1
THE LAW SOCIETY OF UPPER CANADA
SPECIAL CONVOCATION
TORONTO CALL 2
Thursday, February 25, 1999 - 3:15 p.
Roy Thomson Hall
60 Simcoe Street
Toronto, Ontario
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Opening Remarks - Treasurer . . 3
National Anthem - Siobhan Dungan . 3
Citation - Philip M. Epstein, Q.C. 5
Remarks - Dr. Louise Arbour .6
Academic Awards .13
Presentation of Candidates for Call to the Bar,
Admissions to the Degree of Barrister-at-law 14
Honour Song, Victory Song - Jimmy Dick 18
Oath of Allegiance . 22
Barristers Oath .23
Solicitors Oath .23
Remarks - The Honourable Madam Justice Heather
J. Smith, Associate Chief Justice . 23
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1 ---Upon commencing at 3:15 p.m.
2 THE TREASURER: Convocation will come to
3 order. I would ask you to remain standing while Siobhan
4 Dungan sings the National Anthem.
5 ---National Anthem
6 THE TREASURER: Please be seated.
7 My name is Harvey Strosberg, and I am the
8 Treasurer of the Law Society. The Treasurer is the
9 President. The Law Society of Upper Canada governs the
10 legal profession in Ontario in the public interest. The
11 directors of the Law Society are called Benchers and the
12 Director's meeting is called Convocation. Today the
13 Benchers of the Law Society have assembled in Convocation
14 to admit The Honourable Madame Justice Louise Arbour to the
15 agree of Doctor of Laws and also to call our candidates to
16 the Bar. Once those tasks are completed Convocation will
17 adjourn and Madame Justice Smith, the Associate Chief
18 Justice, will convene a special sitting of the Court of
19 Appeal for Ontario and the Ontario Court (General
20 Division), and the Oath of Allegiance, the Barristers Oath,
21 and the Solicitors Oath will be administered.
22 Before we go any further I would like to
23 introduce those on the stage. Madame Justice Louise
24 Arbour, our candidate. Please stand. Madame Justice
25 Smith; Mr. Justice Lissaman; Mr. Justice Zuraw; Hugette
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1 Malyon, who is the Registrar of the Ontario Court of
2 Appeal; Associate Dean Simon Fodden from the Osgoode Hall
3 Law School; Associate Dean Catherine Valcke from the
4 University of Toronto; Igor Ellyn, a representative of the
5 Canadian Bar Association of Ontario; James Howie, a
6 representative of the Metropolitan Toronto Lawyers'
7 Association; Jimmy Dick who is from Moose Factory and who
8 will be doing the Honour Song for us. Our Benchers, Nancy
9 Backhouse, Bill Carter, Phil Epstein, Mike Adams, Bob
10 Aaron, Nora Angeles, Heather Ross, Ab Chahbar, Don Lamont,
11 Derry Millar, The Honourable Sydney Robins, David Scott,
12 Gerry Swaye. Our staff, John Saso, Richard Tinsley, Bob
13 Bernhardt, Ian Lebane, Cindy Pinkus. I also want to make
14 special mention of Roman Woloszcuk and that wonderful woman 15 that was out here and asked you to stand, Patricia Gyulay
16 who organized this. Thank you.
17 You have been told that Convocation is a
18 formal affair. You have been told to hold your· applause.
19 You will in effect be told that spontaneity is inconsistent
20 with solemnity. Don't listen to any of that. Don't worry
21 about crying babies, don't worry about talking babies. This
22 is your day. We want you to enjoy yourself, take pictures,
23 cheer, do what will make you happy. This is one of the few
24 times in your life that you will be in a room in a theatre
25 where everyone is happy, and we want you to be happy.
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1 Mr. Epstein will you produce the candidate,
2 please.
3 MR. EPSTEIN: Associate Chief Justice Smith,
4 Treasurer, Your Honours, Distinguished Guests, Graduates,
5 Ladies and Gentlemen, it is my very great privilege to
6 introduce to you the Honourable Madame Justice Louise
7 Arbour and ask the Treasurer on behalf of the Law Society
8 of the Upper Canada to confer upon her the degree of Doctor
9 of Laws, honoris causa.
