Canadian Defence Lawyers is the voice of the defence bar in Canada.  The Canadian Defence Lawyers Public Policy Secretariat is the personification of that voice.  Its purpose is to engage the Courts, Government and all stakeholders in the Civil Justice system in Canada through various submissions, providing guidance and ensuring the integrity of the system.  We address issues that are important to our membership and engage the Civil Justice system through interventions, consultations, scholarship, academic articles and advocacy from coast to coast.  We draw on the vast knowledge and experience of our membership to provide that voice when and where it is needed.

The Public Policy Secretariat currently encompasses two sub-groups:

Intervenor

The CDL Intervener Group seeks to intervene in matters involving a compelling interest and of a special significance to the Civil Defence Bar or to the client industry.  We engage at the National, Provincial or local level.  The Group carefully selects those matters according to a set of criteria to ensure our voice is heard when and where needed.  The goal of the CDL Intervener Group is to use CDL's voice to assist the Courts and Tribunals with the issues and to provide guidance on how those same issues may be dealt with across Canada and internationally.

                   CDL Intervenor Policy

                   Current and Recent CDL Interventions

CDL members are invited to bring forward issues or cases where CDL may engage. Any proposals should be sent to Danielle Russell or danielle@cdlawyers.org

All proposals are reviewed by the Intervenor Group and based on an established framework for evaluation. 

Government and Regulatory

The CDL Government and Regulatory Group's focus is to engage with Legislators and Regulatory bodies in order to provide input and guidance to those bodies when dealing with issues important to the Insurance Defence Bar that affect our membership across the nation.  This includes making submissions to various Governmental groups, Inquiries and Commissions.  We seek to work with the policy makers to ensure that the voice of the Defence Bar is considered and to protect the integrity and fairness of our Civil system across Canada.

                    CDL Public Submission (Government/Regulatory) Policy

                    Recent CDL Government/Regulatory submissions

Media inquiries to Danielle Russell, Executive Director 416-340-9859 or danielle@cdlawyers.org

Please note, Canadian Defence Lawyers represents civil defence lawyers, not criminal defence. Media inquiries on criminal defence matters may want to contact the Criminal Lawyers Association www.criminallawyers.ca