BOOK REVIEWS
CHRONIQUE BIBLIOGRAPHIQUE
S. Stephenson, 6d., Youth, A Special Case, La discrimination sur la base de
l’fige. Montrral: Law & Youth Research Group, 1986. Pp. xiv, 200 [$61.
Comment6 par Renre Joyal.*
Comme son titre l’indique, cet ouvrage passe en revue les contraintes
et limites imposres aux jeunes par la loi en raison prrcisrment de leur Age,
et remet en cause le bien-fond des diverses dispositions 16gislatives concer-
nres.
II s’agit d’un ouvrage collectif et bilingue produit par un groupe ind&
pendant de jeunes juristes, 6tudiants ou rrcemment dipl6m6s, le Law &
Youth Research Group. Les auteurs des diffrrents textes sont Marc Beau-
chemin, Tom Brooker, Carole Robidoux, Gail Sinclair et Sandra Stephenson,
cette derni~re ayant de plus assur6 la coordination et l’dition de l’ouvrage.
Le projet a requ l’appui du Secretariat d’Etat federal, du Secretariat A la
Jeunesse du Qu6bec et de la Facult6 de droit de l’Universit6 McGill. Plu-
sieurs personnes ont contribu6 A sa rralisation.
Les diff”erents themes sont abordrs dans la perspective de la Charte
canadienne des droits et liberts 2 et de la Charte des droits et liberts de la
personne3 qui interdisent la discrimination sur la base de l’ge. Les limites
de ces deux textes fondamentaux sont par ailleurs soulignres avec justesse :
on y rappelle en particulier le temperament apport6 par l’article 1 de la
Charte canadienne et le fait que la Charte qu6bcoise n’interdise la discri-
mination fondre sur l’age que dans ]a mesure oa elle n’est pas prrvue par
la loi.
Afin d’atteindre leur objectif, les auteurs font un tour d’horizon des
principales dispositions l6gislatives intrressant les jeunes, en relatant plus
en drtail celles qui limitent leurs droits et leurs responsabilitrs, ou encore
les placent dans des situations particulirres A cause de leur Age.
*Du Drpartement des sciences juridiques, Universit6 du Qu6bec A Montrral.
IS. Stephenson, dd., Youth, A Special Case, La discrimination sur la base de Page, Montral,
Law & Youth Research Group, 1986 i Ia p. 1.
2Partie I de la Loi constitutionnelle de 1982, constituant l’annexe B de la Loi de 1982 sur le
Canada (R.-U.), 1982, c. 11 [ci-aprrs Charte canadienne].
3L.R.Q. c. C-12 [ci-aprrs Charte qubcoise].
1987]
CHRONIQUE BIBLIOGRAPHIQUE
Les divers textes 16gislatifs 6tudi6s sont regroup6s en quatre chapitres,
comportant chacun deux ou trois sous-themes. C’est ainsi qu’on examine
successivement les activit6s sociales –
acc s au cin6ma, consommation de
tabac et d’alcool, s6curit6 routi6re, fr6quentation scolaire ; le travail –
acces
Sl’emploi, revenus et relations de travail, sant6 et s6curit6 ; la propri6t6 et
les contrats –
personnes mineures 6mancip6es et non 6mancip6es, tutelle
et curatelle; certaines autres matieres civiles –
successions et donations,
les transactions commerciales, lettres de change et effets bancaires, corpo-
rations et tranferts d’actions, la citoyennet6 et l’immigration ; les lois de
bien-atre social –
soins de sant6, aide sociale ; la protection de la jeunesse
et finalement, la 16gislation criminelle –
jeunes contrevenants, infractions
d’ordre sexuel et r6gles de preuve.
Ce rappel des divers sujets analys6s t6moigne amplement du fait que
t6 cou-
les principales questions int6ressant les personnes mineures ont
vertes par l’ouvrage. Les d6veloppements consacr6s au travail, ainsi qu’f la
propri6t6 et aux contrats sont particulierement bien 6toffes. D’autres laissent
le lecteur sur son app6tit: c’est le cas, notamment, de ceux relatifs aux
activit6s sociales, oi d’autres 616ments pertinents auraient pu etre trait6s,
et de ceux touchant la protection de la jeunesse et la l6gislation criminelle,
ofi le cadre 16gislatif g6n6ral a 6t6 escamot6. II nous semble que le secteur
scolaire, en raison de la place primordiale qu’il occupe dans la vie des jeunes
et des nombreuses dispositions l6gislatives qui le r6gissent, aurait m6rit6
une attention particuli6re. I1 est vrai que la Loi sur l’instruction publique4
est 6tudi6e sous la rubrique o activit6s sociales >>, mais d’autres dimensions
li6es A l’6cole auraient pu etre abord6es avec profit.
