Peel Briefs Winter Issue February 2006 Number 1 Published by: EXCEL Desk Top Publishing & Printing 15 Glebe Cr., Bramalea, Ont. 905-792-3914 The Newsletter of the Peel Law Association CALENDAR OF UPCOMING EVENTS INSIDE: Regular Reports: Bencher Report .................................. 2 Comings & Goings ............................. 3 Event Calendar ................................... 1 Librarian's Report ............................... 4 President's Message .......................... 1 Articles: Abusive Partner: Client & Witness .. 8 Beef Night 2005 ............................. 10 Benefits Of Membership ................. 11 Congratulations Justice Bourque ....... 2 Criminal Practice Development .......... 7 Family Law Project ......................... 4 Farewell John ................................. 5 Real Estate Info Update ..................... 9 Peel Mock Trial Tournament ........... 8 PLA AGM 2006 ............................... 6 PLA Board of Directors .................. 6 Recent Swearing-In Ceremonies .... 4 Report On Real Estate Fraud .......... 10 S/C Bench & Bar Committee Report 9 Ski Day 2006 .................................. 12 Thank You Justice Durno ............... 4 What The Defence Needs To Know 5 When Worlds Collide ...................... 11 Winter Social 2005 ......................... 11 PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE by Mark Skursky Dead Line for Next Issue May 1, 2006 PEEL LAW ASSOCIATION A. Grenville and William Davis Court House 7755 Hurontario Street Suite 160 Brampton, Ontario L6W 4T1 Tel: (905) 451-2924 Fax: (905) 451-3137 Editor Beverley Martel Managing Editor Melissa Firth Contributors David Acri Peter Bourque Melissa Firth Vince Houvardas Beverley Martel Gerard Michaud Angela Moebs Sherri Moss Bonnie Racz Mark Skursky Angie Vaccaro Photos David Acri Beverley Martel Melissa Firth PEEL LAW ASSOCIATION Peel Mock Trial Tournament March 2 and March 10, 2006 at the Brampton Courthouse ❅❅❅❅❅ Peel Criminal Lawyers Association (PCLA) next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, March 21, 2006 ❅❅❅❅❅ Peel Family Lawyers’ Forum on Problem Access Thursday, March 30, 2006 ❅❅❅❅❅ Continuing Legal Education Seminar What the Defence Needs to Know, Part III Thursday, April 6, 2006 ❅❅❅❅❅ LSUC - Real Estate Consultation Process Spring 2006 ~ TBA A short while ago I received an evaluation of the Criminal Staff Offices-First Year Report, submitted to Legal Aid Ontario. Those of you out there who practice in the busy and congested criminal courts may wish to review that document. It clearly has ramifications for practice here in Peel in the future. It does get me thinking again that a point that I made several months ago should be pursued by both the Peel Law Association and the Peel Criminal Lawyers Association in the future; the expansion of the Brampton/Peel Courthouse complex. There is no question that the complex was cut back from it’s original larger plan. It is equally clear that this was shortsighted and our region is now paying dearly for that. The courthouse is exceptionally busy; crowded in fact. This is true for both the civil and criminal areas. But, as a recent article in one of the lawyers’ newspapers indicated, there are not enough judicial resources in Ontario. This is no more critically seen than in Peel. I would urge all lawyers in this region to write to the government and call for an expansion of our courthouse complex. It may require a number of years but it must begin somewhere. In the past year a number of new courthouses have opened in other less congested areas of the province. I was more than pleased recently to be asked to attend, as representative of the Peel Law Association, at the swearing in ceremony of three new Justices of the Peace. I am pleased to report that we have Her Worship Jeannie I. Anand, Her Worship Milagros Eustaquio-Syme, His Worship Michael Frederiksen and Her Worship Debra Ann Houston now sitting. I was pleased to have attended for several reasons. It was a pleasure to see gathered together many of the excellent judicial resources that our area has. It was also an opportunity to make a suggestion that despite this wealth of judicial talent we are under staffed in the judicial area. That we need more judges is plain to anyone looking for court dates in Peel. I was particularly pleased by the additional ceremonial touch brought to this event by Her Worship Huston. Present at the swearing in were Richard Assinewai and Kathy Fortin, native elders who offered an opening prayer and smudging ceremony. It went a long way to display a very touching element in the multicultural diversity of our area. Between November 11-13th I was in Toronto for the fall plenary of the County and District Law Presidents’ Association where I met with many of the other Association heads to discuss a FROM THE EDITOR Yes we’re late (with this issue)!! No apologies or excuses, we held up this issue to allow us to report on the AGM. continued on page 8 ....
Transcript
Peel BriefsWinter IssueFebruary 2006Number 1
Published by:EXCEL
Desk Top Publishing & Printing15 Glebe Cr., Bramalea, Ont.
