DEAN JOBB HALIFAX
Nova Scotians hurt in auto
accidents should have the right
to sue for higher damages for
minor injuries and should be
entitled to improved medical
benefits and compensation, a
provincial review of automobile
insurance has concluded.
The recommendations, if
accepted, would overhaul an
insurance regime that imposes a
$7,500 cap on compensation for
soft-tissue injuries. The cap was
set at $2,500 in 2003 but the
New Democratic government
tripled it shortly after taking
office in 2009.
The government also commissioned the review by Halifax consultant Ron L’Esperance, who
confirmed the cap achieved its
goal of reducing insurance
rates—by an estimated 23 per
cent between 2003 and 2009.
Rates are now in line with those
of the other Atlantic provinces
and Quebec and “significantly
lower” than in Western Canada.
But rate relief came at a cost,
as accident victims with injuries
deemed minor lost the right to
sue for additional damages. “It is
important that Nova Scotians
ultimately have choice,” notes the
report, which calls on the govern-
ment to work with insurance
companies and brokers to develop
new insurance policies that offer
an unrestricted right to sue.
ernment to phase-in such coverage, to ensure consumers understand what they’re paying for. He
also recommended an actuarial
study to gauge how much full-tort coverage should cost, a process he estimated would take up
to 18 months.
“If the price is $200
or $300, then you’re
excluding the market
that really needs it,
because they can’t
afford it.
Wagner says the Trial Lawyers
Association also lobbied for better
post-accident benefits and
L’Esperance agreed Nova Scotia’s
rates are too low and “out of step”
with those in other provinces.
The weekly payment of $140
for lost income, for instance, has
not been increased since the mid-
1970s. While higher benefits are
available at a premium, the report
found few Nova Scotia consumers
take advantage of this option.
The report recommends that
basic policies provide $50,000
for rehabilitation — up from
$25,000 — and an additional
$1,500 for funeral expenses.
Death benefits for loss of the head
of the household, or his or her
spouse, would increase to
$25,000 from $10,000.
The minor-injury cap is
indexed it to inflation and now
stands at $7,665. Its scope was
narrowed in 2010 to include only
strains, sprains and whiplash-associated injuries that don’t
cause long-term impairment or
pain.
Under the 2003 cap, an injury
that left no “permanent serious
disfigurement,” no “serious
impairment of an important bodily function,” or resolved itself
with a year of the accident was
considered minor — a definition
lawyers for accident victims
argued captured many serious
injuries.
N.S. Finance Minister Graham
Steele, who’s responsible for the
provincial Insurance Act, says the
government will review the report
and could introduce legislative
changes in the fall. The goal, he
said in a press release, is to create
an auto insurance system that
balances “fairness, affordability
and stability of rates.” n
Visible minority lawyers make up
less than seven per cent of the
leadership of large law firms— and
have no presence as top Crowns,
according to a recent study of
diversity amongst lawyers, judges,
governing bodies and law schools in
the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).
According to Ryerson University’s
Diversity Institute, in 2011 visible
minorities remain underrepresented in
all legal sub-sectors in the
GTA— where 40 per cent of the
residents are visible minorities
(Statistics Canada previously reported
in 2006 that only 14 per cent of
practising lawyers in Toronto are
visible minorities).
Of 2,410 lawyer-leaders and judges
the study looked at, just 6. 8 per cent
are visible minorities. Governing bodies
and law schools have the highest
rates of visible minority leadership at
10. 5 per cent. Among judges, 8. 3 per
cent are visible minorities, followed by
large law firm partners at 6. 6 per cent.
The study says there are no visible
minority lawyers among Crowns and
deputy Crowns in the GTA.
Mental health court
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CONTENTS
NEWS
A PARTNER who alleges age
discrimination at his firm can be
considered an “employee” says a
B.C. court.....................................1
JUDICIAL MEDIATION: a closer
look ............................................ 11
RICHES, MCKENZIE & HERBERT LLP
PATENTS, TRADE MARKS, COPYRIGHT, LITIGATION
BARRISTERS & SOLICITORS - PATENT & TRADE MARK AGENTS
QUEBEC COURT of Appeal clarifies
arbitrators’ powers..................... 12
THE DUTY to report an accident
cannot incriminate a drinking and
driving suspect, says Ontario’s
top court.................................. 1
Environmental Law
ARE ODOUR units good
science? ..................................... 13
PAUL HERBERT, B.SC., PHM., R.PH, LL.B., J.D., PH.D.