Le survol des dispositions l6gislatives pertinentes au propos central de
l’ouvrage est parfois assez aride. Ce n’est pas une mince affaire que de
pr6senter d’une fagon vivante des textes de loi fixant des conditions d’dge
pour l’exercice de certains droits ou de certaines activit6s. Les lecteurs ne
doivent donc pas s’attendre A une lecture facile ou hilarante. Par ailleurs,
ils peuvent 16gitimement esp6rer un expos6 clair et cons6quent: exception
faite de certains courts passages, la plupart des chapitres r6pondent A cette
exigence. Ceux consacr6s i la protection de lajeunesse et auxjeunes contre-
venants ne passent toutefois pas ce test. I1 s’agit paradoxalement des do-
maines ofi se sont produits le plus de changements 16gislatifs au cours des
dernieres ann6es et cela, dans la perspective d’une perception renouvel6e
des jeunes et de leur place dans la soci6t6. Cette 6volution est d’aileurs tres
justement soulign6e dans l’ouvrage. Ce qui fait obstacle A une bonne com-
pr6hension des d6veloppements portant sur ces questions, e’est l’absence de
presentation du sens g6n6ral et des principaux m6canismes des textes 16-
4L.R.Q. c. 1-14.
McGILL LAW JOURNAL
[Vol. 32
gislatifs pertinents, soit la Loi sur la protection de la jeunesse5 et la Loi sur
les jeunes contrevenants.6 On a extrait de ces deux lois les dispositions re-
latives A l’Age sans faire reference A leur cadre d’application. Uexpos6 de-
meure donc incomplet et laisse par le fait m8me les lecteurs dans la confusion.
Quelques erreurs peuvent 8tre relev~es au fil de certain d6veloppements.
Par exemple, lorsqu’il est question des conventions matrimoniales des per-
sonnes mineures, 7 et dans un paragraphe introductifconsacr6 A la protection
de la jeunesse, 8 on n’a pas tenu compte des modifications lgislatives r6-
cemment intervenues dans ces domaines. Faut-il rappeler, ; la dacharge des
auteurs, que les sujets sur lesquels ils se sont pench6s ont fait l’objet de
nombreux amendements r~cemment ? I1 est parfois difficile de s’y retrouver
et l’exercice peut 8tre p6rilleux, m6me pour des auteurs plus chevronn~s.
Les responsables de la publication ont d’ailleurs pris la precaution de d6-
cliner toute responsabilit6 r6sultant d’une erreur ou d’une omission quel-
conque dans le libell6 du texte et ont insist6 sur le fait que l’ouvrage n’est
pas un manuel juridique, mais < a discussion paper >.
Cette intention est tr~s manifeste au niveau de l’introduction, qui situe
d’embl6e le propos dans la perspective des droits fondamentaux et de la
non-discrimination, et qui annonce clairement la d6marche retenue et les
d6veloppements subs6quents. Eu 6gard A l’objectif 6nonc6 au d6part, ceux-
ci ne tiennent que partiellement leurs promesses. Bien sfir, on y met le doigt
sur les dispositions 16gislatives appropri6es, on d6nonce le caract~re arbi-
traire de certaines r~gles juridiques, mais on discute peu de leurs fonde-
ments, des choix politiques ou fonctionnels qui les sous-tendent et des
alternatives offertes au 16gislateur en la matire. Ce n’est qu’en conclusion
de l’ouvrage que ces questions sont d6battues d’une manire un tant soit
peu 61abor6e. Dans son approche et dans sa facture, ce texte final est re-
marquable. On y voit A l’oeuvre une capacit6 d’analyse et de synth6se peu
commune. Toutefois, les r6flexions qui y sont pr6sent6es auraient beaucoup
plus d’impact si elles pouvaient etre reli6es A des observations d6jA faites
dans le cadre des divers themes 6tudi6s.
Les solutions pr6conis6es pour rem6dier A! rarbitraire des textes 16gis-
latifs actuels sont int6ressantes. II est admis d’embl6e qu’il ne sera pas pos-
sible dans tous les cas de remplacer les conditions d’dge par des crit~res
moins arbitraires. On propose alors de fonder ces r~gles sur des 6tudes
empiriques s6rieuses plut6t que sur la seule force d’inertie des habitudes ou
de la tradition. On suggre par ailleurs de remplacer le crit~re de ‘age par
L.R.Q. c. P-34.
6S.C. 1980-81-82-83, c. 110.
7Stephenson, supra, note 1 A Ta p. 62.
8Ibid. A la p. 140.
9 bid. A la p. ii.
