Friday July 22, 2022
RE: Alberta Legislative Requirement to Swear Oath to Queen in Bar Admission
The University of Calgary Black Law Student’s Association stands in solidarity with Prabjot S. Wirring and his efforts to make the bar admission requirement of an oath of allegiance to the Queen optional.
Mr. Wirring is an articling student who cannot swear an oath to another entity due to his religious beliefs and the current legislative requirements present an obstacle in his path to becoming a lawyer.
As an organization focused on achieving equity within the legal profession, we recognize the danger of a hollow diversity that welcomes many faces but does not make space for their equally diverse experiences.
We recognize the strength of creating environments where different experiences and values are respected and accounted for. To ask anyone to forsake a core part of their identity in the quest to becoming a lawyer is to foster an exclusionary space that is not truly reflective of the diversity of legal talent that Alberta serves to benefit from.
The current mandate of an oath of allegiance to the Queen is an unnecessary restriction that only serves to further inequity in the profession for reasons unrelated to competence and ability.
Doing away with the requirement of taking the oath does not diminish the importance of the bar admission but rather reflects a commitment towards equity within the legal field. It brings us one step closer to a truly inclusive legal profession.
In solidarity,
Black Law Students’ Association
University of Calgary Chapter