FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MAY 25, 2007

VANCOUVER -- Responding to today’s Supreme Court of Canada decision in the Christie case, Frits Verhoeven, President of the Canadian Bar Association BC Branch issued the following statement:

“The Christie decision, while disappointing to us, does not change the position of the Canadian Bar Association that the tax on legal services is regressive, discriminatory and harmful. A constitutional right to impose taxation does not excuse bad tax policy. The tax on legal services has resulted in well over $1 billion in extra tax dollars being collected from individuals and businesses in BC who needed to access legal services. It remains an impediment to accessing justice, and to the competitiveness of BC business. Now that the Christie court case has been resolved, the government should repeal the tax immediately.”

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For more information about the CBA's campaign to eliminate the tax on legal services visit www.cba.org/bc/Home/2006/sst_update.aspx or to arrange an interview with CBABC President Verhoeven, contact:

Jesse Tarbotton
Communications Coordinator
jtarbotton@bccba.org
604.687.3404, ext. 318

The Canadian Bar Association is the professional organization responsible for representing the interests of more than 35,000 members in Canada, including 6,000 lawyers in British Columbia.