1987]
BOOK REVIEWS
celui de la << capacit >> dans le plus grand nombre de cas possible et d’en
‘existence au moyen de divers << tests >>. Sans entrer dans une dis-
v~rifier
cussion qui pourrait 8tre fort longue sur l’opportunit6, la port~e ou la fiabilit6
de tels tests, disons tout de suite que ce m~canisme nous semble pouvoir
etre envisag6 dans certains contextes particuliers, comme, par exemple, lors-
qu’il s’agit de determiner l’aptitude d’une personne A exercer un emploi ou
une fonction ou, encore, A utiliser un v~hicule ou une piece de machinerie;
par ailleurs, ce mme m~canisme nous semble tout A fait impraticable dans
d’autres situations, par exemple, lorsqu’il s’agit de determiner la capacit6
d’une personne A voter ou A s’engager par contrat, l’application d’un tel
syst~me supposant alors la mise en place d’une affolante bureaucratie et la
multiplication des recours administratifs ou judiciaires. I’ouvrage a toute-
fois l’immense m~rite de remettre en cause l’opportunit6 et le bien-fond
de r~gles 6tablies et de proposer des pistes de r6flexion pour en r~duire le
caract~re arbitraire.
La presentation du texte est agr~able et les divers exposes sont bien
structures. On y trouve cependant quantit6 de fautes de grammaire et d’or-
thographe, qui auraient pu 8tre corrig6es, nous semble-t-il, avec l’aide de
personnes-ressource.
L’ouvrage comporte des textes frangais et anglais. Les pages couverture
et les pages pr6liminaires donnent des informations dans les deux langues,
la qualit6 du frangais y laissant toutefois beaucoup A desirer. I1 est dommage
que l’introduction, la conclusion et les titres des chapitres aient 6t6 redig~s
uniquement en langue anglaise. Les addenda intercals entre les pages 11
et 13 auraient dfi 8tre int~gr6s au texte. Le proc~d6 utilis6 ici sent par trop
l’amateurisme.
Pour conclure, Youth, A Special Case, La discrimination sur la base de
l’dge, est un ouvrage d’un int~rt certain pour les juristes et toutes les per-
sonnes preoccupies par la place des jeunes dans la soci6t6. I1 pr~sente une
masse d’informations utiles et soul~ve un d~bat important dont les multiples
facettes n’avaient pas &6 explor~es d’une fagon syst6matique jusqu’ici. La
publication d’un tel ouvrage suppose un 6norme investissement de temps
et d’6nergie. Uinitiative est d’autant plus admirable qu’elle est le fait de
jeunes juristes qui se sont organists sur une base autonome avec l’aide
d’appuis externes. Les quelques faiblesses relev~es ne compromettent pas
la cr~dibilit6 et l’opportunit6 de cette d~marche.
R. Crete, The Proxy System in Canadian Corporations: A Critical Analysis.
Montreal: Wilson & Lafleur, 1986. Pp. xviii, 449 [$49.50]. Reviewed by Calin
Rovinescu.*
Any critical analysis of the Canadian proxy system should conclude,
as has Professor Crte’s study,’ that legislative, regulatory and policy initi-
atives in this field to date have been inadequate both with respect to pro-
moting disclosure of meaningful information and with respect to promoting
shareholder participation in corporate governance. To recognize this inad-
equacy is to acknowledge that this field of law is still very much in its
developmental phase in Canada. For this reason, many of the proposals for
reform of Canadian law and the review of United States law contained in
this book provide interesting insights.
Abuse of the confidence placed on the directors of a public corporation
by the small shareholder has led to extensive but unclear requirements for
disclosure of proxy solicitation. As a result, practitioners specializing in
corporate and securities law must interpret a relatively new area of the law
in which there are few specialized legal publications.
Professor Crete provides a thorough and up-to-date manual which, given
its comparative nature and its constant reference to corporate and securities
regulation at the federal and provincial levels and in the United States, can
easily be used by practitioners throughout Canada. The work is equally
sensitive to new trends in this field, such as the establishment of rules for
communications to beneficial owners of shares held in “street-name” and
nominee name, and the use of intermediaries within the proxy system, which
are areas of constant concern to many public corporations.
The study has been divided into four basic and very comprehensive
sections. The first deals with the role of management within the proxy system
and disclosure requirements generally; the second, with the role of share-
holders within the system; the third, with the role of intermediaries within
the process of dissemination of proxy materials; and the fourth, with an-
cillary measures for ensuring adequate disclosure and shareholder participation.
From a practitioner’s viewpoint, and notwithstanding Professor Crgte’s
conclusions regarding the deficiencies in Canadian disclosure requirements,
the strongest part of the book is the one dealing with the role of management
and disclosure of information through the proxy system. It provides easy
reference to Canadian and United States caselaw and authors in interpreting
many of the disclosure requirements. Whether one is called upon to interpret
‘Of Stikeman, Elliott, Montreal.
IR. Crete, The Proxy System in Canadian Corporations: A Critical Analysis (Montreal: Wil-
son & Lafleur, 1986).
