Links to Other Articles

The editorial boards of both national newspapers, as well as various opinion columnists, have condemned the Law Society’s initiative. You may wish to review these links if you haven’t already done so:

Editorial Board Denunciations:

Globe editorial: Ontario law society can’t put words in people’s mouths

NP View: Law society's controversial statement of principles should be struck down

News Articles:

*NEW The C anadian Lawyer: Group Against Statement of Principles to Launch Bencher Election Bloc

StopSOP was featured in this article on Feb. 12, 2018: Canadian Lawyer Magazine: Online Campaign Questions LSO Statement of Principles

Cato Institute: Ontario Bar Requires Lawyer Pledge to “Promote Equality”

Law Times News: LSUC statement of principles faces some backlash

Constitutional Challenge:

Canadian Lawyer. Proceedings should have been brought in Divisional Court, not S.C.J. The full decision may be found here.

Press Release from Canadian Constitutional Foundation (CCF) re Update on Constitutional Challenge

Constitutional challenge by Professor Ryan Alford

Features & Interesting Commentary:

*NEW Our StopSOP colleague and bencher candidate, Murray Klippenstein, shares his compelling personal story of his battle to resist the LSO's compelled Statement of Principles. Don't miss "How Social Justice Ideologues Hijacked a Legal Regulator," written with Professor Bruce Pardy, and published February 11, 2019 in Quillette magazine.

Similar E.D.I. initiatives are taking root in Nova Scotia: Canadian Lawyer

Jonathan Kay's speech to the Law Society of BC on the importance of the Rule of Law, printed in Quillette Magazine.

Trying to understand the rise of "diversity, inclusion and equity" policies and their connection to law schools? Quillette Magazine has an excellent backgrounder: Beyond All Warnings: The Radical Assault on Truth in the Law

March 2018 - As the Law Society rolls out EDI initiatives such as "unconscious bias training" (offered by the CBA as well), it is important to understand the limitations, and even negative consequences, of such testing. Jared Brown explores the issue in depth in his blog.

Research Papers

*NEW Dr. Rodney Clifton: Expert Report prepared for the CCF on the methodological flaws in the LSO's Stratcom Report on Systemic Racism

Professor Art Cockfield, published in Queen’s Law Research Paper Series, "Limiting Lawyer Liberty: How the Statement of Principles Coerces Speech"

Opinion Articles:

*NEW Marni Soupcoff in the National Post: Ontario's 'Racialized Law' Debate is Based on Bad Research (Feb. 28)

Former Justice Brian Giesbrecht in the Toronto Sun: A Progressive Agenda is Being Forced on All Ontario Lawyers (Feb. 16)

Marty Gobin in the Ottawa Citizen: "The Law Society's diversity policy doesn't include diverse views"

Troy Media: The Law Society of Ontario's Unprincipled "Statement of Principles" by Karen Selick

Convivium: The Law Society of Orwell, by Albertos Polizogopoulos

Sadie Etemad in the Canadian Lawyer: Why the Statement of Principles Troubles Me as a Visible Minority

Globe and Mail Opinion: Lawyers should be held to standards – not beliefs

Globe and Mail Opinion: Why I’m ignoring the Law Society’s Orwellian dictate

CBC Opinion: An arm of the state should not be forcing lawyers to declare their values

Barbara Kay: Ontario Law Society to Police "Thought Crimes" of its Members

Bruce Pardy in National Post: Law society's new policy compels speech, crossing line that must not be crossed

National Post: Ontario lawyers must say they promote equality, or else after law society rejects exemption for conscientious objectors

Jonathan Kay in National Post: Law society's inflated view of lawyers' importance leads it to compel speech

Jay Cameron in Ottawa Citizen: Ontario lawyers now face their own free-speech battle