Canada, Fabulosity

The View From Up North: See, Lawyers Can Do Good!

In a world where lawyer jokes abound, let's recognize a cadre of lawyers who are deserving of not being made the brunt of a joke.

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Canada View From Up North It’s easy to shoot darts at lawyers. We’re educated and prominent, and some of us make a lot of money, which fosters jealousy. Still, most lawyers are ethical and hardworking. Yet, we sometimes do stupid things, illegal things—when we should know better—and get pilloried as a result.

Rightfully so. It is a privilege to practice law, not a Charter-given right. We are held to a higher standard.

I confess, I have been known to shoot darts at lawyers in this column from time to time. I take aim at prominent lawyers who step outside the bounds of law or good taste.

Today, however, is “opposite” day. Today I’m focusing on lawyers who have done good.

I’m sure most of you are familiar with the Order of Canada. But, did you know it’s the highest civilian award in the country? The Order was established by Queen Elizabeth II in 1967 with the goal of recognizing “outstanding achievement, dedication to the community and service to the nation.” In keeping with that, the Order’s motto is Desiderantes Meliorem Patriam. According to Google Translate, that’s Latin for, “Longing for a mellow father.”

Wait, that can’t be right… hang on, let me check the official website. It says the motto translates as, “They desire a better country.” That makes way more sense.

Here’s a little more background. There are three levels of investiture. Companion is the highest level. It recognizes national pre-eminence or stellar international service or achievement. Our #1 son, Wayne Gretzky, for example, is a Companion of the Order of Canada. So are several ex-Supreme Court justices like Antonio Lamer and Ian Binnie. Little known fact—in order to make the Companion level exclusive, there can only be 165 living Companions at any given time.

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Officer of the Order of Canada is the next level. It recognizes national service or achievement. Member of the Order of Canada is the third level. It recognizes outstanding achievements at a local level or in a specific field of activity.

In keeping with our “lawyers doing good” theme, I am pleased to announce that nine lawyers were recently named to the Order of Canada for their outstanding achievements. Without further ado, here they are, along with the official reason for the honour:

Brian M. Levitt (Officer)—For his contributions to the legal and business communities, and for his support of the arts.

Richard McLaren (Officer)—For his contributions to sports law and arbitration, alternative dispute resolution and legal education as an internationally renowned lawyer and professor.

The Honourable Richard Scott (Officer)—For his contributions to the administration of justice and for his service to the community.

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Jennifer Stoddart (Officer)—For her international leadership in privacy rights and for her exemplary public service as the privacy commissioner of Canada.

The Honourable Joseph Daigle (Member)—For his contributions as a jurist and lawyer, notably for increasing access to justice for Francophones in his province.

Barbara Hall (Member)—For her human rights leadership and for her commitment to public service.

Kent Roach (Member)—For his steadfast defence of the rights of Canadians, both as a scholar and as a litigator.

Morris Rosenberg (Member)—For his sustained commitment to our country and for his effective and ethical leadership as a senior public servant.

Fiona Sampson (Member)—For her commitment to human rights, particularly those of women and girls in Africa.

Congratulations to all our brothers and sisters who have earned our country’s most prestigious award. In a world where lawyer jokes abound, it’s nice to recognize a cadre of lawyers who are deserving of not being made the brunt of a joke.

That’s the View From Up North. Have a great week.

P.S. For you cynics, only six people have ever been removed from the Order of Canada. Can you guess how many are lawyers? Hint: More than half.

Steve Dykstra is a Canadian-trained lawyer and legal recruiter. He is the President of Steven Dykstra Law Professional Corporation, a boutique corporate/commercial law firm located in the greater Toronto area. You can contact Steve at steve@stevendykstralaw.ca. You can also read his blog at stevendykstra.wordpress.com, follow him on Twitter (@Law_Think), or connect on LinkedIn (ca.linkedin.com/in/stevedykstra/).

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