wish her my sincere
congratulations and best wishes in her new
role.
The advent of fall also marks the return of
continuing professional development
programming. I know our local sections of the
Canadian Bar Association are busy planning
some great sessions for this year. In addition,
on the national level, the Skilled Lawyer Series
is returning with another great line up of
exceptional webinars. While the first series
was directed at general topics, this second
series focuses on more narrow and detailed
skill sets and areas of law. The original series
was a great success both locally and nationally,
and we look forward to more of the same this year.
Finally, in getting into gear and looking forward to the year
ahead, I would be remiss if I did not pause to acknowledge and
reflect upon the local tragedies of this summer. I know I’m not
the only one who watched and read with a sinking heart the
news of the First Air, Arctic Sunwest and Air Tindi tragedies. I
want to extend my sincere condolences to the families, friends
and colleagues of the deceased. There are no words. The only
comfort in such hardship that I could see was the reaction of the
community and how our northerners pulled together to support
those affected. We live in a part of Canada that can be, and often
is, characterized by its remoteness, and many of us are far away
from our extended families. In such circumstances, community
is essential. In fact, the idea of community in the legal
profession was one of the main attractions of the CBA for me. It
was for this reason I originally became a member, and why I am
still happy to be involved. I hope many of you feel the same
way, and I look forward to working with you this year.