Lawyer raised the bar in telecom

A telecom lawyer known for living every day as if it could be his last was inducted into Canada’s Telecommunications Hall of Fame in October. According to those who remember him, Ernie Saunders well deserves the distinction. Saunders (1923-1988) is credited with raising the calibre of discussion surrounding telecommunications law during his 30-year career, first as member of Montreal law firm O’Brien Hall Saunders, then as VP of law at Bell Canada. Known as the dean of telecom law, Saunders witnessed the industry’s fundamental shift from transportation regulation to communication directives as telecom rules moved to the CRTC in 1976. That amendment foreshadowed other changes in the sector, as the 1980s brought end-point competition and high inflation, which spelled upheaval for the telecom arena. Who better to navigate the tumultuous regulatory waters than a workaholic lawyer with expertise in railway law, a head for telecom, and a penchant for excellence? Saunders was just the man, recalls Bernard Courtois, president of the Information Technology Association of Canada (ITAC), who worked with Saunders and himself became head of Bell’s regulatory department. "He was an extremely hard worker," Courtois says. "I lived through it as a junior. We would be off on a railway case where we wouldn’t even come home on weekends….Meetings would last until about 1:00 a.m. and you picked up again at 7:00 in the morning. Do that for seven days a week as a young man wondering if this is your career, and it’s sort of scary." Just as frightening was Saunders’ productivity. "During the night he’d do about 30 hand-written pages of work, and he’d show up with them at the start of the meeting the next morning," he saidHis professionalism was infectious. "He was famous for being so demanding on quality – that’s probably the greatest impact he had on the system. It reverberated through the people who worked with him, and then it reverberated through his opponents in the hearing room and the regulatory bodies. It upped the standard," said Courtois. But Saunders maintained a breakneck pace in his career. Heredity suggested he’d not live past the age of 50, and he seemed to squeeze as much time as possible out of every day. He passed away at 65 – the day of his official retirement and a week after his wife died. Saunders left a legacy of excellence that his former colleagues and opponents strive to maintain. Courtois certainly exhibits some of his traits. "I developed a bit of an insomniac attitude myself." To learn more about the Hall of Fame, visit www.telecomhall.ca.

Lawyer raised the bar in telecom

News | November 24, 2006

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