The poor are sick and tired, study says More money in people's

John Rae is a very decent man -- an unsung hero of Canada.

POVERTY: The poor are sick and tired, study says More money in people's
pockets creates more opportunities

By LISA QUEEN

Being poor will make you sick or send you to an early grave at alarmingly higher rates than if you are a middle- or upper-income earner.

That was a key finding of a report released Monday at a community forum on health and poverty held at the YMCA in downtown Toronto.

While the report, called Sick and Tired, looked at the health risks faced by
welfare and disability recipients and the working poor across Ontario,
Toronto's high levels of poverty result in more low-income earners suffering
from medical problems, Toronto medical officer of health Dr. David McKeown
said.

About 25 per cent of Toronto residents live below the poverty line, twice
the provincial average. A third of Toronto children are living in poverty
compared to 19 per cent nationally.
Looking at different income increments, the report found residents living in
rich neighbourhoods are less likely to suffer from health problems than
those living in middle-income areas, who in turn are less likely to be sick than residents of poor communities, McKeown said.

The study found the median household income for social assistance recipients
is $13,000 a year compared to $21,000 for the working poor and $80,000 for
the non-poor.

For almost every measurement - from suicide and depression to heart problems
and arthritis - welfare recipients and the working poor are more at risk of
health problems and death than the non-poor, said Andy Mitchell, one of the
report's three-member research team.

"When you have a higher income, you know how to get things done for yourself and your family," he said, adding higher-income earners are more adapt at navigating medical and bureaucratic systems.

Raising a poor person's annual income by just $1,000 enables them to escape
hundreds to thousands of chronic health conditions. "To me, that was very
powerful," Mitchell said.

Meanwhile, while new immigrants come to Canada healthier than Canadian-born
residents, they become sicker as lack of opportunities forces them into
poverty, the study found.

The report's authors admit their findings tying poverty to health risks are
nothing new. But as the economy worsens, they are calling on the province to address the issue in its spring budget.

"The budget is an opportunity for the province to make a down payment on a
poverty reduction strategy," said Michael Shapcott, director of community
engagement at the Wellesley Institute, which helped fund the study.

The report also laid out 10 recommendations including urging Queen's Park to establish an independent panel to set social assistance rates that reflect
the actual cost of living in Ontario communities and demanding the federal
government introduce a national poverty reduction strategy with concrete
targets and timelines.

John Rae, first vice-president of the Alliance for Equality of Blind Canadians, and Mike Yale, co-chairperson of the ODSP (Ontario Disability Support Program) Action Coalition, are hoping politicians don't shelve the report like so many studies in the past.

"Too many of the disabled community are marginalized and live in poverty.
These reports confirm that fact again and again and again," Rae said.

"We're looking for action, not just more studies. It (this study) confirms if you put money in people's pocket, it creates more opportunities to buy better food, to buy health care, to participate in the community, to go to entertainment. These things all benefit people's lives."

Yale, a North York resident, also doesn't want to see the study gather dust.
"It won't mean anything unless it becomes part of government strategy," he said.

"When a family has to decide between feeding itself or buying a winter coat,
it is a serious problem and the government, in my view, hasn't shown it is serious about dealing with the disability pension."      

http://www.insidetoronto.ca/article/63581

James Morton
1100 - 5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4

Another tree hugger!

Liberal MPs attend global conference to combat anti-Semitism

LONDON - Liberal Members of Parliament will be among the largest delegation of any country to attend an international conference in London to combat the growing threat of global anti-Semitism, said Liberal MP and founding co-chair of the conference, Irwin Cotler.

"We are witnessing today a new, escalating, sophisticated, virulent, global and even lethal anti-Semitism," said Mr. Cotler. "The time has come to not only sound the alarm about this resurgent threat, but to act. For as history has taught us only too well: while it may begin with Jews, it does not end with Jews."

More than 100 Parliamentarians from 35 different countries are expected to gather in London from February 15-17th for the founding conference of the International Parliamentary Coalition to Combat Anti-Semitism.

