The group behind the lawsuit says Eby has ‘material information’ about the much-debated legislation
The BC Supreme Court considered arguments Wednesday on whether Premier David Eby can be grilled about the Legal Professions Act, a controversial law that legal organizations worry will erode the legal profession’s independence.
The hearing concerned an application brought by the BC government, which sought to exempt Eby from questioning in the context of a lawsuit challenging the Legal Professions Act.
According to the Trial Lawyers Association of BC, which filed the lawsuit, the government argued that other witnesses had access to the same information as the premier and could be questioned instead.
“We just think that [Eby] has material information that can help us understand the thought process behind the Legal Professions Act changes. This bit of legislation was actually not debated fully in Legislature,” TLABC president Greg Phillips told Canadian Lawyer. “We think that the public has a right to know about the thought process behind this legislation.”
Phillips says the court did not rule on the application on Wednesday but said it would provide a timeline for a ruling next week. He adds that the parties expect the court to consider the main allegations in TLABC’s lawsuit around October.
The BC NDP introduced the Legal Professions Act last year. Also known as Bill 21, the legislation proposed replacing the BC Law Society with a single regulatory body to oversee lawyers, paralegals, and notaries across the province.
The legislation also called for a 17-person board, nine of which would be lawyers. The province would appoint four of those lawyers.
In contrast, the LSBC is currently overseen by a board comprising 25 lawyers and up to six non-lawyers. Other lawyers elect those lawyers, while non-lawyers are appointed.
The BC Legislature passed Bill 21 in May, prompting protests by the BC Green Party, Conservative Party of BC, and BC United, as well as the LSBC, the Federation of Law Societies of Canada, and the Canadian Bar Association BC Branch. After the bill’s introduction, Scott Morishita, then president of the CBABC, told Canadian Lawyer that the new rules undermined the independence of the bar.
Key to this independence is a governing board that is mainly made up of lawyers who have been elected by lawyers, Morishita said, adding, “It has to be more than a slim majority.”
The LSBC and TLABC filed separate challenges to Bill 21, arguing that Bill 21 is unconstitutional because it bars BC lawyers from engaging in self-governance and self-regulation.
In July, the BC Supreme Court rejected injunction requests by the LSBC and TLABC, which aimed to stop the BC government from implementing the law. The court’s decision forced LSBC benchers to appoint four members to a transitional board for the new regulatory body created under Bill 21.
A spokesperson for the BC Attorney General declined to comment on Wednesday’s hearing since the matter is still before the court.
