The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Add lawyers to the list of professionals who are in too short of a supply in Northern Manitoba. Law Society of Manitoba executive director Allan Fineblit drew attention to the North's lawyer shortage in an interview Friday with the Winnipeg Free Press. "There's a crying need for lawyers, particularly in Northern Manitoba," he said. "They may have to settle for jobs that weren't their first choice." Fineblit singled out First Nations communities as a particular problem area, saying lawyers "could move up there tomorrow and have a ton of work." Both he and University of Manitoba law Dean Harvey Secter agree that the shortage applies to both the North and rural areas of the province. "For years, there's been positions going unfilled in rural Manitoba and Northern Manitoba," Secter told the Free Press. Fineblit said the Law Society plans to meet this week to look at ways to help remedy the shortage. Northerners are used to hearing about shortages of professionals. Over the years, authorities have also cited an insufficient number of doctors, nurses, and teachers. Many people also see shortages in fields such as truck driving and engineering, as well as various trades.