1987]
CHRONIQUE BIBLIOGRAPHIQUE
such disclosure requirements under the Canada Business Corporations Act 2
or the substantially similar provisions of Ontario or Quebec securities leg-
islation, one undoubtedly struggles with the applicability or pertinence of
many of the disclosure requirements. The author’s review of numerous cases
involving interpretation of general and specific disclosure requirements should
assist practitioners and reduce the research work required to evaluate the
application of such requirements to the given circumstances.
This book presents more than a mere reiteration of existing principles
and a paraphrasing of statutory and regulatory provisions. The author shares
with the reader her own very strong views on the inadequacies of the current
system and the inequities that exist between management and shareholders
within the proxy solicitation process. While Professor Crate does not hide
the fact that she is very much in favour of increasing the rights and access
of shareholders in the proxy system at the expense of management, she
nonetheless provides an objective summary of cases and an objective anal-
ysis of how the proxy system developed and how it should be construed.
The author states in her introduction that the purpose of the study is to
assess the adequacy of present Canadian proxy regulation in comparison to
corresponding American regulation. It is my view that the author has ac-
complished much more than her stated purposes.
2S.C. 1974-75-76, c. 33.
D. Estrin, Handle With Caution: Liability in the Production, Transportation
and Disposal of Dangerous Substances. Toronto: Carswell, 1986. Pp. 250
[$32]. Reviewed by Doreen C. Henley.*
In Handle With Caution’ David Estrin describes four laws which im-
pose major new duties and liabilities on persons generating, transporting
and handling dangerous goods of all descriptions including wastes. Accord-
ing to the author, these laws contain the most significant changes in federal
and Ontario environmental laws to occur in two decades. Estrin’s stated
purpose for writing Handle With Caution is to contribute to the under-
standing of these new laws so that the legislation can achieve its widest
utility. The legislation described in the book includes the federal Transpor-
tation of Dangerous Goods Act 2 and Regulations, 3 the Ontario Dangerous
Goods Transportation Act, 19814 and Regulations,5 as well as the Ontario
Environmental Protection Act 6 and Regulations. 7
In his introduction Estrin explains that the new laws differ from the
environmental laws enacted in the 1970’s. Whereas earlier laws were aimed
at licensing stationary sources of pollution and authorizing government
officials to take necessary abatement action, these new laws have a different
objective. They are designed to prevent the escape or spillage of dangerous
goods and pollutants in the course of their manufacture, transportation or
handling, and to ensure that appropriate notification and remedial actions
are taken at the earliest possible times; the intent of Ontario’s “Spills Bill”
is to provide new ways of assuring spill-victim compensation.
One need only examine the new laws in question to understand the
challenge Estrin has undertaken in writing this book. The federal Act and
Regulations could well be described as a lawyer’s (or transporter’s) nightmare
given their volume and style of legal drafting. The Ontario “Spills Bill”,
embodying as it does the most significant changes in environmental legis-
lation in a decade, presents several complex topics for analysis. Estrin also
describes two Ontario legislative initiatives which fit into the context of the
new regulatory regimes. The author accomplishes this task by organizing
his information into a framework which outlines the new duties, government
* Senior Policy Advisor Conservation and Protection, Environment Canada. Sessional Lec-
turer, Faculty of Law, McGill University.
of Dangerous Substances (Toronto: Carswell, 1986) [hereinafter Handle with Caution].
ID. Estrin, Handle with Caution: Liability in the Production, Transportation and Disposal
2S.C. 1980, c. 36.
3SOR/85-77.
4S.O. 1981, c. 69.
5O. Reg. 363/85.
6R.S.O. 1980, c. 141.
70. Reg. 618/85 and the General Waste Management Regulations, R.R.O. 1980, Reg. 309.
19871
BOOK REVIEWS
discretionary powers, newly created offences, penalties, liabilities and victim
compensation provisions.
In the introductory chapter, Estrin presents an overview of the new
laws and includes a brief discussion of the relationship between these laws
and existing federal and provincial legislation which addresses remedial
action for pollution spills and the recovery of compensation.
The federal and Ontario legislation concerning the handling and trans-
porting of dangerous goods and wastes exempts many products and sub-
stances from the application of the new laws. These exemptions are described
in Chapter Two. In the federal regulatory scheme there are both partial and
complete exemptions; two important classes of exemptions which are de-
scribed include “consumer commodities” and “limited quantity”.
In Chapter Three the author explains the legal duties imposed by the
new federal and Ontario laws, including requirements for registration, clas-
sification, documentation, manifesting, safety marking, labelling, placarding
and safety in handling or offering dangerous goods for transport. Other
duties included relate to personnel training, development of emergency re-
sponse assistance plans, notification procedures and remedial action re-
garding spills and other occurrences involving dangerous goods.