"This will be the first ever international gathering of Parliamentarians to come together to share their experience, expertise and, in particular, to develop action plans for combating anti-Semitism," said Mr. Cotler.

The conference, which takes place in the aftermath of a dramatic increase in global anti-Semitism, will also be attended by government ministers from around the world, as well as other leading dignitaries and scholars.

"It is this escalation and intensification of anti-Semitism that underpins - indeed, necessitates - the establishment of an International Parliamentary Coalition to confront and combat this oldest and most enduring of hatreds. Silence is not an option," concluded Mr. Cotler.

James Morton
1100 - 5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4

Two judges plead guilty in kickbacks for jailing teens

This is one of the strangest stories I have ever seen. Corrupt judges sending children to jail and getting kickbacks for each child incarcerated. If it were in a novel I wouldn't believe it.


http://www.iht.com/articles/2009/02/13/america/judges.php
2 judges plead guilty in kickbacks for jailing teens

By Ian Urbina and Sean D. Hamill
Friday, February 13, 2009

At worst, Hillary Transue thought she might get a stern lecture when she appeared before a judge for building a spoof MySpace page mocking the assistant principal at her high school in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.

She was a stellar student who had never been in trouble, and the page stated clearly at the bottom that it was just a joke.

Instead, the judge sentenced her to three months at a juvenile detention center on a charge of harassment.

She was handcuffed and taken away as her stunned parents stood by.

...
The answers became a bit clearer on Thursday as the judge, Mark Ciavarella Jr., and a colleague, Michael Conahan, appeared in federal court in Scranton, Pennsylvania, to plead guilty to wire fraud and income tax fraud for taking more than $2.6 million in kickbacks to send teenagers to two privately run youth detention centers run by PA Child Care and a sister company, Western PA Child Care.

While prosecutors say that Conahan, 56, secured contracts for the two centers to house juvenile offenders, Ciavarella, 58, was the one who carried out the sentencing to keep the centers filled.
...

Inchoate crimes

Today's Court of Appeal decision in R. v. Alicandro, 2009 ONCA 133 settles an issue relating to impossibility of committing an offence.



Specifically, the accused was convicted of using a computer to lure someone he believed to be a child for sexual purposes. In fact, the 'child' was a middle aged police officer and so it was factually impossible for there to be a child lured.



The Court considered the argument and determined that, where inchoate crimes are being considered, in general (and this depends on the specific statutory provisions) the impossibility of committing the crime in contemplation is no defence.



Put otherwise, you can be convicted of trying to pick an empty pocket.

Friends

Jurisdiction in the face of partial arbitration provisions

Today's Court of Appeal decision in Dancap v Key Brand 2009 ONCA 135 is an important case dealing with the jurisdiction of the Court where some, but not all, of a relationship between parties is governed by an arbitration agreement.

Factually the case is of interest as dealing with major theatrical venues in Ontario.

At the Superior Court level the Court held that the part of the relationship not governed by arbitration was within the purview of the Superior Court.

The Court of Appeal disagreed holding that where it was arguable an arbitration clause could apply it should be left to the arbitrator to make the decision as to jurisdiction. The key is that where a dispute may be within the scope of arbitration it is the arbitrator who initially decides the breadth of jurisdiction.

Accordingly, the appeal was allowed.
James Morton
1100 - 5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4

Ignatieff and the Liberal Brand

Interesting piece by Ivison in today's Post.

Certainly Michael Ignatieff has captured Canada's attention for the moment.

The only thing we must remember is that the polls are fickle -- today's hero is tomorrow's bum.

The real issue everyone is focussed on now is the economy -- if the economy does not turn around before the next election there will be a natural tendency to try "the other guy". Regardless, with new strong and popular leadership the situation for the Liberal Party is greatly improved over, say, six months ago.



John Ivison: Liberals enjoy the Ignatieff effect

John Turner once joked that the Liberal Party was so split that if he won a general election, the caucus would demand a recount. That was then.

