Moore Edgar Lyster is thrilled to announce that Lindsay M. Lyster, Q.C. has been appointed a justice of the Supreme Court of BC, effective immediately.
We are proud and honoured to have worked with and learned from Lindsay over the years.
In 2010, Lindsay joined what shortly became Moore Edgar Lyster LLP, after almost eight years as a member of the BC Human Rights Tribunal, where she adjudicated and mediated hundreds of human rights complaints and rendered over 500 written decisions. Many of Lindsay’s decisions remain leading authorities that continue to advance human rights law in British Columbia.
At our firm, Lindsay excelled at almost everything she touched.
She was a fearless advocate for her clients, who came to appreciate her razor-sharp intellect and calm demeanour, all marshalled to advance their cause.
Lindsay didn’t restrict her passion for making a difference to her ‘day job’. She worked tirelessly for change through the BC Civil Liberties Association, an organization she led as President for seven years. She also acted as pro bono counsel for a variety of non-profit social justice organizations including the BCCLA, West Coast LEAF and the Community Legal Assistance Society.
Lindsay also contributed countless hours to legal education. She was an adjunct Professor at the UBC Allard School of Law, where she taught labour arbitration, administrative, human rights and constitutional law. She taught regularly at the Canadian Labour Congress Winter School, co-chaired CLEBC's Annual Human Rights Conference, and participated in countless panels on a broad range of topics including advocacy, ethics, human rights, employment and labour law.
Lindsay played a key role in advancing trade unions’ constitutional rights. As counsel for the intervenor BCCLA in Alberta (Information and Privacy Commissioner) v. United Food and Commercial Workers, Local 401, 2013 SCC 62, she argued that the privacy interest of the public had to be balanced with a union’s right to freedom of expression under s. 2(b) of the Charter. The Supreme Court of Canada agreed. Lindsay appeared again as counsel for the intervenor BCCLA, in both Mounted Police Association of Ontario v. Canada (Attorney General), 2015 SCC 1, and Saskatchewan Federation of Labour v. Saskatchewan, 2015 SCC 4, two landmark case which, respectively, confirmed that the right to engage in collective bargaining and the right to strike are protected by s. 2(d) of Charter.
Lindsay’s legal acumen and judgement were widely appreciated by her colleagues on all sides of the labour and human rights bar, and in her later years of practice she became a sought after neutral investigator. She was recognized for her contributions to the law in 2018 when she was named Queens Counsel.
In the midst of all of this, Lindsay was a wonderful colleague and a dependable mentor to us all. Lindsay helped set the high standard for excellence at our firm, and worked closely with our team of younger lawyers and students. While our team will miss Lindsay greatly, we know that we will continue to benefit from the years of working and learning with her.
We also have no doubt that she will continue to bring her combination of intellect, compassion and humour to the bench.
We thank you for everything and wish you all the best, Madam Justice Lyster.
Read more about Lindsay’s appointment in the press release issued by the Department of Justice here.