ARCTIC OBITER

JULY/AUGUST 2009 | 3
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
Hard work and communication is the answer
APPARENTLY, I’M GOING TO REMEMBER THE
SUMMER OF 2009 AS THE SUMMER OF OUR
COLLECTIVE DISCONTENT.
How else can I explain the conversations I have had with
several resident members during the past few months?
Conversations that sought to divide the membership
along any number of arbitrary lines, pitting public
against private bar; barristers vs. solicitors; resident vs.
non-resident; volunteers against those who
keep to themselves, et cetera.
I don’t intend to dwell upon each conversation,
as they were private in nature, but while the
subject matter may have changed each time,
the thrust remained the same: some group
among us is getting more or doing less and
that isn’t fair and ought to be changed.
I don’t know if the continued economic
downturn and the pressures that have inevitably been
brought to bear have played some part in this fractious
attitude. I don’t know if the total lack of a sustained
summer in Yellowknife this year has created some
seasonal affective disorder that sought out to afflict
lawyers in particular. I don’t know what else might have
triggered such a confluence of seemingly random
conversations, all centered on the same theme. But as we
enter the fall season, and face a renewed up-taking of
work and responsibility, I would like to think we can put
this summer behind us and work on mitigating our
discontent through communication and hard work.
Karen Lajoie
I especially want to be clear about one thing: as
members, each of us, regardless of our career choices
and professional backgrounds, share the same
responsibilities, obligations, privileges, and rights as
every other member. No one is getting more than
anyone else. If we start to parse our colleagues’ actions
and seek to pit one group against another, we are
finished.
This Law Society is grappling with some serious issues
in our jurisdiction, not least of which is the crisis in our
private bar. Today, we have fewer resident private bar
members than a decade ago, and the work just
keeps coming. We have to serve the public
interest and not our own, and we can only do
that by working together on the issues
confronting us, instead of seeking to
emphasize our differences.
Fall also means another election is coming for
Law Society executive positions. I hope that
each of you will consider running come
October, when the nomination papers will be
circulated. This is an especially good opportunity for
those of you with creative ideas and visions of what the
Law Society could be doing, to step forward and lead for
a couple of years.
On a completely unrelated note, I’m going to take this
opportunity to remind you that we will have Supreme
Court of Canada Justice Ian Binnie with us in early
September for several days. Justice Binnie will be
presenting a lunch-time CLE on Friday, September 11,
and will be the guest of honour at the 4 th Annual
Presidents’ Dinner the following evening. Space for the
dinner event in particular is limited, and I encourage all
of you to book your tickets early to avoid
disappointment when it inevitably sells out. I look
forward to seeing you all there.