Ontario has not had a new law school in more than 40 years, but many people believe it needs one, particularly in the north. Indeed, an examination of the rationale underlying Lakehead University’s proposal reveals a compelling case for a new law school that would address both current and prospective unmet needs.
Lakehead wants to establish a northern faculty of law with a special emphasis on a handful of key issues that are particularly germane to northern Ontario.
Specifically, Lakehead’s law school would focus on addressing the legal needs of aboriginal communities in the north; dealing with the declining participation in sole- and small-law firm practice; and concentrating on legal issues related to the resource-based economy of northern Ontario.
In the early 1990s, each of the law societies in Canada delegated the task of assessing and recommending proposals for new law school programs to a committee of the Federation of Law Societies of Canada. The purpose was to ensure consistency in the approval process and portability of law degrees across the country.
In February, the federation approved Lakehead’s proposal, subject to certain conditions, and recommended that law societies in Canada do the same. A law society’s approval means graduates of the new program are entitled to enter the licensing process without having to satisfy any additional requirements.
On April 28, the Law Society of Upper Canada’s governing body voted unanimously in favour of Lakehead’s proposal, subject to the same conditions imposed by the federation, including approval by the appropriate governmental authority.
All that remains on Lakehead’s to-do list is to get the green light from Ontario’s Ministry of Training, Colleges, and Universities for funding support.
The government should support the proposal for a number of reasons. In particular, if the province wants to increase opportunities for First Nations and Métis students to be educated in professional programs, locating a law school in the north makes sense.
According to the 2006 census, aboriginal people make up only two per cent of the total population of Ontario but more than 10 per cent up north. However, all six of Ontario’s law schools are concentrated in southern Ontario. It takes more than 16 hours to drive from Thunder Bay, Ont., to the closest school.
Being able to live at home with the support of family and friends and continue to participate in community feasts, powwows, and gatherings can make attending law school a financially and emotionally viable option for First Nations and Métis students.
Despite the commendable goals of having a northern law school, the project also has its detractors. According to one line of thought, the economy in the north isn’t strong enough to support more lawyers.
While it’s true that the forestry industry has taken a hit, anyone who has doubts about northern Ontario’s economy has probably not heard of the Ring of Fire or the multitude of other mining projects starting up in this region.
The Ring of Fire is a massive area approximately 500 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay that’s widely believed to contain mammoth deposits of chromium, nickel, copper, platinum, and palladium.
According to some estimates, the Ring of Fire contains enough chromite, a mineral not previously found in North America that’s used to make stainless steel, to supply world markets for the next 100 years. Some predict Thunder Bay will boom like Sudbury, Ont., did following the discovery of nickel.
The economic benefits of the Ring of Fire are tantalizing, but in order to access them, the parties involved will need to accommodate the constitutionally protected rights of Métis and First Nations peoples.
The Ring of Fire itself is located on the traditional territories of a number of First Nations, and the access route needed will cut through them. Both mining industry representatives and aboriginal stakeholders, not to mention provincial and federal government decision-makers, will need legal advice and guidance on their respective rights.
They include treaty and constitutional rights, land claims, and the law as it relates to mineral and resource development, all of which are precisely the topics Lakehead’s faculty of law will focus on. This guidance can’t come too soon.
The lack of development of the Ring of Fire so far has been attributed, at least in part, to blockades set up by First Nations.
Another critique of Lakehead’s proposal is that Ontario already has more law school graduates than articling positions. Indeed, the shortage of articling positions was a hot topic of discussion in the recent bencher election given that 250 licensing candidates didn’t find one in 2010.
The solution to this problem, though, isn’t to limit the number of law school graduates because a shortage of articling positions doesn’t equate to an abundance of lawyers.
In fact, the law society’s final report of the sole practitioner and small-firm task force noted a shortage in the number of lawyers in rural and northern Ontario. The gap is expected to become more severe as aging lawyers in these areas retire. The result is an access-to-justice issue for Ontario’s northern and rural citizens.
Lakehead’s faculty of law would be in a perfect position to address this problem. Students from northern Ontario who go to school there and avoid racking up what can amount to more than $100,000 in debt are more likely to stay and practise in northern Ontario, where salaries can’t compete with those on Bay Street.
What’s more, Lakehead’s law program aims to give students the entrepreneurial skills they need to succeed in sole and small-firm practice.
As for the shortage of articling positions, the solution will need to come not only from Lakehead and law schools in general but also the combined efforts of the law society and the bar to find creative ways to allow licensing candidates to get the practical mentoring they need and support small firms and sole practitioners in taking on students.
Lakehead has already completed much of the difficult groundwork. Not only has it secured approvals from the federation and the law society, it has also purchased a magnificent Queen Anne-style building to house the law school and has acquired dozens of boxes of legal texts to fill its law library.
All that remains is for the province to allow Lakehead to achieve its laudable goals.
Karen Drake is an associate with Erickson & Partners in Thunder Bay. She’s a citizen of the Métis Nation of Ontario and a member of the chancellor’s task force that has the mandate to secure approval for Lakehead’s proposed faculty of law.
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