Canadians enjoy their reputation for civility. One element of any proper notion of civility is the degree to which it embraces difference.

Recently, The Globe and Mail featured articles and an editorial complaining about the fact that a disproportionate number of federal judicial appointments were white and that minority groups in Canada were not fairly represented.

I applaud the efforts of the lawyers in the Department of Justice to formally raise the issue of changing the name of the Law Society of Upper Canada to reflect a modern one (see “Should LSUC change its name?” on April 23).

In response to concerns raised in the March 19 edition of Law Times (see “Lawyers skeptical of LAO’s ‘phenomenal’ changes”), when a client receives a Legal Aid Ontario certificate, he or she can take it to one of more than 4,000 private practice lawyers in Ontario who participate in the certificate program.

Philip Epstein sees nothing wrong if the same person who conducted the failed mediation conducts an arbitration on the same matter (see “Lawyer touts benefits, responds to critics of med-arb,” March 12).

Gary Joseph has set out his personal views as to why he eschews mediation-arbitration and why he is uncomfortable with the process (see “Lawyer disturbed by med-arb,” Jan. 16). I think his letter deserves a response from a mediator-arbitrator.

Further to the editorial, “Crunching the numbers at LAO” on Feb. 13, it is important to emphasize that Legal Aid Ontario’s transformation has been ongoing since 2008.

CLARIFYING SURROGACY RULES
Regarding your Jan. 2, 2012, article, “Loopholes in law spark rise in illegal surrogacy deals,” we would like to clarify that the Assisted Human Reproduction Act applies in respect of the reimbursement of sperm and egg donors as well as surrogate mothers for their expenses.

I am writing in response to the article “Lawyer slams costs for medical records” that appeared in the Jan. 9, 2012, edition of Law Times.

Last summer, I was appointed as the employer nominee to a panel that mediated/arbitrated the dispute between Air Canada and the Canadian Auto Workers.

In reference to Law Times’ coverage of the title insurance industry (see “Title insurance wars heating up once again,” July 11), Stewart Title Guaranty Co. would like to provide further context regarding the need for an important clarification to be made.

I am writing in response to an article on June 6 entitled “LSUC considers counselling for returnees.”