The Icelandic Canadian - 01.08.2006, Side 12

54
THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
Vo!. 60 #2
to attend kindergarten he should arrive as
all the other children do: by foot. The July
before his September start day she began a
methodical approach to teach Halldor to
walk. He would walk unassisted, one house
per day until he was capable of walking the
distance between their home and the
school. By the end of July, Halldor was
steady enough to make the journey to
school and began kindergarten with the
distinguished honour of the Society for
Crippled Children’s first mainstreamed
child.
In 1977, Halldor was selected to be the
Manitoba Easter Seal poster child, his
mother speculates this was because Halldor
was such a warm and personable child. His
role as poster child was an honour that
came with many perks, which they were
able to enjoy as a family. The Easter seal
programme is most well known for its
camp programmes, which Halldor was able
to attend.
Halldor acknowledges that by grade 3
he had settled on law as a profession, prior
to that Halldor had a fascination with
becoming a firefighter, which ultimately
has evolved into a lifelong fascination. His
mother took him to visit every fire station
in Winnipeg, never discouraging him from
his desire to become a firefighter. In an
interview with the Benchers Bulletin, 2004
Halldor notes that he eventually realized
that fire fighting wasn't a practical vocation
and the only other job he could think of
where he would be allowed to wear sus-
penders as firefighters do, was a lawyer.
Halldor did not let his interest in the fire
department end, indeed it has become a
lifelong passion. Recently he completed a
book on the History of the Winnipeg Fire
Department, which will be published
shortly. Halldor is reportedly a walking
encyclopedia of the Winnipeg Fire
Department and is connected with many
other fire departments.
Halldor has had a rather circuitous
route to find himself practicing law with
the Access Law group. He began his post
secondary education in Winnipeg complet-
ing an Honours Degree in Political Science
then continuing to Queens University
where he graduated with his Bachelor of
Law degree. Halldor articled in Toronto
with Smith Lyons (now Gowlings), how-
ever he speculates that conservative hiring
practices saw him passed up for a perma-
nent position. Halldor then decided to
come to Vancouver in 1991. Upon arriving
in Vancouver Halldor knew he was home,
he immediately loved the backdrop of the
mountains, became accustomed to
Vancouver’s climate and pace.
Circumstances conspired against
Halldor when he arrived in Vancouver, dif-
ferent provincial regulations meant he had
to re-article, Halldor struggled to find a
firm willing to take on a disabled articling
student. He eventually took a job with the
Federal Department Secretary of State as a
community development officer helping
non-profits to develop community-based
programmes. He did eventually find a firm
to article with but was discharged when
halfway through articling, laws changed no
longer requiring him to repeat his previous
articles. His articles were no longer neces-
sary and the firm decided not to convert
him to a staff lawyer. Subsequently
Halldor landed a contract, which would
last two and a half years with the BC
Labour Relations Board.
In addition to his successful law prac-
tice Halldor is currently the Chair of the
Law Society of BC's Disabled Advisory
Committee and has been since its inception
in 1995. He is a member of the Law Society
of BC's Equity and Diversity Committee.
He is a legal advisor to the BC Sports
Medicine Counsel. Halldor is active on
many boards and is currently sitting on the
Board of the Planned Lifetime Advocacy
Network, The Coast Foundation and The
First Baptist Foundation. Halldor also
finds himself in the role of educator doing
teaching engagements at UBC, West Coast
School of Massage and Langara College
where he speaks to second year Nursing
students about attitudes and perceptions of
the disabled.
Halldor's list of scholarships and
awards are numerous. He is modest about
his achievements, some of which include:
Coast Mental Health Foundation,
Courage to Come Back Award for
Inspirational Achievement