Such was the disenchantment with the Stéphane Dion era, that the Messiah-like arrival of Michael Ignatieff seems to have reduced the appetite for rebellious mischief to record lows.

“There are people who are saying ‘let’s check this guy out - I used to vote Liberal’. They’re coming to the door,” the new leader told staff and MPs at a reception in Ottawa on Wednesday. “We have got to show them a Liberal Party that likes itself. Let’s put aside the fights and show them a party worthy of their trust.”

All the signs suggest that Canadians are indeed coming to the door. A new Nanos Research poll reveals that Canadians believe the new Liberal leader handled the budget adeptly, with 35% of those surveyed saying his performance was good or very good, compared to 14% who thought he did poorly. Stephen Harper was also given pass marks for his handling of the budget, with 40% thinking he did well or very well, compared to 24% who thought he did badly.

But there was less encouraging news for Mr. Harper when respondents were asked whether leaders would have a positive or negative impact on local party candidates. Thirty-eight per cent thought Mr. Ignatieff would have a positive effect, against just 19% who believed he would be a negative influence. He recorded positive numbers in every region of the country.

By contrast, while 37% felt positively about Mr. Harper, 32% felt negatively, with much of the ill-will concentrated in Quebec and Atlantic Canada.

Full story here: http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fullcomment/archive/2009/02/12/john-ivison-liberals-enjoy-the-ignatieff-effect.aspx

Buffalo crash photo -- so many Canadians fly out of Buffalo it's called an international airport when flying within the USA!

Firefighters pour water on a fire on Clarence Center Road involving an airplane and a home Thursday Feb. 12, 2009. New York state police say a 50-passenger commuter plane has crashed into the home in suburban Buffalo. State Trooper John Manthey says the plane hit a house in Clarence around 10:10 p.m. Thursday.

Buy American

The stimulus package that passed still has the Buy American clause. In theory NAFTA tribunals could address the clause but remember how effective they were on soft wood lumber? Fear is a motivator for nationalism
James Morton

Curious factoid

Today and Monday are, historically, the peak days for filing for divorce.

Happy Valentine's Day.
James Morton

Developmentally disabled prisoners

This story, which I just saw today, reflects a serious problem. Many people in the criminal system have serious mental health issues.

These issues do not amount to a problem serious enough to relieve them from criminal responsibility (nor should they) but they do make the concept of specific deterrence almost moot. Moreover, the punishment of incarceration is made more severe because of the isolation these individuals face.

An answer to this problem is far from obvious -- perhaps specialized prisons with specially trained staff? But such things cost a great deal of money. The fact there is an ongoing labour dispute in the prison system makes the issue more challenging. Regardless, the story is worth a read:

The Ottawa Citizen
February 8, 2009

OTTAWA - A 30-year-old man with Down syndrome and bipolar disorder has been
housed in a segregated cell at the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre for more than two weeks, a case some say highlights a gap in the criminal justice
system.

Karl Gauthier is charged with assault after an alleged incident last month
involving a worker at his Nation Township group home. He is expected to
remain at the jail until at least Wednesday, when he has a bail hearing.

Until he is released, Mr. Gauthier faces "horrific" conditions at OCDC, according to Dave Lundy, an official with the Ontario Public Service Employees Union, which represents correctional officers at the jail.

"The reports I have are that he's standing in his own urine," Mr. Lundy
said, adding Mr. Gauthier soils his sheets and needs his diapers changed.

Correctional officers are "not given the training to help an individual like that," Mr. Lundy said.

"If you're going to house a developmentally disabled individual such as that in a jail, what's next?"

Mr. Gauthier's lawyer, John Hale, said his client is, in some ways, "fairly high functioning," but is also prone to outbursts.

Mr. Gauthier has been found fit to stand trial. He was also charged in November with assault causing bodily harm after another alleged incident involving a group home worker, Mr. Hale said.

After allegedly committing two offences at the same home, "it was seen as
dangerous to let him go back there," he said.

