CALGARY, AB: The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms announces that Alberta lawyer Roger Song has asked the Court of Appeal of Alberta for permission to include written arguments from his earlier case in his appeal against the Law Society of Alberta (Law Society). Mr. Song argues that, without those materials before the Court, he cannot prove that the lower court failed to respond to important parts of his case.
According to Mr. Song, the Law Society has imposed ideological requirements on lawyers and infringed his freedoms of conscience and religion under section 2(a), and freedom of thought, belief, opinion, and expression under section 2(b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Called to the Alberta bar in 2014 after years serving as a law professor in Beijing, China, Mr. Song is challenging Law Society requirements that he says force lawyers to participate in political and ideological training unrelated to the practice of law. The case began after the Law Society required him to complete mandatory “cultural competence” training and introduced rules requiring lawyers to file annual Continuing Professional Development plans tied to a new “Professional Development Profile.”
In Mr. Song’s view, these requirements go beyond ensuring lawyers are competent and ethical. Instead, they redefine legal competence around political and ideological objectives, pressure lawyers to adopt approved viewpoints, and impose vague standards around harassment and discrimination that discourage vigorous advocacy. He is challenging Law Society professional conduct and competence standards that he says compel ideological conformity as a condition of remaining licensed.
Constitutional lawyer Glenn Blackett said, “Mr. Song has already been denied justice when the lower Court substantively failed to respond to the case he made. The Court of Appeal’s procedural rules, which would keep that case largely out of the appeal record, threaten a second denial.”
The next step in the proceeding is for the Court of Appeal to hear Mr. Song’s motion regarding the filing of the lower court briefs. Following that process, the parties are expected to submit appeal factums and schedule an oral hearing.
The Justice Centre is Canada’s leading civil liberties organization defending Charter rights and freedoms in the courts of law and in the court of public opinion. Founded in 2010, the Justice Centre funds lawyers across Canada, relies entirely on voluntary donations to carry out its mission, and issues official tax receipts to donors.
Court filings:
• Application to Single Judge
• Memorandum of Argument
• Affidavit in Support of Application