Peel Mock Trial TournamentMarch 2 and March 10, 2006at the Brampton Courthouse
❅❅❅❅❅
Peel Criminal Lawyers Association (PCLA)next meeting is scheduled for
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
❅❅❅❅❅
Peel Family Lawyers’ Forumon Problem Access
Thursday, March 30, 2006
❅❅❅❅❅
Continuing Legal Education SeminarWhat the Defence Needs to Know, Part III
Thursday, April 6, 2006
❅❅❅❅❅
LSUC - Real Estate Consultation ProcessSpring 2006 ~ TBA
A short while ago I received an evaluationof the Criminal Staff Offices-First Year Report,submitted to Legal Aid Ontario. Those of youout there who practice in the busy and congestedcriminal courts may wish to review thatdocument. It clearly has ramifications forpractice here in Peel in the future.
It does get me thinking again that a pointthat I made several months ago should be pursuedby both the Peel Law Association and the PeelCriminal Lawyers Association in the future;the expansion of the Brampton/Peel Courthousecomplex. There is no question that the complexwas cut back from it’s original larger plan. Itis equally clear that this was shortsighted andour region is now paying dearly for that. Thecourthouse is exceptionally busy; crowded infact. This is true for both the civil and criminalareas. But, as a recent article in one of thelawyers’ newspapers indicated, there are notenough judicial resources in Ontario. This is nomore critically seen than in Peel. I would urgeall lawyers in this region to write to thegovernment and call for an expansion of ourcourthouse complex. It may require a numberof years but it must begin somewhere. In thepast year a number of new courthouses haveopened in other less congested areas of theprovince.
I was more than pleased recently to beasked to attend, as representative of the PeelLaw Association, at the swearing in ceremonyof three new Justices of the Peace. I am pleasedto report that we have Her Worship Jeannie I.Anand, Her Worship Milagros Eustaquio-Syme,His Worship Michael Frederiksen and Her
Worship Debra Ann Houston now sitting. I waspleased to have attended for several reasons. Itwas a pleasure to see gathered together many ofthe excellent judicial resources that our area has.It was also an opportunity to make a suggestionthat despite this wealth of judicial talent we areunder staffed in the judicial area. That we needmore judges is plain to anyone looking for courtdates in Peel. I was particularly pleased by theadditional ceremonial touch brought to this eventby Her Worship Huston. Present at the swearingin were Richard Assinewai and Kathy Fortin,native elders who offered an opening prayer andsmudging ceremony. It went a long way to displaya very touching element in the multiculturaldiversity of our area.
Between November 11-13th I was in Torontofor the fall plenary of the County and DistrictLaw Presidents’ Association where I met withmany of the other Association heads to discuss a
FROM THE EDITORYes we’re late (with this issue)!!
No apologies or excuses, we held up thisissue to allow us to report on the AGM.
continued on page 8 ....
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BENCHER REPORT - #13by Peter N. Bourque
TREASURER’S ELECTION
Treasurer George Hunter, who in my opinion has servedus well and who was an energetic and thoughtful leader ofthe Bench, felt compelled to resign for personal reasons.
I knew George Hunter from my days on the executive ofthe County and District Law Presidents’ Association andGeorge was always a good friend of the lawyers in thecounties and was very cognizant of the need to maintainstrong law associations anchored by strong libraries.
As a result of George Hunter’s resignation the By-lawsof the Law Society provided for the Acting Treasurer to bethe existing Chair of Finance. That happened to be ClaytonRuby and he has been acting in that capacity since lateNovember. After George Hunter’s resignation becamepermanent in January, Convocation convened this monthand an election for a new permanent treasurer will take placeon February 23rd.
At present there are two candidates namely ClaytonRuby and Gavin MacKenzie. Clayton Ruby is very wellknown to the profession and has been a Bencher of the LawSociety for longer than I have been a lawyer (over twenty-eight years).
Gavin MacKenzie is a civil litigator from Toronto andhas served on most of the senior portfolios in his long tenyears as a Bencher. He is presently Chair of LibraryCo andas a result, he is very aware of the strong ties that thecounties have to their libraries and the importance of thelibrary in the County Law Association system to the lawyersin this Region.
The election will take place on February 23rd and peopleI am sure will watch it with some interest.
BAR ADMISSION COURSE
We are now in the year for the commencement for thenew Bar Admission Course procedures. It is difficult for theprofession to be aware of the incredible amount of work thathas been done by the Law Society staff, some of the LawSociety Benchers and a huge number of the practisingprofession who have been consulted and have actively workedon the designing of the programs and the specifics of thecourse materials and exams.
