Law Society of British Columbia v Mangat

Law Society of British Columbia v Mangat [2001] 3 S.C.R. 113, 2001 SCC 67 is a leading Supreme Court of Canada decision where the Court held that a non-lawyer may be given the power to practice law under a federal statute even if it is contrary to provincial legal profession legislation.

Background

The respondent, Jaswant Mangat, was an immigration consultant carrying on his work through an immigration consulting company ("Westcoast"). He had not studied law in Canada and was not a member of the B.C. Law Society. Mangat and other Westcoast employees engaged in a number of activities involving immigration proceedings, including appearing as counsel or advocate on behalf of aliens, for or in the expectation of a fee from the persons for whom the acts were performed, before the Immigration and Refugee Board ("IRB").

The Law Society brought an application seeking a permanent injunction against Mangat and Westcoast to prevent them from engaging in the ongoing practice of law, in contravention of B.C.’s Legal Profession Act. Mangat and Westcoast admitted that they were engaged in the practice of law within the meaning of s. 1 of the Legal Profession Act, but contended that their conduct was sanctioned by ss. 30 and 69(1) of the federal Immigration Act, which permit non-lawyers to appear on behalf of clients before the IRB. The judge issued the injunction on the grounds that ss. 30 and 69(1) of the Immigration Act did not authorize the practice of law. Alternatively, she would have granted the injunction on the basis that the provisions were ultra vires Parliament.