DAN HITCHCOCK, B.ENG. (ELEC. ENG.), LL.B.
JEFF PERVANAS, B.A.SC. (ENG. SCI.), LL.B.
BOBBY ATHWAL, B.A.SC. (MECH. ENG.), M.A.SC., LL.B., J.D.
BYRON THOM, B.A.SC. (ENG. SCI.), LL.B.
BRAN T LATHAM, B.A.SC. B.SC. (CHEM. ENG.), LL.B.
GARY M. TRAVIS, B.SC. (GEOL.), LL.B.
MICHAEL ADAMS, B.ENG. (MECH. ENG.), B.SC., LL.B.
MICHAEL YUN, B.SC. (BIOCHEM), J.D.
TRADE MARK AGENT MARTA TANDORI CHENG
ETHICAL OIL — or snake oil?..... 14
2 BLOOR ST. EAST, SUITE 1800
TORONTO, ONTARIO M4W 3J5
ESTABLISHED 1887
TELEPHONE: (416) 961-5000
FAX: (416) 961-5081
E-MAIL: riches@patents-toronto.com
A NOVA Scotia insurance review
calls for better benefits ................2
ALBERTA’S NEW carbon capture
and storage regulation ............... 15
A REFUGEE child is entitled to
counsel in a Hague Convention
application, says the Ontario Court
of Appeal...................................... 3
Manitoba plans to divert mentally
ill accused from jails into treatment.
Justice Minister Andrew Swan
announced June 7 that the province
will invest more than $600,000 to
create a specialized “problem-solving
court” to work with accused whose
mental-health issues are the likely
cause of their criminal behaviour. The
court is slated to start operating in
the winter of 2011. The province will
also expand mental-health services to
better support such accused.
“By diverting people with mental
illness from jails into treatment, we
will reduce reoffence rates,” Swan
said in a press release.
The government will also provide
education related to mental illnesses
and substance abuse for judges,
prosecutors, defence counsel, police
and corrections staff. The mental-
health court will focus on those who
are accused of less serious crimes.
BUSINESS & CAREERS
BRIDGING THE work, play gap.. 21
Hate crimes up
DIVERSITY STILL a challenge.... 22
LAWYERS IN Nova Scotia will get
a new code of conduct ................ 3
LAWYER LURED north ................ 4
OPINION
JEFFREY MILLER....................... 5
ALICE WOOLLEY ....................... 8
FOCUS
Alternative Dispute Resolution
ARBITRATION: GOOD, fast and
cheap — pick two ........................ 9
TEN TIPS to reduce time and
costs in arbitration ..................... 10
MOVING OFFICES .................... 23
M&A MARKET rebounds........... 24
Canadian police services reported
1,473 hate crimes in 2009, an
increase of 437 incidents, or 42 per
cent from the previous year. This
followed a 35 per cent jump in 2008,
Statistics Canada reports this month.
More than half (54 per cent) of
police-reported hate crimes in 2009
were motivated by race or ethnicity,
29 per cent by religion and 13 per
cent by sexual orientation.
All three primary motivations for
hate crime increased in 2009. The
largest increase was among those
motivated by religion, which rose 55
per cent in 2009. The number of
racially-motivated hate crimes
increased 35 per cent, while those
motivated by sexual orientation went
up 18 per cent.
See the
DIGITAL
VERSION
www.lawyersweekly.ca/IHC
IN HOUSE COUNSEL
IN HOUSE COUNSEL
In-house Counsel’s
SUMMER ISSUE
in the July 1 edition
of The Lawyers Weekly
DEPARTMENTS
Careers ................. 21
Classified Ads ............ 19
Lawddities............... 14
Legal Briefs...............2
Names in the News......... 4
Weekly Digest............ 17
