Thank you for this opportunity to speak with you today.  Je m’excuse mais il n’y a pas de
traductions simultanées cet après-midi.  Donc, je donnerai mes remarques en anglais.

I have attended two Conference Chairs meetings but this is my first NSC meeting representing a
section.  I am excited to be able to meet the people who do such amazing work for the CBA.  I
am truly in awe of your accomplishments.

For those of you who do not know me, I have a general solicitor’s practice in a small town.  I
personally rely on attendance at section meetings so I can connect with experts and become as
current as I can be in a lot of areas of law.  I also enjoy my work with the Women Lawyers
Forum for networking and mentoring purposes. 

I want to acknowledge your collective efforts for our organization, whether in CLE programs,
advocacy or outreach.

Sections and Conferences are integral and vital to the CBA’s continued success.  I would like us
to work together to find innovative ways to deliver our programs and maximize our limited
resources so we can do even more.

You already know how much work you do and how slow it sometimes seems when we wait for
translations, approval of submissions and CLE programs.  At least, that is what I have heard in
speaking with many of you.  We have to remember that, except for LPAC and CCCA, we are
sharing staff.  By partnering more with each other, we can avoid duplication of effort and
develop programs that appeal to a wider audience, resulting in more revenue and hopefully more
members.

Last year, I suggested to the Conference Chairs that we investigate the possibility of combining
some receptions because some of us are pulled in many directions and we should support each
other by sharing our celebrations rather than competing with each other.

I know that we can explore ways to work with each other cooperatively Branch to Branch.  Let us
ask ourselves how we can do what we want to do.  What is in our way?  How can we overcome
these obstacles?  We solve problems for our clients everyday.  We have the smarts to figure out
how we can do more with less.  Our goal should be to grow our membership so we will have
more to work with in the long run. 

I will not say more in the interest of time.  I ask you to be at Council on Sunday morning to hear
my speech.  If you cannot be here, then go to my web site at www.trindaernst.ca next week to
read the entire text in both official languages.