Ottawa, August 19, 2025 – The Canadian Bar Association has submitted written arguments to the BC Supreme Court in two cases challenging the constitutionality of the province’s new Legal Professions Act.
The submissions maintain that the Act, also known as Bill 21, undermines the independence of the legal profession by making elected lawyers a minority in their own regulatory body and giving the provincial government “direct control over lawyers and the practice of law.” According to the CBA, this violates constitutional guarantees of independent courts, a fair trial, the right to counsel, and the rule of law, making BC “an outlier” in Canada and internationally.
If the Act remains in effect, the CBA warns it could “deter people from seeking legal advice, chill vigorous advocacy, and impede access to justice.”
The first case has been brought by the Law Society of BC, while the plaintiffs in the second case are the Trial Lawyers Association of BC and Kevin Westell. The CBA is one of several intervenors.