It may be of interest to those who have some doubtsabout the new structure, to know that virtually all of theINNS of Court in the United Kingdom and the Law Societyof the United Kingdom use a very similar style of the examprocedure for their entrance to the Bar. I believe that theBar Admission Course will be a great success and I would
CONGRATULATIONSJUSTICE BOURQUEby Bev Martel
Congratulations are in order on the appointment of Peter
N. Bourque as Judge of the Ontario Court of Justice presiding
in Newmarket. He received “the call” from Michael Bryant
February 2nd and was sworn in March 3rd (no pressure there
to wind up a busy practice!). It seems like just yesterday
that Peel Briefs ran the news of his election as Regional
Bencher for the Central West Region. While Justice Bourque
was not a PLA member (he practiced in Orangeville) he had
long taken a keen interest in Peel and during his short term
energetically represented our interests at Convocation.
After completing his undergraduate studies at York
University Justice Bourque attended Osgoode Hall Law School,
graduating in 1976. Though he articled in Toronto he quickly
set up shop in Orangeville. Justice Bourque was a sole
practitioner, focusing mainly on litigation, family and criminal.
He sat on the executive of the County and District Law
President’s Association from 1995 to 2001 and was one of
the founding members of Library Co.
Peter’s report at the Annual General Meeting on February
23rd was up to date, informative and most compelling. With
his “Bencher’s Report” Justice Bourque contributed regularly
to Peel Briefs and as Editor I will miss him. As a colleague I
wish him all the best in his new career. Our loss is surely
Newmarket’s gain.
Peter Bourque (as he then was)
continued on page 3 ....
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COMINGS ANDGOINGSby Angela Moebs
Christopher Andree has moved his practice. Mr. Andreeis now with Lawrence Lawrence Stevenson LLP located at43 Queen Street W., Brampton, L6Y 1L9, telephone: 905-451-3040, fax: 905-451-5058.
Gordon Bobesich has moved his practice. Mr. Bobesichis now located at 704-10 Kingsbridge Garden Circle,Mississauga, L5R 3K6, telephone: 905-502-3461.
John De Ponte has moved his practice. Mr. De Ponte isnow located at 61 Windsor Road, Toronto, M9R 3G6,telephone: 416-242-6350.
James Dixon has moved his practice. Mr. Dixon is nowlocated at 160 Main Street S., P.O. Box 92509, Brampton,L6W 4R1, telephone: 905-270-5462, fax: 905-452-8636.
Ranbir Mann has moved his practice. Mr. Mann isnow located at 211-4515 Ebenezer Road, Brampton, L6P2K7, telephone: 905-913-0447, fax: 905-913-0448.
Patrician Nelson has moved her practice. Ms. Nelsonis with Kain & Ball located at 240-1900 Dundas Street W.,Mississauga, L5K 1P9, telephone: 905-855-4888, fax:905-855-3760.
Pretam Purewal has moved her practice. Ms. Purewalis now located at 1-2995 Sandalwood Parkway E., Brampton,L6R 3J6, telephone: 905-799-6111, fax: 905-799-6105.
Rachel White has moved her practice. Ms. White isnow located at 1-2624 Dunwin Drive, Mississauga,L5L 3T5, telephone: 905-828-2247, fax: 905-828-4311.
congratulate Diana Myles, the Director of Professional
Development and Competence for coordinating the new course.
LAWYERS’ FUND FOR CLIENT COMPENSATION
It has been my pleasure since August, to be Chair of this
Committee. The provision of client compensation is, in my
opinion, one of the most important things we do as a self
regulating profession. At present, the Fund has approximately
18 Million dollars in it in order to cover unforeseen defalcations.
While the amount of grants paid in any year can vary quite
widely, the average grants paid out is usually between 2 1/2
and 3 Million dollars a year. As Chair of the Committee, I
get to vet the significant claims and payouts. They make
distressing reading and would cause any lawyer concern.
There appears to be a growing trend that the defalcations
occur in the area of Estates.
For the past fifteen years, the maximum payout to any
person in such a situation is $100,000.00. The Committee is
going to start looking at this figure with some care. The
ravages of inflation would make this number I think unduly
small but of course, we don’t wish to tamper with any
provisions of the plan which could lead to financial distress
either for the plan, or for the Members. I believe that there
is sufficient resources in the fund and sufficient protections
to allow an increase in the payments in order to keep pace
with these inflationary pressures.
GOODBYE
As I write this bulletin, I know it will be the last bulletin
I will write, as I have had the pleasure of accepting an offer
to serve on the Ontario Court of Justice in Newmarket. It is
difficult to sum up twenty-eight years of practice and several
years of service to the Bar in CDLPA and as a Bencher of
the Law Society in just a few words.
I have enjoyed the practice of law immensely. The
profession is a noble and honourable one. We lawyers do
difficult work for people in difficult circumstances. We
apply all out talents and energies and skills to solving the
problems of our clients within the context and framework of
law. Our profession is essential to the maintenance of a
strong democracy and a healthy social fabric.
Besides that, the practice of law is fun.
