This year, the Section executive (Co‐Chairs Darla Rettie and Catherine Skinner, Vice‐Chair Cynthia Lau
and Member‐at‐Large Vivian Hilder) planned and offered three sessions targeting various practice areas
across the public and private bar.
In December 2013, the Section held its annual holiday party at the office of the Manitoba Law Reform
Commission. Participants were asked to describe a legal research problem they’d encountered and how
they addressed it. It was a lively, productive meeting.
In January 2014, the Section sponsored a Mid‐Winter session called A Roadmap to Statutory
Interpretation. The Section was honoured to welcome as speakers Patricia Pledge of the Federal
Department of Justice, and Melanie Bueckert, legal research counsel at the Manitoba Court of Appeal on
secondment to the University of Manitoba, Faculty of Law. Catherine Skinner of the Manitoba Law
Reform Commission moderated this informative session.
Members of the Section, including Co‐Chairs Darla Rettie and Catherine Skinner, volunteered as learning
group facilitators for the CPLED legal research and writing module, to assist in the development of
research competencies of those entering our profession.
The Section wrap‐up event will be held on June 25, 2014, featuring an informal presentation titled
Citation Rules and an outdoor barbeque. The Section executive is also busy planning events for 2014‐
2015.
This Section continues to offer practitioners in Manitoba a one‐stop source for important general
updates and specific commentary across a range of practice areas through the monthly online
newsletter, Law and Library Monthly (LLM), which is spearheaded and compiled by Melanie Bueckert
with the assistance of many volunteer contributors (Johanna Caithness, Tony Cellitti, David Davis,
Andrea Doyle, Andrew Robertson, Kimberly Soul, and Catherine Skinner). The LLM newsletter provides
topical updates in the areas of civil litigation, criminal law, family law, immigration law, labour and
employment law, tax law and law reform updates, as well as information on recent Great Library
acquisitions, provincial and federal proclamations, and upcoming PD conferences and podcasts related
to legal research. In all, nine editions of the newsletter will be published in 2013‐2014, in an effort to
provide Section members with comprehensive information about recent updates to Manitoba law.
Respectfully submitted,
Catherine Skinner, Co‐Chair