10 Madame Justice Louise Arbour is a graduate
11 of the University of Montreal. In 1970 she was Law Clerk
12 to Mr. Louis Phillippe Pigeon in the Supreme Court of
13 Canada. She later became a highly regarded professor of
14 criminal law at Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto and
15 remained there until she accepted an appointment with the
16 then trial division of the Ontario Supreme Court in 1987.
17 In recognition of her obvious talents she was elevated to
18 the Ontario Court of Appeal in March of 1990, where she
19 served with distinction until October of 1996, when, in
20 what can only be described as an incredible act of courage
21 and determination, she took leave from Court of Appeal to
22 become Chief Prosecutor for the International War Crimes
23 Tribunal at the Hague.
24 A few short weeks ago our television screens
25 were filled with the image of Justice Arbour attempting to
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1 enter Kosovo to investigate a reported massacre of ethnic
2 Albanians. Since 1986 she has investigated some of
3 history's most horrific atrocities both in the former
4 Republic of Yugoslavia and in the Central African Republic
5 of Rawanda. She has had to deal with events that stagger
6 the imagination and would make us weep. Above all she has
7 salvaged the credibility of the War Crimes Tribunal and is
8 in her own special way moving the world ever closer to the
9 establishment of a permanent international criminal court.
10 The evidence of human barbarianism to which
11 Justice Arbour has become witness cannot be imagined. But
12 that she has preserved her dignity and composure and has
13 forcefully pursued her goals in spite of enormous 14 difficulties is a tribute to her courage. She is most
15 deserving of the honour of the degree of Doctor of Laws,
16 honoris causa.
17 THE TREASURER: On behalf of the Benchers of
18 the Law Society of Upper Canada, pursuant to the authority
19 vested in me, I admit you to the degree of Doctor of Laws,
20 honoris causa, with all the rights and privileges thereto
21 appertaining. Congratulations, Doctor.
22 DR. ARBOUR: Chief Justice, Mr. Treasurer,
23 Distinguished Members of the Bench and Bar, Graduates,
24 Colleagues and Friends, I have had up to now a truly
25 wonderful career with more than my fair share of
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1 challenges, opportunities and rewards. And yet I can tell
2 you with the utmost sincerity that I would happily give it
3 all up to be sitting in your place here today. I do not
4 think that there has ever been a better time to become a
5 lawyer. You have the privilege of having been nurtured in
6 an environment that is receptive of intellectual pursuits,
7 that deals with ideas on their merits and that accepts
8 contradictory debate as a gift of democracy. This is not
9 the case everywhere and there is a lot that the legal
10 profession can do about it. I believe that never more than
11 now has so much been expected of the legal profession,
12 particularly with respect to the classical role of the 13 lawyer as standing between the State and the individual.
14 On the 17th of July, 1998, a diplomatic
15 conference convened in Rome decided to establish an
16 international criminal court and adopted the text of the
17 statute of that court. The court will be expected to try
18 military and political leaders for genocide, crimes against
19 humanity and war crimes. In my opinion it is fair to say
20 that once it is in place the international criminal court
21 will be the most imaginative attempt to date to break the
22 cycle of empowerment based literally on killing opposition
23 and dissent.
24 I think it is particularly appropriate in
25 this vein for me to recognize the magnificent contribution
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1 of many and in particular of Canada and of Canadians to the
2 successful adoption of the Rome Treaty. It is truly an
3 occasion to celebrate further progress of the rule of law
4 over the rule of force and the repudiation of state
5 sovereignty as a pretext for impunity of powerful primates.
6 For lawyers it is also an occasion to demonstrate that the
7 legal process can contribute to dispute resolution even in
8 an environment filled, dominated almost exclusively by
9 diplomacy or military intervention or a combination of
10 both.
11 The international criminal court, however,
12 is only a work in progress. The statute requires 60
13 ratifications to come into force. Many of the main issues 14 need to be further agreed upon, such as the definition of
15 the crime of aggression and the elaboration of the rules of
16 procedure in evidence, but the ratification process itself
17 will likely keep the debate on the role of the court on the
18 forefront of the international agenda for years.
