The report was the product of four years of research and consultation done by an LSUC working group, and for some organizations, it was largely a compromise that did not go far enough. Those organizations now do not want to see one part of the initiative picked apart, and yet Convocation is set to consider an exemption to the requirement at its next meeting after Bencher Joe Groia asked it to do so.

The requirement has faced some backlash from lawyers and legal scholars, who argue it imposes beliefs on licensees and is a violation of freedom of conscience, leading to Groia’s request and a court challenge filed by a Lakehead University law professor.

“What’s the point of having the report if we’re just going to shelve it or stick our heads in the sand?” says Hafeez Amarshi, president of the South Asian Bar Association of Toronto. “We spent four years working on this report.”

The Canadian Association of Black Lawyers recently sent a letter to the law society, also supporting the statement of principles and questioning why the issue would be reopened, particularly considering a discussion already happened on the issue at the Dec. 2016 meeting when the recommendations were approved.

In the letter, the association acknowledged that the statement of principles will not be popular among all lawyers but that it is essential. Groia’s motion will ask benchers to consider an exemption for conscientious objectors of the requirement.