Editing King's Counsel (section)

=====Ontario=====

From 1985 to 2022, the Government of [[Ontario]] stopped making appointments. In 1985, then-Premier of Ontario [[David Peterson]] made a statement in the house giving five reasons:
# the designation was originally meant to recognise excellence in the courtroom, but the practice in Ontario was that it could be given to any lawyer, regardless of courtroom experience;
# the use of the designation misled the public, because it was more based on who one knows than what one knows;
# it was unfair to lawyers who for whatever reason have not been designated, leading to questions about their standing in the profession;
# no other profession received government awards of this type; and
# the designation had been used in Ontario mainly as a form of political patronage.<ref>{{cite web|title=Ontario Legislative Assembly, Official Records for 10 December 1985|url=http://www.ontla.on.ca/web/house-proceedings/house_detail.do?locale=en&Sess=1&Parl=33&Date=1985-12-10#P40_8240|work=HANSARD|access-date=16 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131216190426/http://www.ontla.on.ca/web/house-proceedings/house_detail.do?locale=en&Sess=1&Parl=33&Date=1985-12-10#P40_8240|archive-date=16 December 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In his statement, Premier Peterson stated that the government would stop awarding the designation and would move to revoke existing designations. Although the government did stop awarding the designation, it did not formally abolish it. Lawyers appointed as Queen's Counsel prior to 1985 continued to use the QC (KC) or cr [[List of post-nominal letters in Canada|postnominal letters]].<ref name="Slaw 20120103">{{Cite web | url=http://www.slaw.ca/2012/01/03/queens-counsel-appointments/ |title=Queen's Counsel Appointments |last=Mirreau |first=Shaunna |publisher=Slaw |date=3 January 2012 |access-date=13 December 2013}}</ref> In response to the government's decision, the [[Law Society of Upper Canada]], the governing body for Ontario lawyers, implemented the [[Law Society Medal]] in 1985 to recognise excellence in the profession. Recipients are entitled to use "LSM" behind their names.<ref>"[http://www.lsuc.on.ca/law-society-medal/ The Law Society Medal]". Law Society of Upper Canada, December 2015.</ref>

Lawyers who are designated Certified Specialist are recognized and experienced in their field of law and have met high standards imposed by the Law Society of Ontario.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://lso.ca/lawyers/about-your-licence/manage-your-licence/certified-specialists|title=Certified Specialists - About the Certified Specialist Program|website=Law Society of Ontario}}</ref> This is commonly identified as modern day replacement to the Queen's Counsel (QC) designation.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Alnaji|first=Yassir|title=Bill 203: The Legal Profession Amendment Act (Queen's Counsel Appointments)|journal=Manitoba Law Journal|date=2018 |volume=41|issue=1|pages=461|doi=10.29173/mlj1080 }}</ref>

Ontario courts continued to recognize the Queen's Counsel designations of Ontario lawyers appearing before it where those lawyers were accorded the honorific by the Federal Government.<ref>See, for example, Croft Michaelson, Q.C., an Ontario lawyer employed by the federal government and [http://www.ontariocourts.ca/decisions/2016/2016ONCA0582.htm so appointed in 2014].</ref>

On 30 June 2023, the Attorney General for Ontario reinstituted the practice of appointing King's Counsel, in honour of the [[coronation of Charles III]].<ref>[https://news.ontario.ca/en/bulletin/1003229/ontario-reinstitutes-kings-counsel-designation Ontario Newsroom:  BULLETIN:  "Ontario Reinstitutes King's Counsel Designation", 30 June 2023.]</ref> Until the designation's reinstitution in 2023, there were calls from some members of the Ontario bar for the province to reinstate the King's Counsel designation, on a merit basis, to help Ontario lawyers remain competitive internationally.<ref>[https://www.lawtimesnews.com/practice-areas/litigation/veteran-litigator-calls-for-ontario-to-reinstitute-kc-designation/371563 Julius Melnitzer, "Veteran litigator calls for Ontario to reinstitute KC designation", ''Law Times'', 16 November 2022.]</ref> However, the appointment of ninety-one Ontario lawyers, which included provincial Progressive Conservative cabinet ministers, conservative members of the Ontario Parliament, the Ontario Attorney General's former staff members and more than a dozen party donors drew criticism.<ref>[https://globalnews.ca/news/9841142/ontario-kings-council-appointments-controversey/ Colin D'Mello and Isaac Callan, "'Mucked this one up': Ford government under fire for King's Counsel appointments", Global News, 18 July 2023].</ref>

In response, the Premier of Ontario promised on 18 July 2023 to change how King's Counsel designations would be awarded to lawyers.  A spokesman for the [[Attorney General of Ontario]] said that in the future there will be a public application process and lawyers will have to demonstrate "a significant contribution to our justice system and work in the public interest."<ref>[https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-doug-ford-says-ontario-to-change-kings-counsel-designation-for-lawyers/ Laura Stone, "Doug Ford says Ontario to change King's Counsel designation for lawyers after patronage complaints", Globe & Mail, 18 July 2023].</ref> At a press conference to discuss the decision of the Federal Impact Assessment Act on 30 November 2023, in answer to a reporter's question, the Attorney General of Ontario advised that a new process for awarding King's Counsel designations by the Government of Ontario should be announced "soon" and "shortly."  Despite calls for the appointments in June 2023 to be rescinded, the Attorney General also confirmed that "all of the individuals who received [a King's Counsel designation] through service to the Crown will retain their designation".<ref>[Press Conference 30 November 2023 CPAC "Ontario to Apply for Judicial Review of Federal Impact Assessment Act Decision"]</ref> The head of the [[Law Society of Ontario]] had been offered a KC appointment but declined owing to the lack of selection criteria. In November 2023, the Advocates' Society wrote to the Attorney General to say that the main criterion for a KC appointment should be professional excellence rather than political affiliation and patronage, stating "If the designation is permitted to fall into such disrepute again, public confidence in the legal profession will be undermined".<ref name="Ford">{{cite news |last1=Benzie |first1=Robert |title=Doug Ford promised to end the King's Counsel controversy. Now he says no one cares |url=https://www.thestar.com/politics/provincial/doug-ford-promised-to-end-the-kings-counsel-controversy-now-he-says-no-one-cares/article_2c975298-501a-11ef-8222-77239c1ec2e6.html |access-date=2 August 2024 |work=Toronto Star |date=1 August 2024}}</ref>

In August 2024, Premier [[Doug Ford]] said that the plan to create a protocol for KC appointments was not a priority, stating: "People don't give two hoots if they have KC behind their names."<ref name="Ford"/> No further appointments have been made since July 2023, and the government has given no indication that it will make appointments in the future.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Gallant |first1=Jacques |title=Is the King's Counsel dead — again? One year on from patronage scandal, Ford government silent on future of controversial lawyers' title |url=https://www.thestar.com/politics/provincial/is-the-king-s-counsel-dead-again-one-year-on-from-patronage-scandal-ford-government/article_6bba0c8e-4833-11ef-bb7f-7be4c2ec78a9.html |access-date=24 July 2024 |work=Toronto Star |date=2 August 2024}}</ref>