19 Meanwhile, the work of the two ad hoc
20 tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and for Rawanda will
21 continue to serve both as a procedural and practical
22 laboratory for the enforcement of the law at war, and much
23 more importantly as a test of the true will of the
24 international community to allow the criminal process to
25 unfold, particularly when it interferes with political
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1 exigencies. The two tribunals depend immensely on 2 international assistance and support. In the case of the 3 tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in particular several 4 issues continue to test the determination of the
5 international community to support fully an international 6 tribunal jurisdiction. The first such issue is the arrest
7 of the remaining dissidents including that of Ragavon 8 Harovitach (phonet.) and Arko Ravich (phonet.). Although 9 more than half of the publicly indicted accused have been 10 surrendered to the jurisdiction of the Tribunal, none must 11 be allowed to escape the reach of international sanctions, 12 particularly those whose use of power should make them 13 more, not less answerable for their alleged criminal 14 actions. This issue is a bi-product of the tolerance by 15 world leaders of the defiance of certain states whose own 16 leadership apparently has everything to fear from justice 17 and accountability. 18 The second issue which continues to 19 illustrate the dependence of international justice on the 20 goodwill of states is the question of access to evidence.
21 Both the states that were directly implicated in the 22 conflict within which we are trying to deal and to a lesser
23 degree the states that played a peripheral role either 24 through their involvement in peacekeeping operations or
25 simply as third party observers, all these states have been
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1 to various degrees reluctant to provide the evidence
2 required to support the work of the prosecutor. Committed
3 as they purport to be to the ideal of criminal justice they
4 are often unwilling to make the concrete contributions
5 required of them, particularly if they are asked to
6 disclose information which they view as politically
7 embarrassing or adverse to their diplomatic or other
8 interests. The same unfortunately is also true of
9 international organizations who advance a superior claim of
10 their operational needs so that they may decline to come 11 forward with evidence relevant to the proceedings.
12 The crimes investigated and prosecuted 13 before the ad hoc tribunals as well as the crime which
14 unfolded in the jurisdiction of the International Tribunal
15 Court are the most horrendously violent large-scale attacks
16 on human life, genocides, wide spread or systematic 17 persecutions on racial, ethnic, religious or political
18 grounds, murder, rape, torture, deportation or enslavement
19 of civil populations.
20 And yet we must not underestimate the
21 combined potency of the main interests that would like to
22 see the International Tribunal of Criminal Justice fail.
23 The main focus of our work is on gross abuses of the
24 privilege of leadership. Leadership is often resistant to
25 censure; abusive leadership all the more so. Abuse in the
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1 criminal leadership has, at least until the creation of
2 these two Tribunals, benefited from a convenient confusion
3 between heads of states and the states themselves, between
4 personal criminal responsibility and state sovereignty and
5 impunity.
6 In setting up the Tribunals the Security
7 Council of the United Nations has created a judicial
8 institution. We must be able to count on the Security
9 Council to compel the likes of Slovadan Losavich (phonet.)
10 to execute the arrest warrants duly issued by the Tribunal
11 and to comply and to co-operate with our investigation,
12 including in Kosovo.
13 There is nothing ambiguous or debatable
14 about the simple proposition that court orders were made to
15 be enforced and that those legitimate authorities who set 16 up courts would be well advised to back up the enforcement
17 of court orders. Failing to do so will inevitably lead to
18 an erosion of the rule of law and to an undermining of the
19 authority of all courts.
20 Canada now has a seat on the Security
21 Council. In fact this month Canada has the presidency of
22 this most colorful institution. Lawyers both in Canada and
23 abroad have high expectations for the performance in that
24 forum of the country that took an impressive leadership
25 role in the bringing about of the Rome Treaty.
