Pubdate: Thu, 14 Jul 2005
Source: Ottawa Citizen (CN ON)
Copyright: 2005 The Ottawa Citizen
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/ottawa/ottawacitizen/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/326
Author: Cristin Schmitz

LAWYERS COST GOVERNMENT $55M A YEAR

War On Drugs, Trade Disputes Eat Up Funds

A civil suit to recover the millions sucked down the drain in the 
Quebec sponsorship program was among the costs that drove the federal 
government's private legal tab last year to more than $55 million, 
internal government records disclose.

Canada-U.S. trade disputes, an epic aboriginal legal battle in 
Alberta and "the war on drugs" were also among big-ticket items 
billed by private lawyers.

The 430 private law firms who represent the Government of Canada in 
litigation by and against the federal Crown billed $55.4 million for 
legal work performed during the latest fiscal year ending March 31, 
2005, the Department of Justice said in documents obtained under the 
federal Access to Information Act.

Taxpayers' tab for private legal help in 2004-2005 slightly exceeds 
the $54.5 million bill the federal government shelled out in 
2003-2004, but it still represents a steep decline from the record 
set four years ago when the government forked over more than $63 
million to Canadian and American law firms.

Last year, almost $21.8 million was spent to prosecute criminal and 
federal regulatory offences, while $15.5 million was spent on civil 
matters. Nearly $6 million was spent on aboriginal-related 
litigation, including defending the Crown against land claims.

While it was far from the biggest expense, Quebec law firm Cain, 
Lamarre, Casgrain, Wells billed more than $1.3 million to lay the 
groundwork for a lawsuit launched by the government last March over 
the sponsorship scandal.

The suit seeks to recover $54 million in damages from 11 ad agencies 
and eight individuals for alleged over-billing during the 
government's scandal-plagued sponsorship program from 1997 to 2000.

The suit is on temporary hold pending the release of the Gomery 
commission's report next November.

"But if the case goes to trial, it's going to be a long trial," 
predicted Montreal lawyer Andre Gauthier, who crafted the suit for 
the government.

In 2004-2005, for the fourth year in a row, blue-chip Washington, 
D.C. attorneys Weil Gotshal & Manges billed more than any other law 
firm: nearly $5.9 million for a 15-member legal team that defends 
Canada's $10.5 billion annual exports of softwood lumber against 
American protectionism.

As a group, U.S. attorneys will bill the federal government close to 
$7 million in 2004-2005, mostly for representing Canadian interests 
in high-stakes trade disputes with the U.S.

"Most trade between the U.S. and Canada is very peaceful but there 
are a few friction areas which get all of the attention," remarked 
veteran Washington, D.C. litigator Catherine Curtiss, who sees no end in sight.

As usual, the single biggest-ticket item on the federal legal tab was 
the unending "war on drugs," which the Justice Department projects 
will cost $18.4 million in 2004-2005, down $1 million from the year before.
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