E-Brief Sept - Oct - The Advocates' Society

(Continued from page 1)continues a tradition in Ontario of having one of the most progressive systems of appointing judicial officers.By vetting the appointments through the Appointments Advisory Committee and restricting the appointments to recommendedand highly-recommended candidates, the system becomes more open and transparent. This process helps to remove the perceptionof political influence as a significant determinant in the appointments process. The addition of minimum qualification standardsensures that the men and women who become justices of the peace will instil confidence in those who come before them.As advocates, we know that the most important person in any hearing is the person who loses his or her case. The test of a justicesystem is whether that person believes that he or she has been fairly dealt with. Only in a system where this belief is almostuniversal is there respect for the rule of law. These changes go some distance to meeting this challenge.The introduction of a more accountable and responsive discipline process is another aspect of the bill that encourages citizens toremain confident in our system of justice. Restructuring and expanding the role of the Justices of the Peace Review Councilensures a system through which people who believe they have been unfairly treated can address their concerns. By adopting ascheme of review that is similar to that in place for justices of the Ontario Court of Justice, our province remains at the forefront inaddressing complaints against the judiciary.The strength of the proposals lies in the ability to balance fairness to both the complainant and the justice against whom a complaintis made, and in the flexibility of the remedies available to the Review Council, which range from a warning to the justice toa recommendation of removal from office. This flexibility allows for matters of legitimate concern to be addressed in an appropriatemanner with fairness to all concerned.The amendments to the Law Society Act dealing with paralegal representation in Schedule CThe Advocates' Society also supports the proposed amendments to the Law Society Act dealing with paralegal regulation, and hasbeen among the strongest proponents of this type of legislation. Our members have seen the dangers of not having the provisionof legal services by paralegals regulated. One of our board members recounted an incident in which he was required to reverse an(Continued on page 3)Need credible, expert testimony?You need us on your team.*PricewaterhouseCoopers has experienced professionals in litigationsupport, business valuations, investigative and forensic accounting,computer forensics, and insurance claims. We objectively analyzecomplex financial matters and testify to our findings in court. As aglobal organization with member firms in 148 countries, we invite youto connect with us to discuss your unique issues.Joel AdelsteinJim ForbesKen GoodwinSteve HendersonRon JacksonKristian KnibutatHelen Mallovy Hicks416 941 8205905 972 4105416 814 5760416 941 8328613 755 4343416 815 5083416 814 5739Wesley MarkBob MartinJohn SeigelKas RehmanPeter VakofBruce WebsterBruce Webster416 814 5877416 941 8306416 815 5087613 755 4328416 814 5841416 815 5250519 640 8009*connectedthinking© 2006 PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Canada. “PricewaterhouseCoopers” refers to PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Canada, an Ontario limited liabilitypartnership, or, as the context requires, the network of member firms of PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited, each of which is a separateand independent legal entity. *connectedthinking is a trademark of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.2VOLUME 18, NO. 1, SUMMER 2006