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1 More has been achieved in the last five 2 years than the preceding fifty to bring to account in their
3 personal capacity some of worst human predators in modern 4 history. Man usually, some in positions of great power and
5 influence who kill or oversaw the killing, rape, torture 6 and persecution of their fellow human beings having chosen 7 to deprive their victims of their very humanity. The same
8 men who had every reason to believe that they were immune 9 from accountability, cloaked with the impenetrable veneer 10 of safe sovereignty which they conveniently appropriated to 11 themselves as the embodiment of absolute power. 12 I ref erred at the outset of these remarks to 13 the classical role of the lawyer as standing between the 14 state and the individual. I believe that international law 15 has now taken the most daring step ever. It has permitted 16 lawyers, including foreign lawyers, to stand between the 17 state and the oppression of its own people. 18 Not all of you will have an interest in 19 doing that kind of work but I believe that every one of you 20 should be committed to seeing it done. I wish you the good 21 fortune of being given the opportunity to contribute and
22 demonstrate your talents to a betterment that will bring
23 you rewards, sometimes in the most unexpected ways. 24 As many of you enter the practice of law
25 where there is an unavoidable tendency to measure your
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1 performance by the income that you can generate, I urge you
2 to pause occasionally to pay what I believe is the only
3 meaningful account of your professional life. I urge you
4 to measure whether there is a trade surplus or a trade
5 deficit between what you really want to accomplish and the
6 concessions that you will have to make to get there.
7 I am extremely happy to be with you here
8 today and I look forward to coming home again. Thank you.
9 THE TREASURER: Dr. Arbour, you are a hero
10 and you are a role model for all Canadians and I thank you
11 for speaking today and more importantly I thank you for
12 being here.
13 ACTING DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION: Mr.
14 Treasurer, I have the pleasure of presenting the following
15 candidates who have won prizes in the Bar Admission Course.
16 Awarded a share of The Joseph Sedgewick,
17 Q.C. Prize for Criminal Procedure, and a share of the Vera
18 L. Parsons Prize to the student attaining the highest grade
19 in Criminal Procedure, John Paul Alexandrowicz.
20 Awarded the Law Society's First Prize, The
21 Isadore Levinter Memorial Award, and The Edwin George Long,
22 K. C. Memorial Scholarship for the student attaining the
23 second highest grades in the Bar Admission Course; The
24 Margaret P. Hyndman, O.C. Q.C, D.C.L. Prize donated by the
25 Alpha Mu Chapter, Kappa Beta Pi Legal Association for the
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1 student attaining the second highest grade in Business Law;
2 and a share of The S.J. Birnbaum, Q.C. Scholarship Second
3 Prize for the student attaining the second highest grade in
4 Estate Planning, Laurel Anne Beaudet.
5 Awarded a share of The S. J. Birnbaum, Q.C.
6 Scholarship Second Prize for the student attaining the
7 second highest grade in Estate Planning, Celia Jewel Harte,
8 Peter Francis Emmanuel Laframboise.
9 Awarded a share of The S. J. Birnbaum Q.C.
10 Scholarship Third Prize for the student attaining the third
11 highest grade in Estate Planning, Markus Frederick Kermer.
