Manitoba law society rules questioned

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 18/03/2021 (1852 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

RULES that require prospective lawyers in Manitoba to disclose certain information — such as whether they have had any contact with police — before they can be called to the bar, unfairly target Indigenous, Black and other marginalized groups, says the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.

The Law Society of Manitoba’s “good character” process is “discriminatory and intrusive, it violates personal privacy and it undermines the law society’s goal for truth and reconciliation, diversity and inclusion,” said the association’s equality director, Noa Mendelsohn Aviv.

In a brief this week, the association called on the law society to overhaul the disclosure process, which it says effectively discourages Indigenous, Black and other marginalized people from becoming lawyers.

“In our view, it is not in the spirit of Canada’s aspiration to achieve truth and reconciliation with its Indigenous peoples of this country,” said Verna George, association special adviser on Indigenous issues.

Mendelsohn Aviv said the law society’s “good character” process requires applicants to disclose “deeply personal, irrelevant and remote information about themselves,” including whether they have been suspended from a post-secondary school for misconduct, whether they resigned from a job because of allegations made against them, and most significantly, whether they have had any involvement with the police or justice system.

“The process requires that people disclose all manner of contact with police and the criminal justice system, including items that did not lead to a finding of guilt, and despite the fact that Indigenous individuals, Black people and other racialized or marginalized individuals are overpoliced, racially profiled, and face unfair, overly harsh treatment within the system as a result of colonialism, racism and systemic discrimination,” she said.

While only a few applicants who answer the questions do not pass the bar, the real issue is how many are deterred from even trying, Mendelsohn Aviv said.

“We know of specific individuals who won’t even enter law school because the time commitment and the money involved is extreme,” she said. “Then at the end of the process, you have to disclose all this information and potentially go through an investigation, and only then find out after this huge investment whether they can become a lawyer. All these people are turned away before they even get to the gate.”

A lack of diversity in the lawyer pool affects society, Mendelsohn Aviv said.

“This has an impact not only on diversity among lawyers, but also among prosecutors, legal academics and judges who are setting policy and law,” she said.

In an email statement, the law society said it is “committed to the principles of equity and diversity” and “share(s) the view that there is a need for greater diversity within the legal profession.”

It will give “careful consideration” to the association’s request.

dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca