Thank you, Mr. Chair. The Standing Committee on Social Programs had a public hearing on Bill 13, An Act to Amend the Legal Profession Act, on September 11, 2008, and after being forced to adjourn due to a small fire, again on September 12, 2008.
The proposed amendments will bring the regulation of the legal profession in line with the best practices and standards being applied in the rest of Canada. The amendments were developed with active participation by the NWT Law Society and reflect the needs and wishes of the profession while still ensuring that the rights of the clients are protected.
The amendments clarify the disciplinary process for lawyers, provide for a layperson to sit on the discipline committee, allow for mediation of certain complaints, provide reinvestigation of complaints, allow for restrictions to be placed on the practices of lawyers or students at law, allow for the suspension or termination of the right to practise of a lawyer suspended or terminated in another province, and for automatic suspension if the lawyer is serving a prison sentence.
This concludes the committee’s comments on Bill 13, An Act to Amend the Legal Profession Act. Individual members of the committee may have comments or questions as we proceed. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.