12 Awarded a share of The William Belmont 13 Common, Q.C. Prize for Criminal Procedure for the student
14 attaining the second highest grade in Criminal Procedure,
15 and a share of The S.J. Birnbaum, Q.C. Scholarship Third
16 Prize for the student attaining the third highest grade in 17 Estate Planning, Jennifer Alison Mazin.
18 MR. ADAMS: Treasurer, I present to you the
19 following candidates who are called to the Bar of Ontario
20 and admission to the Degree of Barrister-at-Law: Kevin
21 Douglas Ackhurst, Jerzy Yoram Adamowicz, Susan Anne Kelly
22 Adams, Michael Edward Akkawi, John Paul Alexandrowicz,
23 Mervyn Allen, Sylvester Anthony, Josh Arbuckle, Tracy Susan
24 Arkell, Sarah Melinda Barker, Michael Raymond Barrett,
25 Laurel Anne Beaudet, Paul Arthur Beauregard, Terrence Brian
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1 Bell, Mark Gerard Biernacki, Andree Michelle Blais, David 2 Neil Bleiwas, Dirk Edwin Boeve, Andre Marcel Boivin, Nina 3 Bombier, Wendy Ann Boufford, Peter Brake, Catherine Ann
4 Braker, David Braunstein, Mark David Brillinger, Robert 5 Michael Brisson, Jeffrey Alan Brown, Mark Edward Burton,
6 Darryl Rod Buxton, Tammy Sharon Cadsby, Roberta Carano, 7 Amer Mahmood Chaudhry, Nancy Quirino Chaves, Kit Yee Kitty 8 Cheng, Yu Mee Chung, Caroline Elizabeth Clark, Samuel 9 Delbert Clark, Dana Michelle Cohen, Shawn Andrew Cohen,
10 Steve Cohen, Lalitha Joan Colaco. 11 MR. AARON: Jason James Comerford, 12 Jacqueline Michelle Connor, Patrick Dennis Corlett, John 13 David Randall Craig, Jeremy Elliott Dacks, Michael Joseph 14 Demczur, Mark Howard Dennison, Jennifer Shapley Dent, Tony 15 Di Tullio, Gary Eadie, Christopher John Edwards, Lara Mary 16 Bess Edwards, Megan Elizabeth Evans, Jennifer Leslie 17 Ferguson, Catherine Rachel Glaister, David Ryan Gledhill, 18 Daniel George Gloade, Avi Eric Goldstein, Michael Stewart 19 Grammer, Robert Russell Gray, Jared Eliot Green, Paul 20 Raymond Griffiths, Jennifer Anne Halajian, Sean William
21 Hanley, Celia Jewel Harte, Bonita Laine Haskell, Melanie 22 Marie Herbin, Martin Jacob Herman, Paul Bernard Higgins,
23 Wendy Shuk Yee Ho, Leanne Michelle Hoyles, Michelle Karina
24 Hunchak, Lisa Joanne Hutt, Vincent Matthew Iarocci, Aimee 25 Ilysee Israel, Alexander David Israel, Alan Gabriel James,
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1 Sandra Susan James, Riali Jessie Johannesson-Gruzak, 2 Sheerin Kalia, Moiz Murtaza Karimjeel.
3 MS. ANGELES: Alexandra Dianna Rankin
4 Kindbom, Bjon Axel Niklas Kindbom, Linda Elona Klaamas, 5 Cynthia Koller, Jeanie Konstantinou, Markus Frederick
6 Kremer, Alexander Willem Kuilman, Peter Emmanuel 7 Laframboise, Eduardo Fernandes Lam, Julie Marion Ilona 8 Lando, Ghen Marie Laraya, Pamela Jayne Larmondin, Jonathan
9 Elliot Leebosh, Heli Anita Leesment, Jeffrey Andre Legault, 10 Jennifer Ann Leitch, Shari Ann Linn, Thomas Douglas 11 Lissaman, Jennifer Anne Macinnnis, Carla Mariuz, Jennifer 12 Alison Mazin, Julie Elizabeth McAlpine, Christopher Daniel 13 Mcinnis, Jonathan Blake Mcclung, Scott Edward Mccrossin, 14 Paul McCulloch, Jennifer Jane Mitchell, Jaret Neil 15 Moldaver, Eileen La Barre Morin, Louis Vincent Morreale, 16 Eric Myles, Apple Casey Newton-Smith, Michael William 17 Nicol, Eric Laird O'Brien, Janet Lynn O'Brien, Iyesogie 18 Omoruyi, Felix HoMing Pao, Nicholas Alexander Papas, Donald
19 James Park, Frances Che-Fong Peng, Graca Fatima Pereira, 20 Donna Louise Petri, Lois Isabel Pineau. 21 MS. ROSS: Manlio Tullio Raponi, Arthur
22 Lawrence Reinstein, Alana Michelle Reitapple Blitstein,
23 David Rinaldo, Margaret Elizabeth Rogers, Stuart Elliot
24 Rudner, James Stephen Schacter, Ronald Dale Schmeichel,
25 Randolv Schwartz, Andre Paul Marc Seguin, Maris Andrea
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1 Selig, Mohan David Sharma, Melanie Ann Shishler, An Chu