Chapter Four is a description of the new government discretionary
powers. Under the new laws federal and provincial officials are granted
powers to restrict and prohibit the transportation and disposal of any type
of dangerous goods and wastes, to demand product and technical infor-
mation, and where appropriate to obtain evidence of financial viability from
persons proposing to engage in certain activities. Provincial and municipal
officials are granted authority to compel clean-up and remedial action, in-
cluding broad powers to enter private property.
Chapter Five is devoted to a description of the newly-created offences
and penalties. In addition, the author briefly discusses evidentiary issues
and the defences available in some circumstances.
The concluding chapter of the book is a description of the liability and
compensation provisions in Part IX of the Ontario Environmental Protec-
tion Act and Regulations. The author includes a brief overview of existing
federal statutory liability and compensation schemes.
Handle With Caution will no doubt provide Canadian lawyers and
other persons involved with handling and transporting of dangerous goods
and wastes with an introduction to the new federal and Ontario laws. The
duties, liabilities and compensation provisions under the Ontario “Spills
Bill” form an integral part of the author’s framework for describing the new
legislation; however, one would have hoped for more from this book. In
REVUE DE DROIT DE McGILL
[Vol. 32
the first place, the author paraphrases the content of the laws and fails to
provide the reader with any analysis of these new laws in the context of
existing legislation. Yet there are many issues raised by the principles un-
derlying the newly created duties and liabilities, and the victim compen-
sation, clean-up and restoration provisions. The author describes these new
laws as having a different nature from environment laws enacted during the
70’s. Unfortunately, the book does not raise or discuss the issues that are
bound to arise in their application. For example, the “polluter pays” prin-
ciple is embraced in both the federal and Ontario legislation. Should the
polluter class be limited to the owner or the person in control of a pollutant?
What is the appropriateness of the liability rules contained in the new laws
in light of this principle? The new laws provide for clean-up and the res-
toration of the environment. To what extent are these provisions supple-
mentary to those already existing in other federal and Ontario statutes and
regulations? At what point does restoration of the environment become
financially dysfunctional? Where victim compensation is to be provided,
are there, or should there be, any limits to the scope or extent of victim
recovery? In our complex society who are the polluters? What is the sig-
nificance of the policy implicit in the new laws in relation to the prevailing
polluter/victim dichotomy? Does Part IX of the Ontario Environmental
Protection Act impose significant additional liabilities to those existing at
common law?
Furthermore, even as a reference text for a description of these new
laws, the book has certain limitations. A major omission is the content
interface of the new legislation with existing federal and provincial statutes
and regulations addressing the same subject matter. The author explains the
rules provided by the new laws where there is an inconsistency. If, however,
the federal Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act does not repeal provi-
sions in other federal acts dealing with the transportation of dangerous
goods, are there sections in those acts which may still apply in any given
situation where dangerous goods are involved? Could a spill as defined in
Part IX of the Ontario Environmental Protection Act give rise to duties
under existing federal and Ontario statutes apart from the duties imposed
under Part IX itself?
Additionally, there are paragraphs in the book describing the provisions
of the federal Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act or the Regulations
which cause confusion for the reader. For example, the author uses the term
“limited quantities” to describe two classes of goods which may be exempted
from the Regulations where they are transported in small quantities. The
term “limited quantity” is specifically defined for purposes of the Act and
Regulations and is set out in Schedule VIII. The use of the term “limited
quantities” by the author when he wants to explain that small quantities of
1987]
CHRONIQUE BIBLIOGRAPHIQUE
waste and environmentally hazardous substances are exempted is confusing
given that “limited quantity” is a concept which is specific and relevant to
the federal scheme.8
In another case, Part III of the federal Regulations sets out the relevant
procedures to be followed by consignors with goods to be classified. “Con-
signors” is specifically defined for purposes of Part III; manufacturers, for-
mulators and importers are deemed “consignors”. In the transport business
manufacturers, formulators and importers are the persons who have the
knowledge of such relevant matters as the physical and chemical properties
of products and substances. The “consignor” for Part III is not a person
who offers consignments for transport, the definition for “consignor” pro-
vided in the general definition section of Part I of the federal Regulations.
In Chapter Three, 9 Estrin describes classification procedures. He notes that
the “consignor” has responsibility for classifying products or substances.
Estrin further describes classification in terms of class, division and packing
group, and advises the reader that the “shipper or manufacturer” is required
to classify the goods into these categories. But in the next sentence, the
author describes the product or substance knowledge required for classifi-
cation purposes and explains that “shippers” need to have such information.
Reference to “shippers” in both places is incorrect on the basis of the def-
inition of “consignor” for Part III purposes. “Consignors” cannot generally
know this information.