... continued from page 2
BENCHER REPORT - #13
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Just a few items of business to take care of in order tokick off the new year! First, thank you to those who haverecently participated in the training sessions held in the PLALibrary. Presentations and hands-on training was conductedfor online products including CCH Online, Quicklaw andLawSource. If you were unable to attend one of the sessions,additional seminars will be arranged over the coming months.Each session took approximately ninety minutes. Be sure toask Library Staff about acquiring your FREE Quicklawpassword and other online resources for conducting bothprimary and secondary research.
As mentioned in recent issues, there is a document deliveryand inter-library loan service available to all lawyers. ThePeel Law Association Library has agreed to participate inthis program and have satisfied a number of requests fromother Ontario courthouse libraries as well as placing requestson behalf of our own lawyers since advertising the servicelast year. Your requests for materials, along with suggestionsfor items to be purchased for the library collection are vitalto the planning and sustained viability of the collection.Please continue to share your needs with the library staff.
LIBRARIAN’S REPORTby Melissa Firth
The Library Staff are planning an orientation of theLibrary and courthouse aimed toward articling students, newcalls and lawyers new to the Region of Peel. The purpose ofthe orientation is to assist with the available resources in theLibrary and the many benefits of membership. We will beproviding a tour of the building and hope to have presentersfrom the Judiciary, Court Administration and Legal Aid Ontarioin addition to distributing materials to assist with the generallyexpected protocols and professional conduct in the Regionof Peel.
By now all PLA members should have received theirmembership renewal packages. The benefits of membershipand services offered by the library were listed in a pamphletenclosed within each package. Please be aware that yourprivileges as a PLA Member expired on Tuesday, February28, 2006 including discounts on upcoming CLE programmes,overnight use of the library collection and your inclusion onthe PLA website “Find a Lawyer” service will be eliminated- again, just to name a few! Please contact the Library Staffat 905-451-2924 for further information.
On Monday, January 16th, 2006 four new Justices ofthe Peace were sworn into the Ontario Court of Justice. Thenewest JPs for Brampton include Her Worship Jeannie I.Anand, Her Worship Milagros Eustaquio-Sme, His WorshipMichael Frederiksen and Her Worship Debra Ann Huston.
Congratulations to the PLA’s own Beverley Martel whowas sworn in as Deputy Judge, Small Claims Court in theRegion of Peel on January 19th, 2006. She joins anothercurrent PLA Board member David Acri as well as other suchillustrious former Board members Tom Carey, Rob Filkin,Ken McCabe, Marvin Kurz, and Ian Latimer to name a few.
THANK YOU JUSTICEDURNO!
The Honourable Mr. S. Bruce Durno, Regional SeniorJustice, recently donated his former robe and vest to the PeelLaw Association. The robe and vest along with tabs will bemade available to members of the Peel Law Association whohave forgotten to attend the courthouse with the requiredapparel. Just another benefit of membership!
FAMILY LAW PROJECT- VOLUNTEER LAW STUDENTSby Gerard J. Michaud
I am pleased to announce that volunteer law schoolstudents, made available through Pro Bono Students of Canada,in co-operation with Legal Aid Ontario, will now be workingat the Family Law Information Session (“FLIC”) at the A.Grenville and William Davis Courthouse. They will beassisting clients with the drafting of family court documentsfor the Ontario Court of Justice and the Superior Court ofJustice. (They will not give legal advice.) The students areavailable on Mondays, Wednesday mornings and Fridaymornings. Clients must first consult with an Advice Lawyerat the FLIC and must be financially eligible for this service.
The students are from Osgoode Hall Law School (YorkUniversity) and University of Toronto Law School and arein their second or third year.
This service should be particularly useful to clients whomust fill out papers for emergency motions, refraining motionsor simple motions to change support. It is hoped the extensionof the Family Law Program to Peel will significantly improvethe services received at the FLIC and reduce some of thebarriers in the family justice system faced by clients of verymodest financial means.
I hope you will join with me in welcoming these lawstudents, our future colleagues.
WHAT THE DEFENCENEEDS TO KNOW - PART IIby Vince Houvardas
The PLA Legal Education Committee’s “What TheDefence Needs To Know-Part II” took place in court room212 at the Brampton courthouse on November 17, 2005.
Mr. John Pearson, Director of Crown Operations, addressedthe defence bar directly on the implementation of the CriminalCase Management Protocol. Highlights of the protocol includecase management by Judges to take control of criminal caseswhich have become lengthy in court appearances withoutprogress, or have otherwise fallen off the rails. Other aspects,such as the immediate availability of the crown synopsis todefence counsel at the bail stage, are designed to streamlinecriminal cases. A copy of the protocol is available forviewing at the library.
Defence counsel and adjunct professor with QueensUniversity, Mr. Dhaman Kasoon teamed up with formerimmigration adjudicator David Benning for a question andreply type presentation. This was an effective demonstrationof the implications of criminal law happenings on immigrationissues. This topic will be addressed further in “What TheDefence Needs To Know-Part III’ coming this spring.
