The Canadian Bar Association of BC, the professional organization representing lawyers, judges and law students in the Province, had sent a letter to Premier David Eby earlier this month urging him to be more responsible with his public comments after he decried a recent court ruling which enshrined Aboriginal rights and title and determined BC’s Declaration Act was in fact enforceable.
The warning to the Premier on behalf of the 8200 members of the CBABC says Eby’s criticism of the courts as an elected official had served to undermine the rule of law and threatened the independence of the judicial system.
The group had said in part “Framing court decisions as ‘dramatic, overreaching and unhelpful’ is irresponsible”, adding “It’s hard to overstate the damage that can be done by exerting political pressure on judges to align their rulings with the government of the day.”
The BC Assembly of First Nations had also condemned Eby’s comments that a reworking of the BC Declaration Act may be on the table following a decision in the Gitxaala Mineral tenure case that determined the province’s existing mineral tenure system was out of touch with the requirements for consultation set out within the Act, and ruled that it needed to be reworked.
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