Every institution in Canadian society is taking a hard look at issues of equality and diversity, and the Canadian Bar Association is leading the way. In a landmark report delivered to the CBA’s 1999 Mid-Winter Meeting, the Working Group on Racial Equality in the Legal Profession outlined the challenges and the barriers that people from racialized communities face in law schools, in the legal market and within the court system across Canada. Not since the Bertha Wilson report has there been a document that held such import to the legal profession.

Racial Equality in the Legal Profession, contains both the working group’s paper entitled The Challenges of Racial Equality: Putting Principles into Practice, as well as a paper prepared by the Co-Chair, Joanne St. Lewis, entitled Virtual Justice: Systemic Racism and the Canadian Legal Profession. A background document, Critical Race Theory Bibliography, accompanies the reports. All are available on the CBA’s web site (www.cba.org), or can be ordered through the CBA National office (1.800.267.8860).

The two reports address the same issues but bring different perspectives. The working group’s Challenges makes 40 wide-ranging recommendations for the promotion of racial equality within the Canadian legal profession. Recommendations touch on all steps along the road to becoming a member of the legal profession--from law school and bar admission to articling and practice. They also call for changes to lawyers’ organizations and the courts.

“Our report looks briefly at some of the systemic barriers and notes a few of the ways that people and the institutions in which they work have found to eliminate these barriers or reduce their impact on people from racialized communities,” explains Benjamin Trevino, QC, Co-Chair of the working group.

Virtual Justice, Co-Chair’s Joanne St. Lewis’s report, applies critical race analysis to the issue. It outlines strategic approaches to identifying and eradicating barriers to the achievement of equality. “Containing 37 recommendations, my report identifies strategic steps which require that institutions take a comprehensive approach to the elimination of racism. It provides an analysis of how members of the profession can develop and implement strategies which are fair and practical for all concerned,” says Joanne St. Lewis.

The BC Branch’s Equality Committee strongly recommends that every lawyer familiarize themselves with the recommendations in the reports, and provide input to ensure that a BC perspective is considered in debate at the CBA’s Annual Meeting in Edmonton in August 1999. Three basic questions are being asked of every lawyer: What can we do within our local legal community to become more inclusive? What role should the CBA and the Law Society play in elimination of discrimination in our profession? What are our BC priorities arising from the CBA Report on Racial Equality in the Legal Profession?

Members are encouraged to provide their input as soon as possible to the Equality Committee, c/o the Branch Office.

This article was published in the June 1999 issue of BarTalk. © 1999 The Canadian Bar Association. All rights reserved.