2 Joanna Shum, Kee Fung Shum, Robert Peter Sinding, Erinn
3 Elizabeth Somerville, Kristina Millie Soutar, Robert John
4 Stokes, James Shotwell Stranges, Elyse Rochelle Sunshine,
5 Iris On Lai Tam, Christoper James Toal, Jeffrey William
6 Tighe, Arthur Fardinand Tschinkel, Aaron Isaac Unger, John
7 Matthew Walsh, Melanie Ann Warner, Jeffrey Michael Warren,
8 Gwendolyn Grace Watson, Christopher David Lester Webb,
9 Kimberley Ann Whaley and Samantha, Joseph Stanley
10 Wilkinson, Stephen Lawrence Winchie, Kevin King Wong, Lisa
11 Jade Wong, Wai Ming Wong, Alexander Shuyan Yeung, Kin-Yee
12 Tina Yuen, Derk Anton Zuraw, Heather Catherine Devine,
13 Vaughn MacLellan.
14 Would the candidates please rise.
15 Treasurer, in the name of the Benchers of
16 the Law Society of Upper Canada, I request you to confer
17 upon these cqndidates who have completed the course of
18 study at the Bar Admission Course and passed the prescribed
19 examinations and fulfilled all other requirements, the
20 Degree of Barrister-at-Law and call them to the Bar of
21 Ontario.
22 THE TREASURER: By virtue of the authority
23 vested in me by Convocation and pursuant to the Statutes on
24 that behalf, I bestow upon each of you the Degree of
25 Barrister-at-Law and call each of you to the Bar of the
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1 Province of Ontario. Congratulations.
2 Now I would like to call upon Jimmy Dick who
3 has come all the way from Moose Factory on the shores of
4 James Bay to perform an Honour Song and a Victory Song for
5 us on the Eagle Heart Drum.
6 JIMMY DICK: Before I start I just wanted to
7 describe briefly about the singing style and the drum. The
8 singing style I use is the original form of communication
9 for the parents to understand when the baby cries to you,
10 the way to change them, get the attention. That's the best
11 way I can describe our singing style of use, and also that
12 drum is the heartbeat of the people and heartbeat of the
13 earth and the voice of the Great Spirit. In this drum
14 stick that I have that I use is also a spirit. Once I
15 start using it on the drum it gives it life, and that's the
16 same way your heart operates, that interaction, plays a
17 tune and so then that gives you life too. The song that I
18 will do is the Honour Song. I will sing a couple of verses
19 and then the next song is a Victory Song, another two
20 verses. I wanted to share that with you before I start.
21 Honour Song
22 Victory Song
23 THE TREASURER: Madame Justice Arbour,
24 Distinguished Judges, Benchers, my new brothers and sisters
25 at the Bar, Ladies and Gentlemen, we have heard much about
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1 our candidates today and well, we should. It is their day
2 but it is also a celebration for you who loved and
3 supported the candidates for the last difficult years. So,
4 my new brothers and sisters at the Bar I would ask you to
5 stand please, turn around and show a round of applause for
6 those who loved you and supported you.
7 On behalf of the Benchers and the 28,700
8 lawyers in Ontario, soon to be 28 or 29,000 by the end of
9 this week, I welcome you to the Law Society of Upper Canada
10 and to the profession of law. and to your families and
11 spouses, significant others and friends, without whose
12 steady encouragement and support you could not have arrived
13 at this place, I offer the Society's warmest greetings and
14 congratulations. It has been a long time coming, this day.
15 You have been put to a severe test. You have endured. You
16 have truly endured. You have survived that test and you
17 ought to be very proud of your accomplishments.
18 You may ask, what does the future hold? And
19 my answer, you have arrived in the profession at the very
20 best of times. I say this without equivocation and
21 awareness that some others are of a contrary view. I
22 assure you our profession has never been stronger, your
23 prospects particularly never more abundant. The reason is
24 that you are better educated, smarter and more
25 technologically proficient than most of us who have
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1 preceded you into this profession. Your talents, your
2 gifts will lead us into the new millennium. This is so not
3 merely because you possess the exuberance and the passion
4 to accomplish that task but also because you come equipped
5 with the best legal education ever provided in this
6 province and I dare say in the world. You are perfectly
7 positioned to respond easily and well to the technological
8 transformation of the legal profession.
