OTTAWA – The Canadian Bar Association (CBA) welcomed the June 17 decision by the Supreme Court of Canada in Ontario (Public Safety and Security) v. Criminal Lawyers' Association, calling it a very good decision for the protection of solicitor-client privilege.

CBA counsel Mahmud Jamal of Osler LLP, who acted pro bono for the CBA in its intervention in the appeal, has issued the following statement and is available for media interviews.

“In a unanimous decision written by McLachlin CJ and Abella J, the SCC overturned the Ontario Court of Appeal and held that the absence of a public interest override for privileged (or law enforcement related) documents is not unconstitutional, and that the privilege itself already contains a consideration of the public interest. The decision contains several very helpful statements about the near absolute character of solicitor-client privilege.

“While the Court does not cite the CBA’s brief, we were gratified to see that the Court appeared to adopt (at para 29) a statement of the real issue before the Court that is strikingly similar to the issue the CBA presented – whether government has a constitutional duty to abrogate its own privilege to further the expression of members of the public. “

The full judgment can be found online.

The Canadian Bar Association is dedicated to support for the rule of law, and improvement in the law and the administration of justice. Some 37,000 lawyers, law teachers, and law students from across Canada are members.

-30-


 

MEDIA CONTACT:

Hannah Bernstein
The Canadian Bar Association
Tel: 613-237-2925, ext. 146
E-mail: hannahb@cba.org