Of course, our past, present and future come together every day of our lives, sometimes with happy memories and present satisfactions and positive expectations about the future; sometimes with sad remembrances, present concerns and fears for the future; and mostly a mix. For me today the past, present and future are very much a mix.
The present (if I allow a little broader understanding of the present than just today) is worthy of celebration. Last week the LCO released its final report on the Modernization of the Provincial Offences Act at an event at Toronto City Hall attended by about 30 people involved in regulatory law under the POA one way or another. Deputy Attorney General Murray Segal received the Report on behalf of the government and made supportive comments about the LCO. Justice Rick Libman spoke on behalf of the Ontario Court of Justice. The two heads of project, Mark Scholfield and Mohan Sharma (both as it happens MAG LCO Counsel in Residence), who did such a wonderful job on this project, were able to attend. Most of the LCO staff were there and Janice Williams and Amanda Rodrigues were able to see the fruition of their consideration administrative support. Today we received a copy of a letter sent to the Attorney General from a group with a particular interest in the POA, emphasizing the need for reform and referring not only to other MAG initiatives, but very positively to our POA Report.
The LCO is thinking about the future very positively. We know that we will be continuing for another five years, the Board of Governors is beginning to review our policies, approve new projects and generally prepare for an exciting first six months of 2012 as we release final reports in all our outstanding projects. At its upcoming meeting, it will consider a revised strategic plan that reflects what we've learned, what we've accomplished and where we intend to go in the future. Today we finished the last of our conversations with people who have shown an interest in joining the Board of Governors and the new Community Council. What a fabulous group of people who responded to our call for members of both bodies! We look forward to the challenges and are excited about the opportunities to advance law reform, increase our community outreach and consultation and collabourate with others.
And now the past. Today is the first anniversary of my mother's death. My sister, in a new
job in Antigonish, and I talked this morning only a few minutes before
she quietly passed away a year ago. We relived our feelings, at different times we each
viewed the DVD of photos of Mum's life prepared for the commemoration of
her life, we each remembered in our own way. This
past will always be with us, although less and less intensively. Our
mother will be part of us (reflected in the good and the not so good about us) as
long as we live. It is the past that dominates today. But I know that she would be pleased about the sense of the LCO's achievement of today and the expectations about its bright future.
