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ARTICLE · 02 MARCH 2015

Supreme Court Confirms That Lawyers Cannot Act As Government Agents

Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP
Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP
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Global anti-money laundering initiatives gained momentum in the 1990s.

CanadaLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration
Roy Millen
Roy Millen
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In its recent decision in Canada (Attorney General) v. Federation of Law Societies of Canada, the Supreme Court of Canada (Court) held that the government cannot "turn lawyers into state agents"; it cannot require lawyers to act against their clients' legitimate interests. The Court also affirmed the near-absolute protection of all solicitor-client privileged information. On these grounds, the Court struck down as unconstitutional federal legislation that would have required lawyers to record and retain information about their clients for the purposes of facilitating the detection, investigation and prosecution of criminal offences. This decision provides clients with assurance that their lawyers will not be forced to choose between their clients' interests and conflicting duties to the government.

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