Other presenters included Ms. Kelly Gorman of theDepartment of Justice and defence counsel Ms. Marcy Segal.Ms. Gorman provided a helpful overview and insight intothe new preliminary inquiry rules while Ms. Segal gave atutorial on effective drafting for criminal law. If Marcy’spresentation was not enough to help you on your next Charterapplication, there are about 100 pages of Marcy’s precedentsavailable to the defence bar in the library (duplication fee is$40.00 for PLA members and $60.00 for non-members).
Special thanks to all the presenters from the PLA educationcommittee.
Be sure to mark your calenders for “What the DefenceNeeds to Know-Part III” which is scheduled for April 6,2006.
FAREWELL JOHN !by Bev Martel
Past PLA Treasurer and Director, John Buote takes hisleave having finished his third-term on the Board. Hiscontributions to the Finance Committee and the PersonnelCommittee, as well as his input at our monthly meetings,will make filling his shoes a tough job indeed .
We’ll miss him.
Examination for DiscoveryQuestionings
Cross-ExaminationsMediation/Arbitrations
Online Booking
www.accardi-miller.com
Phone: 905-456-3100Fax: 905-456-3109
197 County Court Blvd., Suite 302
Brampton, ON L6W 4P6
John Buote bids farewell
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The Peel Law Association Annual General Meeting washeld February 23rd, 2006 at the Brampton Golf Club. Chairedby Mark Skursky (President), the members approved theagenda and the Minutes of last year’s meeting before movingon to the business of the evening. Reports were presented byVince Houvardas on behalf of the Peel Criminal LawyersAssociation, by John O’Kane, for the By -Law Subcommitteeand Wes May, Strategic Planning Committee.
Treasurer John Buote tabled the Association’s FinancialStatements and Budget and the members appointed the Auditorsfor the upcoming year. The bottom line is our Association ison solid financial ground.
Mark delivered his president’s report, much of which isreprised in the written version in this issue. Peter Bourque,our Regional Bencher (as he then was) addressed a host ofcurrent concerns facing the profession, ranging from LegalAid to the regulation of paralegals. (See his “Benchers Report”herein.)
Three of our existing Directors were up for re- election(Sherri Moss, John O’Kane and Carman McClelland). PatriciaSzwed, a newly called lawyer with Keyser Mason Ball wasnominated prior to the AGM, and Marvin Kurz, (a formerDirector) was nominated from the floor by yours truly. Therebeing five nominations for five positions, the candidateswere acclaimed. Congratulations all!
By 6:30 p.m. the meeting was over and the membersadjourned to the bar for a short but enjoyable cocktail hour.Approximately sixty members reserved for dinner but judgingby that empty table there were a few no-shows. The Judiciarywas represented by The Honourable Madam Justice JulietBaldock, The Honourable Madam Justice Kathleen Hawkeand The Honourable Mr. Justice David Wake.
Dinner was preceded by Suzanne Balpatacky saying grace,and Vince Houvardas proposing a toast to the Queen and toCanada. After dinner Mark introduced Ormand Murphy,Chair of the County and District Law President’s Associationwho entertained us with his humour and sobered us with hiscomments regarding LibraryCo and the challenges facing allthe County and District law libraries. Unlike Peter and Mark,there is no written contribution from Orm contained in thisissue and those of you who were absent missed a valuablespeech.
At evening’s end Bonnie Racz and Frances Woodwelcomed our new Directors, David Acri expressed ourappreciation of Mark’s service during his two terms as Presidentand I had the privilege of thanking John Buote for his threeterms as Director and Treasurer.
PEEL LAW ASSOCIATIONBOARD OF DIRECTORS
2006- 2007Here’s the list, your new Board
for the next twelve months.
MARK SKURSKYDAVID ACRI
BEVERLEY A. MARTELFRANCES WOOD
BONNIE RACZSHERRI MOSS *
CARMEN McCLELLAND *SUZANNE BALPATAKY
VINCE HOUVARDASGERARD MICHAUD
STEPHEN BECKMARVIN KURZ *
PATRICIA SZWED*JOHN O’KANE *DON LEFEUVRE
* denotes Board members elected(or re-elected) February 23, 2006
PLA AGM 2006by Bev Martel
Past PLA President (Thee Honourable Madam Justice Juliet Baldock)and President in waiting David Acri
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... continued from page 6
PLA AGM 2006
Pursuant to a recent direction from John Pearson, Directorof Crown Operations, all Peel Regional Police Packages areto include a third copy of the synopsis for Legal Aid DutyCounsel.
This is an important development, as in the past, dutycounsel (or newly retained counsel) did not have the benefitof the synopsis of the Crown’s allegations at the bail stage.