9 So the simple heart felt message I give to
10 you today is this. Value and preserve the spirit, the
11 energy, the commitment and enthusiasm that is self-evident
12 in this room. I ask you also to remember that the law is
13 not a job and it is obviously more than the mere mastery of
14 procedure. It is a noble, a learned and an honourable 15 profession and it is a privilege to be a lawyer and it is a
16 privilege that you should always cherish. Just as the Law
17 Society governs this profession in the public interest so
18 you, too, must conduct yourself in the public interest by
19 recognizing that you serve the administration of justice in
20 our province and in our country. So whatever your career
21 goals or aspirations, abide your commitment to serve your
22 clients and the public with honesty, with integrity and
23 with honour. If you abide this commitment you will do
24 honour to yourself, you will do honour to your families and
25 you will do honour to our noble profession. I wish each of
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1 you health, happiness and that every day you may be as
2 happy as you are today.
3 Convocation stands adjourned.
4 THE REGISTRAR: Order, all rise. This
5 special sitting of the Court of Appeal for Ontario and the
6 Ontario Court of Justice (General Division) is now
7 convened. God save the Queen.
8 Will the candidates please remain standing.
9 All others may be seated.
10 CHAIR OF THE ADMISSIONS and EQUITY
11 COMMITTEE:
12 Associate Chief Justice, on behalf of the
13 Treasurer and Benchers of the Law Society of Upper Canada,
14 I have the honour to present the candidates whose names are
15 before you. These candidates have complied with the rules
16 of the Law Society and have been called to the Bar in
17 Convocation today. I would ask that they be allowed to
18 take the usually Oaths.
19 THE REGISTRAR: Shall I proceed to
20 administrate the Oaths, Associate Chief Justice Smith?
21 ASSOCIATE CHIEF JUSTICE SMITH: Yes, please,
22 Madame Registrar.
23 THE REGISTRAR: I am about to administer the
24 Oath of Allegiance, the Barristers Oath and the Solicitors
25 Oath. At the end of each Oath I will say the words "So
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1 help you God". You will then respond as follows. Any of
2 you who object to being sworn may make an affirmation that
3 is of the same force and effect as if you had sworn the
4 Oaths. At the conclusion of each Oath you will say the
5 words, "I do affirm" in a clear and loud voice. Those of
6 you who are being sworn will, at the conclusion of each
7 Oath say the words "So help me God" again in a very clear
8 and loud voice. The Oath of Allegiance will now be taken
9 by those candidates who wish to be sworn to that Oath.
10 Do you swear that you shall be faithful and
11 bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the 12 Second, Her heirs and successors according to law, so help
13 you God. And now we say together.
14 ---Oath of Allegiance
15 THE REGISTRAR: All candidates will now take
16 the Barristers Oath. You are called to the Degree of 17 Barrister-at-Law to protect and defend the rights and
18 interest of such citizens as who may employ you. You shall
19 conduct all cases faithfully and to the best of your
20 ability. You shall neglect no one's interest nor seek to
21 destroy anyone's property. You shall not be guilty of
22 champerty or maintenance. You shall not refuse causes of
23 complaint reasonably founded, nor shall you promote suits
24 upon frivolous pretences. You shall not per pervert the
25 law to favour or prejudice anyone, but in all things shall
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1 conduct yourself truly and with integrity. In fine, the
2 Queen's interests and the interest of citizens you shall
3 uphold and maintain according to the constitution and the
4 law of this Province. All of this you swear to observe and
5 perform to the best of your knowledge and ability, so help
6 you God. And now we say together.
7 ---Barristers Oath
8 THE REGISTRAR: Solicitors Oath. You also
9 do sincerely promise and swear that you will truly and
10 honestly conduct yourself in the practice of a solicitor,
11 according to the best of your knowledge and ability, so
12 help you God. And now we say together.
