Protecting Lawyer Independence and the Rule of Law
It’s been three months since the B.C. government passed the Legal Professions Act, which sets out a single regulator model for lawyers, notaries and paralegals.
Since our response in November 2022 to the Ministry of Attorney General’s intention to modernize the regulatory framework for legal professionals, CBABC — as the essential advocate for the profession — continues to push for preserving separation of the legal profession from government, and regulation of lawyers by a majority of lawyers. We support a single regulator model for the legal profession so long as these changes do not impact lawyers’ independence. The legislation fails in this regard.
We held numerous consultation sessions with lawyers and articling students, including members of our Aboriginal Lawyers Forum, Truth & Reconciliation Committee and Provincial Council. We delivered written submissions to the Attorney General and engaged continuously with the Law Society, associations for notaries and paralegals, and government, as well as other legal stakeholders. Still, the drafting of the legislation took place mostly behind closed doors.
In our letter to the Attorney General on May 14, we outlined our support for certain elements of the legislation, such as the creation of an Indigenous Council, but raised concern around the lack of effort to address other components that compromises lawyer independence and self-regulation.
Despite multiple calls to allow legal professionals and the public more time to consider the legislation and provide meaningful feedback, the Bill received royal assent on May 16 with only 30 of its 317 clauses debated with none of the significant concerns raised by lawyers across the province addressed.
The Law Society commenced litigation to challenge the constitutionality of the Legal Professions Act in the BC Supreme Court and applied for an injunction to block the implementation of the LPA until its case could be heard. The injunction hearing, which was heard in mid June, concluded with Justice Gropper reserving judgement. CBABC has activated the process under the CBA Intervention Regulation to have CBA apply to intervene in subsequent stages of the case.
Judicial Vacancies Remain a Critical Advocacy Priority
We still hear from our members about trials and long chambers matters getting bumped. The Supreme Court says the main cause is the lack of judges. In May, The Honourable Arif Virani, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada announced five new appointments to the BC Supreme Court and two appointments to the BC Court of Appeal. CBABC continues to advocate for the timely appointment of judges. There are positive signals from the federal government that more appointments are coming but let’s keep the foot on the gas and encourage colleagues to apply.