CRIMINAL PRACTICE DEVELOPMENTby Vince Houvardas
This made it difficult both in terms of preparing for bail andreceiving the client’s instructions.
Duty counsel and private counsel alike should insist ona copy of the synopsis at the earliest stage of proceedings.This is pursuant to the implementation of the Criminal CaseManagement Protocol.
PLA Board of Directors 2005 - 2006
PLA Board of Directors 2006 - 2007
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2006 PEEL MOCK TRIALTOURNAMENT
A. Grenville and William Davis CourthouseMarch 2nd and March 10th, 2006
Many of the schools participating in thetournament have expressed an interest in
acquiring criminal codes (2003 and later versions),which you may have for donation.
The Public Legal Education Committee is alsolooking for donations of items (firm trinkets
or otherwise) to be given as gifts to participants.
If you have any extra criminal codes fordonation or other items as gifts for the
Peel Mock Trial Tournament,please drop them off in the PLA Library.
Thank you in advance,The Public Legal Education Committee
THE ABUSED PARTNER:AS CLIENT & WITNESSby Gerard J. Michaud
On November 16, 2005, the Peel Committee AgainstWoman Abuse (“PCAWA”), in cooperation with the PeelLaw Association, presented a seminar aimed at providingfamily and criminal lawyers insight into the impact of familyviolence and the effect on individuals who may be a client ora witness. (I had the honour of helping to organize thisseminar, as co-chair of the PLA’S CLE Committee and amember of the Legal Workgroup of the PCAWA.)
PCAWA is a formal collaborative of over 30 agenciesand institutions that provide services to abused women andtheir children in Peel Region. PCAWA’s agency representativeswork collaboratively to promote an effective and co-ordinatedresponse to women abuse in the Region of Peel. Its membersinclude community service agencies, women’s shelters, police,children’s aid, victim services and others. It is the largestcollaborative of its kind in Ontario.
The keynote speaker was the well-known family lawyerCarole Curtis. She spoke from her years of experiencerepresenting abused women in family law disputes. Despitethe title of this seminar, her view was that this was,fundamentally, a women abuse problem.
Some of the points brought home:* There are no characteristics or predictors of which
women will be abused. They come from all social, economic,cultural, religious, educational, employment and psychologicalbackgrounds.
* The goal of an abuser is to control his victim, theabuser works to remove the victim’s ability to make decisions.In representing such a client, a lawyer must deal with theclient’s inability to make decisions or new assertion of herauthority.
* Abusers will often use the court process to harass theirformer partner and exercise control over her. Sometimes,they are successful in using litigation, economics and thechildren to drive their former partner back into the relationship.
PCAWA announced that they will be presenting a secondseminar in 2006, focused on information for those lawyerswho represent abused women in family law matters.
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As many of you are aware, title insurance companies arecontinually looking at ways to reduce fraud. We now havereceived a directive to obtain photo identification on vendorsin a transaction. The directive is unclear as to what we arerequired to do with the information.
Generally, the photo id of a purchaser goes to the bank.As solicitor for a purchaser, should you request a copy ofphoto id from the vendors? Does this go to the bank aswell? As solicitors for either side, we should be cognizantof the Privacy legislation, and how we are potentially breachingit by faxing our client’s id here and there.
At the moment it seems that as vendor’s solicitor it isbest to get the id and hold it in the file. You can confirm thatyou have it, or amend your direction re title to includesomething like “We confirm that we have provided oursolicitors with satisfactory photo identification”.
Also, as you are probably aware Brampton tax departmentis no longer giving verbals. As title insurance requiresconfirmation of taxes, we are left with either the old systemof mailing in a request and paying a fee, which is not alwayspractical, or coming up with something else. At the momentI am putting a special clause in my requisition letter that thevendor shall provide proof of payment of taxes.
I am open to better suggestions on these issues, and willcirculate any great ideas!
SUPERIOR COURT BENCHAND BAR COMMITTEEREPORTby David Acri
Our Bench and Bar Committee met on February 22,2006. As usual, the Family Law Rules were front andcenter.
The memorandum regarding Case Conferences that waspromised some time ago has been delivered. There is goingto be a greater emphasis on ensuring that it is productive,and greater penalties, against lawyers as well, if it is not.
Many of you will have received a Status Court notice.It seems that the computer system was saving them up sinceJune, and sent out almost 800 notices recently. The court isstaggering under the load. Approximately 40 per week willnow go out. It is based on Family Law Rule 39(11), whichrequires that matters be set down for trial within 200 days.Note Rule 3(5), allowing for a motion to extend the time.
The procedures on motions to vary under Rule 15 willchange. More on that in the future.
It looks like Commercial Court might be up and runningby the fall. It seems that it will rely on Rule 38, wherebyApplications will be preferred.
Finally, you are reminded that there is a box at the courtoffice where estate matters can be filed without waiting.