The author carries his confusion into another section of the book.’0
There he argues that there is an implied duty on provincial “carriers” to
classify dangerous goods since the Ontario Dangerous Goods Transportation
Act, 1981 makes it an offence to transport dangerous goods unless there is
compliance with all safety requirements,” which are those requirements
imposed by the federal Transportation of Dangerous Good Regulations.’ 2
This conclusion is erroneous. The duty on Ontario carriers to ensure com-
pliance with applicable safety standards and safety marks follows from the
classification of goods by the manufacturer, formulator or importer. Where
a carrier may believe that the dangerous goods have been misclassified, his
more reliable course of action is to refuse to transport the goods until sat-
isfied as to their proper classification. Carriers do not have knowledge of
major physical and chemical properties and other essential product infor-
mation for classification purposes. Their responsibility lies only with en-
8Estrin, supra, note 1 at 18.
9lbid. at 64.
10Ibid, at 70.
1’Supra, note 4, s. 3.
12Supra, note 3, ss 1-5.
McGILL LAW JOURNAL
[Vol. 32
suring compliance with applicable safety requirements for vehicles, containers,
packaging, labelling and placarding.
With respect to the description of the classification process in the federal
Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations, certain inconsistencies
may be noted. The author introduces the subject in Chapter Two 13 in his
discussion about the definition of “dangerous goods”. However, this de-
scription differs from a later discussion in the author’s Guidelines for
Classification 14 and with the Guide to Classification Procedures published
by Transport Canada. 15 In Chapter Two the explanation would have been
less confusing if the author had explained that classification procedures differ
depending on whether the “consignor” is dealing with a “fully specified
dangerous good” or a “not fully specified dangerous good”. In the case of
the former, the constituent properties of the product or substance to be
classified remain constant and no testing is required before classification.
The list of over three thousand dangerous goods included in the federal
Regulations, Schedule II, List II, contains primarily “fully specified dan-
gerous goods”. 16 All the necessary information for classification purposes is
provided for the “consignor” in List II.
If the product or substance to be classified cannot be found in List II
or for which only some of the classification information is available, then
it is a “not fully specified dangerous good” and must be classified in ac-
cordance with Part III of the Regulations. “Not fully specified dangerous
goods” are those products or substances whose properties vary and for which
tests must be conducted by the “consignor” to verify the properties for
classification purposes. Dangerous goods are classified by class, division and
packing group.17
Additionally, there are certain editorial errors in the book which detract
from its use as a reference text.18 For example, the Regulations to the federal
Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act have been substantially amended
by successive enactments. These amendments are included by the author
when describing their content. However, the footnotes which provide the
13Estrin, supra, note I at 10.
141bid. at 64.
‘5lbid. at 68.
16The list of 3000 substances has been developed from the United Nations list of recom-
mended dangerous goods to achieve international compatibility in the handling and trans-
porting of dangerous goods and waste.
17Generally the class and division describe the nature of the dangerous goods, while the
packing group class indicates the relative degree of hazard.
‘8For e.g., see Estrin, supra, note I at 10 (the Schedule in the federal Transportation of
Dangerous Goods Act defining the nine classes follows section 32) and at 64 (the manufacturer
is required to define a class, division, packing group, not ground).
1987]
BOOK REVIEWS
reference to the amended law do not provide the correct citation for the
relevant amendment making it very confusing for those who wish to refer
to the statute.
A major portion of the book describes the substantive law in the federal
regulatory scheme for the handling and transporting of dangerous goods.
The dynamic feature of this scheme is undoubtedly the federal Regulations.
It is also expected that these Regulations will evolve over several years. For
example, amendments to Part VI of the Regulations for the manufacture
and re-use of the packagings for the transportation of dangerous goods are
imminent. In addition, in light of the intermodal nature of the federal reg-
ulatory scheme, the federal Regulations must reflect all technical changes
made by the coordinating agencies, whether federal or international, so that
national and international compatibility will be assured. The author himself
points out in several chapters the need to keep abreast of all amendments
to the federal Regulations.
Given that many future amendments will occur, this book, either as an
introductory text or a reference source, will become more and more limited
over time. The new federal laws will create a national, intermodal scheme
for the handling and transporting of dangerous goods and waste, as well as
for dangerous occurrences and spill control, and other provinces will enact,
or have enacted, legislation to complement the federal proposals. For com-
prehensiveness these schemes should be included together with the rec-
ommendations, guidelines and codes of the international agencies bearing
upon the new laws. Consequently a more functional approach would have
been to produce a book which incorporates and updates amendments as
enacted such as a looseleaf or annually amended service. Finally, in this
proposal for a book of a different format, an essential inclusion would be
analyses of the complex topics covered in the new laws and the jurisprudence
arising out of their application. This feature is a major omission in Handle
With Caution.
