At Convocation in May 2022, the task force submitted its final report, which concluded that the program “did not meet the principles of an effective competence regime” because there had been limited uptake, it did not “assure or improve” competence, and it contained no “ongoing evaluative component.” The task force recommended eliminating the program, except for the Indigenous legal issues specialization, and existing certified specialists should be grandparented, with the task force split over whether they should retain the designation for five years or until they finished practising.
Convocation voted to amend the task force’s recommendations to eliminate the designation’s grandparenting, discontinuing the designation by the end of 2022.
A few months later, at September’s Convocation, benchers voted to suspend the winding up of the program pending further consideration. The PDCC had until the end of 2023 to make a recommendation. The PDCC underwent a consultation asking whether to keep or eliminate the program, whether to grandparent existing specialists, and for any other comments. The law society received 453 submissions, which the PDCC said was an “unprecedented response compared to previous consultations.”
There were several common concerns among the submissions in favour of keeping the program, said the PDCC report. These included concerns that the designation provided a trustworthy and reliable measure of a lawyer’s skill amid an ocean of advertising and non-authoritative and unhelpful awards, titles, credentials, and reviews. Respondents noted that members of the public have difficulty finding a lawyer with the appropriate expertise. The Ontario Bar Association and the Federation of Ontario Law Associations both submitted that the program promotes access to justice, particularly in northern or rural areas, by assisting people in finding experienced lawyers. Some respondents also said they used the program to make referrals.
The Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers submitted that the program helps lawyers from underrepresented groups receive more equitable treatment from the public and profession by allowing them to distinguish themselves with “objective standards administered by the provincial regulator.”