Law Society of Upper Canada v. Ontario Public Service Employees Union et al.

[Indexed as: Law Society of Upper Canada v. Ontario Public Service Employees Union]

Ontario Reports

Ontario Superior Court of Justice,

C.J. Brown J.

April 22, 2014

120 O.R. (3d) 24 | 2014 ONSC 270

Case Summary

Professions — Paralegals — Law Society Act binding employees of provincial Crown who provide legal services — Exception to licensing requirement for paralegals granted in 2007 to Office of the Worker Advisor and Office of the Employer Advisor for legal services provided in relation to Workplace Safety and Insurance Act not extending to Crown employees who provide legal services in respect of employer reprisals prohibited by s. 50 of Occupational Health and Safety Act — Occupational Health and Safety Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. O.1, s. 50.

The Law Society of Upper Canada brought an application for declarations with respect to the applicability of the Law Society Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. L.8 (the "LSA") to employees of the provincial Crown who provide legal services. Particularly, it submitted that Crown employees who provide legal services in respect of employer reprisals prohibited by s. 50 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act (the "OHSA") are subject to the licensing requirements of the LSA.

Held, the application should be granted.

While the LSA does not expressly bind the Crown, it does so by necessary implication. The purpose of the LSA is to protect the public by requiring legal service providers to be licensed. To hold that the provincial Crown is able to provide legal services to the public on an unlicensed basis would defeat that purpose and would result in an anomaly and absurdity. An exception to the licensing requirement for paralegals granted in 2007 to the Office of the Worker Advisor and Office of the Employer Advisor for legal services provided in relation to the [page25 ]Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, S.O. 1997, c. 16, Sch. A does not extend to Crown employees who provide legal services in respect of employer reprisals prohibited by s. 50 of the OHSA. The exception was granted four years before the enactment of the reprisal provisions under the OHSA, which could not have been in the contemplation of convocation at the time the exception was granted. In fact, when the OHSA provisions were enacted, the Law Society was attempting to restrict the further unlicensed provision of legal services.

R. v. Greening, [1993] O.J. No. 2827, 47 M.V.R. (2d) 167, 20 W.C.B. (2d) 481 (C.J. (Prov. Div.)), affg [1992] O.J. No. 2626, 43 M.V.R. (2d) 53, 18 W.C.B. (2d) 194 (C.J. (Prov. Div.)), apld

Other cases referred to

Alberta v. Canada (Transport Commission), 1977 150 (SCC), [1978] 1 S.C.R. 61, [1977] S.C.J. No. 40, 75 D.L.R. (3d) 257, 14 N.R. 21, 2 Alta. L.R. (2d) 72, 2 A.R. 539; Alberta Government Telephones v. Canada (CRTC), 1989 78 (SCC), [1989] 2 S.C.R. 225, [1989] S.C.J. No. 84, 61 D.L.R. (4th) 193, 98 N.R. 161, [1989] 5 W.W.R. 385, J.E. 89-1207, 68 Alta. L.R. (2d) 1, 26 C.P.R. (3d) 289, 16 A.C.W.S. (3d) 421; Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec and Ontario Securities Commission (1983), 1983 1708 (ON SC), 42 O.R. (2d) 561, [1983] O.J. No. 3117, 149 D.L.R. (3d) 456, 23 B.L.R. 92, 21 A.C.W.S. (2d) 102 (Div. Ct.); Everingham v. Ontario (1992), 1992 7681 (ON SC), 8 O.R. (3d) 121, [1992] O.J. No. 304, 88 D.L.R. (4th) 755, 54 O.A.C. 224, 5 C.P.C. (3d) 118, 31 A.C.W.S. (3d) 1089 (Div. Ct.); Fine's Flowers Ltd. v. Creditors of Fine's Flowers Ltd. (1993), 1993 967 (ON CA), 16 O.R. (3d) 315, [1993] O.J. No. 2633, 108 D.L.R. (4th) 765, 65 O.A.C. 316, 14 B.L.R. (2d) 178, 22 C.B.R. (3d) 1, 43 A.C.W.S. (3d) 1108 (C.A.); Friends of the Oldman River Society v. Canada (Minister of Transport), 1992 110 (SCC), [1992] 1 S.C.R. 3, [1992] S.C.J. No. 1, 88 D.L.R. (4th) 1, 132 N.R. 321, [1992] 2 W.W.R. 193, J.E. 92-180, 84 Alta. L.R. (2d) 129, 3 Admin. L.R. (2d) 1, 7 C.E.L.R. (N.S.) 1, 31 A.C.W.S. (3d) 250; Krieger v. Law Society of Alberta, [2002] 3 S.C.R. 372, [2002] S.C.J. No. 45, 2002 SCC 65, 217 D.L.R. (4th) 513, 293 N.R. 201, [2003] 1 W.W.R. 193, J.E. 2002-1884, 7 Alta. L.R. (4th) 1, 312 A.R. 275, 43 Admin. L.R. (3d) 167, 168 C.C.C. (3d) 97, 4 C.R. (6th) 255, 117 A.C.W.S. (3d) 166, 54 W.C.B. (2d) 603; Law Society of Upper Canada v. Canada (Attorney General) (2008), 2008 1666 (ON SC), 89 O.R. (3d) 209, [2008] O.J. No. 210, 163 A.C.W.S. (3d) 851 (S.C.J.); Medical Centre Apartments Ltd. v. Winnipeg (City), 1969 864 (MB CA), [1969] M.J. No. 47, 3 D.L.R. (3d) 525 (C.A.); National Bank of Greece (Canada) v. Katsikonouris, 1990 92 (SCC), [1990] 2 S.C.R. 1029, [1990] S.C.J. No. 95, 74 D.L.R. (4th) 197, 115 N.R. 42, J.E. 90-1410, 32 Q.A.C. 250, 50 C.C.L.I. 1, [1990] I.L.R. Â1-2663 at 10478, 23 A.C.W.S. (3d) 74; R. v. Ouellette, 1980 9 (SCC), [1980] 1 S.C.R. 568, [1980] S.C.J. No. 12, 111 D.L.R. (3d) 216, 32 N.R. 361, 52 C.C.C. (2d) 336, 14 C.R. (3d) 74, 15 C.R. (3d) 372, 4 W.C.B. 418; Rizzo & Rizzo Shoes Ltd. (Re) (1998), 1998 837 (SCC), 36 O.R. (3d) 418, [1998] 1 S.C.R. 27, [1998] S.C.J. No. 2, 154 D.L.R. (4th) 193, 221 N.R. 241, J.E. 98-201, 106 O.A.C. 1, 50 C.B.R. (3d) 163, 33 C.C.E.L. (2d) 173, 98 CLLC Â210-006, 76 A.C.W.S. (3d) 894

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Application granted.

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