BarTalk June 2004
Volume 16, Number 3

Voting on the future of the CBA

"We ask all members to take time to read about the CBA and carefully consider what your vote will mean."

For the first time in 55 years, the Law Society of B.C. practice fee will be put to a referendum rather than decided at an Annual General Meeting. There will be no forum for debate or participation from members other than a single “X” mark on a ballot. For that reason, we ask all members to take time to read about the CBA and carefully consider what your vote will mean.

There will be three options on the ballot: Resolution A, which is the status quo position, includes fees payable to the Law Society, B.C. Courthouse Library Society, Lawyers Assistance Program, the Advocate and the Canadian Bar Association, B.C. Branch (CBABC). Resolution B includes all fees except the CBABC fee. And the third option is “To not set the practice fee at this time,” thus returning the decision to the Law Society Annual General Meeting in the Fall.

The referendum ballot package will be mailed in late May, for return by June 22nd. The ballots will be counted on June 23rd. A simple majority of the returned ballots will decide the fee to be paid for 2005.

To date, through 55 annual meetings and a handful of legal cases, the inclusion of a CBA fee has always been upheld. As recently as last year, there was a 2:1 majority vote at the AGM, and a strongly supportive legal decision in Gibbs v. Law Society of B.C. A Membership Protocol was introduced, allowing lawyers to resign their CBA membership for principled reasons. Only 16 members have chosen to do so.

Despite the constant majority support, a small group of vocal opponents has continued to make this an issue for the Law Society; thus the Benchers decided this year to forego the AGM as the venue for deciding the matter, and instead to put the question to referendum. The Benchers debated whether or not to take a position on the matter, and in the end chose not to make any recommendation as to how members should vote.

In recognition that there are diverse views on this issue, and to assist in the promotion of debate, the BarTalk Editorial Board invited Mr. John McAlpine, QC and Mr. Cameron Ward to provide their opposing perspectives on the matter. Members are encouraged to read both, and to read the other articles in this edition of BarTalk that highlight the ongoing work of the Association.

Whether or not to continue to provide a universal levy to support the CBA is a critical decision, with consequences for the entire profession. In the interests of ensuring an informed vote, take the time to consider it well.

This article was published in the June 2004 issue of BarTalk and is subject to the copyright by the British Columbia Branch of the Canadian Bar Association, 2004, all rights reserved.