The next meeting is in May. If you have any questionsor comments, please email me at [email protected].
host of ongoing issues. Chief amongst them was the LibraryCobudget for 2006 and the Library Services Survey. The budgetpresented by LibraryCo was passed by LSUC and the Surveyis now complete. Many of those present were not happywith either of these items. The courthouse libraries’ papercollections will be maintained but not enhanced by fundsfrom LibraryCo in future and any such funds will have to beraised by the local associations. There is no question thatLibraryCo continues to present a case for primarily computerlibrary services. Many of the delegates present continue topush, as I have in the past, for a maintenance and enhancementof the ‘bricks and mortar’ library as well as its continuedstaffing. Future computer services only development seemedto be the less than hidden agenda behind the survey whichmany of you completed in the fall of 2005. There wereabout 3,100 respondents; approximately 1,200 of which camefrom Toronto. But there was a computer only response. Thisis one of the reasons why others, like myself, objected to thelimitations presented by the manner in which the survey wasrolled out to the bar across the Province. I, amongst many,believe that some of the results obtained from the survey aretainted and any results should be viewed somewhat skeptically.
Orm Murphy, chair of the County and District LawPresidents’ Association, an excellent speaker, has been theguest speaker at our 2006 Annual General Meeting heldFebruary 23rd, 2006. He laid out some of the other ongoingissues raised at the CDLPA Plenary which the bar is facingin the near future, including paralegals, real estate fraud, thesmall practice and sole practitioners report and others. Iappreciated the opportunity to hear him. A complete reportof my attendance at the CDLPA Plenary is available in thelibrary as is the County and District Law Presidents Associationofficial report.
Finally, Ski Day took place February 17, 2006 whichseems to have been enjoyed by all in attendance and with theseries of new continuing legal education seminars beingrolled out, it looks to be an active time for the association.
I would also like to thank all those who have beensupportive of the Association’s efforts over the past yearand hope that many of you out there will take an active partin the work of the Association in future by becoming involvedwith some of the many committees which are working hardon behalf of all the lawyers in our area.
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE... continued from page 1
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REPORT ON THE REALESTATE FRAUD SEMINARby David Acri
The Real Estate Fraud Seminar was held on December14, 2005. Jonathan Speigel spoke first regarding a case inwhich he was involved, T-D Bank v. Jiang, (2003), 63 O.R.(3d) 764 SCJ. Here an innocent owner of property wasdefrauded of his title, and the bank was defrauded of theirmortgage. Eventually, the Land Titles Assurance Fund wascalled upon for compensation. Mr. Speigel also gave someexcellent advice about discharging line of credit mortgages.It is important to request in writing that the line also beclosed when delivering the cheque to pay out, to avoid asituation where a vendor continues to draw on an active lineafter closing.
Lorne Shuman, Director of Legal Services at FirstCanadian Title, and Audrey Nielsen, the local AccountManager, attended with materials. Mr. Shuman provided anumber of helpful hints. Fraudsters generally impersonate aperson, using fake ID that sometimes includes full identitytheft. When asking for ID, as we all should be doing inevery case, note the following: 1) Passports are the best ID,as they are the hardest to fake; 2) SIN cards in the 900 seriesare generally issued to non-residents and expire, and 3)don’t take a drivers license at face value - they are relativelyeasy to fake! Check that the last 6 digits are the person’sbirth date. Check the expiry date on the back - it is usuallythe person’s birth date. There should be a hologram of atrillium on the front. And most amazingly, there is a linebeneath the word “Ontario Drivers License”. If you look atit in a magnifying glass, it is actually the word “Ontario”written over and over in micro-print, and is apparently veryhard to reproduce. When copying any ID, use the enlargeron the photocopier and copy both sides.
There is approximately $300 million in fraud in Canada.Although the title insurance companies are working hard toreduce that, and have had some success, the police are doingvery little. However we, to avoid claims, should be diligentand vigilant by looking out for some of the “fraud flags” -private deals with no realtor, quick closings, deposits paiddirectly to a vendor, a vendor that can’t provide a deed/survey/tax bill, contact by cell phone only or “don’t call myspouse”, vacant and tenanted properties, and frequent orrecent activity on title. Remember, for the relatively littlethat we make on a deal, if it feels wrong, you don’t have todo the deal. Use your common sense!
There was some good news. Provided that the lawyerhas exercised due diligence, it appears that the title insurancepolicy should cover any fraudulent loss. As well, although itappears that it is mortgage brokers more so than real estateagents that are involved in fraud, revisions to the Real Estateand Business Brokers Act, ss 34 - 40, are coming into effectin the spring to put more responsibility on them.
Finally, it is possible to obtain a policy for your clientsif they purchased their home a number of years ago and donot have title insurance.
Thank you to the speakers and all the participants.
