A new proposed law that would change how lawyers in the Canadian province of British Columbia are regulated is drawing fire from the current lawyer regulator and other groups that say it is “seriously flawed” and will undermine lawyers’ independence from government.

The government of British Columbia recently introduced a new Legal Professions Act, a law that would establish a single regulator for all legal service providers in the province—lawyers, notaries public and paralegals. The province’s attorney general contends the new system would increase access to justice by making more legal services affordable.