The Effect of Bill 14 - Access to Justice Act - on Paralegals and the Public
September 13, 2006
In its on-going opposition to Bill 14, the Paralegal Society of Ontario (POS) emphasized the numerous concerns expressed by both paralegals and non-paralegals to the Standing Committee on Justice Policy.
Most notably, the POS noted that paralegals have been in favour of self-regulation for a number of years and has been working toward that goal. Using the example of the currently self-regulated real estate industry as a guideline, one of the objectives under review is a requirement to have members take courses on an on-going basis to up-grade and up-date their skills on a regular basis.
Existing paralegals with considerable expertise in specific fields based on years of work for the public, hone their skills as conditions and regulations change. Additional course work would enhance their abilities and usefulness to the public even more, and would be welcomed by the membership.
As proposed, the legislation raises more questions than it attempts to answer. Most notably, the legislation raises the issues of:
- Where is the defining
line between what the legal profession does and can do, and what the
paralegal profession does and can do?
- Why are there no
guidelines for ‘grandfathering’ established paralegals laid
out in the legislation?
- Why have the recommendations
of the Cory Report been ignored completely… especially the
finding that paralegals should NOT be regulated by the Law Society?
- Wouldn’t it
make sense to use the self-regulation model implemented for the real
estate industry as a template for the paralegal industry?
Paralegals have been, and are, providing a valuable and needed service to the public, and for the most part they are doing it competently… and the POS is working to improve the standards of performance on an on-going basis.
The Canadian Bankers Association, actuaries, OPSEU, and the used car dealers all have expressed dismay that their activities will be caught up in Bill 14 and they will "potentially" be subject to regulation by the Law Society. While the Law Society and the Attorney-General have insisted that all of these people will be exempted and are not intended to be caught up in the definition, they legitimately ask why the Attorney-General is giving the power to the Law Society to potentially regulate them instead of establishing the guidelines in the Legislature.
The members of the public who most use paralegals are single parents, women, ethnic groups, the disabled, minorities, immigrants, fixed-income seniors, and struggling businesses… the ones who cannot afford a lawyer’s services;
Bill 14, the “Access to Justice Act”, is actually just the opposite because it will prohibit all non-advocacy paralegals, leaving the working poor without an opportunity to choose the level of legal services they require for simple paperwork matters;
Bill 14 should not be passed by the Ontario legislature because it is an obvious conflict of interest to have lawyers regulating paralegals. What other profession is allowed to regulate its competitors?
It is untrue that paralegals are uninsured, unregulated and undisciplined, as all members of the Paralegal Society of Ontario are required to carry Errors and Omissions Insurance, are subject to a Code of Ethics and can be reported to a Discipline Committee, meaning that they are held accountable and the public is protected;
It is unfair that the Law Society, who will regulate paralegals under Bill 14, will not even suspend prosecution of non-advocacy paralegals for the unauthorized practice of law, while these hearings are taking place, yet expect paralegals to negotiate with them in good faith;
It would be a great disservice to the public if Bill 14 is passed and the paralegals who are currently doing simple incorporations, wills and powers of attorney, simple real estate matters and uncontested divorces, are forced out of business in accordance with Schedule C of this Bill.
Paralegals have a self-regulation plan in place and could be self-regulating within a couple of years, if given the chance to do so.
The paralegal profession has been providing the public with timely, useful, and cost-effective services for a number of years. As structured, Bill 14 will eliminate or criminalize a number of those services leaving many of the public without service.
Instead of seeking to eliminate services to the public, the eventual legislation should work to encompass and enhance the new realities of life in the twenty-first century in a world where paralegals regulate themselves alongside, not underneath, lawyers.
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