BEEF NIGHT 2005 -A TRIBUTE TO TOM CAREYby Sherri Moss
It was a cold and stormy winter night.....one of the worststorms of 2005, but that didn’t stop the crowds of lawyers,defence attorneys, Crown attorneys and Judges from crowdinginto the Rotary Glen to attend the annual Beef Night presentedby Peel Criminal Lawyers Association. On any given year itcan be a roast or a toast. On this occasion, it was a handsdown genuine display of appreciation, fondness and respectfor one of Peel’s finest advocates. Tom Carey’s career isremarkable. His volunteer work in the community is soextensive that there would not be room on this page to list allhis endeavors. He has also established himself as adistinguished defence lawyer, part time Crown, former LawSociety bencher, founding father of the Criminal Lawyers’Association and Peel Briefs and a real treasure in the Regionof Peel.
It was a very special evening where Tom and his peersshared a night of laughter and treasured memories and anopportunity to say thank you to a member who continues tobe a pillar of our legal community; a gentleman through andthrough. Tom, you’re a hard act to follow. You makepracticing law something to be proud of.
Beef Night is a very special event where the attorneysand judges can meet, leave our adversarial positions asideand go on with the business of being true friends. I lookforward to next year’s beef night and Mike O’Neil’s selectionof the year.
Tom Carey and Sherri Moss
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WINTER SOCIAL 2005by Your Social Committee
The photos say it all. On December 1st, 2005 a festivegroup of PLA members and their children, along with courtservices staff and a few members of the Judiciary met in theLawyers’ Lounge to enjoy light refreshments, seasonal
WHEN WORLDS COLLIDEby Bonnie Racz
The Peel Law Association Continuing Legal EducationCommittee presented another informative session on November10, 2005, “When Worlds Collide, Family & Criminal Law[with Child Protection Law for further complications].”
Gerard Michaud, and Frances Wood (CLE CommitteeCo-Chairs) gave a joint presentation on proceedings in thecriminal courts resulting from Family Court Orders. Thiswas followed by a lively discussion with Panel Members:The Honourable Justice Clark (OCJ Criminal), James Dixon,Criminal Defence Counsel, Stephen Laufer, Assistant Crown,Marvin Kurz, Family and CAS lawyer and Sonia Khemani,Legal Counsel from the Peel Children’s Aid. Panel memberswere given fact situations and answered specific questions.
This session was well attended by both the family andcriminal bar, another indication that our Home GrownContinuing Legal Education programs are educational, useful,accessible and offer remarkably good value.
Being a member of the Peel Law Association has numerousbenefits, not all of which appear on the sign up form.
I recently agreed to do a Case Conference for a colleaguefrom out of town. I was told it was at 10 am on March 20.
At about 10:20 am, on February 20, I received a callfrom her assistant advising that it had been moved to 11 am.I asked my assistant to change it in my book, at which pointshe noticed that the Brief said February 20. In other words,I was supposed to be there already!
Being an office day with just appointments, I wore ashirt and tie, but no jacket. Not having enough time to gohome to change, I raced to the court house preparing myapologies for my sartorial shortcomings for the presidingjudge.
Upon arrival at court I luckily ran into Stephen Beck,PLA member and director. Noting that his jacket had theright colours in it, I asked to borrow it, and made it to theCase Conference, properly dressed and just in time!
Membership does have its benefits.
PS: Robes and tabs are available from the Library formembers who find themselves short.
BENEFITS OF MEMBERSHIPby David Acri
decorations, music and each other’s company.With Spring around the corner watch for news of our
next courthouse get together.
PLA Director Carman McClelland andwife Carol Smith holding daughter Emma
along with friend Cheryl
PLA Director Vince Houvardas,wife Sandra along with twins Michael and Dean
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Editorial PolicyPeel Briefs is a publication of the Peel Law Association, distributed free to paid up members. It is published four times a year. Members are encouraged to express their views on topics
addressed in Peel Briefs and to raise other issues for discussion.
Any opinions or views published in Peel Briefs are those of the contributor and are not necessarily the opinions of the Association or the Editorial Board and neither the Associationnor the Editorial Board accepts any responsibility for them. Copyright for articles published in Peel Briefs remains with the authors of the individual article and written requests for permissionto reproduce such articles should be made directly to the author. The Editorial Board reserves the right to publish or not. Letters to the Editor must be signed. Publication of any advertisementor enclosures should not be deemed an endorsement of the product or service advertised.
SKI DAY 2006by David Acri
The Peel Law Association Ski Day was held on February17, 2006. Despite drastic predictions of snow, hale, sleet,freezing rain, and slick roads, a few brave souls ventured upto Caledon Ski Club for what turned out to be an excellentday! Despite the wind chill, the sun shone all day, the snow
conditions were good, and lunch was great. Due to a coupleof no-shows (you know who you are) there was enough foodleft over for an afternoon snack! It just goes to show thatyou can’t always trust the weather report! I hope to see a lotmore of you next year.