"There is a real gap for guys like this who suffer fairly serious mental
illnesses and get caught up in the criminal justice system but who don't fall into those two very discrete categories of either unfit (to stand trial) or NCR (not criminally responsible for the alleged crime)," which would allow them to be admitted to the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre, said Mr. Hale.

"If it's not a fitness or NCR issue, then you have to hope there's some place in the community that will take him in," Mr. Hale said.

Staff at the group home are now converting an outbuilding on the property
into an apartment for Mr. Gauthier in anticipation of his return after the
bail hearing, L'Orignal court was told Wednesday.
James Morton

Weird totalitarian stuff

What is going on with the University system? Weird totalitarian stuff disguised as diversity training.

What is needed is a recognition of the need to respect people for who they are. So allow everyone their dignity -- don't call people by demeaning titles -- recognize we are all the children of Adam and Eve (at least figuratively) and so no one is naturally better than anyone else.

(Ooops, I'm ranting -- sorry).

Queen's cancels 'dialogue facilitator' program

Joseph Brean, National Post

Calling it "incompatible with the atmosphere required for free speech," Queen's University in Kingston, Ont., on Wednesday scrapped its controversial "dialogue facilitator" program.

It caused a scandal last year when it was revealed the six student "facilitators" were mandated to intervene in private conversations to encourage discussion of social justice issues and discourage offensive language.

In a report to the administration, a panel of experts expressed "strong reservations about unsolicited interventions into the lives of students" because of the risk of "making students feel unsafe or under surveillance because of their opinions."

The panel included Leora Jackson, the school's rector, John Meisel, an emeritus professor of political science, and Keith Norton, the former head of the Ontario Human Rights Commission. They had "serious concerns" with how the program was set up.

The panel faulted Dean of Student Affairs Jason Laker for importing an American model of diversity promotion, from the National Coalition Building Institute, while failing to research any comparable programs at Canadian universities. The panel report also faults him for giving "no thought" to a communications strategy to explain it, and for not involving anyone outside of the Student Affairs office in the program's design. The campus consultations his office did do were "inadequate, ineffective and undertaken too late."

The review was launched in response to "a tempest of negative, sometimes searing, comment in the national press."
James Morton

On the subway I overheard a conversation

The speakers seemed very sensible people.

Speaking about work and life one mentioned the recent budget; the other replied that it was a good thing that there was a stimulus package because employment was an issue.

Both agreed that Dalton McGinty was right not to bring down the Prime Minister.

We have a long way to go to explain who is whom and why it matters.
James Morton

Guidance from Jerusalem

No, this isn't a religious post.

It deals with minority governments and proportional representation.

Yesterday Israel had an election. It looks like Kadima won a razor-thin victory, gaining one more seat than right-wing rival Likud. The nationalist Yisrael Beiteinu party came in third and the centre-left Labour party fell fourth with the Orthodox Shas party came in fifth.

So what you may ask?

Well, in Israel proportional representation ensures that Parties like Yisrael Beiteinu, which would have trouble winning more than a seat or two in a first past the post system, have a significant block of seats. It also means that the Party with the most seats cannot form a government without support from several other Parties, most of whom are very limited in focus, in Israel for example, on religious issues or concerns for immigrants from the former Soviet Union.

The result is a radicalization of politics because the necessary support of smaller Parties comes with a price. They will give support in return for adoption of the smaller Parties pet projects. So, for example, despite a broad base of secular Jewish thinking in Israel, the definition of religious matters is left to Orthodox rabbis -- a price for support from Shas.

Again, so what?

Here's the point -- before Canada moves to proportional representation consider the impact. There are plenty of one issue groups who might scrape up five percent on the ballot. Should they hold the balance of power? We are already in a world of minority governments -- should we make it harder to get a broad based majority?


James Morton
1100 - 5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4

Tree Hugger!

Probative value of evidence

Thayer’s principle says that nothing that is not rationally relevant to an issue at trial is admissible and, subject to many exceptions, everything that is rationally relevant to an issue at trial is admissible.

 

But what is the level of “rationally relevant”? 

