The Law Society of Alberta (LSA) has developed new measures of “competency” for lawyers that some, including Calgary-based lawyer Glenn Blackett, say could undermine the Canadian legal system.
Of particular concern, he says, are the “cultural competency” standards presented by the LSA.
Included are statements to the effect that Canada’s legal system is racist and lawyers should be actively “anti-racist,” thus pitting lawyers against the laws they are meant to uphold, Mr. Blackett said in an interview with The Epoch Times.
The LSA’s policies on discrimination also appear to violate the “innocent until proven guilty” rule, said Mr. Blackett, who is a civil rights lawyer affiliated with the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms. LSA policy says that if an articling student reports discrimination or harassment, the LSA’s “default position is that articling students’ experiences are believed.”…