UNIFORM LAW CONFERENCE CONCLUDES TODAY

Released on August 26, 2004

A national conference bringing senior Canadian law and policy makers together to harmonize federal, provincial and territorial laws, finishes up in Regina today.

The annual Uniform Law Conference of Canada was held from August 22nd - 26th in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Conference is a volunteer organization consisting of commissioners from all areas of the legal community including private and corporate practice, criminal defence, academia, government and the judiciary. Approximately 90 commissioners attended this year's Conference.

During the week, the Conference completed its work on four uniform acts that are now recommended to Canadian governments for adoption, relating to conduct of public inquiries, mandatory blood testing and disclosure, the transfer of investment securities and the effect of illegal provisions in contracts.

In addition, the Conference considered approximately 50 resolutions recommending amendments to the Criminal Code and related statutes and two discussion papers – one on the Right to State-Funded Counsel and the other on disclosure issues as they impact a defendant's ability to obtain a fair trial.

The Conference sits in two sections, criminal and civil. The Criminal Section assembles prosecutors from federal, provincial and territorial governments with defence counsel and judges to consider amendments to the Criminal Code and related statutes. The Civil Section assembles government policy lawyers, private lawyers and law reformers to consider areas in which federal, provincial and territorial laws would benefit from harmonization. A key area of their work is the Commercial Law Strategy, the goal of which is to modernize and harmonize Canada's commercial laws.

The Civil Section approved continuation of its current work relating to regulation of charitable fundraising activities, proposals for a new Limitations Act, and security interests in personal property. The Section made considerable progress toward the adoption of uniform legislation relating to the enforcement of civil judgments, which should be concluded this fall, and the regulation of franchises, which is expected to be brought back to next year's meeting for final approval.

Many of the Conference's uniform acts and recommendations for criminal law reform have been adopted into legislation. Saskatchewan has a history of implementing uniform acts in a timely manner and will continue to benefit from the work of the Conference in the future.

More information on the history and work of the conference is available online at: http://www.ulcc.ca.

-30-

For More Information, Contact:

Andrew Dinsmore Justice Regina Phone: (306)787-8606