FACL BC is pleased to share its Follow Up Position Paper on Bill 21 - Legal Professions Act. This position paper follows our previous one issued in November 2022 here. We thank our members for participating in the Bill 21 survey in May 2024 and for voicing their concerns about its implications to our Advocacy Committee.

FACL BC is predominantly volunteer-driven. As a result of its volunteer capacity, coupled with the intention to approach Bill 21 in a thoughtful and informed manner, FACL BC took considerable time to survey its members, consider how the proposed legislation impacts our membership and mandate of promoting equity, justice, and opportunity for Asian Canadian legal professionals, and canvass the thoughts of our Board members and advisors before publishing this paper. We understand that an injunction application is being heard the week of June 17, 2024 in relation to Bill 21. This position paper may be amended as FACL BC continues to monitor new developments periodically.

While certain new mechanisms created under Bill 21 are a step in the right direction, including the establishment of the Indigenous Council, with regard to a number of other mechanisms to ensure Indigenous representation in support of reconciliation and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, it still does not properly account for the voices of other visible minorities at the table, specifically for Asian Canadian legal professionals. As currently drafted, the new Act does not reflect FACL BC’s mandate of promoting equity, justice, and opportunity for Asian Canadian legal professionals and the wider community, but must in order to reflect our society.

Specifically, FACL BC recommends that the new Act be amended to include specific reference to and consideration for Asian Canadian legal professionals in the following areas: guiding principles, diversity of the Board and Legal Professions Tribunal, oaths of office and Code of Conduct for the Board and Legal Professions Tribunal, appointment and duties of the Chief Executive Officer, licensing and enrollment, discipline, practice reviews, trust accounting rules, dispute resolution, practice specialties, assistance programs and cultural competency training, and transition provisions related to governance and discipline.

We also respectfully request further clarification from the Ministry of Justice on sections of the new Act regarding the Law Foundation, the infrastructure that will be in place to oversee the 5-year independent review, creation of new regulations, and creation of a new legal profession. Most importantly, our initial question posed in 2022 remains unanswered, namely, how the new Act will yield purported access to justice benefits.

Overall, FACL BC takes issue with the government influence, expansion of regulatory powers over lawyers, and the lack of consultation from lawyers prior to the enactment of the new Act.

Board Members who are part of firms that represent clients involved in litigation over Bill 21 have recused themselves and were not involved in the preparation of this position paper. 

Read FACL BC's full position paper here: Follow Up Position Paper on Bill 21 - Legal Professions Act.