Starting in September, a mandatory Indigenous cultural competency course for Alberta lawyers will become voluntary under the province’s new Regulated Professions Neutrality Act (RPNA).
The legislation restricts professional regulators to requiring education only in areas directly tied to professional competence and ethics.
As a result, the Law Society of Alberta can no longer mandate “The Path: Your Journey Through Indigenous Canada” for new lawyers or those transferring from other provinces.
The Path is an online program covering residential schools, treaties, Indigenous rights, Indigenous law, and Crown-Indigenous relations. It was introduced to fulfill the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Call to Action 27, which called on law societies to provide lawyers with relevant cultural competency training.
The Alberta government says the RPNA keeps regulators focused on core duties while protecting freedom of expression. It does not prevent lawyers from voluntarily taking additional training, and the province says reconciliation remains a priority through ongoing work with Indigenous communities.
The Law Society noted that more than 10,500 Alberta lawyers have already completed The Path over the past five years.
President Bud Melnyk, KC, said this has meaningfully addressed the TRC call. Lawyers can still access the course and other Indigenous education opportunities voluntarily. Related initiatives, including the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee and certain Indigenous mentorship and student programs, will also be phased out.
Lawyers are divided on the change.
Edmonton criminal defence lawyer Elvis Iginla said the training helped him better understand the circumstances of Indigenous clients and improved his advocacy, though younger lawyers may already gain similar knowledge in law school. In contrast, Calgary lawyer Glenn Blackett opposes any mandatory training of this nature, arguing that The Path contains ideological content and that law societies should focus solely on lawyers’ obligations to the law, the Constitution, and their clients.
Koren Lightning, former Law Society Indigenous initiatives liaison and a member of Samson Cree Nation, expressed disappointment, noting the course addressed historical gaps in education. She hopes lawyers will continue seeking this knowledge voluntarily to better serve clients.
Overall, while the mandatory requirement ends, Indigenous legal education remains available for those who choose it.
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