The above comments are not meant to derogate from my appreciation
of the considerable work undertaken by the author in producing Handle
With Caution. The book introduces us to four new laws which clearly in-
dicate shifts in government policy as it relates to environmental protection
and public safety. The next task is overseeing their application to assess the
effectiveness of the new duties and liabilities to ensure protection of the
environment and public safety, to clean up and restore the environment
and to compensate victims of pollution accidents. Perhaps David Estrin
will undertake this task as well.
Darrell J. Ogilvie-Harris & Geoffrey J. Lloyd, Personal Injury: A Medico-
Legal Guide to the Spine and Limbs. Toronto: Canada Law Book, 1986. Pp.
xxiv, 397 [$601. Reviewed by Gilles R. Tremblay.*
It has been a tradition over the years for each profession to develop its
own jargon. It is not entirely clear whether this was intended to aid the
members to better understand each other or to ensure that no one outside
the profession could possibly understand them. Nevertheless both purposes
have been totally realized.
In no two professions is this more true than in law and medicine.
Doctors feel that lawyers’ use of “legalese” is designed simply to confuse
or anger. Doubtless most lawyers feel that the language of the medical profes-
sion serves the same purpose.
Personal Injury. A Medico-Legal Guide to the Spine and Limbs by Drs
Ogilvie-Harris and Lloyd’ is both timely and essential in that it provides
both professions with a tool for understanding each other and working
together for their common client.
The book is divided into four parts: “Doctor/Lawyer Interaction”, “As-
sessment of Injury and Disability: General”, “Assessment of Injury and
Disability: Specific and Anatomical Locations” and “Assessment of Injury
and Disability: Problem Areas”. There is, in addition, a glossary of medical
terms and a general index.
Part I deals mainly with the preparation of a medico-legal report and
has great practical importance for medical practitioners. It also includes a
chapter dealing with the interaction between lawyers and doctors. This chap-
ter provides good advice for lawyers especially with regard to the handling
of medical witnesses. Nothing can be more upsetting for a medical practi-
tioner than to receive an unannounced subpoena five days prior to an ex-
pected court appearance. Such behavior has one of two outcomes: either
the doctor will appear as a hostile witness or he will simply find an excuse
not to appear at all. The authors further provide advice specifically designed
to obviate these outcomes. The result is a more agreeable doctor/lawyer
relationship to the ultimate benefit of all the parties involved.
Part II is a glossary of medical terms and a description of how the
doctor assesses a patient’s condition in practice or in the preparation of a
medico-legal report. It includes a chapter giving a description of various
radiological examinations and assesses their importance and diagnostic ac-
* M.D. M.Sc., ER.C.S.(C), EA.C.S., FA.A.O.S. Associate Professor (Surgery), University of
Montreal, Orthopedic Surgeon-in-Chief, H6teI-Dieu de Montreal.
ID.J. Ogilvie-Harris & G.J. Lloyd, Personal Injury: A Medico-Legal Guide to the Spine and
Limbs (Toronto: Canada Law Book, 1986).
1987]
CHRONIQUE BIBLIOGRAPHIQUE
curacy. This allows the lawyer to understand what each entails and to better
understand the possibility of error. Hopefully such knowledge will dispel
what appears to be the common impression among legal practitioners that
the most recent X-ray machine is always the best.
Chapter V of Part II deals primarily with soft tissue injuries. These are
particularly difficult to deal with in terms of a medico-legal evaluation be-
cause, except in sophisticated and as yet not generally accepted circum-
stances, there are no objective assessment methods such as X-rays and
pathology specimens. In this case, as in the evaluation of post-traumatic
knee instability, for example, the lawyer must rely totally on the doctor’s
educated but subjective assessment. This chapter also includes an outline
of the usual prognosis of most common lesions as well as the currently
acceptable mode of treatment. From a practicing orthopedic surgeon’s point
of view, the chapter is both overly simplistic and dated within the context
of the current orthopedic literature. Yet the chapter provides the lawyer with
a basic framework from which to ask questions in order to further char-
acterize the clinical and legal problem under study.
In the remaining sections of Part II, Chapter VI deals with injuries to
joints and includes a valuable section dealing with general indicators of
injury and general concepts of management. These concepts are of particular
importance to third-party users of medical records because, unlike X-rays,
electromyographic records and operative summaries, they rely to a large
extent on the treating physician’s subjective impressions and are open to
interpretation. Chapters IX and X outline the doctor’s description of what
he has done in surgery and what he has prescribed after surgery. Though
every procedure usually has its own format of description and its own post-
operative course of treatment, often one will find that deviations are made
from these standards. This is primarily patient-specific and can, in most
circumstances, be easily explained by the treating physician if the lawyer,
using the standard form described in this book, asks the appropriate ques-
tions. Chapter XI is of particular significance and should be read by phy-
sician and lawyer alike. We have all seen well-written medico-legal reports,
which are nonetheless useless because they do not take into account the
patient’s previous occupations, earning potential and possibilities for func-
tional rehabilitation. The authors pay special attention to the strictly “non-
medical” aspects of particular cases. Clearly, it is quite a different matter
for a concert pianist and a steel worker to lose the use of the fourth finger
of the non-dominant hand. This, the authors point out, is not only relevant
to the actual disability compensation awarded in the case but also in the
motivation for rehabilitation and the length of temporary total disability.