 

The level is a low one – the evidence must merely make an inference more likely.  Today’s decision in R. v. Jacobson, 2009 ONCA 130 makes this last point plainly.  The Court holds:

 

 The test for probative value is low,… ; and it is sufficient that the desired inference is more probable with the evidence than it would be without the evidence. 

GM job cuts -- maybe not as bad as could have been?

This looks terrible but is actually not as bad as might have been...


GM cutting 10,000 white-collar jobs

General Motors is cutting 10,000 people from its salaried workforce around the world, the company said Tuesday.

It will reduce its white-collar staff to 63,000 from the current 73,000 this year, but the company did not immediately disclose if jobs will be eliminated in Canada.

In the United States, about 3,400 salaried jobs out of 29,500 are expected to be cut. The company's U.S. white-collar workforce is also getting a pay cut. The pay reduction will start May 1 and extend through the end of 2009 at least.

Friendship

This is dynamite stuff.

PM dropped Cadman suit ahead of key hearing
TIM NAUMETZ
The Canadian Press

— Stephen Harper dropped his lawsuit against the Liberals in the Cadman affair just weeks before a hearing on whether his emails, notes and agenda could be called into evidence. A court date was to be scheduled this month over the failure of the Prime Minister's legal team to provide documents and answers to questions that had been requested during a series of cross-examinations last summer. The lawyer for the Liberal party was set to ask the court to rule whether Mr. Harper would have to provide emails and notes for meetings his staff held related to Chuck Cadman. The matter involves allegations that the Conservatives offered a financial inducement to Mr. Cadman, an Independent MP, while trying to defeat the minority Liberal government in 2005. The Tories deny the charge. The Prime Minister dropped his $3.5-million defamation lawsuit on Friday after reaching a deal with the Liberals. Sources say the Liberal party is not obligated to pay any damages or apologize for claims on its website that Mr. Harper was aware Tory officials offered Mr. Cadman — who was dying — a $1-million insurance policy if he sided with them in a Commons budget vote. Despite the refusal of either side to comment about their agreement to dismiss the case, records show a legal fight was brewing over the documents and other information Liberal lawyer Chris Paliare had requested. Hearings were expected to begin this month over Mr. Harper's failure to have his lawyers respond to Mr. Paliare's request for documents and information from the prime minister's office. In a series of cross-examinations last summer, Mr. Paliare requested copies of Mr. Harper's agenda for the day he was interviewed by B.C. journalist Tom Zytaruk, who reported the life-insurance allegations in a biography of Cadman. Mr. Paliare had also asked for copies of Mr. Cadman's journals and diaries for the period of time during which the financial inducement allegedly took place. Harper lawyer Richard Dearden abruptly quit last November, to be replaced by Toronto lawyer David Wingfield, after the initial stages of the Liberal efforts to obtain the documents and information began. Mr. Dearden gave no explanation for his departure, and court notices of the lawyer swap do not indicate whether it was at Mr. Harper's wish or Mr. Dearden's. During the examination of Mr. Harper last August, Mr. Dearden objected to Mr. Paliare's request for an email said to discuss a meeting between Cadman and two Conservatives the day of the confidence vote in 2005. Other documents Mr. Paliare requested during his cross-examination of Mr. Harper included the notes of "all the people" who attended meetings in the prime minister's office in late February when the allegations were first reported. Mr. Harper's lawsuit prevented the Liberals from exploiting the allegations during the federal election last fall. Tom Conway, a prominent Ottawa lawyer who represented a former Tory member who sued Mr. Harper, said the looming court fight over access to emails and notes may have been behind the Prime Minister's decision to abandon the lawsuit.
James Morton
1100 - 5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4

Tough on crime -- not the answer

The real issue isn't being 'tough on crime' but rather let's be smart on crime. This isn't an matter of being soft; Oppal is right that enforcement is the key. If every time a violent crime occurs the criminals are caught and punished the deterrent effect will be greatly magnified.

