Manitoba lawyer named Canadian Bar Association president

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This article was published 08/09/2023 (823 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Manitoba lawyer has become president of the Canadian Bar Association.

On Thursday, John Stefaniuk was honoured for being named the organization’s 95th president. He’s set to lead more than 38,000 lawyers, judges, notaries, law professors and law students across Canada.

“It’s a tremendous honour,” Stefaniuk said hours before his reception at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.

He joins 11 Manitobans who share the title of CBA president over the association’s 127-year history.

“It’s not something that I set my cap for,” said Stefaniuk, 61. “It’s something that kind of evolved over time.”

He joined the association as a University of Manitoba law student in 1987.

Within years, he was actively participating in the CBA, chairing the Manitoba Bar Association and the CBA’s national environment, energy and resource law section, among others.

Meantime, Stefaniuk was growing his client base. He’s been a Thompson Dorfman Sweatman lawyer since his articling days in 1987.

“John has, for as long as I’ve known him, cared very deeply about the profession of law,” said Keith LaBossiere, CEO of Thompson Dorfman Sweatman. “I have no doubt that he’s going to bring that spirit and that passion to the position that he’s in.”

CBA members voted Stefaniuk their vice-president last year. He transitioned to president on Sept. 1.

There’s plenty to tackle, Stefaniuk said. For one, there’s an ongoing battle to protect the rule of law in Canada and abroad, and lobbying government for “appropriate resources” for legal aid.

“We have to make sure that they’re properly resourcing the court systems,” Stefaniuk said, highlighting funding at the provincial level.

The CBA will work to ensure criticism from political voices are directed at justice systems and court decisions rather than specific judges, Stefaniuk said.

He’s hoping to make the CBA a welcoming space for all members and work with similar associations in the sector, including the Indigenous Bar Association, he said.

Encouraging volunteerism among lawyers is also top of Stefaniuk’s agenda. He’s travelled to Africa four times with the CBA and Global Affairs Canada to improve women’s positions in communities affected by resource extraction.

He was a member of the CBA’s truth and reconciliation task force, and he chaired the Friends of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, which drew $150 million to build the museum.

Mentorship, advocacy, pro bono cases, coaching soccer teams — all are ways CBA members can give back, Stefaniuk said.

“It’s very easy… as a lawyer to be caught up and busy with your own practice,” said his colleague LaBossiere. “Successful lawyers are very busy, they have a lot of clients… John is all of that, but he has very deliberately chosen to take time every year to give back.

“I can’t think of a better person to lead… (the) charge than John Stefaniuk.”

Irwin Dorfman, one founder of Thompson Dorfman Sweatman, was appointed CBA president in 1975.

Stefaniuk succeeds Montreal lawyer Steeves Bujold. Lynne Vicars, an Ontario judge, is the CBA’s new vice-president.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com