“What will be the consequences for public understanding of the administration of justice and confidence in the judiciary? How can a medium such as Twitter inform the public accurately or adequately in 140 characters or less of the real gist of a complex constitutional decision?” she also said while some professionals will provide thoughtful online commentaries,  ”Others will fall short of basic journalistic standards. Will accuracy and fairness be casualties of the social media era?”

While I agree that you can’t convey the detailed substance of a Supreme Court ruling in 140 characters or less, one can definitely link to the actual rulings or other commentaries in a tweet. As a former lawyer, I think the Justice needs to be asking herself some other questions as well. For example, do most Canadians even care what happens in the Supreme Court? I am in no way suggesting that the work of the high court of Canada is not  important, as we need to have law and order. What I am suggesting is that the average Canadian is at best ignorant and indifferent to its work, and at worst sees much of what goes on in that sacred chamber as a waste of time and money.

So, if some people are wanting to tweet about rulings (@cancourtsSCC) as they trickle out, all the better. If the public are made more aware of the work that that goes on in the Supreme Court, it can only help. The court system in Canada is an important and integral part of our social fabric, but it is also perceived by many as an institution comprised of privileged and out-of-touch judges who make their decisions in a vacuum. The traditional media outlets have historically controlled which decisions issued by the Supreme Court make the news. Most of the decisions go unnoticed by the public at large. If twitter and Facebook provide another outlet for public awareness and scrutiny, all the better.

Our government, our justice system, our leaders, the traditional media institutions have to come to grip with the reality that the world has changed. Gone are the days where information can be controlled, and in my opinion this is a good thing. We have seen the impact of social media all over the world. We have witnessed tyrannical governments topple under the pressure and scrutiny that social media affords, and while I am not suggesting that this is necessary in Canada, more public awareness and scrutiny of our leaders, judges and the traditional watchdogs in this nation, can only be seen as a good thing.

Seriously! Why don’t we put a stop to the production of the penny, we pulled the paper dollar out of production. We all know where these 486 million pennies go, and why the Mint has to keep making more. It’s not like millions of teenage boys are out there defacing the currency on railroad tracks. No, they go from our pockets and wallets into a jar, where they languish. As a small business owner – who deals with cash – I think we probably have 50 – 100 lbs of pennies just sitting in a drawer. I don’t want to roll them!

I know, I know; if we don’t keep the penny, then how will stores be able to offer their “special deals” of $19.99 to all of us savvy shoppers? I think it is time to drop the penny into the history books. Can’t we just charge $20 for that special sale item, or if it has to be below that magical psychological barrier, $19.95! I for one want to see the little copper coin relegated to some deep dark vault in Ottawa, or better yet, let’s melt them down and do something useful with all that metal.

Today was an interesting day. At home in Canada, there was a historic summit between the chiefs of the First Nations in our land and the Prime Minister and his cabinet. In the land to the South, President Obama gave his State of the Union address. Both events, were I think, defining moments in each country’s path forward.

President Obama, essentially declared war on the elite in the United States. It sounds a bit ironic, but from my vantage point, it is what he did. There is no denying that the growing divide between the rich and the poor (or the middle class for that matter) is widening in America. Tonight, the President essentially worked at gathering the growing angry mob, which is the middle class, in a fight against the rest of the United States (2% of the population) namely those who are rich. I think that this was undoubtedly playing politics too, and an unmistakeable shot across the bow of Mr. Romney’s ship, so to speak. And while it is complicated, I think that I agree with the President, at least for the most part. I think that the United States of America is a country in deep trouble. I think that this trouble is due in large part to unmitigated greed; both institutional, and individual greed. It is the American dream gone haywire. It is the pursuit of wealth and influence without the guidance of responsibility and civility. Four years ago, I predicted that Mr. Obama would win the White House for a single term, and then be ousted. I predicted a one-term presidency as I did not think that he could withstand the pressure or expectations of either his own caucus or the average American. And while I think I was largely correct, I also think that the Republicans have little in the way of anything to offer, which will give Americans the impetus to dethrone Mr. Obama. I could be wrong, but I am beginning to think that I was wrong four years ago, when I predicted a one-term president. Alas, we all must suffer through ten months of nauseating campaigning before this issue is put to bed.

At home, Prime Minister Harper began a most difficult and arduous journey. As one who has worked in the world of First Nations, and has served along side, and at times, against Chief and Councils; the juggernaut of how to solve the issues surrounding Indians and Canada can only be compared to me ascending Mount Everest without the aid of a sherpa or oxygen. The simple reality is that this is a no-win scenario, and one of those precipices from which many have fallen to their political death. The sad truth, despite the CBC’s coverage today, is that most Canadians simply don’t care. Actually that is not true, most Canadians just want to ignore the problem, in the naive hope that it will go away. It won’t. Despite the rhetoric of today, and the talk of amending or working around the Indian Act, the Harper government has a real problem. It has inherited a fiduciary duty to look out for the best interests of the people who are descendants of those who were here before we Europeans arrived. It has as its duty, the arduous task of upholding the promises made by the Crown so long ago. It has a massive mess on its hands; a financial, social, cultural and historical mess. And the truth that no one wants to talk about is that this mess is going to cost Canada plenty; and that this mess should cost Canada plenty. We made treaty, not war.

If anything is going to change, the first task is giving the army of lawyers working for the federal government new marching orders. If today’s rhetoric is going to become even a little less fiction, then the stall and delay tactics – employed by the federal government – need to stop. Things also need to change with the positions of the First Nations too. I have witnessed first hand the stand-offs, the posturing, the meetings with fifteen lawyers around the table – “with only the best interests of their clients in mind” all the while laughing to the bank.

I am rambling now, and I have much to say on this topic. I will write more about it in the coming weeks. I will not claim to be an expert, but I do have some first hand experience, enough to know that it will take courage on everyone’s part to get anywhere close to a solution within my lifetime.

Alas it is late, and time for me to put this Macbook Pro back on the counter. Oh speaking of which, Apple beat the talking heads again today, $46 billion in sales in its first quarter, completely baffling the expectations on Wall Street. Now if only they paid dividends on their shares.