If one in ten bank robbers are caught and shot a desperate person may well say 'well, 90% I'll get away with it'. But if 9 in 10 bank robbers are caught, have their stolen booty taken away and sentenced to a year in prison, well, the calculation is very different.


B.C. courts are just as tough, Oppal says JUSTINE HUNTER
Globe and Mail
Update Mon, 9 Feb 2009 13:51 EST

VICTORIA — Following a spate of gang- or drug-related shootings in the last week, Attorney General Wally Oppal released a report Monday intended to show B.C.'s courts aren't to blame for violent crime. What will make a difference, he said, is if witnesses end their silence and start helping police. "The police go to these scenes and they get no help from anybody," Mr. Oppal told reporters. "There are people out there who know what is happening, people out there who are privy to information yet nobody helps the police… Everybody abides by this code of silence."
James Morton
1100 - 5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4

President Obama's short honeymoon

President Obama is spending his goodwill quickly. The trouble with this package is that it's got way too much pork -- one expects some but this bill has everyone's favorite pet projects and that gives the Republicans ammunition.

FDR succeeded because his programs were totally transparent and without any indefensible add-ons.

Senate set to pass stimulus package

"I am calling on Congress to pass this bill immediately," Obama told supporters. "Folks here in Elkhart and across America need help right now, and they can't afford to keep on waiting for folks in Washington to get this done.

Thomas Ferraro and Jeremy Pelofsky, National Post
Monday, Feb 9, 2009

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Senate on Monday headed toward passing an $827-billion economic stimulus measure sought by President Barack Obama that will set up a contentious battle over the details of the final package. As the world watched to see how the new president and Congress respond to the worst U.S. recession in 70 years - and after slicing some $110-billion out of the package - the Senate was poised to clear a procedural hurdle in a vote at 5:30 p.m. EST. The Senate measure includes $139-billion in individual income tax breaks, $43-billion for more unemployment benefits and almost $47-billion to encourage Americans to buy new cars and homes. It also includes tens of-billions of dollars to rebuild roads and help states plug growing budget gaps. If the Senate approves its version on Tuesday as expected, it will have to be reconciled with an $819-billion package the House of Representatives passed last month, a process expected to take several days. Mr. Obama wants a final package on his desk this weekend.
James Morton
1100 - 5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4

Air of reality

Before a judge withdraws a defence from the trier of fact on the basis the onus of production has not been met, careful consideration must be given to whether the defence has an 'air or reality'. If it does then the trier of fact must be allowed to consider the defence.

Today's decision in R. v. Gill, 2009 ONCA 124 makes the issue and the very low burden that must be met by the defence clear:


[16]          In R. v. Cinous, [2002] 2 S.C.R. 3, the Supreme Court of Canada emphasized that in determining whether there is an air of reality to a defence, a trial judge is engaged in a threshold determination, aimed at assessing whether there is evidence based on which a properly instructed jury acting reasonably could acquit: Cinous at paras. 54-60; see also R. v. Fontaine, [2004] 1 S.C.R. 702, at paras. 70-74. Save with respect to the limited weighing necessary to assess the inferences available from circumstantial evidence, the trial judge is not permitted to weigh the evidence, to make determinations about the credibility of witnesses, or to make findings of fact.

[17]          In applying the air of reality test, the trial judge must consider the totality of the evidence and is required to assume that the evidence relied upon by the accused is true: Cinous at para. 53. However, particularly where a jury is invited to reject parts of a person's evidence that could be relevant to a proposed defence, it will be necessary for the trial judge to assess whether sufficient evidence will remain based on which a properly instructed jury acting reasonably could acquit if some or all the evidence relevant to a particular defence is rejected: R. v. Park, [1995] 2 S.C.R. 836.
James Morton
1100 - 5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4

Drunk on the job?

Impaired driving, and operation, of a motor vehicle during employment is far more common than you might expect. I see frequent cases where someone is drunk and operating heavy equipment -- I wonder how many workplace injuries are caused this way.

Bus driver was drunk, police say

The driver of a Toronto-bound bus has been charged with impaired driving after motorists called the police to report an aggressive motorist on the QEW.

