JEREMY HAINSWORTH

The decision earlier this year
by the British Columbia govern-
ment to merge the ministries of
Attorney General and Solicitor
General will create problems in
accountability, perceptions of
conflict of interest and erode faith
in the rule of law, some legal
observers say.

The merger means that the newly created Independent Investigations Office, established under the Attorney General to probe police misconduct, will now be part of the same ministry responsible for policing in the province.

Vancouver lawyer Cameron
Ward said the distinction between
the two ministries should be
maintained. “I think there is a
potential for blurring of respon-
sibilities and probably even mis-
chief without such differentiated
roles,” said Ward, who represents
families of missing and murdered
women in the commission of
inquiry into the police investiga-
tion into serial killer Robert
Pickton. “It’s a retrograde step.”
University of British Columbia
constitutional law professor Robin
Elliot said the Attorney General is
traditionally a quasi-political role
advocating in government on
behalf of the judiciary. Brokers have duty
to explain coverage
options to customers

PAGE 13

See Merger Page 12 THE LAWYERS WEEKLY

December 6, 2002

Diversity promise Vol. 22, No. 27 NEWS FOR THE LEGAL PROFESSION

for Federal Court

CRIMINALIZATION

THE LAWYERS WEEKLY

CRISTIN SCHMITZ OTTAWA

It is perhaps not surprising that, as a first-generation Canadian, new Federal Court Chief Justice Paul Crampton would like to see more diversity on his largely white and male court.

The eldest son of Irish immigrants—his mother a seamstress, his father a carpenter turned Toronto police officer — Chief Justice Crampton is vowing to push for “a better balance” of women and visible minority jurists.

“For me, it’s very important that every litigant who comes to our court feels that they had a fair hearing by an impartial judge, who heard their submissions [and] reached a fair decision based in law,” Chief Justice Crampton stressed. “That is important to me going forward—that we always bend over backward to make sure that both parties feel that they got their fair day in court before an impartial arbiter.”

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

Clarity needed on failure to disclose HIV-positive status to sexual partner

PAGE 18

“Continuing to attract highly qualified people to the court, to have a court that reflects the cultural diversity of the country, that has more of a gender balance than we have right now will be a challenge, [but] it’s something I’m going to work hard to achieve,” the 54-year-old competition law expert pledged in a recent wide-ranging exclusive interview with The Lawyers Weekly, his first since assuming the post in December.

Fairness is a value his mother drummed into her first-born, he said. His father, who spent 32 years with the Toronto police, emphasized integrity and hard work.

“I grew up in a blue-collar environment,” recalls the chief justice, who has one brother and five sisters.

CLOSE EYE

Born and raised in Toronto, he earned a combined law and MBA degree from the University of Ottawa in 1985, after studying philosophy at the Université du Québec. He also earned an LLM from the University of Toronto in 1987.

PAGE 24

THE LAWYERS WEEKLY

The married father of three said another challenge is maintaining public confidence in the national itinerant trial court, which has come under fire recently from the immigration Bar for its judges’ spotty record on refugee cases. (‘Massive difference’ in refugee cases, The Lawyers Weekly, Vol. 31, No. 31, Dec.

ROY GROGAN FOR THE LAWYERS WEEKLY

Federal Court of Canada Chief Justice Paul Crampton in his office in Ottawa.

ety in which somebody could
not only dream [of], but could
actually have a realistic shot at,
achieving their dreams.”
or 23. 5 per cent, of the judges are
women—below the federal gov-
ernment’s overall 27. 5 per cent
track record of appointing women
to the Bench. (Canadian Bar Asso-
ciation president Trinda Ernst has
called on Ottawa to improve its

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

16, 2011.)

The bilingual jurist said he
was drawn to law because “hav-
ing heard a lot about the type of
society that my parents grew up
in Ireland, where your pros-
pects were largely determined
by your economic station and
the economic station of your
parents, I wanted very much to
contribute toward the type of
level playing field and just soci-
Diversity remains unrealized at
the Federal Court, which has no
jurists of colour among its 34
judges (one is aboriginal). Eight,

See Crampton Page 6

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