Part III provides a clear, layman’s account of the various idiosyncracies
of the major anatomical regions. This section of the book is somewhat
McGILL LAW JOURNAL
[Vol. 32
deficient in details and explanations, however, a text designed for a non-
medical audience must compromise the need for accuracy with the need
for simplicity. From this schematized framework, the lawyer can at least
question the evaluating physician on the adequacy of the diagnosis, the
treatment, the outcome, possible consequences and the accuracy of the final
evaluation or assessment.
The final section of the book, Part IV, is by far the most interesting
and useful. This section covers reflex sympathetic dystrophy, amputations,
vascular injuries and compartment syndromes, infections, post-traumatic
osteoarthritis, abnormal response to pain and special features of injuries to
children. Since medicine is by no means an exact science and since the
causative agents of disease, if known, certainly do not account for the whole
of the clinical picture, the authors introduce and explain the factors which
may lead to what has been termed “the unpredictable elements” in the
outcome of an injury and of its treatment. Since the human animal is com-
posed of a physical body, an intelligence, emotions and a subconscious,
many factors can influence the outcome of an injury. We are too familiar
with the statistics which show that a similar injury can lead to widely dif-
ferent periods of total, temporary disability in Workmen’s Compensation
cases, as compared to cases not covered by any form of income replacement.
We do not imply that all Workmen’s Compensation claimants actually
willingly prolong their recovery period but it is widely known that moti-
vation is one of the primordial elements of recovery. Since income-earning
potential is a very strong motivating element, it is only natural if this is
removed to expect that recovery will be longer and that the final outcome
will be less satisfactory.
Similarly, different individuals with different personality types will re-
spond differently to injury and treatment. Nowhere is this more clearly
exemplified than in the condition known as “reflex sympathetic dystrophy”
where the personality make-up of the individual plays a major role in it
manifestation. This is very well covered in Chapter XXI and every lawyer
should become familiar with this chapter before he makes his own assess-
ment of the importance of his client’s claim. Again, as outlined in Chapters
XXII and XXIII, complications of the treatment itself can certainly modify
the course and outcome of an “otherwise normal” case, and the lawyer
should certainly be aware of how these factors can influence his client’s legal
position. Unfortunately, the treatment of these two factors in the book is,
in my opinion, sketchy at best, although the authors do provide a useful
glossary of terms currently used in tile medical community.
Chapter XXV of Part IV stands out as a remarkable effort to understand
and to clarify what has always been a dilemma for the medical world. Pain,
1987]
BOOK REVIEWS
more than loss of function, or even loss of limb, is certainly the most fre-
quent basis of medico-legal claims in North America. Yet, to this date, there
are no reliable methods to determine either the existence or the severity of
pain. In this chapter the authors try to give a general overview of the nature
of pain and of its causative factors and functional implications. If nothing
else, the reader is shown that pain does not always have an organic cause
and that, in most cases, the organic factor is the least important. Under-
standing this will certainly allow the lawyer to better assess the situation.
Finally, the last chapter of Part IV introduces the reader to the many
variables which make an injury to a child both easier to treat and more
laden with consequences. The child, one hopes, is not yet burdened with
the concept of secondary gain, income replacement or rehabilitation poten-
tial, but at the same time he does not yet have the vocabulary nor the
understanding necessary to express his symptoms accurately. The authors
also point out that the child has a remarkable potential for remodeling,
which can correct many deformities with growth. On the other hand, growth
can also increase deformities if a corrective factor is not added to the initial
treatment or if a growth area is included in the original trauma.
In conclusion, the book by Drs Ogilvie-Harris and Lloyd is an extremely
valuable effort to bring the medical and legal professions closer, especially
by establishing a comprehensive glossary of medical terms and expressions
that the lawyer can understand.
It is by no means a medical textbook and does not pretend to be one;
yet it will probably provide lawyers with enough information to better un-
derstand doctors involved in personal liability, Workman’s Compensation
and even medical malpractice cases, and to ask more meaningful questions.
The book is well written, does not sacrifice medical accuracy for the
sake of simplicity and provides, with its index and numbered headings, a
handy reference guide. It can only be hoped that in the future one or more
courageous lawyers will undertake to write such a guide for physicians who
have to prepare medico-legal reports, thereby explaining to the medical
profession the language of the law.