Officers stopped the Coach Canada bus, which was on its way from Niagara Falls, around 7:30 a.m. yesterday near Oakville.

"(Police) went on, talked to the driver. They noticed that he had been drinking. They could smell alcohol," said OPP Sgt. Dave Woodford.

Police arrested the man, a 48-year-old from Niagara Falls, and charged him with impaired driving. He has since been released on a promise to appear in court.

House of Dreams

Sometimes in a life a moment of pure anguish rising from long turmoil can arrow with great force into the realm of the gods who pause in their mighty deliberations and turn towards the source of the disturbance.

From the time of Ramses III
James Morton

Clients taking lawyer's work?

I suspect this story is not correct. It is just inconceivable that the Chief Justice would recommend having clients take over a lawyer's work.

That is such a mistake -- while a client should do all properly possible the lawyer has a very specific job and 'downloading' to the client is a bad bad idea.

Clients have lawyers for a reason and while legal fees need to be kept reasonable the way to do that is not to give clients legal work.

Seriously, would you trust a surgeon who thought a way to keep medical costs low was to have the surgeon do the difficult stuff and let the family stitch up the patient after?

Self represented clients can do a good job but someone half represented is likely to be in rough shape all around!

Top judge adds voice to debate over legal fees

OTTAWA -- Canada's chief justice is inviting lawyers to consider following a U.S. trend of "unbundling"legal fees, allowing their clients to pay less by doing some of the work themselves.

Beverley McLachlin raised the prospect at a time when a growing number of Canadians are representing themselves in court, adding her voice to a debate simmering in the legal community about whether lawyers should change the way they charge to avoid putting themselves out of business.

"This technique is being used in the United States to assist unrepresented litigants to get help for some aspects of their case, while they manage other aspects themselves," McLachlin said in a speech delivered recently at a Vancouver legal conference.

"It raises problems, such as the lawyer's liability for services that may be rendered without knowing all the facts. Yet, it merits consideration."

McLachlin's nudging of the legal profession was part of a speech in which she decried the lack of affordable legal help in Canada. She said that some courts report that more than 44 per cent of cases involve self-represented litigants.
James Morton

Massive Disability Employment Survey and Business Case Released

News release from ODEP 1/09/2009

Findings of most extensive employer survey ever on people with disabilities
released by U.S. Labor Department's Office of Disability Employment Policy

Agency also makes available 'business case' on value of employees with disabilities

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment
Policy (ODEP) today released findings of the most extensive survey in history of employers' actions and attitudes toward employing people with disabilities. The report is available at:

www.dol.gov/odep.

CESSI, a division of Axiom Resource Management Inc., conducted the survey of 3,797 companies, which statistically represent more than 2.4 million
companies nationwide. This survey found that a majority of large businesses
are hiring people with disabilities and discovering that costs for
accommodations differ very little from those for the general employee
population. Additionally, the survey showed that once an employer hires one
person with a disability, it is much more likely that employer will hire other people with disabilities.

ODEP Assistant Secretary Neil Romano hailed the report. "This research shows
us the pathway for workers with disabilities to enter and succeed in the
workplace," he said. "Employers consistently discover that hiring and
retaining people with disabilities helps their bottom line, and our efforts
at the Department of Labor to educate businesses on this fact are paying off
for workers."

The survey does provide some disappointing news in that it reveals some resistance among businesses to viewing people with disabilities as able to
advance up the corporate ladder.

"While in many cases the front door has begun to open for people with
disabilities seeking employment, unfortunately, all too often a glass
ceiling still keeps these valuable employees in lower level positions,"
Romano commented.

In partnership with The Conference Board Inc., ODEP will present major
findings of this report via web cast on Feb. 18 from 11 a.m. to noon EST during the program "Are New Recruits Ready to Work?" This web cast will be
open to the public and is part of the larger series "Maximizing Human
Capital: Employees with Disabilities." To register, contact The Conference
Board at 212-339-0345        
.

James Morton