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CRISTIN SCHMITZ OTTAWA
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The federal government’s
2,700 unionized lawyers and
prosecutors are “very much
encouraged” by a judge’s decision
to strike down the 2.5-per-cent
wage cap retroactively imposed
on them for 2006-2007, says the
president of the Association of
Justice Counsel (AJC).
“On the whole, people are
very, very uplifted by this,” said
Marco Mendicino, a lawyer in
Toronto with the Public Prosecution Service of Canada (PPSC).
“To the extent that there is going
to be more restraint [legislation
in the future], this decision acts
as a bit of a bulwark against that.
It’s another arrow in our quiver.”
In the wake of the court’s
removal of the salary cap for
2006-2007, Mendicino said the
AJC wants to negotiate with
Treasury Board for “competitive”
increases to its members’ base
salaries for that fiscal year. The
AJC is still considering what
remedy it will request from the
court, he added.
At press time, the federal
government had not yet disclosed whether it would appeal
the decision.
“We will review it carefully
and determine the appropriate
course of action required in the
near future,” said Treasury Board
spokesperson Anabel Lindblad.
“Any additional comment would
not be appropriate at this time
due to the possibility of further
legal proceedings.”
As it is, the government scored
a part victory in the Nov. 1 ruling:
The Ontario Superior Court
rejected the AJC’s Charter attack
on the salary caps imposed in the
subsequent four fiscal years,
ended March 31, 2011.
Yet, Justice Duncan Grace
ruled that the Stephen Harper
government overreached consti-
tutionally by making its five-year
public service wage restraint law,
which was sparked by the 2008
worldwide financial crisis, applic-
able to AJC members in the fiscal
year 2006-2007.
At that time, the economy was
still buoyant, and the federal gov-
ernment boasted a large budget-
ary surplus. The AJC had just
started to bargain with Treasury
Marco Mendicino, president of the Association of Justice Counsel, stands in front of Old City Hall in Toronto. Mendicino’s group
just saw a 2. 5 per cent wage cap imposed by the federal government for 2006-07 struck down in Ontario Superior Court.
PAUL LAWRENCE FOR THE LAWYERS WEEKLY
See Pay Page 4
THE LAWYERS WEEKLY
Vol. 22, No. 27 NEWS FOR THE LEGAL PROFESSION December 6, 2002
THE LAWYERS WEEKLY
VOL. 22, NO. 27 NEWS FOR THE LEGAL PROFESSION DECEMBER 6, 2002
PAGE 9
PAGE 15
PAGE 21
ONLINE LEARNING
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
Charron praises system that others ‘envy’
Law courses
in cyberspace
increase accessibility
for students
PAGE 24
CRISTIN SCHMITZ OTTAWA
Imagine being in an arranged
marriage — with not one but eight
lawyers. Being a Supreme Court
of Canada judge sometimes feels
like that, says newly retired Justice Louise Charron in her only
interview since leaving the court
last August.
“You don’t wake up in love
with your eight marital partners
every morning, obviously not, but
I think you have to be focused on
the task,” Justice Charron said.
“It’s not about you and it’s not
about them as persons—and
you’ve got to repeat that to your-
self when times get difficult.”
Justice Charron praises the
McLachlin court, which she says
has been characterized by civil
communication lines that “have
always been very open”—with-
out the bitterness and factional-
ism that sometimes plagued pre-
vious courts.
“My measure of if a work
environment is healthy or not is
the amount of laughter that you
hear—there’s a lot of laughter
that you hear on the second floor”
of the judges’ chambers, she says.
“We may be laughing at each
other, mind you, or our judg-
ments. But we laugh, and that’s
very important, so it’s a good
court and I am hoping it will con-
tinue to be so.”
Asked what she thinks helps a
judge to survive and thrive at the
Supreme Court, she says being
See Exclusive Page 8
For video excerpts of the 90-minute exclusive
interview go to www.lawyersweekly.ca THE LAWYERS WEEKLY
VOL. 22, NO. 27 NEWS FOR THE LEGAL PROFESSION DECEMBER 6, 2002
STB_LW_basebar_09_ 11_Layout 1 9/1/11 4:55 PM Page 1
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