The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms has announced an appeal in the case of Alberta lawyer Roger Song, challenging the Law Society of Alberta’s authority to impose mandatory “cultural competence” and other ideological requirements on lawyers.The appeal follows a September 12, ruling by the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta, which upheld the Law Society’s power to compel lawyers to complete mandatory training and amend its Code of Conduct to prohibit “harassment” and “discrimination” along ideological lines.Song, a former law professor from Beijing who immigrated to Canada after experiencing Mao’s Cultural Revolution, argues that the Law Society’s actions amount to compelled ideology and political coercion. He says they violate his Charter rights to freedom of conscience and belief, and freedom of expression..The appeal challenges several Law Society rules, including Rule 67.4, which mandates ideological training, and a “Professional Development Profile” that redefines competence to include ideologically compliant beliefs, speech, and advocacy.Rules 67.2 and 67.3, which require annual professional development plans aligned with the Profile, and Part 6.3 of the Code of Professional Conduct, which redefines discrimination and harassment in ideological terms, are also under scrutiny.Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms lawyer Glenn Blackett said the Law Society “seems bent on transforming Alberta lawyers into a sort of woke commissariat, who see Western legal systems like our Constitution as systems of colonial and anti-black oppression.”.“Unfortunately, the lower court largely refused to consider the evidence or arguments, treating the political nature of the Law Society’s conduct as immune from judicial review. Mr. Song and I think that’s plainly wrong. The Law Society has no place in politics, and it’s the court’s job to say so,” Blackett added.The appeal aims to overturn the lower court decision and determine whether a regulator can adopt political objectives, especially ones hostile to the Constitution.
