Her Excellency Marie Legault, High Commissioner of Canada to Barbados, speaking at the launch of the Barbados Bench Bar Journal 2018 at the UWI’s 3Ws Pavilion on Saturday.
From left: Governor General of Barbados, Her Excellency Dame Sandra Mason; Chief Justice of Barbados, the Hon. Sir Marston Gibson; Sir Richard Cheltenham; Speaker of the House, Arthur Holder; and Sir David Simmons, at the official launch of the Barbados Bench Bar Journal 2018 on Saturday.
THE Barbados Bench Bar Journal has its role to play in the continuous development of the legal profession and judiciary in Barbados and the region.
This was the view of High Commissioner of Canada to Barbados, Her Excellency Marie Legault, during her feature address at the launch of the Barbados Bench Bar Journal at the 3Ws Pavilion, University of the West Indies (UWI), Cave Hill campus on Saturday.
Legault explained that in Canada, scholarly law reviews are frequently cited by the Supreme Court there and it has been influential in the development of laws.
“Government legal experts often refer to law reviews when looking for ways to improve laws,” she said.
During her speech, High Commissioner Legault gave the example of how law reviews have changed legislature for indigenous people in Canada. She added that in 2017, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that his government would assemble a working group of six ministers to review all federal laws and policies as it relates to indigenous people.
The High Commissioner also mentioned in her remarks that two weeks ago, through the Jurist project, the region and Canada made history. She noted that Antigua and Barbuda worked with the Supreme Court to form the first Sexual Offences Model Court in St. John’s.
“I am glad that the (Government of Canada was) able to contribute to this reform in the region and the establishment of this court. I think it is extremely important...” said High Commissioner Legault.
She added that it is her hope that others in the region would see the court as a model for the continued progressive development of the judicial system as it relates to women’s rights.
President of the Barbados Bar Association (BBA), Liesel Weekes, in her vote of thanks, made special mention of the High Commissioner, who played an integral role in the Barbados Bench Bar Journal project and hosting of the book launch. Weekes noted the involvement of the Canadian government with UWI and the formation of the Improved Access to Justice in the Caribbean (IMPACT Justice) Project. The IMPACT Justice Project is a five-year multi-country regional justice sector reform initiative funded by the Government of Canada.
Saturday’s book launch was a collaborative effort of the Barbados Supreme Court, the IMPACT Justice Project and the Barbados Bar Association funded by the Government of Canada.