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Court finds B.C.’s Legal Professions Act is not beyond government’s powers

Chief Justice Ronald A. Skolrood released his decision upholding the Legal Professions Act, finding the legislation does not improperly undermine the independence of the Bar or violate the Charter.
The Law Society and Trial Lawyers Association challenged the bill, which received Royal Assent on May 16, 2024, arguing it overturned 150 years of self-governance and eroded essential conditions of an independent Bar.
Acknowledging that independent lawyers play a "crucial role in the administration of justice," the Attorney General argued that lawyers are not constitutionally guaranteed freedom from democratic regulation.
Attorney Niki Sharma told reporters in Victoria she is "pleased with the outcome," while Premier David Eby said the legislation increases public confidence in regulation and oversight of lawyers in the province.
Though the Canadian Bar Association claimed the bill "unconstitutionally impairs" the independence of the Bar, the Law Society and Trial Lawyers Association are considering next steps, including a possible appeal.

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Court finds B.C.’s Legal Professions Act is not beyond government’s powers - Creston Valley Advance

B.C.’s law society has lost its legal challenge of the reorganization of the profession’s oversight, paving the way for more non-lawyers on the regulator’s board, and fewer of the remaining lawyers to be elected by their peers. Chief Justice Ronald A. Skolrood released his decision Wednesday (April 29), finding that Bill 21 – which created a single legal regulator for lawyers, notaries, and licensed paralegals – does not improperly undermine the…

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