The Lawyers Weekly - December 16, 2011

Billions of dollars invested, not a penny lost.

AMUSEMENT PARKS

When rides go wrong

CRISTIN SCHMITZ OTTAWA The Federal Court’s top judge says his court is scrutinizing the validity of a new academic study that casts doubt on whether the court’s judges are always deciding refugee cases on their merits.

A soon-to-be published statis-
tical review of 23,047 refugee
cases decided by the Federal
Court from 2005 through 2010
discloses large divergence among
individual judges in how often
they grant leave to appeal to refu-
gee claimants who have been
turned down by the Immigration
and Refugee Board (IRB), says its
author, Osgoode Hall law profes-
sor Sean Rehaag.

“Some judges, Justice [Paul]
Crampton for example, granted
leave in less than two per cent of
applications to judicially review
refugee decisions…and then
other judges, like Justice [Doug-
las] Campbell, granted leave in
over 60 per cent of cases,”
Rehaag said.

For most of the judges, Rehaag examined hundreds of decisions. He said some differences in their leave-grant rates were to be expected, but not the “massive difference” he found.

“As a legal scholar looking at this, I’m really troubled,” Rehaag said in an interview. “There’s a whole range of grant rates across judges, which to me just suggests that there isn’t a consistent practice in terms of how strong a case has to be in order to obtain leave—and that’s a concern because we are talking about a process where

See Differences Page 31 THE LAWYERS WEEKLY

PAGE 11

All hands on deck in ship deal

SCC NOMINEES

Vol. 22, No. 27 NEWS FOR THE LEGAL PROFESSION December 6, 2002

DONALEE MOULTON

Halifax-based Irving Shipbuilding Inc. won the coveted $25-billion contract to build the nation’s next fleet of surface combat ships. Now, Nova Scotia’s legal community is ready to set sail into an era of new and increased business.

“More economic activity means more need for professional services, including legal services. That means more lawyers, either in-house or in private practice,” said Brian Awad, a partner with Burchells LLP in Halifax.

“Given the magnitude of the contract, there should be an impact on all types of legal services,” said Daniel Gallivan, CEO and managing partner with Cox & Palmer in Halifax.

The impact is already being felt even though the paperwork clinching the groundbreaking deal with the federal government—the largest in Canadian history — has yet to be finalized.

“We have a group of lawyers working on our firm strategy to be ready to support current and new clients who will seek to benefit from this opportunity for economic growth in the region,” said Bernie Miller, managing partner with regional law firm McInnes Cooper.

At Stewart McKelvey, the
Atlantic region’s largest law
firm — which represents ship-
builder Irving — three lawyers are
reported to be on the file already.
The firm is also refurbishing its
downtown Halifax office, which
will make room for upwards of 20
more lawyers.
It’s not only Irving lawyers
who will benefit, however, accord-
ing to Miller, who is based in
Moncton, N.B. “Being the firm
that is not on the contractor’s side
opens a range of opportunities for
us,” he told allnovascotia.com.
The opportunities are expected
to be huge. The 30-year contract to
build Canadian frigates, destroy-
ers, and arctic patrol vessels is
anticipated to bring with it huge
benefits to the city, the province,
and region. According to the Con-
ference Board of Canada, at the
peak of the contract, 11,500 jobs
are expected to be created and
more than $500-million in per-
sonal income generated. The prov-
ince’s gross domestic product is
expected to skyrocket — to the tune
of $900-million, from the current
level of about $36.3-billion.
TD Economics predicts the
contract will add significant
financial shine to Nova Scotia’s
lacklustre economy within the
next two years and has—in an
unusual move — revised its 2013
forecast accordingly. “We have
ratcheted up real GDP and
employment growth by 0.5 and
0.7 percentage points, respect-
ively. Put another way, this
boost translates into an addi-
tional $228-million in real GDP

Business for lawyers is about to pick up, says Brian Awad, a partner with Burchells LLP in Halifax, after Irving Shipbuilding Inc. won a $25-billion contract to build naval vessels. Awad is shown above at HMC Dockyard in downtown Halifax.

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THE LAWYERS WEEKLY

VOL. 22, NO. 27 NEWS FOR THE LEGAL PROFESSION DECEMBER 6, 2002 VOL. 22, NO. 27 NEWS FOR THE LEGAL PROFESSION DECEMBER 6, 2002

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Controversy surrounds appointment process

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His run-in with police made Charter history

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