Pubdate: Thu, 14 Jul 2005
Source: Vancouver Sun (CN BC)
Copyright: 2005 The Vancouver Sun
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/vancouver/vancouversun/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/477
Author: Cristin Schmitz, CanWest News Service
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada)

WAR ON DRUGS, LUMBER FIGHT COST US MILLIONS

Ottawa Paid $55.4 Million To Private Law Firms In 2004 With Key 
Battles Dominating The Bill

OTTAWA -- A civil suit to recover the millions sucked down the drain 
in the Quebec sponsorship program was among the costs that drove 
Ottawa'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, 
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 Ottawa 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 Ottawa 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 
Department of Public Works.

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 Ottawa 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.

Last year she and her firm, Hughes Hubbard and Reed, billed almost $1 
million for defending western hard red spring wheat and live swine.

A venerable Calgary firm, Macleod Dixon, was the top-billing Canadian 
law firm for 2004-2005, charging $4 million for defending the federal 
Crown in a complex $1.3-billion-plus dispute with some Alberta Indian 
bands, who allege the government mismanaged their oil revenues for decades.

As usual, the single biggest-ticket item on Ottawa's legal tab was 
the unending "war on drugs," which the Justice Department projects 
will cost $18.4 million in 2004-2005.

Bills are submitted by 250 law firms across Canada appointed as 
standing Crown agents. The bulk of the billings come from British 
Columbia, home of gargantuan marijuana grow-ops. Six law firms 
amongst the 20 top-billing private federal prosecutors hail from 
B.C., billing a total of $4.8 million.
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