13 ---Solicitors Oath
14 THE REGISTRAR: You may now be seated.
15 ASSOCIATE CHIEF JUSTICE SMITH: Judicial
16 Colleagues, Barristers and Solicitors (it has a nice ring
17 to it already, doesn't it), Ladies and Gentlemen, I offer
18 the congratulations of the Ontario Courts to each new
19 member of the Bar. When I was called to the Bar
20 twenty-five years ago at the O'Keefe Centre, as it then
21 was, I don't remember the Chief Justice who spoke and I am
22 embarrassed to say that I don't remember his comments and I
23 will take that as my cue that my remarks will be under
24 three minutes. I know that at that time there were judges,
25 too, on the platform and in some respects things never
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1 change.
2 What I do recall on that occasion was a
3 sense of overwhelming relief that a chapter of my life was
4 over that included both academic and financial pressures.
5 Yes, there had been many happy aspects of student life
6 including meeting my husband in law school. But law school
7 and related studies were never a goal, just a vehicle to
8 pursue other goals. Your law degree and Call to the Bar
9 opens doors to the practice of law, to academia, to
10 business and to Government.
11 What are your goals as you embark on a new
12 chapter of your life? I hope they include approaching your
13 work with diligence and integrity, serving promptly, 14 courteously and well the individual client and the court,
15 remembering to balance your professional obligations with
16 your equally important obligations to yourself and to the
17 members of your family. Recognizing that with the practice
18 of law comes a moral responsibility to serve the public,
19 the cornerstone of any profession. The emphasis on service
20 to the court, to the profession and to the community is a
21 vital one. Most of us have an idealistic faith and all of
22 us I think have at least some pragmatic faith. I know that
23 each of you already recognize the very high standards and
24 responsibilities of your new profession. But being human,
25 and this is a very human day, what is probably on your mind
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1 right now are very human considerations. There is the
2 issue of revenue, the revenue that comes when the financial
3 pressures are at last relieved because an income stream has
4 been created. One can almost sense the pleasure, pride and
5 the relief of everybody in this room that this day has
6 finally crystallized. That the perennial law students have
7 become at last practising lawyers.
8 There is the question of the right job.
9 Maybe for some of you, you already know in your heart of
10 hearts that you have found that right job. Many of you are
11 hoping that you have but you are not yet quite sure or
12 certain. What are the ingredients of the right job?
13 Revenue is important certainly but it is not everything. 14 Security? Well, those big Government and corporate jobs
15 are still around but there aren't as many of them and they
16 are not as secure as they were a generation ago.
17 Job satisfaction, that's a fundamental. To
18 find the right fit for you. Because if you can find a
19 challenging and satisfying role you will enjoy the work,
20 and you will work that much harder and hopefully enjoy life
21 that much more. Work becomes a joy as opposed to a legal
22 version of life in the salt mines. Occupational
23 satisfaction, the question of the right fit. We have
24 something more than a revenue issue. It is making a
25 difference, doing something that makes you feel what you
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1 are doing is worthwhile. Sometimes it will be something 2 that will improve other people's lives, hopefully your 3 clients, perhaps your family, perhaps even improving the
4 society in which we live. Some of the lawyers are anxious
5 to do that. Madame Justice Louise Arbour is a splendid 6 example. If you can you will be a better person for having 7 done it. Today there are many opportunities out there for 8 lawyers to make a difference. I know there are many
9 frustrations for you out there as well. You know what I am
10 talking about because these are the very things that you 11 have been thinking about the last few years. There are no 12 easy answers and you know that. 13 So I am simply here on behalf of the Courts 14 of Ontario to wish you well, to congratulate you and your 15 supportive families on your occasion today. I leave you 16 with this last thought. Remember, it is worthwhile to 17 contribute to improving your profession, it is worthwhile 18 contributing to improve our Society, and if you are able to
19 make those kinds of contributions you may even find that is
20 more satisfying than any revenue that I hope each of you
21 will be experiencing shortly.
22 Madam Registrar, will you please close the
23 court?
24 THE REGISTRAR: Order, all rise. This
25 sitting of the this Court is now concluded. God save the
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1 Queen.
2
3
4
5
6 I hereby certify the foregoing to be
7 a true and accurate computer-aided
8 transcription of my shorthand notes
9 taken to the best of my skill and
10 ability.
11 12 ~~"--~------13 M. J. Corcoran, C.S.R.
14
15
16
17
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